Into the Sea

5

The fisherman could feel her eyes watching him as he cooked.

He had fetched two small, fat flounder he had caught and cleaned early that morning, when the sea was cool. He lay them in his large iron pan and put them over the right firepit. Then he reached into one of the many small clay jars stacked on a shelf above the firepit and took out a pinch of herbs. He sprinkled them over the hot pan and instantly their aroma filled the air.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, flipping the fish in the pan. They settled back again the metal with a hiss.

"Fine. Tired. Hungry." The girl eyed the sizzling pan, and now it was clear it was food she craved. "How long did I sleep for?"

"About three days," the fisherman said. He flipped the fish once more. Outside, the rain had intensified, and the sound of it pattering from the eaves filled the cottage.

"I must have been gone a while then."

"Hmm?" The fisherman slipped the two fish, cooked golden brown, onto a plate, and turned toward the girl.

"The longer I am gone, the longer it takes to come back," she explained.

The fisherman did not question her words. Instead he held out the plate, from which a tempting aroma wafted. The girl quickly pulled herself up in the bed, propped her back against the pillow, and balanced the plate on her knees.

The fisherman was about to offer her utensils when the girl picked up the first flounder, gingerly holding the hot fish between her finger tips, and shoved it head first into her pretty mouth.

In three bites it was gone. The fisherman blinked, wondering if his eyes had misseen.

"It is good to see you have an appettite," he said.

"Mhmgmff." The girl had already started on the second fish. Grease ran down her lips. Then she froze, and withdrew the fish from her mouth. "What will you eat?" she asked, looking down at the empty plate on her knees.

"There are many more fish outside," he said absently, shrugging a shoulder at the door. "And in here." He nodded to the strings of above.

The girl needed no more urging. She began to devour the second flounder.

The fisherman was surprised. She did not seem scared or unnerved by her situation. Waking up in an unknown place with an unknown man. She was so carefree and... uninterested. It was almost like it had happened before.

The fisherman had a thousand questions he longed to ask, but he sat and waited patiently while the girl ate.

He did not have to wait long. The second flounder dissapeared as fast as the first, and the girl sat back, licking the spices and oil from her fingers and lips."So, you saved me from the sea, did you? Who are you?"

"I am a fisherman."

"I can see that. Who are you? What name am I to call my brave savior by?"

"Hao Min. Ren Hao Min." The girl quirked one slender eyebrow at him, wanting an explanation of the characters.

The fisherman blushed. "It means 'Vast Strong Net'. My father was also a fisherman."

The girl threw back her head and laughed. Her laughter was at his expense, but he found he didn't mind it at all.

He smiled. "And what should I call you, oh Woman from the Sea?"

Immediately the girl's expression changed. "Call me what you like. It doesn't matter."

The fisherman's heart dropped, along with his eyes. He knew what her words said. She does not mean to stay long.

He looked up, to find the girl watching him, her eyes on his own. Hungry eyes.