On my way through the village, I picked up another croissant.
I was feeling rather peckish after a morning of smithing, minor as the work may have been.
Naturally, I grabbed a second coffee, too.
“Thank you, Sue!”
“Thank you, Fischer!” she called, once more a blur behind the coffee machine.
I bit into the flaky pastry as I walked, the buttery flavor washing over and pairing perfectly with the coffee.
That Fielday was even more productive than I’d hoped.
I stopped in place so abruptly, my coffee almost spilled. I cocked my head, my face scrunching.
Why does it feel like I’m forgetting sothing, though…? I’m pressure sure I did—
“Shit!”
I ran through the streets of Tropica.
***
As I knocked on the door, I plastered an apologetic smile on my face.
There wasn’t a sound from the other side, and just as I started thinking no one was ho, the door creaked open.
A single eye peered out at .
“Fischer.”
“G’day, Joel. You, uh, you alright, mate?”
His single visible eye didn’t move, and he let out a sharp sniff.
“I’m fine.”
Seeing he was most-certainly not fine, I rushed to speak.
“I wanted to co and apologize for missing your group ditation yesterday. I know I promised I’d co, but so wild things happened, and I just didn’t have the ti.”
In truth, I’d forgotten, but he didn’t need to know that.
The door slowly swung all the way open, and Joel stood before , putting on a smile.
“Would you like to co in?”
***
Joel forced a smile onto his face as he opened the door.
“Would you like to co in?”
“I’d love to, mate,” Fischer said, easily striding inside.
“So, wild things kept you away yesterday? What kind of wild things?”
“I an, there was the rchant, the coffee, a new friendship, and all tax-break shenanigans—but all that was nothing before Sharon’s recovery.”
Joel’s heart fluttered, and all his feelings of rejection lted away like all life before the inevitability of carcinization.
“Sharon has recovered?”
“Er—yeah.” Fischer raised an eyebrow, but it was quickly swept away by a full-faced smile. “I wasn’t aware you knew her.”
“I do—we do, I should say. The Cult of Carcinization ditates on the health of sick community mbers, channeling our will toward their ascension.” Joel sniffed again. “You’d know that if you showed up for the group ditation yesterday.”
Fischer furrowed his brow.
“Just to clarify, mate—you ditate with the express goal of turning sick people into crabs?”
Joel nodded seriously, content that Fischer was so quick to comprehend.
“Precisely. If carcinization were to claim them, they would leave behind the weak flesh of the body, and with it, all illness and ailnt.” Joel snapped his attention to Fischer. “She didn’t show any signs, did she?”
“Er—signs?”
“Of Carcinization.”
Fischer pressed his lips together, and Joel’s hopes soared.
Is it possible...?
***
I pressed my lips together; it took every ounce of my will to not laugh in Joel’s face.
“Nah, mate,” I forced out, keeping my expression schooled. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but she didn’t show any signs of evolving into a crab.”
Joel sighed, long and exhaustive.
“As expected. I know it likely won’t happen in our lifeti. Even so, I hold out hope that carcinization will occur in our sleepy little village.”
“Hope is a powerful thing, Joel! You never know what will happen.”
I turned and strode toward the door.
“Well, I’ve got a bunch of stuff to get done—thanks for the hospitality!”
“Y-you’re sure you have to go? We could do a ditation together if you please.”
“Sorry. So much to do, so little ti. I’ll see you next Fielday for the ditation, though, yeah?”
“Of course. I’ll see you then, Fischer.”
As I walked outside, I finally let my smile out.
A ditation actually sounded quite nice, but if I spent one more second in the Carcinization headquarters, I couldn’t have stopped myself laughing at Joel and his hope that Sharon sprouted claws.
Man, he would absolutely lose his shit if I introduced him to Snips—I wonder if he can be trusted...?
I’d have to consider it more; I still didn’t know him well enough to make that call yet.
With my sincere apology delivered, I made my way toward Maria’s.
***
“I’ve brought soone to et you, Mum.”
Maria led into the room, and Sharon peered at with a focused gaze.
“G’day, Sharon—I’m Fischer.”
Roger cleared his throat.
“That’s his way of saying hello.”
“Barry told of his colorful words, husband.” Sharon smiled up at . “It’s a pleasure to et you finally—I heard you’ve been helping out my family, and I find myself in your debt.”
I held up both hands.
“I was just helping out where I could. You owe nothing.”
Sharon nodded, accepting my words.
“Would you mind giving us a mont of privacy, Roger?”
He shot a look at her, then at , his eyes narrowing.
“My goodness, Dad.” Maria walked over and grabbed his arm. “Show Fischer a bit of trust, would you?”
“No funny business,” he said in passing.
Roger’s warning was entirely undermined by him being dragged from the room by his daughter, and Maria rolled her eyes as she removed him.
The door clicked closed behind them, so I returned my attention to Sharon.
“What did you wanna speak about?”
“I wanted to know more about you.” She sat up straighter, resting her hands on her lap. “You showed up on our shores only weeks ago, and from what I’ve heard, you’ve had an overwhelmingly good impact on everyone in Tropica—my family included.”
I sat down on the end of her bed.
“Hearing that makes happier than you know, Sharon. I ca to Tropica for two reasons: fishing and making friends. Knowing I’ve had a positive impact on those around is all I could ask for.”
She nodded, a kind smile spreading across her face.
