The Breeeze Janruary 2020

The gravel crunched with each step, it was
similar to the sound one makes when chewing pieces of
ice. Kayla abruptly stopped her brisk pace causing the
faithful lab who had been trotting by her side to circle
back around. She stooped, one hand still in her pocket,
and slipped her exposed fingers through the coarse,
looped end of a rope. The ragged lead was attached to
the front of a faded blue kayak. It rested in a muddy
patch, next to a faded red kayak, underneath a stubby
hurricane palm. The rope was prickly to the touch and
hurt a bit as she pulled the small craft from the clutches
of the mud. It was a brisk day and her hands were tender
in the cool air. The boat made a sucking sound as it was
lifted from its soggy confines. Several worms flipped and
shimmied in the exposed light of day. Bad Dog! her canine
companion playfully yapped at the large night crawlers,
spurring their reentry to the subterranean world. The old
kayak hissed and gargled as it was dragged over the loose
gravel path. Water sloshed back and forth in the hollow
cavity forcing Kayla to flip it over several times in the
hope she wouldn’t have a soggy paddle on the river. The
path was wide enough and the craft weathered enough
for Kayla to feel no shame about dragging it over course
rocks and through filthy mud. Bit by bit the gravel gave
way to crushed oyster shell and sand. The path began
to narrow and twist around tight grassy corners. She
was forced to let go of her hold on the rope and instead
grab the lip that separated the paddler’s seat from the
By Gene Cashman lll
Photography By David Howard
outside shell. Her small arms strained as she heaved the
boat up on her knee then quickly hoisted it to her hip,
gaining her balance she again set off down the winding
path. Bad Dog! leaped and played in the waist high grass
that lined the path. Several times stopping dead in her
tracks to avoid a playful collision with her master. Kayla
let the boat slip several times, sending it crashing into the
shells and bent grass. With no one to help her she would
awkwardly retrieve the boat from the weeds and hoist it
up on her knee and hip to carry. This reminded her of the
solitude to come, of being alone with a task, a burden.
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