Spring in Lika is always late, just as winter always arrives early. But now it had finally come\u2014green and lush, a true Lika spring.<\/p>\n
It was Sunday morning, May 4, 1980. Gospi\u0107 was drenched in rain, which had been falling steadily all morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoys, we’re going fishing today,\u201d Uncle Niko Brklja\u010di\u0107, our next-door neighbour and one of the best fishermen in Gospi\u0107, said cheerfully. \u201cThe rain will stop soon, and then, as I’ve told you so many times, that’s when the fish bite best. We’re going to the Jadova; it’s full of pior<\/em> right now.\u201d<\/p>\n His son Boris, a year younger than me, needed no second invitation. And I was in the grip of fishing fever too. How many days had Boro and I spent at the Gospi\u0107 weir, luring fish with worms we bought beneath the dried hides at the nearby tannery by the mill? And as for the junior fishing championship across from \u201cObala ljubavi\u201d on Gospi\u0107’s Brioni, don’t even get me started.<\/p>\n Around noon we got into Niko’s \u201cAmi 8\u201d and set off toward Vrebac, above which a rainbow was just beginning to appear.<\/p>\n We reached the Jadova, wading through lush grass covered in dew.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ll fish over there, by that willow. We’ll catch pior<\/em> like never before,\u201d Niko said knowingly, pulling a fairly large plastic barrel out of the trunk.<\/p>\n And sure enough. No sooner had we cast our lines than the pior<\/em> started biting. Two or three hours had barely passed before we had almost filled the barrel to the top.<\/p>\n And pior<\/em> is a tiny fish, barely a handspan long. But it is delicious\u2014sweeter than trout. And it can be sold for a good price.<\/p>\n Comrade Mil\u010dek, a music teacher and, like Uncle Niko, one of the better fishermen in Gospi\u0107, bought fish from local fishermen. And he paid immediately.<\/p>\n Already Boro and I were beginning to dream about what we would do with the money from our catch.<\/p>\n Recently it had become fashionable to put \u201cbanana\u201d seats on ponies<\/em>. One could occasionally find them in the shop run by Ante Daja, right next to the old bridge. We’d go tomorrow and see if they had any.<\/p>\n We could also put a \u201cfish-eye\u201d light on the bicycle. Ante Daja’s shop sold fishing tackle too.<\/p>\n And if there was any money left, we could go to the department store. They had some really good bait and lures there.<\/p>\n Lost in these dreams, we began carrying the barrel full of pior<\/em> to the car and headed back to Gospi\u0107.<\/p>\n At around four in the afternoon we arrived in \u017dabica, outside Comrade Mil\u010dek’s house. We rang the bell and waited impatiently for him to appear.<\/p>\n And there he was, his face covered in tears.<\/p>\n \u201cComrade Mil\u010dek, we’ve brought you fish\u2014pior<\/em>, at least a hundred of them,\u201d Boro and I blurted out almost simultaneously. But we could see that something was wrong, and we anxiously waited for his reply.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m not buying fish today. They’ve just announced it. Comrade Tito has died,\u201d Mil\u010dek replied and closed the door.<\/p>\n Like in a cartoon, the little cloud of dreams above our heads suddenly burst.<\/p>\n No \u201cbanana\u201d seats, no new bait, lures, or other fishing delights.<\/p>\n Soaked through, as if the rain had only just begun to pour rather than having fallen all morning, we headed home.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are we going to do with all this fish?\u201d we asked Uncle Niko.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing. It won’t go to waste,\u201d Niko replied, then continued:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we get home, we’ll give them to Nada and Milka\u2014Boro’s mother and mine\u2014to pack into bags. Then you two go from door to door around the neighbourhood. I’m sure everyone will be happy to receive this sweet little pior<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Evening was falling over Gospi\u0107. The neighbourhood near Kolakovac smelled of freshly fried fish, while reports about Comrade Tito were coming from the television.<\/p>\n Tito was better known as a hunter, after all.<\/p>\n If he had been a fisherman, Boro and I thought, he would have waited just a few more hours\u2014long enough for us to make it to Comrade Mil\u010dek in time\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jovica Krtini\u0107<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"atribut":[30],"class_list":["post-5273","artikl","type-artikl","status-publish","hentry","atribut-poems"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n