The Old Man and the Sea By: Bell Hurula
There once lived an old man, by the sea. His name was Santiago. Santiago was a fisherman. He usually came home with big fish like marlin and catfish to eat or sell, but lately he hasn’t been able to catch a single fish!
It’s been a couple weeks since Santiago last caught a fish. He breaths to fish, so he never gives up. One cool morning, Santiago woke up from a dream filled with big fish, little fish, blue fish, and any other fish you could think of. He woke up feeling dizzy, and his head pounded. He heard small knocks, at the front door.
“Hello! Santiago? Its Manolin! Let me in! Before I freeze out here!” yelled a faint voice at the front door. “Let your self in! I don’t feel good.” yelled Santiago. Manolin opened the door, and walked thru the hallway towards Santiago’s bedroom.
Manolin was standing besides the entrance of the bedroom door. “So Santiago, have you caught any fish since the last time I came and checked on you?” “No, Manolin. I have not. I dreamt of fish though. Every fish you could possibly dream of. And I even woke up with great satisfaction today.” “What gave you satisfaction?” asked Manolin.
“I caught plenty of fish in my dream Manolin. Like I used to do, when I taught you how to fish.” said Santiago. “I remember that! You took me on some of the best fishing trips in my life! What happened to your luck Santiago?” “My luck still exists. It’s just getting old, kind of like me Manolin.” “You're not old, you're just overused Santiago. Anyways, what makes you think your sick?”
“I woke up with a terrible headache Manolin. The pain started decreasing when I drank my coffee though. Caffeine helps the headache go away. I should be fine soon. Thanks for asking though.” said Santiago. Manolin watched as the old man slowly got out of bed, and put his robe on. “Santiago? How about I help you bring your fishing supplies down to the boat?” “That would be great. Thank you!”
The two men walked towards the dock. When they arrived at Santiago’s boat, Manolin put all the supplies in it. “Thank you very much, Manolin.” “It was no problem.” Santiago watched as Manolin walked away. “Well, its all up to me now.” said Santiago to himself. He unlatched his boat from the dock and started heading out to sea.
The water was beautiful at this time of morning. Santiago loved to watch the sunrise on his boat, and he did this almost every day. Santiago fixed his fishing pole, put a sardine on the hook, and casted it out into the blue waves. He waited there, and watched the sunset, thinking. Thinking of times when he caught the biggest fish the towns ever seen. Times when he made real money, and made some not so real friends, but Manolin.
Out of nowhere he felt his hook bob. He watched as if it was almost a dream, but there it went again. “Finally! This is the first bite I got in almost three weeks!” yelled Santiago. Santiago’s heart pumped with excitement. He knew great determination would pay off.
He fixed the pole, so that he was ready to reel in what was caught. He tried to pull the fish in but it was to heavy, so he sat there and waited for the fish to give up. Nothing seemed to be happening. When Santiago tried to reel the fish in, the line would just tug. Santiago didn’t want the line to snap, so he stopped tugging so hard.
Hours passed, and Santiago got impatient. “Why isn’t the fish even trying?” Santiago questioned. The line stopped moving too. “Oh, please no!” Santiago cried. He rowed his boat close to his bobber, and by hand started pulling up his line. His hands started to hurt, but it was nothing he wasn’t used to.
“Seaweed? Come on!” yelled Santiago. He pulled in his lines and started heading home. When he arrived at the dock, Manolin was waiting there. “Did you catch anything Santiago?” Manolin asked. “Yes i did!” Santiago claimed, “About five pounds of seaweed!”
Santiago tied up his boat to the dock and jumped off leaving the seaweed behind. “Do you want to go catch something to eat Manolin?” Santiago asked. “Uh, yes i would Santiago. But, why don’t you seem just a little bit discouraged?” “Every day is a new day Manolin. You can never give up, or all the time trying, was wasted. I always have tomorrow.” Santiago claimed. The two men walked to the cafe together and Santiago never stopped fishing.
About the Author Bell Hurula lives in Richfield, Wisconsin with her sister and parents. She is sixteen and was born on February 24, 1998. She has one cat, and three dogs. In her free time, she likes to hang out with friends and watch movies. (She is the second one from the bottom left)