第5章 The Old Man and the Big Fish[第5页/共15页]

“I am not religious ,”he said.“But I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys that I should catch this fish,and I promise to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin de Cobre if I catch him.That is a promise.”

You did not stay long,the man thought.But it is rougher where you are going until you make the shore.How did I let the fish cut me with that one quick pull he made?I must be getting very stupid.Or perhaps I was looking at the small bird and thinking of him.Now I will pay attention to my work and then I must eat the tuna so that I will not have a failure of strength.

“How old are you?”the old man asked the bird.“ Is this your first trip?”

If the boy were here he could rub it for me and loosen it down from the forearm ,he thought.But it will loosen up.

“You're feeling it now,fish,”he said.“And so,God knows,am I.”

His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries.My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people.Beyond all people in the world.Now we are joined together and have been since noon.And no one to help either one of us.

The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it.