I sat there thinking of what I could say to him, “have you caught anything yet?”  ”what bait are you using?”  ”A bit cold out today, right?”  

Unable to find the correct opening, I begun to imagine the man worrying how strange it was to see a gnome sitting beside him, and I worried the opportunity for connection, for friendship had been lost in a few minutes of silence.  Surely too much time had passed for a friendly comment about the weather or his daily fishing.  Finally, having stood up and left the man, I thought about how he may come to that bench everyday and hope for stranger to become a friend.  We were both fishing, I for friendship, he perhaps only for dinner.  I hope his hook did not end as empty as mine.