Shoreline of Infinity 8½ EIBF Special Edition by Noel Chidwick

Author:Noel Chidwick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction magazine
Publisher: The New Curiosity Shop (Shoreline of Infinity Publications)
Published: 2017-08-12T00:00:00+00:00

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The Great Golden Fish

Dee Raspin

Art: Stephen Pickering

Angus sat on a rough stone, overlooking the glen where his croft lay. Propping his crook by his side, he raised his eyes to the shifting storm clouds, and sighed. The croft had lost its heart since Mary died. He couldn’t bear to sit at the big table alone, with nothing but the crackle of logs on the fire to break the silence.

With Mary there was never silence, rest, or peace. There was always something needing doing. Dying wool, carding it, spinning it, knitting it, making him wear it – though it never fit. Or she’d be out in the fields, tilling the earth with all the pull of a barrel-backed pony. She was a strong lass, Mary.

The first time they’d met at old Campbell’s cèilidh, that’s what he’d noticed: her strength. It shone in her broad, fearless smile, in the red of her cheeks, in the dark glitter of her eyes. When she danced, there was something wild in her movements.

Angus had been fine-looking in his youth, and all the lassies blushed and giggled when he walked by.

All but one – and she was hurling the menfolk about like hayricks, as she raced through the dance.

There was a woman who could work! Angus wasn’t for wanting a fireside decoration. He wasn’t for cow-like docility, good manners and old-fashioned respect. He propped himself against the barn wall, waiting to catch her eye. One by one, she left her partners exhausted. Even Rob Mackay, the big miller’s son, was starting to slow. But not Mary – the more she spun, stomped and reeled, the brighter her eyes grew and the redder her cheeks.

She looked up, and locked eyes with Angus.

It wasn’t an invitation to dance, it was a challenge to battle – and he knew it. Throwing back her head, black ringlets falling around her neck and shoulders, she took him by the hand and pulled him to the floor. The men roared with laughter, the women rolled their eyes.

Surely bonny Angus wasn’t after big Mary?

The rest of the night he and she danced every dance together. They twisted each other’s arms, trampled each other’s feet and laughed loud enough to drown out the band.

Hours later, when the dance ended, they headed out into the hills in search of the sunrise. Their breath fell heavy on the chill air, and the little clouds of mist they made mingled together. When they reached the big cairn, they sat down – gazing into the distance. There the world stretched out before them – golden, bathed in the first light of morning. Everything fresh, and new.

Angus turned to Mary, and she met his glance with a steady eye and firm smile.

“Mary.” he said, and she knew what he was about. “If yer as brutal with my cows as yer are wi’ me, ye’ll be my ruin.”

And that was that. They married the following month.

Not long after, Angus saw a new side to the wild lass. With animals, she was calm – yet stern.

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