Book Excerpt
et’s Secret
ak
to eye his line.
Cameron finally collapsed on a bench.
He pushed back the sweaty strands
of hair matted against his forehead.
The sun had nearly reached its late
morning peak. The sleepy village
would soon deaden even deeper into
siesta. Backtracking to the market,
he bought a missile of bread, a
palm-full of goat cheese and a cheap
bottle of wine, all the while
obsessing over how she had vanished
without a trace, convinced he had
blown it. He doubted sleep.
Stinking from the search, he dropped
the plastic sack of food on the sand
and waded into the bay. The fishing
boy had pulled his line and was
sitting in the shade of a drooping
palm. Cameron glided between two
decrepit fishing boats resting after
the morning catch. The skiffs
reminded him of Hemingway’s The
Old Man and the Sea. With each
stroke he stretched further, trying
to calm himself into a rhythm, but
her face remained right in front of
him. He recalled Santiago’s battle
with the great marlin. He thought of
the old man’s perseverance. He felt
capable of the same. But would he
get the chance?
A navy of blue tangs parted
beneath him.
It seemed useless. He swam ashore,
picked up his sack and hiked back to
the hut. The afternoon sun dried
him. His sweat soon smelled of brine.
Several miles away a yacht’s
engine rumbled.
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