“Where did you co from?”
“Really, really far away. It may as well be another world with how different it is...”
She nodded again, and her eyes held an intelligent gleam as she stared into mine.
“Are you from this world, Fischer?”
“Uh... yes...?” I responded, the words unconvincing, even to myself.
I let out a soft chuckle, trying to hide my shock at the abrupt question.
“What makes you ask sothing so wild?”
Sharon shrugged.
“I’m only joking. I rember stories my parents used to tell as a young girl—tales of fancy where people would appear from another world and flip the Kallis realm on its head with their very existence.”
My skin prickled, and her look seed to pin my feet to the floor.
She let out a quiet laugh.
“They’re just stories, of course. Since the gods fled and the System stopped working properly, such things are impossible, wouldn’t you agree?”
I leaped at the extended olive branch, nodding along.
“I couldn’t agree more. Those stories do sound rather romantic, though—soone just appearing from another world and helping people out.” I shrugged. “I’m from Kallis, too, unfortunately.”
“Helping?” She shook her head with a smile. “We must have heard different stories as children. More often than not, in the ones my mother used to repeat, new arrivals swiftly gathered power and started taking over vast swaths of land before a hero finally stopped them.”
“O-oh... right…”
“That only further cents you as a fellow native of Kallis—all you’ve done is help others, after all.”
“I gotta say, I never heard those stories as a kid. Were there any tales of people who arrived and didn’t want to conquer...?”
Sharon tilted her head back and forth.
“There were a few, but they always ended up becoming tyrants in the end. Power corrupts, as they say.”
I grimaced.
“It does seem to have that effect...”
“Well, if one shows up, maybe you can be the hero that saves the world.” She gave a wink. “Thank you for indulging my questions, Fischer. I just wanted to get a better idea of the man that was my family’s lifeline while I was unwell.”
I tried to give her a confident smile, but it felt shaky.
“You’re welco, Sharon. It was a pleasure to et you finally.”
“The pleasure was all mine.”
She stretched, letting out a yawn.
“Would you mind sending that over-protective husband of mine back in? I have so tasks to take his mind off .”
“Has he always been so... intense?”
Her eyes sparkled.
“Always. It’s what I love the most about him, but it can get stifling at tis.”
“Alright. I’ll send him your way.” I shot her an exaggerated wink. “Good luck.”
Sharon laughed, the sound light and fleeting, reminding of her daughter.
“I’ll certainly need it...”
***
Roger made a sound that, by so stretch of the imagination, could be equated with a noise of gratitude. He turned and strode into the house.
Maria sat on the porch, lazily dragging a stick through the dirt below. She looked up at .
“So? What did mum want to speak to you about?”
“She just wanted to thank in private for letting you guys farm my land while she was sick.”
Maria smiled halfheartedly, then returned to drawing in the dirt.
I sat down beside her.
“How are you feeling?”
She pressed down on the stick; it snapped in half.
“I don’t know how I feel.” She picked up both halves, probing the broken ends. “I’m beyond happy that mum has recovered, but I feel... useless?”
“What makes you say that?”
Maria sighed.
“I feel like I should do sothing, but she’s already back to her sharp self. Dad is by her side every minute for the small things, like bringing food and water, but I can tell she’s feeling smothered by even that.”
I glanced at Maria; she stared at the ground, lost in the thoughts of uselessness. I knew the sentint well, and I wished at that mont I knew the right words to say; the magical combination of sounds that would set her heart free.
Instead, I said sothing cliché.
“Isn’t just being there enough?”
She shrugged with one shoulder.
“I feel like I’m intruding when I’m with her and dad. They have so much history, and it feels like I’m interrupting their conversation.”
She snapped one of the sticks, discarding the shorter end in the dirt.
“I don’t know. I feel like I just need to do sothing to distract myself, but there isn’t really much to do with the fields right now.”
The seed of an idea planted itself in my mind, and after a mont of trying to suppress it, the seed sprouted.
“You know... you could always try fishing...”
Her gaze shot up to , and I smiled at her.
She scoffed, so I raised my eyebrows, my smile growing.
Upon realizing I was serious, her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened..
“You’re serious? You’d show how to fish?”
“Yeah! Why not? You’re looking for sothing to keep you busy, right? A new hobby sounds like just the thing.”
I tried to keep the desperation from my voice.
Keep it cool, Fischer. Don’t scare her off!
“Is... that sothing you’d be interested in?”
“If you’d asked a couple weeks ago, I’d have rejected it offhand, but after getting to know you...” She shrugged. “The idea doesn’t seem so bad...”
While I was thinking of what to say next, she continued.
“I don’t think I could, though—can you imagine how dad would react? The silent treatnt wouldn’t be worth it.”
My mind raced for a way around the roadblock that was Roger.
“What if we went on a trip?”
“A trip?” she asked. “What do you an?”
“Have you ever been camping?”
“Fischer...” She laughed, the sound free and jubilant. “I have no idea what a trip or camping is.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. A trip is like a holiday, and camping is staying outdoors. There’s this place I saw on the way here that I’ve been aning to go back to. It’s a couple of days away, but we could camp overnight in the forest.”
“Hmm,” was all she said, then she stared off into space.
Damn, did I co in too hot? I really just want soone to fish with after eting Theo, and it feels like just the thing to keep her distrac—
“Let’s do it, Fischer.”
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