The Fishing Trip

• Inara Ahmed, Grade 3, Abbotsleigh School
• Short Story
• 2019

Finalist in the 'Just Keep Writing 2019' competition

Maple and her friends were perched on a bank, catching fish.
Dark ominous clouds banked overhead. Birds fluttered restlessly into a dark leaden sky. Frequent gusts of wind heralded the approaching storm.
“I was really hoping we would catch more than twenty fish.’’ Dara said hopefully gazing at the endless, turquoise ocean that had suddenly turned a bit sinister.
“I am sure we will. We have got six expert fishers and two fishers who are learning.” Maple replied confidently, turning her head to look fondly at her friends.
So far as a group, they had caught only eight fish in a variety of sizes and colours; six small fish that they would probably throw back, a medium-sized fish would make a delicious dinner; and one big fish that would make the perfect selfie.
Suddenly, Maple felt her fishing rod hurling her towards the ocean by a fish writhing desperately to be free and to continue to live its life. It was a tug of war. Maple had just finished her school athletics carnival winning the tug of war competition and was determined to succeed again. But this war was different; and she soon found that she couldn't pull the fish out of the ocean. She refused to let go. Her fishing rope bent like a rainbow. The fish desperately swam deeper into the ocean and she was coming along for the ride; wet. She was petrified. She muttered "swim Maple". At her swimming carnival, the crowd cheered:
“Ma-pool cha cha cha, Ma-pool cha cha”.
But there was no crowd today. Just her and the fish.
"Where is Maple?" Dara questioned; whizzing her head vigorously around.
She looked out to sea and spotted Maple’s hands flailing holding onto her rod like the person in the front seat of a tumultuous roller coaster. Maple was a fish out of water.
Meanwhile, Maple’s struggled continued. She could feel waves crashing above; and saw piles of soft sand below. She felt like she was sinking; but knew she wasn't. She was Ma-pool. She could hear the mysterious creatures surrounding her; and tasted the salty water in a fight she was slowly losing. She tried to be courageous.
Suddenly, she poked her head above the bobbing water. Her fishing rod was gone; but serendipitously a whale was under her. She felt equanimous as the whale carried her safely back to shore.
Maple’s eagle eyes spied the bank which commenced her incredible journey. She disembarked from the whale and thankfully clambered like a crab back onto the shore. Her friends rushed to her and started hugging her so tight she almost got strangled!
When they did, 13 fish that were stuck to her, dropped. They had reached their goal of catching 20 fish! Some were given to the whale; some were eaten that night for a scrumptious dinner; and a selfie with biggest fish adorns Maple’s bedroom wall, reminding her of the indelible memory of the fishing trip.