The world was swathed in an eerie, albeit comforting silence when dawn shattered the seemingly endless darkness. Morning dewdrops glistened in the gradually increasing light while the enormous sun peeked over the distant horizon, its warm rays caressing the land in various directions.



A muffled splash of water echoed just beyond the hilltops. There, a woman stood, her newly cast bobber floating merely yards away from her perch along a pondo s shore. Her grip on the fishing rod was gentle, an indication that she was fully relaxed, and her serene face turned toward the rising sun to revel in the soothing heat. As she absorbed the invigorating light, a slight tug at her line snapped her back to reality. Her calm expression swiftly adopted a more determined gaze and her violet irises darted back to the quivering bobber.



o Co mon,o she breathed almost inaudibly, o take another nibble.o



Even if he had not intended to, the fish beneath the surface obeyed her subconscious command and engulfed the baited hook with his wide mouth. Without hesitation, the purple-eyed woman yanked up on her fishing pole, her grasp now deliberate, then expertly reeled in her prey. Once landed, the fish, a small bluegill, floundered about upon the cool sand until his predator scooped him up by the lip.



o Not a bad catch,o she told herself, a smile growing across her freckled face. Before she could tuck the struggling fish away into her cooler, a mano s voice cut across the plains.



o Eliza!o it called aloud. The woman craned her neck over her shoulder to direct her attention toward the source of sound while squinting her amethyst eyes in the now harsh sunlight.



o Myke!o she exclaimed upon recognizing the man approaching along the gravel pathway. o You wono t believe the size of this one!o