Fisherman's Luck

A Fisherman's Most Important Possession (I)

Luc's stomach growled loudly, drawing a few snickers from the little girl. A few moments later, the little girl's stomach growled, drawing a few snickers from Luc. Then they both sighed and put their faces in their hands.

"Why don't you have any food?" the little girl asked.

"I had more important things to do," snapped Luc.

"Like what?"

"Like...uh...figuring out what to call you," said Luc. "I can't walk around shouting 'hey kid' or people will think I'm a creep."

"You are a creep," said the little girl.

"Well what's your name?" Luc asked.

"Riveriaejifjalajfijaivnbliaogieyiogjovnblxpzjpqjefijalsfjabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz," said the girl.

"Heh," said Luc. "What do your friends call you?"

"Riveriaejifjalajfijaivnbliaogieyiogjovnblxpzjpqjefijalsfjabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz."

"Okay," said Luc. "I don't think I can say that. Actually, I know I can't say that. I'll just call you River."

"River?" asked River. "That's a common human word. It's not ladylike or elegant sounding. I hate it."

"Too late," said Luc. "I'll call you River from now on. Riv for short."

"I thought humans were supposed to be nice," River mumbled sadly.

"None of us are nice," said Luc. "You're about to meet the meanest little kid you'll ever see. If they ever open the shop."

River stood up and walked back a few paces to glance at the rundown old hovel that was known as Reel Deals. "This doesn't look like a shop," she said.

"Deal with it," Luc muttered. Usually Fatano had his shop opened by now. But Luc didn't blame the man. He was getting pretty darn old.

"So do you know any other dragons besides big bro Reliqua?" River asked, dipping her bare feet into the water.

"Dragons?" Luc asked. "Well, I never really knew they were real. Always thought it was some bedtime story our parents told us to keep us from doing anything wrong. That's what I thought about those Pearls we get when we're born."

"All of the elders had Pearls too!" River said excitedly. "Right under their chins!"

Luc still wasn't sure if this girl had something wrong with her head or she was telling the truth. "How come you don't look like a dragon?" Luc asked hesitantly. "I mean, you've got the eyes, but...that's about it."

River shrugged. "We dragons can turn into humans whenever we want. The problem is, I left my home before I learned how to change back."

"Yeah that doesn't make any sense at all," said Luc. "But I'll take your word for it. And hey, there's Fatano!"

Luc stood up and watched as the old man limped off the bridge and onto the market platform. Fatano headed the opposite direction for several footsteps before he realized his mistake. He scratched his head before turning around and walking to his shop.

"Lucrio!" he said, looking up in surprise. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I was just standing here," said Luc.