Three Brothers' Way

golden sunset in a hazy summer day in Georgia. three brothers long estranged step gently through matted thorns. comes a clearing by a pond. one brother speaks. another points. and the third lifts his gun and fires. the blast sends ringing ears and gun-flashed acrid smell, flocks of birds take flight. a stick leaps from the pond -- tumbling and twisting in air, spraying golden droplets of bitter-stagnant water. ripples dash over the surface -- bouncing through cattails and wrapping ‘round stumps. the blast’s echo dies away and the pond settles down. the brothers sit on moss-covered earth with ill-timed humor and stilted laughter. the sunset shines violet now. and from somewhere nearby, an owl hoots.