I walked down the long path that led away from the village to the , holding a long fishing pole in one hand. Mira jumped happily right next to , humming a cheerful tune. She was swinging a small bucket in her hand.
"Are you sure you know how to fish, Ren?" she asked,
"Know how to fish?" I laughed, puffing out my chest to look bigger. "Mira, you are looking at a true master fisher. Where I co from, fishing is an art. It takes skill, a lot of brain power, and very fast hands. Today, the great Ren Valecrest is going to teach you all his secret moves about fishing."
"Wow," she said, but she did not look very convinced. "Uncle Korin usually just punches the water really hard until the dead fish float to the top."
"Well, Korin is a barbarian," I said, shaking my head. "We are going to use style and grace. We will outsmart the fish."
We walked a bit further until we reached the river. The water was very clear and moving fast over smooth, gray stones. It was the perfect place for a quiet, relaxing afternoon.
"Rule number one," I said, pointing a finger high in the air. "A good fisherman always knows how to pick the best spot."
I spent ten minutes just looking at the water, rubbing my chin, and pretending I knew exactly what I was doing. Honestly, I had only gone fishing twice in my whole life before I ca to this world. And both tis, my grandpa did all the hard work while I ate sandwiches. But I could not let Mira know that. I had to look cool and smart.
"Here," I pointed to a random flat rock near the edge. "This is the spot. I can feel it. The biggest fish are definitely hiding under that big log over there."
Mira sat on the soft grass, holding her empty bucket in her lap. "Okay, Master Ren. Show how a true fisherman catches fish."
I took out a small piece of at from my pocket to use as bait. I carefully placed it onto the sharp little iron hook.
"Rule number two," I told her, holding the pole with both of my hands. "It is all in the wrist. You cannot just throw it. You have to whip the line out smoothly."
I pulled the pole back behind my head, took a very deep breath, and threw it forward with all the strength in my arms.
SNAP.
The line did not go into the river. Instead, it whipped backward very fast and wrapped tightly around the thick branch of a tall tree right behind us. The hook got completely stuck in the wood. Mira blinked her eyes slowly. "Are we fishing for birds?"
"No," I replied quickly. My face felt very hot and red. "That was just a... practice throw. I was testing the wind. You always have to test the wind, Mira."
It took twenty minutes and a whole lot of jumping to get the hook down from the tree. I even scraped my hand on the rough bark. By the ti I finally fixed the line, I was sweating heavily and breathing hard.
"Okay, let’s try again," I said, wiping my sweat. This ti, I did not swing my arms so hard. The hook made a quiet plop as it hit the water and sank slowly.
"Now, rule number three," I said, sitting down carefully on the flat rock. "We wait. Fishing is all about being quiet and having a lot of patience." We sat in complete silence for three minutes.
"I’m bored," Mira said loudly.
"Shh," I hushed her quickly. "You will scare the fish away."
Ten minutes passed and nothing happened. The water just kept moving. Fifteen minutes passed. The sun was getting very hot on my neck. My back was starting to hurt from sitting on the hard rock. I was starting to think the fish in this river were all on vacation.
Suddenly, the line pulled hard! The tip of the pole bent down sharply toward the water.
"I got one!" I yelled, jumping up to my feet in excitent. "Mira, get the bucket ready! It is a big one!"
"Wow! Pull it up!" she cheered, jumping up and down on the grass.
I pulled the pole with all my strength. I deliberately used the strength of a mortal to get the actual feeling of fishing. "It is fighting so hard! This must be a giant river beast fish! I have to use all my power!"
I planted my feet in the dirt and gave one final, massive pull. The line flew completely out of the water and smacked right in the face. A heavy, wet object slapped against my cheek and fell into the mud with a wet thud.
We both looked down at the ground.
It was not a giant river beast. It was not even a small fish. It was an old, muddy, green boot. It was covered in gross sli and slled completely terrible. Mira looked at the slly green boot. Then she slowly looked up at .
"Master Ren," she said in a very serious voice. "Did the old boot put up a good fight?"
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow whole. "Shut up."
After one whole hour of catching three more dead leaves, a second boot that did not match the first one, and almost hooking my own ear by accident, I sat in the dirt, feeling completely defeated. My clothes were soaked with dirty river water, my hair was a wild ss, and my pride was completely gone.
"Fishing is stupid," I muttered angrily, crossing my arms over my chest.
Mira walked over and patted my back gently. "It is okay, Ren. Everyone is bad at sothing."
"I am not bad at it," I grumbled.
Mira stood up and stretched her tiny arms above her head. "Can I try now, Master Ren?"
"Go ahead," I sighed heavily. "But do not be sad if you do not catch anything. I am a master and even I couldn’t do it."
Mira did not take the fishing pole from my hands. Instead, she walked right to the very edge of the water. She rolled up her tiny sleeves above her elbows.
"What are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She closed her eyes tightly and placed both of her bare hands flat on the surface of the moving water. "Mira, be careful, the water is dangerous." I warned her, standing up quickly.
Suddenly, the water erupted. It was like a giant bomb went off right under the riverbed.
SPLASH!
A huge wave of water flew everywhere, completely washing over and soaking from head to toe. I spit out a mouthful of muddy river water and rubbed my eyes.
"What in the world..." I choked, coughing up water.
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