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24: Big Fish

Cindy was almost pulled off her feet into the water. With a great amount of effort Daryl watched as she planted her feet and hauled back on the rod. A sense of pride filled him as he watched his daughter start catching her first fish. He called over to his daughter. “Give it some line, you’ll break it if you don’t let it run.”

Cindy called out, “How do I do that? There is no line thingy!”

Daryl squinted his eyes taking a closer look at the rod his daughter was using it it was just a rod with a long line attached to the end of it. A primitive collection of tools. “Ok, take a few steps towards the water and when it starts to come back to you pull back. You’ll have to dance with the fish. Tire it out.”

Cindy started to shuffle forward as the line was pulled so tight. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped it hard. She leaned and twisted going back and forth following the fish around the pond. Daryl didn’t dare move and spook the fish even more as she fought and struggled. His eyes gleamed with pride as Cindy did her best.

“Stamina, self, channel!” Called Cindy as her stamina was draining towards the bottom. Quickly she changed her mana to stamina so that she could fight on. Her feet were getting wet as she stepped into the water trying not to slip on the mud that was under it. She pulled and struggled to walk backwards and get the creature closer to the shore.

The fish seemed to get weaker as Cindy took her first step backwards. Daryl silently cheered her on as one slow step after another as she retreated onto solid ground. Then they both got to see the first sign of the fish. It was huge, silver scales on its back gleamed in the sunshine with red stripes of color down its sides. It flailed and splashed as it got closer to its own doom.

Cindy fell back onto her butt with one final pull. The fish flew out of the water as it shimmered in the light. It hovered there. Perfectly still as it shined and twirled slowly turning into a golden orb of light. It slowly fell to the ground at Cindy’s feet before being absorbed. Cindy’s smile melted any thoughts from Daryl’s mind. The sheer happiness of his daughter washed any doubts about this world away for the moment. Even as his torso became dry he watched as she skipped and threw her arms around.

Daryl made his way to the edge of the water and sat on the ground looking at his happy daughter. “So what did you catch?” The sheer joy radiating off of Cindy literally brightened the world around her.

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She stopped and looked into the distance, her eyes glazing over, “It’s called a ‘Red Striped Lake Bass’. It says I can cook it, but it also has the symbol for building materials. Maybe I can catch more?!” Cindy looked around at the lake seeing something that Daryl couldn’t. “Over here!” Cindy sprinted along the shore to another spot.

As Daryl stood up he could see the shimmering of fish in the water and wondered how his daughter could have seen it from so low to the ground. Walking over slowly the ground squished beneath his rapidly drying boots. This time he sat nearby as Cindy perfected her cast out into the water. The worry that this would have been the first time that she could have had some sort of relief.

Cindy caught yet another fish and soon was going onto the next spot. Daryl watched in amazement as her focus on the water was sharp, her ADHD turning more into a hyperfocus. Soon though she was exhausted and walking back to her father. She smiled at him and put her hands up like she used to as a toddler asking to be picked up.

Daryl’s large hand scooped her up with an easy movement that is getting easier by the day. He held her up to his shoulder while she rested and looked at the sun shining through the canopy. Cindy sighed as she leaned against her father’s neck and looked out in a sudden moment of peace.

“Thanks Dad,” She whispered. Though her stamina was full she felt tired from all the fun she had for the last few hours of gathering. Several fish, dozens of bugs, and a bunch of new exotic herbs she could grow at the farm.

“What have you been doing since you got here?” Daryl tried to broach the topic once more. Her feelings about it seemed to be touchy and tender. Some worry that she had suffered something horrific flashed in his mind.

“Learning, mostly learning and grinding for new gear. My special ability to keep spell runes makes it a lot smarter for me to get every type of equipment possible. Though hunting monsters every day has gotten boring. Like playing the same game over and over without trying anything new.” Cindy yawned as the summer heat started making her sleepy. Thoughts of a nice nap flitted through her mind.

“All alone?” Daryl probed as his daughter relaxed.

“No, I had someone with me for a small time before they left. They… didn’t want to wait for me to grind for all my gear. Said I was wasting my time. I… miss them a lot.” Cindy sounded so small as she spoke and she began to climb down to lay in her dad’s lap. “I need a nap dad. Would you watch over me?”

“I’ll always watch over you Badger. As long as I’m here I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of. You can take as much time as you think is needed to grind for gear.” As Cindy laid down along her father’s thigh he placed one hand over her as a makeshift blanket to keep her safe from any wind that might come through the glade.

As she slept Daryl watched for anything that might come. Images of his daughter struggling and repeatedly doing the same thing filled his mind. It wasn’t like her to be able to focus on one repeated task for so long. She said she had been here for a month? Who else had been here with her? Another person summoned by Gaia?

Frowning, Daryl wondered when the secrets would end.