Fisherman's Folly Part 2
#4 of fisherman's folly
Fishman's Folly Part two by kaeori based on a dream and a song North Atlantic Oscillation - soft coda
Part two is quite a lot shorter, but part three will be a lot longer
The next morning when I woke kaeori was nowhere to be seen. I slid out of bed and walked over to the large bedroom window which was open, blowing in cool seaside air. It was probably around seven, judging by the sun in the sky. Already there were people walking around, and a few catching their morning meal. Seagulls swooped and squawked in the air. I heard signs of life downstairs and decided to go investigate. Kaeori was already almost finished cooking fish and eggs by the time I got there. there was also a pile of dried seaweed on the counter as well as some bread.
"wow you prepared all that already?" I askedWhich startled the otter."hah yeah, didn't take all that long." he replied casually, though it looked as though he'd put alot of effort into it.We divided up the food and I waited until the kaeori started to eat so I could see what to do with this odd assortment of food. I watched the otter put a slab of fish on his bread, then the dried seaweed and then the egg and take a big bite out of it. He sighed blissfully I took my odd mix of ingredients and arranged them as he had. Surprisingly it was pretty good; it didn't take either of us very long to finish off our meals. I washed dishes which the otter ran upstairs "to go do something"When he came back down he was armed with his sketchbook and pencils. He had also put on a beautiful medallion that looked oddly familiar. My stomach turned when I realized why it was so familiar it was golden with small teal stones embedded in it in the shape of a wave.
"kaeori... Where did you get that?" I asked rather shakily
"this? It's a family heirloom passed down through many generations no ones really sure how old it is. There was also matching rings but those have since been lost" the otter said sadly.
I sighed "come on kaeori let's go find somewhere to sit, I'll tell you a story"
We decided on a spot by the seashore not too far from his house on a natural stretch of beach. We settled on some rocks and kaeori started sketching and I started telling the tale of that fateful day. How I'd set out early that morning, how no one had seen me leave. I told him about that bright blue sky, almost completely cloudless that morning. All he time the otter kept sketching, though still listening. I then told him about the heavy net load and what I found in it.
"kaeori, stop sketching for a sec" I said. He looked up from his drawing.
"when I reached into that net to see what that glimmer was I pulled out a ring; but not just any ring. It had the same designs as your pendant.. Gold and teal."
Kaeori thought for a minute about the implications of what I had just said sink in. "just like my parents' rings" he finally said, very quietly nearly a whisper.
I just nodded. What else could I do? I hated to be the bearer of bad news but I figured he was better off knowing than wondering for the rest of his life. After a little while I continued with my story.
"what happened next though was crazy, I can't explain it. One moment the sky was blue then right after I picked up the ring it went black, it completely blocked out the sun!" I exclaimed, he just listened avidly. "and you should heard the thunder and seen the waves, bigger than any I've ever seen my whole life. I nearly died, I could barely keep bailing the water as fast as it came in and at some point the ring got washed back into the water again" I could picture it so clearly in my mind still. "then right after that the storm stopped and there wasn't a single cloud... Just suddenly gone! Then after that I came here" I chuckled "I don't think I'd ever been been so happy to see a town my entire life, I honestly thought I was fish feed!"
Kaeori was quiet a little longer before speaking up.
"but that still doesn't explain how you got here or what it has to do with my parents ring" he puzzled
I shrugged "your guess is as good as mine, though it seems like that ring caused the storm when I touched it; it's as if by touching it it opened up a gateway to your world.. Maybe that's what happened to your parents too?"
The green eyed otter nodded "but that makes no sense, they wore those rings everyday so I don't see how touching then would make any difference." Kaeori's appeared deep in thought as if trying to pull some memory or thought from the deepest reaches of his brain.
"mom and dad always did say the jewelry had it's own power but they would never tell me any more than that 'until I was older' a lot of good that does me now" he said a little bitterly but then cheered up
"I know! You can try touching my pendant, maybe it'll do something!" he said excitedly
"dude, no way in hell I'm touching that last time I touched a piece of that jewellery I almost died, besides, who knows what'll happen if I do" I said, backing away.
Kaeori got a very deviant playful look on his face, i didn't like it at all "oh come on Luke, you're on land now, nothing bad is gonna happen"
"nuh-uh I ain't touchin it" I said
"come on, you know you wanna" he said teasing me.
