As the turning of the tide reached its peak he watched the water in its pace eat away at the small wall of sand carving into it, calving chunks of sand that tumbled into the turbulent wash and dissolved. Moving closer to the water he stood where the sand broke away and let the foundation disappear beneath him until he was ankle deep in water and sinking slowly as the water eroded the sand from around his feet. On the opposite bank a young boy cast his line downstream in the hope of a bite or maybe for no other reason than standing on the bank of the river and letting time slip away and through and under and over the lure bobbing on the surface. He wanted to step into the flow and be washed downstream and be snagged by the hook and hoped the young boy, this shadow of himself with the naïve audacity of youth, had enough strength to reel him in and save him.
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 