The Many Adventures of Peter and Fi Volume I: Homecoming

Chapter 10- To Mend a Promise

The villagers awoke at the break of dawn. Preparations had to be made for the day's fishing expedition. This time of season, the black cod avoided the inland. So it was important to set out at first light in order to return in time for supper.

Henry was loading empty crates from the general store to take down to his steadfast trawler. She had survived many a hefty storm without so much as a torn sail. Only the peeling paint and splintering floorboards gave clue to the voyages she had endured. His wife was inside, grinding flour and he was anxious to return to the smell of her fresh baked garlic bread.

He lifted another crate with moderate effort. His back wasn't what it used to be. A few more years of this will wear me out completely. He thought. Perhaps it's time I take one of Margaret's boys on as an apprentice. With a thud, the empty box suddenly doubled its weight and Henry fell to a knee to support it. A little girl had come out of nowhere and landed on the crate within his arms, a little girl whose ears poked out above her head.

"Fi! Is that you? How many times must I tell you not to do that!" Henry cursed.

"Sorry Mr. Carol!" The little girl was already off, arcing up onto the wooden boards of his shop's roof, waving her hand behind her. "I needed a slight leg up! I still can't make the jump on my own."

"You shouldn't be running along the blasted rooves in the first place!" He roared, but she was gone, leaping over to the next hut.

Fi giggled as the fresh morning breeze blew back her hair. She stuck out her tongue to taste the salt whipped up from the sea. Picking up speed, she ran full out over the edge and leapt over to the tanner's hut. Mr. Edwards didn't feel the need to get up early along with the rest of the village. The pattering of her footsteps raining down on his bedroom was the least she could do to help him out.

Okay, you got this. Fi said to herself as she approached the next edge. The gap between the tanning hut and the supply shack was the longest jump in Ryoshi village. It was made worse by to the missing shingles Mr. Edwards still hadn't bothered to repair, extending the leap an extra foot. Fi had yet to clear it proper.

But today I feel it! Fi thought, brimming with confidence. She broke into an all-out sprint. Strides lengthening, breath quickening, she planted both her feet just before the hole in the roof and bounded clear over the edge. Blissful weightlessness enveloped her. The roof's edge came up fast. She thrust her arms forward, ready to grab hold. Then, it began to rise. No!

She slammed hard against the coarse wooden panels of the shack's wall. Sliding, falling, her fingers scrambled for purchase, but to no avail. She arrived on her back in the alley's gutter. A seagull poked its head out from atop the supply shack and squawked disapprovingly.

"You can fly!" She yelled back, picking herself up and wiping the dirt off her white cotton shorts.

Her palms were scraped something awful, but not so deep as to draw blood. Her loose vest did nothing to protect her arms either. She stepped gingerly, hoping nothing had broken. But soon, her steps became skips, and by the time she cleared the alley, she was back to her sprint. Fi bruised easy, but recovered easier still.

The docks were alive with bustling sailors. Men were hard at work unfurling the sails and rigging the masts. Some were lounging against the railings, beer bottles in hand, waiting for their captain to announce their departure. Ryoshi's humble fleet comprised of only four ships, none capable of carrying more than ten men. Each was manned by half that, in anticipation of a meaty haul.

As Fi scampered across the crooked boards, she heard the whistle of a ball sail over her head and land onto one of the ships. The sailor's sons accompanied their fathers on their morning routine. They would typically help load the crates until enough of their mates showed up and then drop everything to play their usual game of kickball.