"touch it touchittouchit!!" he nearly yelled running right at me, pendant in hand.
"hell no!" I yelled "get away from me" I said, bolting down the beach with him not far behind, dodging through the rocks. Personally I think he just enjoyed teasing me.. Maybe a little too much; but then again he was an otter, weren't they supposed to be playful?
I was too busy looking to see how close he was when I tripped; and just like that he was on me, devious grin and all. Though his features softened when he saw the look of true fright in my eyes.
"oh come on luke, you know I'd never force you to touch it I was just teasing you" he smiled, less evilly this time.
After that time we bonded pretty well and soon days turned into weeks and soon I'd forgotten how long I'd been there. In that time me and kaeori became best of buds and possibly more. but there was always that nagging feeling in the back of my mind, wondering about how to get back home.
One morning it just clicked! I remembered how heavy my nets had been when I was fishing close to the ring and heaviest of all when I had it! It was so simple, all I had to do was fish where there was most fish. It was still pretty early, the sun was only just starting to peek over the horizon. So instead of waking the otter I settled on leaving a note, then quietly slipping on some clothes, down the stairs and out towards my boat
***
I woke with a yawn and thumped my tail against the bed, reaching over to pull Luke closer to me. We really had grown a lot closer over the weeks And slowly I was letting in on how much I'd grown fond of him. I didn't want him to disappear or go away afraid he'd just slip through my fingers like others in my life had.
I freaked out a bit when I realized he wasn't in bed. I sat up quickly "luke?!" I called out. Then I noticed his note "gone for some early morning fishing. Be back in a few Luke"
I sighed, feeling a bit hurt that he hadn't included me on this trip but decided not to think to much into it.I went downstairs to go cook a quick breakfast. It was amazing how fast I'd become attached to Luke almost scary even. I'd tried to keep him busy doing things so he would forget about going back where he came from. It seemed to work for the most part although sometimes he still got a distant far off look in his eyes. I guessed this was just one of those mornings he needed some alone time.
After lunch I walked to the harbor to go sit on one of the piers saying my hellos to the people I knew on the way. I sat down on the weathered wood smelling the sea below And heartily the gulls squawking above in the air. I always thought it would be cool to be able to fly I mused as I watched them ride the currents of air.
Then I saw lukes boat come into view of the cove. Slowly but surely he made his way back, he had to paddle the whole way seeing as he had no more gas for his motor. I just sat on the pier and watched, just glad to see him again.
When he got close I could see he had a fair amount of fish in his boat and when he saw me he grinned. I walked along the concrete harbor while he rowed to the boat launch.
I greeted him when he got there, feeling in a better mood already, not that he was back.
"how's it going mr adventurer" I said playfully.
"pretty good! Guess what kaeori" he said excitedly
"oh I dunno, you saw a mermaid?" I said grinning
"no you goofy water boy, I found a way to find the ring again!"
That struck a wrong cord in my heart. My tail drooped, probably enough for him to notice
"it came to me this morning when I woke up early, I remembered that my nets felt heaviest when I was closest to the ring. So all I gotta do is find where the fish gather most" he said proudly
I nodded and then smiled weakly. As much as I wanted to find one of my parents rings I didn't. I knew that it would mean luke disappearing just like he had come.
"that's great and all but why do you want to leave, aren't you happy here?! Why do you want to leave?" I said with a slightly desperate tinge worming it's way into my voice.
Luke noticed this and put his hands on my shoulders, looking right at me with those golden brown eyes of his.
"kaeori kaeori kaeori.. I am happy here, you make me very happy" he said honestly. I couldn't help my tail going a bit rigid as he said that. "but you have to understand, I still miss home"
"but this is your home now" I said hopefully
"well for the foreseeable future, yes it is. Now let's get these fish over to your house" Luke said, obviously trying to put me in a better mood. It worked.
We carried the fish back to my house and fried them up and made a big meal of them. The salmon was especially tasty. After that we played cards and talked late into the night. When we both decided it was time for bed we traipsed upstairs and got into bed. As far as I was concerned every night I had Luke in my bed was a good night. Luke was looking at my walls of paintings and drawings.
"I see a few new ones up there" he commented, grinning.
Indeed there were a few new ones and they were of him
I just nodded and turned to blow out the light.
"night luke" I said
"goodnight" he replied.