Banana Man (a Novella) Read Online Free Page B

pushed forward once again, steady and strong, but at a much slower pace.
     
    The slow, bumpy drive continued for another twenty minutes. All the while, Danny watched the sun inch higher into the sky, and took his time munching on his donut and drinking his milk.
     
    It wasn’t long before the big truck stopped beside a shallow creek. They got their poles ready under the rising sunlight. He remembered his dad’s words of wisdom: The best time to fish a river is sunrise, sunset, and especially after a hard rain. That’s when the fish come up to eat because rain knocks debris into the rising water, and goodies float downstream.
     
    He could see clusters of fish just off shore, wading casually beneath the clear water’s surface, their little mouths gaping open and shut.
     
    While his dad tried to educate him on the fineries of casting and reeling, Danny simply plunked the bait into the water, let it float a bit, and then repeated the process. He didn’t bother casting. He could see the bait floating directly in front of the fish’s mouth; there was no reason to cast. Just keep teasing the fish and they would eventually bite. And they did: the third time he dropped the bait into the water, Danny snagged a fat trout that caught him by surprise and almost yanked him into the creek. The fishing pole bowed and the reel screamed as the fish fled downstream. His dad grabbed hold of the pole and took over for the most part, but Danny kept his hands on the reel and helped land that first one.
     
    For the next hour, they both hauled in good sized trout. His dad strung them up through the gills on a yellow string line. Right before they left for home, another fisherman happened to show up. His dad asked the man to take a picture of the two of them using his Vivitar camera, which he always kept in the glove box.
     
    They were done fishing within a few hours after they left the house. Then the rain came, and the stream swelled. Black clouds poured over the mountains and down into the valley. Thunder and lightning followed thereafter, and a heavy downpour seemingly came out of nowhere. During the ride home, Danny remembered hearing a weather warning on the radio about flash floods hitting certain parts of the county. But like his dad promised his mom, they were safely in the big truck and on their way back home before the storm worsened.
     
    The next photo frame on the mantel contained a strip of black and white snapshots of Danny and his mom. They took a family trip to a beach town and spent a sunny afternoon and a cool evening at an amusement park built right on the sand. It was the first time he had ever been to the beach. The strip of photos was from a photo booth. Danny and his mom climbed into one, stuck a bunch of quarters into the slot, and then smiled and laughed and ate pink cotton candy for the camera.
     
    He remembered the throng of people on that summer night, and the giant Ferris wheel spinning on the edge of the wooden pier. He also remembered being so afraid and nervous that he almost puked up the cotton candy and the plain hot dog he ate for dinner.
     
    All those spinning lights in the night sky made the steel structure look too big and too heavy, like its weight would crush the pier at any moment. And all those people, hundreds of them, milling around on the old pier, eating buttered popcorn, drinking sodas, and walking around under the stars without a worry on their mind. Danny kept thinking the pier’s wooden planks would snap and dump everyone into the sea.
     
    His mom convinced him to go on the Ferris wheel. At first he was apprehensive, but when they climbed into one of the cages, and the attendant pulled down the safety bar, Danny got excited – he suddenly couldn’t wait to get up in the air.
     
    He bounced in his seat, and dangled his feet out of the cage. He waved excitedly at the other little kids on the pier. He kept looking up at the top of the Ferris wheel, eager to get higher so he could see