A short story by rachelmeow

If you missed DAY ONE, you can read it here.

Casting my line, I sat back down staring at my dumbo octopus. Before leaving port, one of those fishers said it’s not worth to sell it.

Eagerly I counted my catch. Whiptail stingray, payara, cutthroat trout, lionfish tail, wait a minute! How can a cutthroat trout be here, aren’t they freshwater fishes?

Blanket octopus. Looks good I guess?

Sigh, It’s getting dark. Better finish off with one more fish.

Hope It’s good.

Tug. Tug.

As i reeled it up, all I saw was a tiny one. Meh. Just a small fish. But as i flung it in the air, I’ve never seen this kind of fish before. It had a bulging eye. Tiny arms. It just had a weird yucky feeling to it.

But none the less, I’ll have to put it behind and go back.

As I reached port, everyone glanced at me with strange looks. I dumped my catch in front of the fish guy, extending out my hand. He looked through my catch.

‘Fourteen,’ he mumbled, sliding over the money.

I looked down, all the fishes on the left side while that weird fish with big eyes on the right.

‘How about that?’ I asked, pointing at it.

‘Oh, you must be a new guy, foul fish like this aren’t worth anything here,’ he spat. ‘Now leave!’

Stepping back, I turned around whilst grabbing the slimy fish. A nearby fisher, looked quite experienced by his ripped-up-and-worn-out outfit, approached me.

‘Throw it away, trust me. I’ve seen many fishers get sick from that guy.’ he said poking at the fish.

‘Hey wait a minute!’ I yelled, chasing up to him. ‘I found a cutthroat trout but isn’t that a fresh water fish?’

‘Well, some fish just come and go.’

Follow Bert’s next catch in Deep Regrets Day Three.

Preamble

rachelmeow is the pen name for Rachel Au, our resident OTK Imp. Ever since we brought her along to Essen Spiel in 2015 – when she was just a 6 mth old baby – she has picked up the board gaming bug. These days, you can spot her at most of our meetups; usually joining a game, sometimes teaching or facilitating, sometimes just chilling. She plays all sorts of games, tho thematic coop is her fave.

During one of the Casual Fridays, instead of jumping into a session, Rachel decided to sit back, followed the game play from the sidelines, and turn what she observed into a short story. And that’s how this short story piece came about. I thought this is a refreshing change of pace as it offers a narrative departure from the usual game reviews, sessreps, and board game news. Hope you enjoy the read!