Enchantment (53 page)

Happil
y
,
she
plunked
herself
down
in
the
sand
and
took
off
her
s
hoes
to
stick
her
toes
in
the cold…

W
arm?

H
ow
could
the
water
be
war
m
? It
w
a
s
rocketing d
o
wn
from
the
m
oun
t
ains.

“With
eve
r
y
t
h
i
ng
else
y
o
u
’ve
witnessed
toda
y
,
I’m
not
sure
w
h
y
y
o
u
looked
so
s
hocked.” Kerrigan
answered
her
u
n
spoken
qu
e
stion.
Todd
pulled
out
a
fishing
rod
and
handed
it
to
her. “Oka
y
,
Meeka,
here’s
y
o
ur fishing
rod.”
He
handed
her
s
omething red
rese
m
b
l
ing
a
strawber
r
y
.

“What
is
that
?
”
She
looked
at
the
s
u
spicious
o
b
j
ect.

“It’s
a
passion
ber
r
y
.
Just
tie it to
y
o
u
r line,”
Todd instructed. “But
there’s no
hook.
Don’t
we
need
a hoo
k
?
”

“Nope,
no
hook.
J
u
st
the
ber
r
y
.
”

Meeka
tied
the
large
berry
to
the
line
as
best
s
he
could,
not
at
all
understanding
how
th
e
y
w
ould
catch
fish
without
a
hook.
Todd
finished t
y
i
n
g
his
and stood
a
way
back
from the
shore.

“N
o
w,
y
ou don’t want
to
get to
close to
the
s
hore, or
y
o
u could go
for
a
swi
m
,
y
o
u
rself.” Meeka
listened
careful
l
y
to
Todd’s
instructions
and
backed
up
a
bit.

“When
y
o
u
throw
y
o
ur
lure
into
the
water,
let
it
sink
a
bit,
then
reel
it
in.
If
the
fun
n
y
fish like
y
o
u, then
y
ou
m
ig
h
t catch
one,”
Todd
said.

It
didn’t
s
ound
difficu
l
t.
Meeka
made
her
stance,
slowly
placed
the
rod
out
to
her
side,
and with
a
practi
c
ed
toss,
released
the
ber
r
y
lure
into
the
water,
letting
it
sink
a
bit.

“That’s
it;
y
o
u’re a
natural.
Now
reel
it
back
in.”
Todd
bea
m
ed with
exciteme
n
t
for
her.

Reel.
Reel.
Reel.
Meeka
had
gone
fishing
with
her
parents
a
lot,
but
they
were
never
real
l
y happy
experiences.

Todd
frowned
at
her.
“Meeka,
are
y
ou
thinking
hap
p
y
thoughts?
You
m
ust
think
happy thoughts.”

He
w
a
s
right.
Meeka
didn’t
want
to
think
about
her
parents
on
s
uch
a
happy
d
a
y
.
With
the rod
out to
her side again,
s
he threw
the lure in once
m
ore,
again letting
it
sink, and then reeling
it in.

Padd
y
’s
voice
called
down.
“
Todd,
I
real
l
y
need
y
o
ur
help
for
a
m
o
m
e
nt.
Can
y
o
u
c
o
m
e back
up
here
?
”

“Wo
m
en!
They
j
u
st
don’t
m
ix
with
fishing,”
he
gru
m
bled. “He
y
,
I
heard
that!” Meeka
snipped.

Todd
snickered
at
her and
set
his
rod
down.
“Keep
fishing, Meeka.” To
s
sing
her
lure in
for
the
third
t
i
m
e, Meeka
let
it
sink,
then began
to
reel.

O
ut
of
the
blue,
litera
ll
y
,
wh
a
m
,
down
went
the
tip
of
her
rod.
Meeka
squealed
with exciteme
n
t.
The
fish
pulled
very
hard.
No
w
onder
y
o
u
didn’t
want
to
stand
too
close
to
the
edge of
the
water.
The
fish
was
getting
closer
to
the
s
hore
w
hile
Meeka
strained
to
see
it.
Then, without
warning,
it
flew out
of
the
w
ater,
heading
direct
l
y
for
her.

Meeka
stu
m
bled
backward,
t
r
y
i
ng
to
avoid
a
collision
with strangest
-
looking
fish
s
he’d
ever seen.
Clu
m
si
l
y
,
she
fell
into
the
sand,
with
the fish
attaching itself
onto
the
side
of
her
cheek
with a
giant
s
mac
k
.

Large
blue
e
y
e
s
stared
at
her
close
l
y
,
because
the
two
ar
m
s
on
either
side
of
its
body
had
s
uction
cups
that
latched
to
her
cheeks.
Total
l
y
unexpected
l
y
,
it
pulled
her
face
forward
and stared
at
her
with
big red
lips,
and
then,
with
another
giant
smack
,
kissed
her!

The
finned
critter
kissed
both
cheeks
and
bid
her
a
thank
y
o
u
,
but
not
before
introducing hi
m
self
as
Love-A-Lot
Funny
Fish.
S
hocked,
she
stood
speechless,
staring
at
the
creature
as
it did
back
flips
into
the
water.
Then
she
started
laughing.
She
laughed
s
o
hard,
s
norts
c
a
m
e
from her
nose.