Lily of the Valley - Stardew Valley - Sebastian

Chapter 16

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For the next few days I tried to avoid anything that had the ability to move. I hadn't heard anything from the others, not even Sebastian. But I thought this was only because I had basically locked myself inside the house.

This phase of exile didn't last for long, though. On Saturday I got a letter in the mail from Willy inviting me to a fishing thing that very day. Apparently, it was some kind of 'Trout Derby' festival that had arrived in town for the weekend and settled down by the river.

Some utter maniacs had found themselves there as well. The whole thing seemed to be some serious business for most of them.

Nearly everyone there was from out of town. With their little rods happily swinging around they all followed the calm waters as it quietly waved around. They were even dressed appropriately in little colorful raincoats. Even Willy had one.

"Don't lean! You'll fall over." He warned and motioned me to back off from the edge of the river. I had tried to get a better view of the hook beneath the surface as nothing seemed to get stuck on it.

"Hmm, alright. Alright! I'll move." I was sure he just wanted the better spot. Just to annoy him I reeled the line back from the water with such precision it took double the time it usually took. It was amusing to watch him just stand there with such desperation.

Still, I gave it up and traveled a bit higher up in the course.

"Ah, perfect." A bit swaying to the side he pranced to the spot and muttered to himself seemingly pleased. Turning to me he pointed at the waters and stated. "It's a deep spot. That's good."

I nudged a bit closer and sat next to him. It had rained the day before and the ground was still a bit damp. Unfortunately, Willy hadn't thought of informing me about the dress code and so felt extremely unprotected.

Having to watch by as Willy dragged up fish after fish while my rod was left noticeably untouched lit an entirely new kind of rage under my heart.

Following the fish struggle against the hook's pull I slowly rotated the rod around in my hands. There was a slight red mark of blood left on the grass from the previous catch. It will probably be gone before tomorrow. They had promised rain for the night.

"Willy," I started, still deep in thought. "Do fish feel pain?"

"Hmm. Maybe a bit. Not like us, though. But they do live, like we." He wondered. His voice was steady and quiet, unlike mine, trying desperately not to disturb the waters. I nodded along with a serious frown.

Unfortunately, this made it possible for the next topic to be brought up.

Willy nudged my side a bit and asked. "Heard about your wound, by the way. Ugly business, ugly. Healed well, though?"

"It's fine." I spat. I wondered who had let the information out since I didn't remember telling him about it. Harvey wouldn't speak a word, neither could Maru. Sebastian, Sam or Abby all felt too unlikely.

Willy had already caught five tough fishes and I had managed to snap the only seam off my rod. Willy looked at my sorrowful show with amusement which only threw me off even more.

After he had let me get the frustration out of my system, he took the rod and examined the damage. It was a miracle the thing managed to stand together. Willy opened his toolbox and muttered hurriedly something to himself.

"Argh. Left me line back at the hut." He scratched his head over his little green hat. "You'll have to go fetch it. Go stop by Pierre's for good measure to get a refill on the bait."