Mountain Top(301)

“You ready to get home?”

Mr. Carpenter nodded. Moses pushed against the slow current toward the bridge. After a few minutes, he spoke. “That tall girl who isn’t a real lawyer. She help me more than you be knowing.”

“How is that?”

“She show me where to lay my burdens down and not be picking them back up again. That day at the big court, it change me forever and forever.”

“Tell me what you mean.”

And for the next few minutes a man with little formal education taught a man with multiple advanced degrees.

When they reached the bridge, Moses skillfully held the boat steady while Mr. Carpenter stepped onto the bank.

“Thank you, Mr. Jones,” he said. “For everything.”

“You be more than welcome. And if ’n you need my help, I be here for you.”


MOSES DEPOSITED TWO FAT FISH into the white five-gallon bucket. Breakfast was secure. Dinner still swam beneath him. He baited a hook and lowered it into the water. There was a slight effervescence to the fishing line that caused it to shimmer in his fingers as he played it out. He waited. A fish broke the surface. It was a top feeder. Moses leaned over the edge of the boat and peered into the dark water.

No images rose to terrify him. The faces had fled. Fear no longer held his future.

The water stilled and became a mirror to the few remaining stars. Moses looked up and tilted his head to the side. Sometimes, if he listened closely, he could hear a whisper of an invitation.

One day, he would rise to accept it.