Kasimir (A Fragment)

The long rays of an afternoon sun poured into the room like the Word of God, separating the darkness from the light. Kasimir sat at a small table by the window. The drapes billowed softly, and he could smell sand and salt on the breeze. Crumpled bits and scraps of paper were strewn about the room. Writing utensils and several clean sheets of paper lie spread out before him. He had been up all morning trying to write – something, anything. Images streamed wildly from his consciousness and gathered in swirling pools of thought. But, the words that went with them darted swiftly from his grasp. Kasimir sighed and turned to look out the window. There was the ocean. There were all the beautiful things he wanted to say. There were the words with which to say them. He smiled, dipped his pen into the inkwell and wrote.

My soul is restless
Like the sea.

Kasimir set the quill down and blew gently across the paper. He read the words aloud, feeling them against the roof of his mouth. This is a good start, he thought, and his restless soul found peace.

“Kasimir!” his mother yelled from the kitchen.

“Yes, mother?”

“You’d better get down to the pier and help your father!” He put away his writing and straightened up the room. Kasimir’s father was a fisherman. His grandfather was a fisherman. And, he was pretty sure that his great-grandfather had been a fisherman, too. Kasimir did not want to be a fisherman. For that matter, he did not want to be a carpenter, a blacksmith, a miller, or even a shepherd like his friend, Caleb. Kasimir was a writer living in the village of Fairhaven, where books and the ideas that filled them were not worth the catch-of-the-day.

Kasimir soon found himself standing on the beach. The sun hung angrily in the sky and the wind had picked up considerably. A storm was coming.

“Kasimir!” his father called from the boat. “Take hold of this and tie her up!” Kasimir ran out onto the pier and did as he was told, pulling the small craft alongside. “Here. Careful now, its heavy.” Kasimir steadied the net-full of fish as his father hoisted it over the side.

“How’d it go?” Kasimir asked.

Before answering, his father reached for a hand up as he lifted himself out of the boat. “Not half as well as it would’ve if you’d gotten up this morning and helped.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I shouldn’t have to. You’re plenty old enough now to know what needs doing and to do it.” Kasimir decided that the rest of the conversation was not going to be worth having. They walked to the market in silence.