Mastering The Art of Fishing In Teyvat

"Hold on, I've almost got you!"

Water splashed, and the sound of a rushing stream could be heard from meters away. Inside that stream, was me.

You see, I consider myself a bit of a 'fishing expert' but, I'm more of a 'fishing intermediate' if you ask any of my friends.

As I strain my arms, attempting to fight the fish within my grasp, it struggled and flopped. It writhes, and fights as if it's life depends on it. And it does, I'm hungry for carp.

"You're Finished!"

I successfully gain a good grip on the fish, and pull it out of the water.

With not a moment wasted, I wade as fast as I can back to land, the fish still flopping in my hand.

'Splash'

Water splashes into my mouth and face, making me close my eyes, but I still move forward, determined to taste Carp once more.

"Al-most There!"

As the water level decreases from waist height, to my knees, then ankles, and then to nothing at all. The feeling of gravel beneath my feet tells me I've won.

I look down at the fish in my arms, it's still struggling, but to a lesser degree. Seems like it's suffocating, better to do this quickly.

I rush toward my fishing gear, and open my cooler and take out a knife, and cutting board. Water drips from my hair onto the fish, reinvigorating it's struggle once more.

I lift the knife, and ready myself to make one quick impact to the fish's brain, but hesitate.

I look into it's cold fish eyes, devoid of any intelligence. But there is one thing present in its eyes, the will to live.

I mull it over for a second, but as to break me out of my stupor, the fish let's out a pathetic struggle, seemingly using up the rest of it's strength.

"Fine, you win this time. You're lucky you were a fighter."

I walk back to the river, gravel shifting under my feet. The sound of risking water draws closer, and I look at the blue stream of water.

I chuck the fish back into the water, and wait to see if I was fast enough, or if it drowned and was beyond saving.

A moment passes, and the fish is still unmoving.

I being to walk toward it, to pick it up and make sure that it doesn't go to waste, when it bursts with a flash of movement and I watch as it begins to swim away.

Strangely, it looks like it turns back to look at me, and our gazes link for a second, before it promptly swims away as if nothing has happened.

"That was creepy, hopefully I didn't get a fish curse or something"

I chuckle to myself.

I walk back toward my fishing gear.

"Rod, check. Cooler, check. Bait, check. Everything else, there."

I do a quick inventory, making sure I leave nothing behind. Seeing everything in order, I pack things up and begin to hike back towards my trailer, supplies in hand.

I take a moment to admire the nature. The sun's warm beams heat my skin, partially drying off my soaked clothed from hand fishing. The sound of leaves rustling, water rushing, and leaves crunching under my feet serve as a perfect white noise.

I hike in peace, taking in the smells and sensations around me. I feel at peace, as if nothing could go wrong in this moment. It's like everything in the universe has aligned, to form this experience.

Unfortunately, this doesn't last. I am broken out of my pseudo enlightenment by the feeling of my face meeting the warm ground.

I tripped over a stump, and fell.

I sit up, gathering my thoughts, but only one sentence can come to mind.

"I got fish cursed, didn't I?"

I finish the walk back towards my trailer, and open the door. I am met with the sight of an organized chaos. A clean but messy place at the same time. Books were spread throughout the interior, most being on wilderness survival and camping.

I set down my fishing gear, open the cooler, grab a beer from the cooler and a lawn char from the trailer, and went back outside.

I unfold my chair, sit down and relax myself, and crack open a beer.

"It's never too early to drink, wise words from my father."

Speaking of my dad, he's the reason why I'm out here in the first place.

Back when I was a kid, he used to take me camping all the time. At the time, I was indifferent to the idea, but one memory always stood out. The sight of him fishing, the enthusiasm in his eyes, and the taste of the fish afterwards was a joy to experience. It was my favorite part of the trips.

Too bad he's not around anymore.

It's not like he died early, or in a tragedy. He passed peacefully in his sleep. What he said earlier the week before still lays every present in my mind.

I was visiting him for the holidays. He was fine in health, besides having fucked up knees and being an old man.

"I always knew I'd have to have this talk with you. You know I'm gonna die soon, right?"

"What are you talking about? You seem fine besides your messed up knees. I'd say you have a good 10 years left in the tank."

"Look, we both know you're my favorite kid."

"I'm your only kid."

"Exactly. That's why I want to tell you this now. When I'm gone, I can guarantee that you'll be lost. Hell, I know I was when I lost my dad. But you want to know when I lost my dad? I went camping, fished, and poured one our for him. It's sort of a tradition, my father did it, and his father did it. When my time comes, I want you to remember two things."

His face turns dead serious, a contrast to his normal happy resting face.

"Water will always lead you back to me. No matter where I am, if you're fishing, I'll be there. Maybe not in person, but in memory. You know, there's one thing that I fear. It's being forgotten. Carry on with me in your memory."

The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. Right after those words, the serious expression fades away and he says

"And second, it's never too early to drink!"

As if nothing had ever happened. We spent the rest of my visit talking, as he was too old to fish now.

"Damn, I miss you. Wish you were here with me, dad."

I get up, and walk over to the cooler and grab a beer. This one isn't for me though.

I crack it open, and pour one out.

"Rest in peace, hope you're fishing in heaven."

I grab the 2 empty beer cans, and put them in a trash bag.

The reason why I'm out here fishing anyways is to cope, if I'm being honest. After my dad died, I felt lost. I thought back on his words, and decide to come fish. Thinking back now, everything felt clear then, as if all doubt had been cleared from my mind.

It was already dark out, and I didn't feel like cooking anything, so I decided to eat some jerky I packed. The savory meat was salty, and the toughness gave me something to chew on while I lay there.

"It's about time I go to sleep, I've gotta leave tomorrow anyways."

I gather all the trash I've left, throw it away in a bag, and close and lock my trailer door.

I sit in the driver Seat, recline it all the way back, and covered myself with a blanket I'd packed.

My eyes feel heavy, and I allow myself to be taken by the sleep.

-------

It's cold.

That's the only thing I can think. I open my eyes, but am met with nothing but an ocean surrounding me.

"Am I dreaming? I shouldn't have drank before sleeping."

I look around, and see nothing but water around me.

Suddenly, a school of fish begin to circle me. It's as if I've become bait or something, as they swim around me dizzyingly fast.

I notice one fish among them. That seems to be staring directly at me. It looms exactly like the fish that I released earlier!

It opens its mouth, and does the impossible. It starts talking!

"You have shown kindness, when not required. You returned to the water seeking guidance, and that you shall receive."

Wait, what?

"What do you mean? And how can you talk-"

"There is no point in answering these questions."

He cuts me off, before suddenly disappearing.

"This dream is really strange, I've never seen a talking fish in a dream before, I wonder if I have a book that can tell me the meaning of that?"

As I'm talking to myself, I feel something pulling me down.

"What the Fu-"

No words have the time to escape my mouth before I am pulled underwater.

I look down, and see a reflection of myself in the water? It's as if I'm approaching a mirror

I pass through, and immediately feel like this isn't a dream anymore. I feel the pressure of the water around me.

The lack of air in my lungs.

I begin to struggle, and swim towards the top as fast as I can.

The surface gets closer, closer and I feel like my entire body is on fire. Agony runs through my muscles, and it feels like fire is in my veins.

I'm almost at the surface, but I'm out of strength.

I begin to sink

Deeper

And deeper.

I feel my awareness slipping, as I fall into the darkness, before I fall into the abyss, I feel a hand grab my arm. Before I can feel anything else, everything goes dark.