Laying on a river bank, we’re greeted by our protagonist, Hiroshi Nakamoto who stares endlessly at the clouds in the sky while he waits by his rod in the warmth of the spring sun. Finally a break from it all, to sit down and relax.
Other fishermen around do the same as some occasionally move to reel in fish.
Hiro gets up as his rod begins to move as he quickly reels in a fish resembling a trout.
He smiles as he brings it towards the other fisherman.
“Ooh, not bad for a first timer.”
“Here, put it in with the others.” another says.
“It’s always good to have another youngster join us.” An older fisherman says.
“Why don’t you sit with us, Hiro?”
“Sure. Let me grab my rod.”
They sit together as they wait for their rods to ring.
After 40 long years, I can finally rest.
Hiro puts on a smile as he talks to the others.
Karoshi, work death, from early mornings to late nights.
I find myself waking up late at night at my office desk. Is it late at night? Or the early morning? I can’t tell from a glance, I shake my computer screen as I the screen comes back to life, on it an email. Urgent Please Respond Immediately, it’s another request to process another invoice, my daily task at the Company. 40 years of my life all wasted on this.
I quickly process the request as I look around me, my colleagues and coworkers all sleeping at their desks, besides a few other night owls working at their desks without even giving me a glance, not that they could afford too.
Waiting by a printer, I stand in silence, a moment of reprieve from the day to day tasks. As I stand in front of the first floor entrance, waiting from the printer to give me the invoice I stare outside the window screen.
A bright light approaches as I freeze in glee. A truck rams through the entryway, the driver asleep. I stare motionlessly in the scene, a truck coming right at me.
Then a flicker and a fade.
========================================================================
I stare out from a window of the institute and academy for the best and brightest, gifted they called them. And to me, they’re all just children, forced into great expectations.
For someone like me who has already lived 60 years.
I do not want to live another life, to be forced and confined in these walls.
The flaws of their ways, I can see them all, how to solve them and what they are. But, I don’t care. For the promises that took away my youth, I just want to be able to lay down and say, I had a good life.
“I know you can do better than this, Hiro. I watched as you took the entrance exam, how quickly you answered the problems and just sat there, waiting.” A female instructor says.
He smiles.
“Are you happy?” He asks her.
“What’s that have to do with this?”
“I just wanted to ask, I’ve never seen you outside of this lab. I just wanted to ask, are you happy?” Hiro asks again.
“Well of course, I love my work, it’s fulfilling. I gave everything for it.”
Hiro puts on a smile.
“But do you feel fulfilled anywhere else? Were you given a chance or opportunity to pursue anything else, to do anything else, to be anything else?”
“I see what you’re getting at.”
“But the world isn’t so forgiving.”
“Why not? Why can’t it be?”
“Do you want to be here, Mr. Nakamura?”
“The Magic Academy is a wonderful place, but I do not see how it can help me in what I want to do.”
The woman sighs.
“Here take this, it’s a leave of absence. Go explore the world and then tell me, once you see the truth, you’ll be beginning to be let back in. ”
“Is that so?”
Standing in a field of flowers, Hiroshi stares off into the sky.
People occasionally pass by on horses and carriages, some offering small glances but nothing else. Time passes as he doesn’t seem to move. Until another carriage comes by with a few adventurers.
“Hey! What are you doing over there!” A man shouts out towards Hiroshi.
One of them turns their gaze at him as Hiroshi pretends to not notice.
“Hey, hey, hey. Stop here for a bit.”
With his sword on his hilt and his gear on, the man walks over towards Hiroshi. As Hiroshi turns to look over at him.
“Yo.” The man says as he sits down beside him.
“Hey.” Hiroshi replies, continuing to stare at the sky, the man seeing it looks up with him.
“You know, I could stab you and rob you right now.” He whispers.
“Oh.” Hiroshi replies.
The man begins to laugh.
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding.”
Slowly a few other adventurers get out as they look over at the man. Who waves at them to stop. Shaking his head.
“So, what are you doing out here?”
“Just sitting.”
“Why? Aren’t you scared?”
“Of what?”
“The monsters, it’s not safe out here.”
“Oh, so that’s what they were. I don’t know, I just wanted to relax on the hill.”
The adventurer looks at him in shock.
“Don’t you know? This is a goblin hill.”
“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.” Says as he continues to sit down.
The man seems frustrated.
“Come with me, it isn’t safe here.” He tries to pull Hiroshi up who’s still laying on the ground. He sees a female archer approaching and another man.
“Alright.”
Hiroshi is now talking with the adventurers at a table in a tavern. They seem to be consuming some sort of dish or soup consisting of randomly assorted vegetables, liquid and broth. Hiroshi looks at it in disgust as the others continue to ask him questions.
“So you’re from the academy huh, I didn’t think I’d be able to meet a student like you.”
“Was that your first time outside the big city?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Hiroshi says.
“To make a connection, in a place like this. It’s a good thing we found you before that scout could come back with others.” A man says.
“So what’s it like being a wizard?”
“Boring I guess, it’s a lot of reading and writing, not something I was expecting.”
“Wow! You can read?” The female adventurer says in surprise.
“Only nobles know how to read, are you a noble?”
Hiroshi thinks to himself as he wonders, what am I in this world? As suddenly a random memory of a small town village shows up. He doesn’t say anything as he stares at them in silence. A few of them get nervous as they look over at their leader, the man.
“Oh well, your family must be worried sick.”
