Flux

shopkeeper disappeared into the back room and appeared a few moments later with a clear plastic bag writhing with maggots. There were all different colours in there, supposedly to be more attractive to the fish; there were red ones, orange and small pink ones. Iain paid the man and took the bag; he liked the way it moved in his hand as all the small grubs wriggled around each other; it was warm and alive.
    Leaving the shop, Iain started the walk back to his flat; the high street was in full swing by now and crowded. Iain was glad when he joined the path across the common and was once again in his own company.
    In the cupboard, he found the fishing rod straight away, likewise with the small tackle box which housed floats, weights, hooks and other small pieces which stayed together. His reel on the other hand, an essential bit of kit, proved to be slightly more elusive. By now, all he wanted was to be sitting in peace by the side of the canal and maybe if he was lucky, catching a few fish. Emptying the cupboard of its contents; a couple of footballs, an old barbell and weights which he couldn’t remember ever using, a box of tangled wires and all the other paraphernalia that such a place holds, he finally found what he was looking for stuffed into an old rucksack which hung on a peg at the back of the cupboard.
    Putting the tackle box into the bag along with the reel, he picked up his rods and a fold away chair he’d also found and headed down the stairs, having to put them down to close the front door behind him. Then, he was on his way.
    The canal was even closer than the high street, less than ten minutes walk away but still, by the time he’d turned down the narrow lane and reached the small hump backed bridge which spanned the murky water he was hot and panting from the strong, late morning sun. Beads of sweat trickled from his brow, running down his face and tickling the side of his nose so that he had to pause, drop the chair and wipe it off.
    A small gap in the hedge marked the way down onto the towpath. Iain scrambled down the embankment until next to the water, then walked for a few yards along the bank before putting his stuff on the ground, deciding that he’d found as good a spot as any. Before long, rod and line were set up and Iain was sitting in the chair. Feeling relaxed, he attached two maggots to the hook and cast them into the water. The float landed with a small plop somewhere close to the opposite bank, sending ripples out onto the smooth surface.
    As he sat and waited for a fish to bite, the sun beat down heavily on his head and Iain could feel his skin beginning to burn. All the time recently spent indoors, either in hospital or home, had caused his body to become somewhat unaccustomed to the power of the sun. Removing his tee shirt, he wrapped it around his head: Once, as a child he’d got sunstroke while on a camping holiday with his parents. He remembered the fever, and vomiting all night long. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat in a hurry.
    He had to squint to see the small red tip of the float; caught between light and shade where the reflections of bushes on the opposite bank sat clear and solid on the water. The light tricked his eyes so he couldn’t be quite sure whether there was a slight bob of the float or not, forcing him to look away momentarily, then refocus. A string of bubbles rose to the surface, audibly popping as they hit the summer air. It was a sign of fish grubbing about in the thick mud at the bottom of the canal looking for food; he hoped they’d find his bait.
    A streak of electric blue went shooting down the middle of the canal right in front of where Iain sat. The Kingfisher perched on a branch which hung over the opposite side of the water. Iain stayed still, not daring to move in case he scared the little bird away. In a flash it was airborne again, flying back up the canal the way it had come; and then it was for now, gone.
    Iain really did feel blessed by the small wonders of nature he’d managed to see in just one short morning; his eyes open to a beauty and magnificence on offer to any who cared to look; as if God himself were showing him how wondrous the world could be. He felt sad that the end of the world was imminent, and all these creatures would be lost. Or maybe it’s just the people who will perish? The thought caused mixed emotions; he imagined a world where the animals and plants could live in freedom from human intervention and