A Small Assignment
小さな取材
Sarah Vance had dreamed of becoming a reporter for many years.
Last month she finally joined the Riverton Herald, a small local newspaper.
On her first Monday, the handed her a thin brown envelope.
Inside was a short letter that complained about the Elder River.
An old had written that the fish were slowly disappearing.
"I have noticed fewer and fewer fish," the old man had written.
Sarah's called it a small for a beginner.
"Just talk to a few people and write a short piece," he said.
Many young reporters have dreamed of breaking a huge story.
Sarah, too, had imagined writing about crime or politics.
This quiet task about fish felt rather disappointing to her.
Still, she has always believed that every deserves an answer.
So she decided to visit the river before writing anything.
The Elder River ran along the edge of the small town.
For years, families have fished and swum in its clear water.
Now the water looked darker, and few birds rested on its banks.
Sarah met the who had first written the letter.
He showed her the empty nets that he had pulled up that morning.
"The river has changed," he said quietly, staring at the water.
Sarah wrote down every that seemed useful for her story.
She had expected a boring afternoon, but slowly grew inside her.
Something about the dying fish did not seem natural at all.
She has learned that small questions sometimes lead to bigger ones.
That night, Sarah opened her and wrote a single word: why.