“No, they don’t mind.”
The leader looks at the ground.
“Oh really, that’s a shame. So why’d you leave the academy?”
“It just isn’t for me.” Hiroshi replies.
“What!? You’re kidding right, almost nobody gets in there, it’s like a golden ladder.”
“Oh, the test was easy. It’s just basic geometry.”
“Geometry? Is that a branch of magic from a distant land?”
Not wanting to deal with this anymore, Hiroshi smiles.
“Sure.”
They all seem to be shocked and surprised.
“Wow.”
“So young, yet already a master.”
The leader thinks to himself as he looks over at Hiroshi.
“Hey, Hiro. I know most directly enter the kingdoms or the wizardry alliance. So now that you’re out. What is it that you want to do?” The leader asks.
“I want to be a fisherman.” Hiroshi responds.
“A fisherman?” They ask.
“You’re kidding right?” A tall burly adventurer asks him.
“No, not really.” Hiroshi responds.
“Why-!”
“Shut up.” The leader stops one of the adventurers from asking further.
“Hiro, do you have any plans on how you’re going to be one? I know many wizards have an interest in beast taming, sea serpents and drakes. Is that what you were thinking?”
“No, just fishing.”
“Plain, old fishing?”
“Yeah. I think it would be fun.”
“Are you sure?” The leader seems lost.
“There isn’t much else I’d want to do. Do you know anyone who could help me out?”
The leader thinks to himself as he looks up at Hiroshi.
“I know a few.”
At a dock, we see the leader waving bye to Hiroshi as an older gentleman stands beside him wearing overalls and boots, carrying a basket and rod.
“Ho, ho, ho. So you’re the person, Reddrick recommended. Mmm, you don’t look so bad, a bit thin but that’s fine. We’ll start you off with a line rod, ever done that before?”
“No, it’s my first time, sorry.”
“No need to apologize, it’s really easy, here let me show you how it works and you can start your first shift with me and the others. Walk with me.”
They walk towards a building as the man grabs an older looking rod handing it to Hiroshi.
“Here take this, grab some feathers and spool.”
“I’m going to show you how to properly make a lure so you can at least catch trout by the end of the night.” He says.
Grabbing the equipment, Hiroshi follows the man out of the building.
They walk towards a river bank where other fishermen are already waiting, getting their lines setup and preparing for the long day.
A few wave at the old man.
“Hey Leo! Hurry up! The fish are already biting!”
They walk up as they set their gear down.
“Who’s he?”
“Newcomer, treat him like family.”
One of the fishermen looks over at Hiroshi, then asks him a question.
“You know anything about fishing?”
“No, not at all, it just looks neat.”
“Huh.”
“Don’t worry, it can be hard but Leo’s the best.” A dark skinned fisher touches his shoulder.
“If you’re done talking, get ready, Hiro come over here.”
Hiroshi walks over as he sees Leo working with his rod attaching the spool. He begins lining up the string on the rod, he grabs onto the end as he begins to intricately tie the end with a feather.
“See how I’m doing it? You’re going to have to do the same, it won’t be perfect the first time but practice makes perfect, or close to it.”
Hiroshi nods as he watches him do it.
“Now you do it.”
Grabbing his rod, Hiroshi, tries to imitate him. Reaching the tip, he begins to try to tie it together.
“The technique is important so the feather doesn’t fall out in the water and so it doesn’t break apart too much in their mouths.”
Braiding the feather onto the line, he fastens it together.
“Eh, that will do.” Leo begins to pull on the feather which stays fastened.
“Great, now onto the next part.”
Leo throws his line into the water, it flies and lands into the moving river, then he proceeds to stick it into the ground.
“Now you try.”
Grabbing his rod, Hiroshi tries to force it forward.
“Try to put your body into it in a motion. The rods are a bit heavy but it can make the difference.” Leo responds.
Hiroshi tries again this time the line flies into the river basin.
“Nice, now fasten it into the ground somewhere.”
Looking around, Hiroshi picks a spot nearby.
“Now you wait.”
As Leo seemingly sits down on the ground, he smiles at Hiroshi.
Hiroshi joins him.
“So why’d you decide you wanted to become a fisherman?” Leo asks him.
“Looked like fun.”
“What do you think? Now?” He asks.
Hiroshi looks at the basin and a small grin begins to form as he watches a family of ducks swim across the basin.
“I think I could get used to it.” Hiroshi replies.
“Good, good. No one likes a quitter.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Hiroshi says as Leo laughs.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Yeah, it can be relaxing, but you should know this. The pay isn’t the best, it’s enough for a night's rest and enough to fill your stomach but that's it. Are you sure about this?” Leo asks.
Hiroshi nods.
“Couldn’t think of anything else I’d want to do.”
“I wish I thought like you when I was your age.” Leo says as he pats his shoulder.
“So, did I.” Hiroshi mumbles.
========================================================================
“Ever think of settling down and getting married, Hiro?
“No, never.”
“Well then, who’s going to take care of you as you get older? You aren’t getting any younger Hiro, come on, think about it.” A now older Hiro stands next to a black fisherman and the other fisherman asks him.
“This place isn’t my home.”
“You need to stop saying that already, you’ve been here for almost ten years.”
“Do you hate us, Hiroshi?”
“No, I love it here.”
“Then why?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”
“I hope whatever it is, that you’re happy with how it’s going.”
“Don’t worry, I do.”
I want more then a one shot
You can't leave me like this