The quiet sunny afternoons were always the best for their walks. Not far from their home the river flowed and there were paths that led from the park across the street down to the river they visited whenever O'Neill was off duty. The time he spent with his son was precious and O'Neill tried to make every moment count.
"What's that Daddy?" entreated the soft voice of Charlie as he suddenly stopped along the path.
"Where?" Jack wasn't sure exactly what his son was pointing to, but he looked diligently toward the path as a soft breeze scattered leaves and trails of dust across their shoes.
"There Daddy, there," pointing to a small black object on the path. Charlie let go of his father's hand and squatted down, finger outstretched. "That," he whispered as his father crouched down next to him to see what had Charlie so excited.
"Oh…. I think it's a bug," Jack whispered back, giving a soft smile and watching his son take in this exciting new discovery. "I think it's a cricket, they play songs at night."
"How do they do that, Daddy?" he asked, still whispering.
"See those long legs?" Jack watched, waiting for Charlie's acknowledgement. When Charlie looked up he continued, "They move those two legs together and they make a sound."
"Make them play me a song, Daddy!" Charlie spoke excitedly. "Please, make them play a song."
"Well, son, they usually only play at night and if you get ready for bed tonight and do everything Mommy tells you to, I'll ask the crickets that live at our house to play a special song just for you."
Charlie smiled approvingly and stood up to look at his dad.
Jack smiled and watched his son lovingly, taking his hand again Jack stood up too, "Let's keep going Charlie; we have a little ways to go yet."
The river they walked along flowed slowly over small boulders, leaping and skittered over fallen branches and trees along the shore. Several happy squirrels played and scampered among the trees surrounding the path and along the river banks, not seeming to care about the two intruders that walked along the path.
Halfway along the trail there was a small waterfall. Large boulders were embedded along the banks and as the path curved around the bend, smaller rocks and boulders led up to the top of the largest one. Pulling Charlie up onto his shoulders, Jack hiked up to the top and sat down bringing Charlie onto his lap.
The waterfall wasn't large but it provided the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the scene as water sang over the rocks cascading its merry way down the river. The rock they sat on vibrated slightly and a fine mist descended on their faces as they sat watching. They always came to this spot; this was their spot, Charlie and Jack's spot, along the river.
"I really like the waterfall, Daddy," Charlie spoke quietly, as he held his dad's hand.
"I do too, son, I do too," Jack was always overwhelmed at this portion of the river. It wasn't the most breathtaking sight in the whole world and Jack had seen many sites in his time, but it was this place that he and Charlie came to; it was a place where he could feel a connection with his son.
They sat silently for some moments, and as they watched the apex of the waterfall a small fish jumped up into the air. "Wow, Daddy, did you see that?" Charlie asked excitedly.
"I sure did. Do you think he caught his supper, Charlie?"
"Yeah, I think he did." He sat quietly, waiting for the little fish to jump again, but when it didn't, he pleaded, "Tell me a story Daddy." Charlie looked expectantly up to his father.
Jack smiled. "Sure. Let me think…. Well you know that little fish we just saw, I think he travels from up North. Maybe he's a salesfish, or maybe he's a traveler out to see all the rivers of the world." Jack looked down at the small boy in his lap. "What do you think?"
"I think he's a traveler," Charlie stated assuredly.
"Okay, he's a traveler. Well that little fish, we'll call him Sparky, he's originally from Toledo and when he was just a guppy he decided that he wanted to see all the rivers of the world. He was pretty young when he left home to begin his travels. How old do you think he was, Charlie?"
"I think he was five," Charlie giggled.
"Alright, he was five. The thing young Sparky wanted to know more than anything was what every fish he met enjoyed most about the river they lived in," pausing for a moment, Jack looked down on his son before continuing, "One of the first places he came to was the Mississippi river. Do you remember going there a few weeks ago, son?"
"Yeah, it was really big. Did Sparky like the Missippii, Daddy?" Jack smiled at Charlie approvingly. "I think so because he sure asked a lot of questions. He had a nice conversation with a catfish. And when he asked that catfish what the best thing about the Mississippi river was do you know what that catfish said?"
"No, what, Daddy? What did he say?"
"He told young Sparky there that the best thing about the Mississippi was the mud."
"The mud, yuk," Charlie wrinkled his nose and giggled again before looking eagerly to his dad for more.
"Well young Sparky traveled all the rivers of the world and asked the other fish he met what their favorite thing was about the river they lived in," Jack sat up straighter and cleared his throat a little so he could continue by using different voices, "In one river the fish he met said in a really squeaky voice `The way the sun shines on the rocks' and another said in a really fast excited voice `I can swim really fast in this river' and another said in a really deep voice `All the tasty bugs that live here' " Jack stopped for a moment to watch his son's reaction to his voice, and then, "It didn't take long for our young Sparky there to grow up into that little fish we just saw jump. And after his many travels, he came to this spot in our river and he decided that this was where he wanted to live for the rest of his life. Do you want to know why, Charlie?"
"Why, Daddy, why does Sparky want to live here?" Charlie's eyes widened and watched the river waiting for Sparky to jump again.
"Well, he decided to live here because there are lots of tasty bugs to eat and more importantly, every time he jumps he gets to see something very special."
"What?" Charlie whispered.
"He gets to see this little boy sitting on the boulder near his home and guess what that little boy's name is?"
"Charlie."
"I knew you were smart," Jack grinned and then started to tickle his son and kiss his neck.
"Stop it, Daddy that tickles."
But Jack tickled harder and Charlie just laughed as hard as he could.
*******
"Sir."
"Yes, Carter, I know we should probably be going."
O'Neill had been sitting along the riverbank for the past few hours as his team continued with their mission routine. The way the river turned and flowed brought back the memories of his afternoons with Charlie and the river they sat by on those sunny days, telling fish stories and learning about the new and exciting world Charlie discovered.
"Sir, is there anything I can do?" Speaking softly and reassuringly Carter came to stand next to him, sensing his sadness as he watched over the water on its journey down the river.
O'Neill looked up into her eyes, questioning what he really wanted to do before, "Sit with me for a little while. I want to tell you a story." Reaching out with his hand to help Carter steady herself, she sat down next to him on the bank of the river.
They settled into the quiet of the afternoon and listened to the breeze sweep over them as he began,
"Did you see that fish jump out there...."
Story Notes: Author's note- This was written as a thank you to a young one. But as everything always becomes better by sharing, I hope you enjoy. Special thanks to Layton, JoJo, and Vicky! Part of the many inspirations that make life worth smiling about.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]