Golden Wound

By Will Harris

That morning I was jumping out of my skin just waiting to go. My dad was going to finally let me go hunting. I had my brand new gun and I was ready to show off my skills to my younger cousins. Unfortunately the day was wrapping up and we had seen only one bird. Finally all the disappointment went away in the blink of an eye when about six flew near us. I was so full of excitement that I didn’t even think. I just shot.  I didn’t even think to look in front of me and make sure no one was there. Luckily my cousin ducked, and I shot about six feet over his head. I was nowhere close to hitting the birds but that was the least of

my concerns. 
         My dad yanked me around as soon as I lowered my gun,  a barrage of spit hit me as he yelled. His face was crimson red and tears started flowing from my eyes. And my tears began to flow as I looked over and realized all of my younger cousins were witnessing this. My dad yanked the gun from my hand so hard that it pulled me with it. With a sense of bitterness still in his voice, he told the guide we were done hunting for the day. When I heard him say that, the knife dug even deeper into me. Not only had I just made the biggest mistake of my life, but also I wouldn’t be given the chance to redeem myself.

               I thought my hunting career was over because of that one mistake. The scene played over and over again in my head like a broken record. The embarrassment ate at me the whole ride home. I didn’t want to look my cousins in the eye because I felt like I had let them down. I kept hanging on the words that had been yelled at me, and they made me feel even more stupid. We finally got home and I got away from my cousins, but that still didn’t help.

            Months later after pleading with my dad to let me go hunting again, he finally gave in and talked with my uncle. I knew this would be the perfect occasion to redeem myself. The image of the last hunt still played in my head, but instead of wallowing in it, I used it to motivate me. I set a goal before the next hunt to be the safest person out in the field. After the hunt the old image finally stopped playing in my head, and I took this as a sign of success. From that point on whenever I got the opportunity to hunt again, it would always be my goal to be the safest person out in the field.