The Fisherman Who Stopped One Of Three

• Maddy Shaw, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2015

One day an old fisherman stops one of the three fish he had just caught in his net from swimming away. The fish had beautiful mother-of-pearl scales and a glistening eye. The fisherman knew he had finally found what he had been looking for in the past 200 years, full of torturing and culling every fish he could get his hands on, trying to find one single, special fish.
In the split second between the times he was in the water and out of the water, the fish knew he had been caught. He gave up and gave in to the fisherman before he got himself into some real trouble. As his gills lacked the humble normality of water pulsing through them, the fish grew weak and tired, until it all became too much and he blacked out completely.
The next day, the fish awoke to ice cold water surrounding his scaly body. The fisherman awoke him from his melancholy slumber of an unstable future. The fish was alive and that was all he really cared about. Soon enough the fish heard the fisherman yelling. “Talk to me you unearthly fish! Talk to me! I know you can!” The fish let out a soft “no”, leaving the fisherman grinning ear to ear. “What is your name, fish?” the fish replied with a reluctant mutter before explaining his name was Tomoki. The fisherman listened on, as to signal he wanted more, but Tomoki remained silent. The fisherman got out a pen and paper and so the questioning began.
“How old are you?” “Where do you come from?” “Where have you been hiding these past 200 years?” All these questions were overwhelming for Tomoki, who ceased to reply. The fisherman sensed Tomoki’s discomfort and decided to tell a story. He told Tomoki all about his adventures on the ocean searching for him. All bickers and fights with an old albatross. How he survived storms on his little, weary boat, just to find Tomoki. Tomoki’s mind was almost at rest until he remembered why he was wanted. He was wanted for experiments and scientific research...or so he thought.
The fisherman spent the last three days explaining why he wanted Tomoki. He wanted him for company, reassurance and knowledge...not money, science or fame. Tomoki all of a sudden felt a pang of guilt. He has spent all these years, hiding from a lonely man who only wanted his presence, to the consequence of many, many other, now culled fish. Tomoki knew what he had to do. He used the last ounce of his magic to bring back the dead, ridding him of his voice. Tomoki knew he could get the fisherman to help him pass down his story through time. From that day forward, Tomoki’s story has been passed through generations, with the help of the fisherman that always stops one of three.