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It was just a few days ago that Alberto watched his best friend leave on a train to a far away city. Massimo told him that Genova was only a few hours away and that Luca would only be gone until school was over. That it would feel like no time at all before he saw his friend again. But to Alberto, everyday felt like forever.
The days weren’t all bad, Alberto had a big dad human looking after him. For once he felt like an adult genuinely enjoyed having him around.
Today was still another hot day of fishing for the duo. Alberto with his special knowledge of the local waters and the fish who inhabited them easily directed Massimo where to fish. Once in a comfortable spot Alberto sat back and watched as Massimo did his usual thing. This time, instead of just casting the live himself, the fisherman turned to the young boy.
“Here” Massimo spoke through his mustache. Handing Alberto a fishing rod, “Do you want to try catching fish today?”
Alberto looked up in awe. He’d never gone fishing before, not the human way at least. “What do I do?”
“It is simple” The man responded. “All you need to do is throw the line out into the water and—“
Alberto cut the man off. “Throw the line into the water!” Like a harpoon Alberto regaled back his arm and threw the fishing rod as far as he could into the sea. “Like that?” Alberto said proudly, admiring the distance he got on the throw. He turned to Massimo, expecting his amazement.
Instead of admiring the boy’s natural pitching talent, Massimo only looked out to see where his fishing rod had been thrown out into the water. “You’re uh … not supposed to actually “throw” the fishing rod.” Massimo knew that the patient needed for fishing would be something Alberto would struggle to hone.
“Oh …” Alberto’s shoulders sunk down. “I’m sorry” the sea monster was worried that he’d messed up his chance to learn how to fish.
“Do not worry” Massimo comforted the young sea monster. “Just go get the fishing rod so you may try again.”
“You got it captain!” Alberto saluted the fisherman before eagerly jumping into the water. After just a minute or so the boy returned with the fishing rod. He quickly shook off the water, his violet shimmering scales turning back to a more human brown skin tone. Finishing it off with his hair going from large purple fins to a brown curly pompadour.
Massimo pulled out a second fishing rod so he could demonstrate to Alberto what he was supposed to do. “Now, hold the fishing rod by its handle with both hands.”
Alberto followed closely to Massimo’s instructions. Mimicking the man’s movements.
“Reel back your arm and practice “throwing the line”” Massimo demonstrated what he ment, showing Alberto that he isn’t supposed to let go of the rod at all. After a few test swings, Alberto looked like he’d gotten the hang of the motion.
“Next, see this button? Right before you begin to swing out your arm press and hold it. That’s what makes the line go out.”
“Oh” Alberto understood now what the fisherman meant by “throwing the line out.”
Before casting out the first real line, Massimo has to show Alberto how to put on bait. Taking out a cup of worms and handing it to the young boy, Massimo told Alberto to open it up and take a worm out. Without hesitation Alberto took out one of the slimy bugs and went to go eat it. “No.” Massimo stopped his apprentice. “We don't eat them, they are for the fish.” Massimo showed Alberto how to carefully put a worm on the hook of the fishing line. “Be careful not to get it in your finger, it goes in easy but comes out hard.”
“You got it big guy.”Alberto replied, copying how Massimo impaled the worm multiple times.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah I am!”
Again the pair pulled back their arms and threw them forward again. This time the hooks with the momented continued to go out into the water.
“Now what?” The boy asked excitedly.
“Now we wait for a fish to bite our hooks.” Massimo replied. “When you see the little bauble go down under the water and feel a tug on your fishing pole, begin to pull back and turn this handle.”
“So we just wait here?”
“Yes.”
Alberto waited for what felt like an hour for something to happen, however it was more like 20 minutes. Eventually he saw the bauble begin to dip below the surface, before he felt a sharp tug at his line. “Uh sir” Alberto said worried, forgetting what to do next.
“Hold onto the rod and begin to reel it in” Massimo quickly refreshed his memory.
“OK!” Alberto made his attempt to try and catch whatever was pulling at his bait. The pole bent towards the sea, arching with the two opposing forces pulling at it. Massimo encouraged him every step of the way. Telling the young boy when to pull back and how to release some tension, so as not to break the fishing line. At one point a strong enough pull from the fish almost dragged Alberto off the boat. Catching the boy in his hand, Massimo put him down and started to really help him pull in the catch. Massimo could tell it was a fish with a bit of muscle on it, but it was no match for both fisherman. With ease Massimo pulling in the hook and a large fish landed into the boat.
“Excellent work my boy!” Massimo congratulated Alberto on his effort, patting him on the back. The fish was a thick looking salmon. It was more than 2 feet long, larger for being this close to shore.
“Wow! It’s huge!” Alberto was proud of his catch. “Not bad for a first try” The young boy said, full of joy.
“Let’s see what else you can catch today.”
“You got it sir!” Alberto eagerly cat out another line and waited just as impatiently for another chance at earning Massimo’s appraisal.
What he didn’t know was that even if he didn’t manage to catch a single fish that day, Massimo would have been just as proud of him.