A Face Without a Reflection

by Bowen, Linda Lee

  Micah chuckled, and I kissed my sleepy dad on the cheek and said good-bye. As we walked away from the porch, I turned and waved, but the wave was not returned.

  “He’s already snoozing,” I said, with a smile.

  “Good for him,” Micah added. “He deserves a rest.”

  I followed Micah to a clearing on the side of the house that was a perfect spot to plant a garden. I had forgotten where Mum and Grammy said they were going, but Micah knew exactly where to find them. The Two were fully engaged in the planning of their garden when we arrived unexpectedly.

  “Oh my heavens!” Grammy said. “You nearly scared the daylights out of me.”

  “I’m so sorry, Petra,” Micah said sincerely and gave her a big hug. Grammy kissed him on the cheek.

  “That’s quite all right, dear. We just reached a little stumbling block regarding the cucumbers, and we’re looking for common ground. Perhaps you can help.”

  “Oh yes! You’ve come at the perfect time,” Mum said as she shared their dilemma with us. “There are many different types of cucumbers, as you well know. We both agree on Armenian and Japanese for slicing, but we haven’t yet settled on one for pickling. Grammy likes Kirby.”

  “You can’t go wrong with a Kirby cuke,” Micah said.

  Mum was quick to add her choice.

  “But I’m fond of heirlooms.”

  “Yup! They make one delicious pickle,” Micah agreed.

  “So…what should it be, Micah? Kirby or heirloom?”

  Mum and Grammy looked like two little girls as they smiled and batted their eyes for his attention. I was expecting them to wave their hands or jump up and down saying, “Pick me! Pick me!” Micah stroked his bearded chin with one hand.

  “Hmmm,” he said thoughtfully and then decided, “plant them both.”

  “What a wonderful idea!” Grammy said.

  “Yes,” Mum agreed. “Why hadn’t we thought of that?”

  Then they turned toward the patch of earth they’d designated for planting and happily carried on. Micah attempted to share our plans for the day with them, but they were too engrossed in creating to pay attention.

  “Yes, yes, dears,” Mum said as she waved good-bye a bit too prematurely. “Have a wonderful day.”

  “Do you think they were glad to be rid of us?” Micah asked, after we said our good-byes.

  “Oh my, yes!” I laughed. “The only time Mum and Grammy aren’t easily disturbed is when they’re planning a project. It can get ugly.”

  Micah cracked up at my description of a side not often seen in the world’s most gentle, loving women.

  “The good news is…whatever they plant will be amazing.”

  “They are remarkable,” Micah said. And I agreed.

  We walked down the hill and followed the stream away from U-R-Here until we came to shallow water. We stepped over some large rocks to the other side and then climbed up an embankment that led to a wooded area and finally to a clearing.

  It took a while to get there, but when we arrived, Micah said, “Well…we’re here! What do you think?”

  I looked from beneath the boughs of the tallest trees I’d ever seen, past a sandy area with large rocks jutting out of the still water. The surface of the lake was several shades of blue and green, and the ripples that crept up to the shore left tiny pebbles behind. It was quiet and peaceful, and the only sound was that of an occasional chirp or whoop that came from the branches high above.

  “It’s magnificent,” I proclaimed. I stood spellbound by the earth’s splendor. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “We’ve only just begun, little one. Follow me!”

  I followed Micah down a small hill to a long dock that floated no more than a foot above the water. One small rowboat was tied to the dock, and for a moment, the annoying little knot appeared again in my stomach.

  “Is that your boat?” I asked sheepishly.

  “Yes, it is,” he said cheerfully. “Isn’t she a beaut?”

  We walked to the dock, and Micah held my hand as I stepped into the boat. The swaying startled me, but Micah said, “Don’t worry! You’ll get your sea legs in no time!”

  I sat down as soon as both feet were in the boat, and before long, I had settled in comfortably. Micah put the small basket of food behind his seat and untied the boat, pushing it away from its berth and into the vast waters in front of us. Grabbing hold of the oars, he rowed steadily toward the middle of the lake while I looked over my shoulder to see where we were going.

