Up the road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again. He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about the lions.
That is the end. Santiago caught the fish and lost the fish. He fought sharks, and the sharks won. Now, he's back in his own bed. Sleeping. Dreaming about lions. The old man is safe and on his way to becoming legend in his village.
I am home after a long day. I've been working and writing and planning for the past 13 hours. The last thing I did at the library was host a virtual reading by poet/novelist Sonya Sones. I booked her a couple months ago for National Mental Health Awareness Month. Her book, Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy, is a novel in verse about the experience of her 13-year-old self watching her older sister have a nervous breakdown and all the family trauma that results.
It's a book that I read many years ago, around the time that my wife was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Later, I shared the book with my young daughter, to help her sort out her feelings about her mother's illness. It's a book that's profoundly heartbreaking and profoundly hopeful, as well. It was one of my life's greatest thrills to be able to speak with Sonya tonight. To ask her questions. Tell her how much of an impact she has had on my life.
That is the end of my long day at sea. Soon, I will put my head down on a pillow, close my eyes. Maybe I'll dream about lions. I doubt it. But maybe. More than likely, however, I will dream about my son, who heads back to school tomorrow morning. I'll dream my worries for him.
Sonya Sones gave me hope in a dark time of my life.
Over the past week, Saint Marty has tried to give his son the tools for hope, as well.
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