Chapter 30: A Fisher of Men

Summer 2052

Clark cast his fishing line back into the stream, hoping to catch a third fish one each for Sally, Katie and himself for their supper.

The steady drizzle wasn’t helping much, although rain was dearly needed for the crops and hayfields. He would have been soaking wet by now, if he hadn’t given in to Katie’s insistence that he wear one of Brother Matthew’s robes to go outside.

If Katie had been with him, she would have caught a dozen fish by now and he would be back inside where it was dry and comfortable. She seemed to transmit a certain energy that attracted fish to take the bite in a third of the time. But, since he had nothing else to do this morning, he didn’t mind the fish pushing the limits of his patience. It gave him time to reflect.

Just sitting and thinking was a rare pleasure. In the past, he didn’t like it much because it would bring back memories of the time before the Collapse. But now he relished the opportunity as his thoughts wandered from that time to the present, from the real to the philosophical.

Twenty-seven years ago he worked in his fancy office and in a flash was forced into survival mode in the wild. He drafted innovative architectural designs and suddenly was tasked with laying out plots for a vegetable garden and estimating the number of cords of firewood needed. The Collapse brought about a topsy-turvy world unimaginable back then.

Life now was a routine going with the seasons. Days came and days went, and the biggest excitement was the occasional birth of a grandchild. He only helped out on the farm during hay season and harvests. Everything else was in the hands of the three families living on Wheeler Road.

Each managed a specific responsibility or a number of smaller related tasks. It improved their efficiency and productivity, and drew upon their unique individual skills. Yet, they all chipped in when the work required an all hands on deck approach.

Mathew was in charge of the crop field and planting the crops. He reduced the area under field pea cultivation, increased the area for corn, sunflowers, wheat and oats, and added barley.

With the exception of the horses, Joshua and Mary took care of all the animals, including the bees in the apple orchard, and started raising pigs and rabbits captured in the wild. They also established a bee hive across the road from Frank and Rebecca’s house to pollinate and gather nectar from the fruit trees in their backyard and garden.

Frank had a knack for pruning fruit trees and vines and keeping the undergrowth in the apple orchard at bay, especially around each tree. He uprooted several of the Granny Smith apple trees and planted blueberry bushes in their place. He was much better at butchering animals and smoking meat, and amazed everyone with his woodworking skill and projects.

Fifi and Trish tilled the vegetable garden at the farmhouse, while Rebecca and Stella did the same at their house. They swapped seeds every year to avoid blight and other diseases. When necessary, they would enlist the men to do the heavy work like spading the ground and hauling sacks of potatoes to the cellar, and they certainly didn’t mind getting a hand hoeing the weeds.

Because of the abundance of water in the nearby stream, Rebecca’s garden was used primarily to plant watermelons, pumpkins and cucumbers which needed to be watered almost on a daily basis. Joshua set up a system based on Roman aqueducts using rain gutters to channel water from upstream to fill a water trough the size of a bathtub right next to the garden, making it easier to fill watering cans and water those thirsty plants.

Once a year in early spring, Frank and Matthew would disappear for several days in search of horses. Finally after four years, they were able to catch two young females to mate with Sunny, but only after they took Stella along. She seemed to know how to talk to the horses and attract them.

And when they weren’t searching horses, Joshua led them on a different mission going through homes and buildings in the village, making an inventory of items they deemed useful and essential for future needs to be removed later and warehoused at the Farrville School.

Joshua continued to amaze everyone with his ingenuity. He garnered Frank and Rebecca’s admiration when he sunk a concrete tube upright into the four-foot deep stream, inserted a pedestal sump pump, hooked it up to the solar generator for about ten minutes to fill a raised 250-gallon water tank connected to the kitchen faucet. Stella didn’t have to haul heavy buckets of water anymore and she loved him for it. She loved him despite his engineering prowess.

Four years after their arrival, Joshua and Stella tied the knot and moved into the house across from her parents. It too had a horse shed and fenced in pasture where Sunny roamed and waited for the chance to meet up with the young mares once a year to perform his vital duty.

They spent their honeymoon up at the cabin, and everyone was worried when they didn’t come down after three days.

Everyone was happy when Joshua announced that Stella was expecting, adding to the already three other grandkids that Fifi and Trish brought into the world. Brother Matthew was right when he said that after a great calamity the need to bond is great. It is a basic part of human nature; the need to reassure oneself that you are alive, that people care about you and that life continues.

Clark was worried, though, about Mary, who recently turned 21, still waiting and secretly hoping for a young, smart bachelor to come into her life.

He had become grey, wrinkled, and a bit slower. He was a sun-burnt reflection of the man who braved the world twenty-six years ago to survive the Collapse. The difficulties and successes in the wild made him become a different man. Throughout this journey, if there was one thing he learned about himself, it was having the will-power and courage to challenge Nature, challenge conventions, challenge himself to grasp the possibilities. Of course, recognizing the available resources and opportunities and knowing how to use them to survive made a great difference.

