Deep in the Water

A Fisherman's Tale

“There’s more to the story than what he said………”

Back on the river bank, everyone was panic-struck and wondering how Joe was alive. Surely no ordinary man could have survived in the water longer than that. Moreover, he had got a knock on his head, hitting his head on the boat side, knocking him out bad. And yet he was, well, fine and alive!

The fishermen were just watching him.  A quick wash and a few activities and the rest of the day was coming to an end.  From noon till dusk that day Joe Fernandes, was the talk of the town, well, in this case, camp.

He was always that one shy, innocent kid who considered himself introverted but in reality, he was an extrovert.  He was very energetic, lively and active in everything. He was great in all aspects including swimming and so now everyone was awestruck about the incident that took place in the afternoon.  He assured everyone that he was alive and well.

Once supper was over they all went down to the village for a little stroll.  The village was deserted and very quiet.  All the houses were empty and in ruins except the ones that belonged to the fishermen and their families. The men had too finished their meals and were keeping their nets for drying after washing.

“You guys went fishing early today?” asked one of the boys from the group.

“Yes just a while ago before you guys got here,” said the youngest of the fishing gang.

"Did you get anything?"

“Not much, but enough to survive for a few days,” he replied.

One of the girls came up to whom she thought was the leader among them and asked, "Didn’t you say you were going to narrate to us the story of your people and your past?”

The man recalled the incident that took place in the afternoon, remembering the promise he had made to Joe and his group on the boat. He started to feel a bit uneasy but he had to somehow keep his promise.

The sun had set, the moon was high and the waters calm. The night was still young and the fishermen came together and built a little campfire close to the banks of the waters and made everyone sit around it. The women and the children prepared little snacks for all the children to eat while they sat near the men waiting to hear what he had to say to the kids, the campers.

As the fire crackled the fisherman began his story......

“This is a story that took place 15 years ago right here in this one village. Now renamed Nicobari village was once very lively and active filled with people of diverse cultures, stories and jobs. The environment, beauty, castle and waters brought many traders and visitors here. There was a lot of activity here and everyone here lived in peace and harmony and had good relations with one another. It was like there was love and magic in the air. But the real story, like I said earlier, began exactly 15 years ago today. It was one of those bright sunny days when two scientists and explorers like you guys, approximately 28-30 of age,  visited our village to do some underwater research.  I don’t quite remember well the whole story, but all I remember was that there was a man named John along with that scientist who lives in the castle there. I was pretty young back then, almost I think, 12 years of age, when they asked us fishermen, permission to explore the waters. They were also interested in Lord George's study but none of us knew anything of it.

However, a few years passed and they found nothing new. John had a kid by then and the scientist had bought the castle. John his wife and his kid stayed here in our village and visited the scientist in his study.  While he stayed in the castle. My entire generation and I lived here for a long time and I was born and brought up here. As a young fisherboy, I used to go down, curiously, and figure out what exactly they were trying to look for. That’s when I discovered a creature deep in the water having teeth and shapes like that of the extinct sea fish Sketnol and the body and power of Megladon which surely you all know and are aware of.