  “You can turn around,” he said. “It’s much better to see where you’re going than to watch where you’ve been.”

  The lake wasn’t very large, not more than one hundred acres all told. But it was the most water I’d ever seen, and it seemed so vast. Micah rowed without ceasing until we were in the center of the lake. He pulled up the oars, and the boat came to rest. Surrounded by the deep blue-green water and the beautiful sky above, I was enveloped in an extraordinary peace. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at Micah.

  “You look as though you’re enjoying yourself, little one. Why don’t you turn around now, so I can see your lovely smile?”

  I decided to stand up and step over the seat, as I had a new confidence in my seafaring abilities. I gave Micah the thumbs-up sign, assuring him I had it covered, but as I sat down…he stood up and started applauding! The sudden movement set the boat to rocking, and I grabbed onto the seat and laughed uncontrollably as I bounced up and down. Micah laughed as he sat down, but the twinkle in his eye told me he had something up his sleeve.

  “Let’s go fishing,” he said, with a grin.

  “Fishing? But we didn’t bring any poles.”

  “We don’t need poles,” he assured me. “We just need a good invitation.”

  I tilted my head and crinkled my nose. “A good invitation?” I chuckled. “What do you mean by that?”

  “You know…an invitation. This will be a bit tricky because you haven’t met the lake fish yet. But I believe it will only take a few words from your sweet voice to coax them into the boat.”

  “Into the boat? Did you say, ‘Coax them into the boat’?”

  Micah laughed and nodded his head. “It’ll be great! Just lean over the side, so they can see your face. Then invite them to join us.”

  “Ha-ha!” I laughed nervously. I’d never done anything like this in my life, so I had no idea how to invite fish anywhere, let alone into a boat. I giggled as I pondered the proper way to extend such an invitation.

  “Don’t worry about what you say,” Micah offered. “Just speak to them the way you spoke to the ivy and the flowers. Sweetly! And don’t be afraid. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. You just have to start.”

  I chuckled again. “Okay, here goes!” I took a deep breath and nearly forgot to let it out. The boat tilted as I shifted to one side and leaned over the water. “Here fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy!”

  Micah reeled back and laughed so hard, his pants nearly split. “What kind of invitation is that?” he chided. “‘Here fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy’? Come on, child! You can do better than that. Try again. Only this time…put a little heart into it.”

  I gave him a crooked smile and leaned toward the water once again. “Hello to you, my dearest fish! Hello to all your friends! We would be so very honored if you would join us on our boat.” The water was still, with no sign of life beneath the surface. I tried again. “Hello to you, my dearest fish! Hello to all your friends! We would be so very honored if you would join us on our boat.” Still nothing.

  “I know what the problem is,” Micah said, after the third invitation. “You’re inviting them from the wrong side of the boat.”

  I thought for sure he was joking. The boat was less than four feet wide. If the fish couldn’t hear me on one side, how could they hear me on the other?

  “No, seriously!” he urged. “Try it!”

  I kept my eyes on him to make sure he wasn’t sniggering as I slid slowly across th
e seat to the other side of the boat. But, he wore only a reassuring smile; so I leaned over the side and repeated my invitation to the fish.

  “Hello to you, my dearest fish! Hello to all your friends! We would be so very honored if you would join us on our boat.” I looked at Micah and was about to tell him that I didn’t think they heard any better on this side when—

  Whoosh!

  Flop!

  Flop! Flop! Flop!

  Whoosh!

  Fish jumped into the boat by the dozens until the bottom was covered with every kind of fish imaginable. I squealed with delight as Micah laughed so hard, he almost turned us over. He held his sides and slipped backward, his legs flailing in the air as more fish flew into the boat. A few fish followed him and landed on his belly. Micah spit and sputtered as they slapped his face with their tails.