Having two partners to live for and share all the good things in life made everything more bearable. Sally kept him sane with her spontaneity; Katie kept him resolute with her pragmatism. Both were voracious sexual partners who knew no bounds and kept him full of vim and vigor.

Life was meaningless if he couldn’t share it with someone. When a person is alone in the world without anyone to look out for them, their will to survive is fragile. Caring or being cared for gives a person the reason and the hope they need to live.

More importantly, they were blessed with five children, three grandchildren and another on the way to keep their hopes, achievements and legacies alive for the next twenty-five years and beyond.

When Frank and his family arrived, a feeling of community and friendship, and the possibilities of cooperation gave Clark new assurances of steadfast survival. The chances for a family to outlive an insular existence without the addition of new people and the establishment of new relationships would have meant the end of the line.

After the shock and excitement of their miraculous encounter had dissipated, the promise of a better world seemed within reach and hope was restored. Above all else, living among neighbors with common goals and shared interests was a powerful thing. When someone was hurt or sick, the others pitched in. If someone was down or depressed, they talked and played music. If an extension to a house or shed needed to be built, they all helped. If someone killed a deer, everyone shared in the meat.

They didn’t always agree on everything, and that was good because they had to think twice about things and hash them out. Everyone benefited from open discussions involving various points of view and goals. No one forced anyone to do anything, and small accomplishments kept everyone motivated, less frustrated and in a better mood. Small progress was still progress.

There was a sudden tug on his line, stronger than any he had felt before. The fish put up a grand fight, and Clark was fearful that the line might snap. In the end, he prevailed. The trout was nearly twenty inches long and weighed at least five pounds, twice as big as the other two combined he caught earlier, which he thought were pretty big in their own right. And he thanked them for their sacrifice.

Satisfied and humming a tune to himself, he gathered his fishing equipment and catch of the day and made his way back up to the monastery. It felt good to be useful and in the saddle again, even if his body ached. He charged up the embankment, but made it only half way and had to trudge the rest. He was definitely getting out of shape, he thought, but would never admit it.

When he cleared the embankment and reached the side of the road, he took a minute to catch his breath and stand up straight. He pulled the hood from his eyes and nearly lost his balance at the unexpected sight before him.

There, across the road, were three human figures – a man, a boy and a girl – peering through the iron gate. Each was carrying a backpack and several overstuffed and bundles. Their gray, faded clothes were nothing but damp rags hanging loosely from their gaunt bodies. They looked weary and wretched like refugees wandering aimlessly from a world destroyed by a huge calamity.

He watched them for a few seconds and overheard the girl say, “That’s the house, Papá.”

It was impossible to tell if they were friendly. Clark was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. “Good day, folks,” he announced.

Startled, the man quickly turned, dropping his bundle and trying to spot the voice and gauge the threat. His eyes were bulging; the whites in his eyes glaring fiercely. Instinctively, he stepped in front of the boy and child, brandishing a long staff ready to defend them and himself.

He had a dark complexion and appeared to be Frank’s age. The boy was maybe as old as Joshua and took up a fighting stance next to the man, pulling the girl to stay behind him. He too was holding a long wooden staff pointing it at Clark. The girl couldn’t have been more than six years old and yet carrying a heavy backpack and a hefty stick which looked strikingly familiar to him.

“May the peace of God be with you,” Clark tried again to show he was friendly. “Who are you, if I may ask?”

The man maintained a defiant posture and said, “I’m Raul. These are my cheeldren. We come in peace and go now.”

Clark noticed an accent and the rolling r’s, but was unable to identify the origin. He removed the hood to reveal his face and walked toward them. “Pleased to meet you, Raul. My name is Clark. Where are you from?”

“El Dorado.”

“Texas?”

The man shook his head like he didn’t know or didn’t want to reveal the true location.

“Is your wife still coming?”

Again, the man shook his head and gave a stony response, “She dead.”

Clark recognized that the man was not too keen on talking, preferring to say little and stay safe, or maybe he was just not very articulate. He and his children probably had no formal schooling, either.

“What are the names of your children?”

“This is Luisa. That’s Marco and he don’t fool easily.”

They all had Latin sounding names, maybe Italian or Mexican. Clark wasn’t sure.

“You all look tired and hungry. Please come in to rest awhile and join us for a warm meal.”

“Gracias, thank you, but we must go now.”

“Nonsense, Raul,” Clark replied and lifted the three fish. “Look, we’ve got fresh trout today. My wife is good at preparing it with lots of potatoes and greens. It would please us to share this meal with you.”

The boy’s jaw dropped, and he quickly closed his mouth to swallow hard. The girl’s eyes widened and she looked up at her father, tugging at his sleeve. He remained firm as steel but slowly wilted under her pleading gaze.