Luck is something many of us have on our sides. Others, not so much. For every person that finds $5 on the ground, there's another whose car gets stolen. But, as we will learn today, some bad luck is rarer than winning the lottery...
My parents had been looking forward to the fishing trip for months. They had recently discovered there was a creek not far from where we lived. Well, I guess it was more like a fish farm, or something like that. We could pay to fish there for a few hours, and any fish we caught we could take home with us.
Now, when I imagined a creek, I imagined a stream with land on either side of it, something you'd find in the middle of the woods. This body of water was much larger. Large enough that a boat could fit on it. In fact, as we approached, there was a boat on the water. But as we got closer, I saw that the water wasn't very deep.
But the closer we got to the boat, the weirder things got. Why was the boat not moving? And why were there people surrounding it on either side of the creek? At first I thought maybe the boat was stuck, but it didn't seem like there was any effort to move the boat at all.
"What's going on here?" my dad muttered.
We approached the crowd of people and he repeated his question with a bit more concern.
"We're here to appease the Fish God Yolkshire," replied a man in a yellow shirt and a grey baseball cap.
"What?" my dad asked, dumbfounded. "How does that explain anything?"
The man in the yellow shirt turned back to him. "You must be new here." He turned around fully to face us, his eyes squinting as the sun was partially in them. "A few days ago, the family on this boat was marooned. I know, you'd think they could just pull into shore like normal, but the fish weren't having it. Every time they tried pulling the boat closer to land, the fish somehow shifted the current or something and pushed it back. One of them tried to get out and swim to shore, but they never made it. Well, never made it alive, that is."
My parents and I thought this guy was crazy. I mean, how were we supposed to believe that some random fish wouldn't let people leave their boats?
I think the man knew we didn't believe him, so he urged us to come to the front. "Here, maybe you can have a look in the water yourselves,"
He shooed people out of the way as he moved us closer to the water, our fishing gear still in hand.
As we peered into the muddied water, we could barely make out some movement beneath the surface. There were a ton of dark colored fish swimming about, charging from side to side, surrounding the hull of the boat. They moved as if they were agitated.
I looked up to the top of the boat to see a man, a child, and a woman. They were leaning over the side of the boat, peering into the water. The looks on their face spoke volumes of the dread they must be feeling.
The man turned to us. "Now do you believe me?"
My parents and I nodded. "Has anyone tried getting them off the boat?" my dad asked. "Maybe airlifting them or putting something down for them to walk across?"
The man nodded solemnly. "We've tried everything we could. The best we can do is try our best to calm the fish down and providing the people on the boat food by tossing it onboard."
"So, what was this about a Fish God?" my mom chimed in.
The man chuckled softly, his gaze at the ground before turning to us. "You must know there are some crazy folks in this small town. They believe that the fish that gave birth to all these babies swimming around is some kind of a fish God named Yolkshire. Now, I know, that must sound ridiculous. I know I do. But they think their mother is angry about all her babies being snatched up, so it's making its babies go after people. Starting with the people on the boat."
I felt a knot forming in my stomach. We'd come here to fish and the fish weren't having it. But them somehow becoming smart enough and vengeful enough to trap an innocent family on a boat in the middle of the water is insane. I mean, how unlucky must they be?
Looking at the ground, it almost looked like some kind of a shrine or something. There were freshly baked pies, candles, picture frames, flowers, small metallic trinkets, all splayed across the sand. So many people had come out in hopes that this comes to an end. But I was confused about the pies. Do fish even eat pies?
Suddenly, a loud wood cracking sound rang through the air. We looked in the direction it came from and saw a large creature swimming through the water, heading straight for the boat. The monster was massive, barely able to cover itself in the water as it swam.
It got closer to the boat and roared its ugly head over the water. It opened its mouth and swallowed the boat whole, including the people onboard...
My parents had been looking forward to the fishing trip for months. They had recently discovered there was a creek not far from where we lived. Well, I guess it was more like a fish farm, or something like that. We could pay to fish there for a few hours, and any fish we caught we could take home with us.
Now, when I imagined a creek, I imagined a stream with land on either side of it, something you'd find in the middle of the woods. This body of water was much larger. Large enough that a boat could fit on it. In fact, as we approached, there was a boat on the water. But as we got closer, I saw that the water wasn't very deep.
But the closer we got to the boat, the weirder things got. Why was the boat not moving? And why were there people surrounding it on either side of the creek? At first I thought maybe the boat was stuck, but it didn't seem like there was any effort to move the boat at all.
"What's going on here?" my dad muttered.
We approached the crowd of people and he repeated his question with a bit more concern.
"We're here to appease the Fish God Yolkshire," replied a man in a yellow shirt and a grey baseball cap.
"What?" my dad asked, dumbfounded. "How does that explain anything?"
The man in the yellow shirt turned back to him. "You must be new here." He turned around fully to face us, his eyes squinting as the sun was partially in them. "A few days ago, the family on this boat was marooned. I know, you'd think they could just pull into shore like normal, but the fish weren't having it. Every time they tried pulling the boat closer to land, the fish somehow shifted the current or something and pushed it back. One of them tried to get out and swim to shore, but they never made it. Well, never made it alive, that is."
My parents and I thought this guy was crazy. I mean, how were we supposed to believe that some random fish wouldn't let people leave their boats?
I think the man knew we didn't believe him, so he urged us to come to the front. "Here, maybe you can have a look in the water yourselves,"
He shooed people out of the way as he moved us closer to the water, our fishing gear still in hand.
As we peered into the muddied water, we could barely make out some movement beneath the surface. There were a ton of dark colored fish swimming about, charging from side to side, surrounding the hull of the boat. They moved as if they were agitated.
I looked up to the top of the boat to see a man, a child, and a woman. They were leaning over the side of the boat, peering into the water. The looks on their face spoke volumes of the dread they must be feeling.
The man turned to us. "Now do you believe me?"
My parents and I nodded. "Has anyone tried getting them off the boat?" my dad asked. "Maybe airlifting them or putting something down for them to walk across?"
The man nodded solemnly. "We've tried everything we could. The best we can do is try our best to calm the fish down and providing the people on the boat food by tossing it onboard."
"So, what was this about a Fish God?" my mom chimed in.
The man chuckled softly, his gaze at the ground before turning to us. "You must know there are some crazy folks in this small town. They believe that the fish that gave birth to all these babies swimming around is some kind of a fish God named Yolkshire. Now, I know, that must sound ridiculous. I know I do. But they think their mother is angry about all her babies being snatched up, so it's making its babies go after people. Starting with the people on the boat."
I felt a knot forming in my stomach. We'd come here to fish and the fish weren't having it. But them somehow becoming smart enough and vengeful enough to trap an innocent family on a boat in the middle of the water is insane. I mean, how unlucky must they be?
Looking at the ground, it almost looked like some kind of a shrine or something. There were freshly baked pies, candles, picture frames, flowers, small metallic trinkets, all splayed across the sand. So many people had come out in hopes that this comes to an end. But I was confused about the pies. Do fish even eat pies?
Suddenly, a loud wood cracking sound rang through the air. We looked in the direction it came from and saw a large creature swimming through the water, heading straight for the boat. The monster was massive, barely able to cover itself in the water as it swam.
It got closer to the boat and roared its ugly head over the water. It opened its mouth and swallowed the boat whole, including the people onboard...
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