  “Micah, make them stop!” I cried when we were suddenly up to our knees in fish. “The boat is going to sink if they keep coming!”

  “You do it!” He chuckled, as he brushed a few flopping fish from his lap.

  “Me? Oh, dear heavens! I don’t know how to uninvite fish!”

  He held his sides as he laughed even harder.

  “Argh!” I cried, in complete desperation. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted into the water, “Stop!”

  Instantly, the fish stopped jumping into the boat. My mouth dropped in amazement.

  “Good job!” he said as we sat among the flailing fish. “Looks like we have lunch.”

  I was mortified. “Lunch? I’m not going to eat them!”

  Again, he laughed. “Well, if we aren’t going to eat them, we’ll have to send them back.”

  “Good idea,” I said, waiting for instructions.

  But Micah said nothing. The fish weren’t moving around as much as before, and I knew we had to get them back in the water. Micah watched as I reached down, picked up a fish by the tail, and flung it into the lake. More laughs from the other end of the boat.

  “Micah, you must help me! Please! This is serious. They have to get out of the boat now, or they’ll die.”

  “You’re right,” he said somberly. “But can I just say something about what you’ve done here today? It was amazing! Truly amazing! You accepted instruction and my suggestion to go to the other side of the boat even though you didn’t think it would work. And look what happened. You showed great wisdom, my dear. And faith! We can’t overlook that. It’s enormously important.”

  I believe I would have received his comment more fully had we not been sitting knee-deep in distressed fish. I leaned over our catch of the day to get closer to him. I wanted to make sure he heard me.

  “Micah,” I said, with wide eyes and a pleading smile, “the fish!”

  “Okay. Okay. No worries,” he assured me. “I’ve got this.”

  He sat with his knees spread apart and looked down at the fish as if to number them. “Fish,” he said, “go.”

  At his words the fish began to flop and wiggle wildly as if life had just been spoken into them. They sprung up from the bottom of the boat like popcorn, then suddenly one jumped back into the water. Another followed. Then three…twenty…a hundred…until every fish was gone. Micah looked around the boat. Satisfied that they were all safe in the water, he turned toward the lake and smiled as a nice-sized perch jumped high above the surface and wiggled its tail. Micah waved a cheerful good-bye and then picked up the oars.

  “Well,” he said, with a big grin, “that was fun.”

  My eyes were as wide as saucers; I was too stunned to speak. I twirled around in my seat and stared off into the distance. We were getting closer to shore when I looked over my shoulder and smiled at my bearded friend. “That was amazing,” I said.

  Micah let out a big laugh. “It sure was, little one!” And he kept rowing.

  CHAPTER 20

  AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR

  It took twice as long to get back to the house as it should have with Micah retelling the fish story along the way. We’d walk a short distance when he’d remember something else, and then we’d stop while he acted it out. He was so funny, both my stomach and face hurt from laughing. When we reached the back porch, I groaned at the thought of walking up a few steps. Micah shook his head and bent down to offer a piggyback ride.

  “Really?” I hoped he wasn’t kidding around.

  “Sure! Hop on! But don’t forget to duck when we go through the door, or we’ll both be on the floor.”

  I climbed on Micah’s back and wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. His long hair tickled my nose and nearly made me sneeze.

  “Hang on.” He rose to his feet. “Here we go!”

  Grammy and Mum were busy in the kitchen, and the table was already set for a party of many more than four. Micah bent down for me to climb from his back.

  “Thank you, kind sir,” I said with a curtsey. “The ride was greatly appreciated.”

  “You’re welcome, Your Highness.” Micah stood as he swept an imaginary hat from his head and took a regal bow. “I am always at your service.”

  Mum laughed as she stopped her busyness and joined in the fun.

  “Well, hello, my dear princess,” she said. “And a hearty welcome to you, good and faithful servant! Will we have the pleasure of your company for dinner this evening? I’m quite certain we can accommodate you both.”

