Runner-Up 1: “Artistic” Category

Mike and Dan attached weights to fishing lines and baited hooks. They cast and waited for the telltale pull. They wanted “Barney”.

Hours dragged by and the sun dimmed. Water splashed; other fish danced on the lake.

Mike and Dan swore they heard laughter as they trudged to their tents.

Eileen McIntyre is a writer from Northern California working on her first mainstream fiction novel. One of her essays will be published in an anthology by the end of the year.