21 Old Fogey

[Two days later]

***

The deep blue skies were covered in silky white cirrus clouds resembling long flowing locks. Bright mid-day light made the cirrus clouds appear to glow. It truly was a beautiful day like no other, but Wu Niu couldn't stand it.

The humidity of the foreign environment Wu Niu found himself in wasn't one he had ever been accustomed to. Many bugs flew around buzzing and biting him as he made his way along the river. All the while, the hot water-rich air left a constant feeling of perspiration on his skin.

Wu Niu hadn't ever seen or been to a swamp before, only having heard of them through stories and writing. He hadn't ever crossed the mountain range south of the Wu family estate either, so he had no idea how different the environment was. It was clear now that only a few miles were what made all the difference.

The tall mountain range was the only barrier between humidity and aridity on Silver island. It stopped nearly all of the clouds rolling in from the ocean from moving further inland. It was the divide that resulted in the northern half and southern half of Silver island being so ecologically independent when only a stone's throw apart from each other.

Turning a bend along the riverbank, Wu Niu came upon a fisherman sat upon a tree stump with a long thin tree branch in his hand. The branch bowed over the water's edge in wait for its prey, with a long stretched filament sparkling against the river's glimmering surface.

The fisherman wore raggedy clothing and a conical straw hat atop his head. It was clear from his outset that he led a meager life of poverty up into this point.

The man noticed Wu Niu's presence and turned to look at him. He was probably somewhere in his 50s with receding gray hair and an aged face. He opened his mouth to speak, baring his black rotting teeth.

"Well, hello there, little boy! Nice to see a new face round these parts."

Wu Niu awkwardly responded, "Y-Yeah…"

"Take a seat right there, and we can fish together."

"S-Sure."

Sitting down by the dirty fisherman, Wu Niu instantly smelled the foul odors exuding from the man, which was only worsened by his newly improved sense of smell. The odor was reminiscent of rotting fish that had been festering in the sun for days on end; ironically, a smell Wu Niu knew quite well.

"Watcha' got there in that bag of yur's, sonny."

"Oh, That. It's a bag of fish."

With a chuckle, the man asserted, "I reckon yur' a fisherman too then."

"Eh, not exactly. I caught these with a trap. I wouldn't really consider that fishing."

The fisherman laughed. He somehow found what Wu Niu said to be funny.

"Maybe I should try that out sometime. Sounds real efficient-like. You know, any fishin' is good fishin' in my bo—"

The tip of the fishing pole suddenly arced toward the water with an intense elasticity. In a swift reaction, the fisherman pulled back and began swirling the pole around, creating momentum great enough to rip the fish out of the water and into his hand.

Unhooking the fish, the fisherman held it up proudly displayed it to Wu Niu.

"Check it out! I caught a biggun'."

It was certainly larger than any fish Wu Niu had ever caught. The only fish he ever caught with his rock trap were the relatively small ones.

The fisherman placed the fish in a basket at his side and handed Wu Niu the fishing rod.

Looking Wu Niu in the eyes, he spoke with a smile.

"Why don't you catch the nexun'."

"Are you sure I can?" Wu Niu subtly breathed his concern.

"Sure, ya can! Here I'll show you."

Pulling his arms back, the man threw them forward to demonstrate the movements.

"Just like that, kay' son."

Wu Niu recreated the man's movements as best he could, and before he even realized it, the fishing line entered the water.

"Ey, good job kiddo."

Wu Niu felt slightly proud of himself at getting on his first try. Looking back, the man reciprocated his approval with a thumbs up.

"Now, we wait."

***

A few minutes pass in complete silence. Wu Niu, unsure of what to say, watched the line as the flowing current rushed passed it.

Suddenly, Wu Niu felt great tension on the pole. The line tugged against it bending and cracking it into a curve.

The fisherman grabbed his hat, anxiously shouting, "Swing the stick! Swing the stick!"

Wu Niu quickly flung the large fish from out the water and into the fisherman's hands.

Pulling the fish off the hook, the fisherman tossed to Wu Niu's feet and spoke.

"You said ya never fished before?!"

The man looked down at Wu Niu with utter astonishment.

Wu Niu diverted his eyes and replied, "No. Never. Did I do poorly?"

The man burst out into laughter while speaking.

"Did you do, poorly?! Ha, yur' killin' me smalls!"

Falling off the stump, the fisherman burst out into laughter.

"Yur better than good kid. Yur a fishin' natural."

Getting up and sitting back down on the stump, the fisherman retrieved a second fishing rod from behind a log at his side. Pulling it back, he swung forward into the water.

"Bet I catch more bigguns' than you!"

A competitive fire immediately sparked within Wu Niu after hearing this. When there was a competition to be won, he wasn't going to let himself lose to some old fogey.

With a smile, Wu Niu yelled, "Oh, you're on!"