The Snowfly (62 page)

EPILOGUE

All of this was a long time ago. I did not intend to write about it, any of it, but Janey convinced me I should. Most of the time, I suppose, I couldn't write about it. There were just no words. I thought of it as a curse, but Janey insists that all things have a purpose and it's what we do with them that matters. The snowfly had brought us together, she said, which made it a gift. Ours.

Maybe.

Curiosity is also a gift, but too much, and it becomes something else. There is much in our world yet to discover, but discoveries always extract a price.

I once asked Father Buzz how I could separate passion from obsession.

He thought for a while. “Do what's inside you and let God keep score.”

We are different people at different times in our lives.

I was driven to search and almost missed what is most precious.

Life, I discovered, is not about the unknown. Life is defined by what we make out of what is and the comfort that comes with such knowledge. It's hard enough to take care of what you have, and simplicity is the most complex thing in the world to maintain.

But sometimes, when the air is dry and dust devils soar, or when lightning bugs hover over the ground like frail votives, I close my eyes and see the Rathead drinking pure water or feel the weight at the end of my line and see a snowstorm of white flies and that magnificent fish defying gravity, and I think it turned out better than I might have hoped. Certainly better than I deserved.

Those who've gone up the creek and returned will know what I mean.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Heywood is the author of
Covered Waters
(Lyons),
The Berkut, Taxi Dancer, The Domino Conspiracy—
and all the novels comprising the Woods Cop Mystery Series. Featuring Grady Service, a detective in the Upper Peninsula for Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, this series has earned its author cult status among lovers of the outdoors, law enforcement officials, and mystery devotees.

Heywood is also the author of
Red Jacket
, the first historical novel in a series featuring Rough Rider-turned-game warden Lute Bapcat.

Heywood lives in Portage, Michigan.

 

For more on Joseph Heywood, visit his website at
josephheywood.com
.