  “Yes, ma’am, and thank you very much. We would be honored to sup with you this night. Isn’t that right, servant?”

  “Yes, Your Highness. Honored!”

  Mum kissed my forehead as I ran to greet Grammy, who thanked Micah for spending the day with me.

  “The pleasure was all mine, I can assure you,” he said. “And I believe we might have a tale or two to share with everyone at dinner tonight.”

  Micah winked at Mum as her eyes grew wide and her beautiful smile filled up her face. “Well, we’ll all be interested to hear about your day. But now, my darling daughter, you must get cleaned up for dinner. I dare say, Micah, you could do with some cleaning up as well. You both smell a little…fishy.”

  Micah and I broke into peals of laughter as we went our separate ways to prepare for the evening ahead.

  The warm bath nearly put me to sleep as the fullness of the day was upon me. But my body was not nearly as tired as my heart was happy. And the idea of sharing this most remarkable day with my family and friends was more than enough to charge my battery for the evening ahead.

  “I wonder what everyone else’s day was like?” I thought as I finished dressing. “If it was anything like mine, we might be telling stories all night long!”

  “Woo-hoo!” I shouted as I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Daddy walked in from the porch just as I skipped in from the hallway. Our smiles were ear to ear as Daddy opened his arms out wide for me to run into. He lifted me up and kissed my cheek. We looked at each other and said, “Woo-hoo!”

  “Well, well, well!” He chuckled as he lowered me back to the floor. “You and Micah must have had quite a day.”

  “Oh, we did, Daddy. It was remarkable!” I walked over to where things were cooking to see if there was something I could do to help. “But I don’t want to give anything away until Micah gets here. He tells stories much better than I do.”

  Mum handed me four dinner plates and napkins, which surprised me, as it seemed the table was already set.

  “They go to the picnic table in the yard, dear,” she said. “Daddy will bring the glasses and silverware.”

  I was puzzled. The table always had room for more, so why would four people eat in the yard? I put the dinner plates and napkins on the table as Daddy stepped up behind me.

  “Who is this for, Daddy?”

  He put the glasses and flatware down and sat on the bench. “This is what we call our ‘just-in-case’ table, dear. It’s for those who will eat our food but not with us. They’ve been invited many times. But the invitation only enrages them, and they become very indignant.
We set a table for them and leave the door open. But it’s up to them to come in.”

  “Are they seekers?”

  “No, dear. It would be a blessing if they were. No. I’m afraid this group might be too lost to seek. But they’ve never spoken to us, so I don’t know what their stories are. We decided long ago that there are those who will only retreat further into themselves when they see an outstretched hand. It is best to let them be and keep the door open. Just in case.”

  “Do you know who they are? Do they have names?”

  “Yes, I’m quite sure they have names. But we don’t know them. There are two women and two men. I don’t think they speak to one another, although they do speak at each other.”

  “What do you mean, ‘at each other’?”

  “Well…it’s obvious that one of the gentlemen…the one who always stands at attention and never has a single hair out of place…detests one of the women. He doesn’t like the others either, but his disapproval of this one is as subtle as an elephant on roller skates. He has been heard saying things like, ‘It’s a shame we don’t all rule the world like the Grande Dame, here,’ or, ‘If I had a dime for every time she did the right thing, I still wouldn’t have a dime.’”

  I chuckled even though I knew he wasn’t trying to be funny. “Does she say anything?” I asked, wondering if she ever defended herself.

  “No. His presence is irrelevant to her, so she chooses not to notice him or anyone else, for that matter. She has placed herself high above them and believes they’re insignificant. I’m afraid some people can only feel good about themselves when they make others feel worthless. I believe that somewhere in the world, she is very powerful and accustomed to having her way. She simply won’t accept that this is not the way things work here. She sits in her place at the head of the table and rings a little bell to let everyone know she’s waiting to be served. The food is on the table in front of her, but she won’t lift a finger to help herself. None of the others will lower themselves to put food on her plate, so it usually remains empty.”