Fishing and Trust

Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 16th October 2019

Characters: Humari, Tumaril, Atalia
Description: Humari takes Tumaril fishing and receives some valuable advice on trust
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 13, day 10 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Taril

Humari

"Now cast it gently, Tumaril. " Humari finished placing the bait on
the hook, handing the small pole to her son. Their bare feet dangled
off of the empty dock while the ocean's breeze pushed back stands of
hair that escaped her simple braid and fluttered through her son's
short blonde hair. Humari watched as Tumaril's face set in a rather
adorable expression of concentration, but had to duck as the line
barely missed her head before falling with a wet 'plunk' into the
water below.

"That was good. Just be careful. You nearly hooked me." She rubbed
the child's back. "Now hold the pole and watch the line. Wait until
you feel a little tug on your pole."

"' 'Kay. I get big fish."

"You know, when the boys were very little, they didn't get fish hooks.
Just weights on the line." Ataria stepped down the dock to where
Humari and Tumaril were standing. She had a basket over her arm that
was full of shellfish and seaweeds, and her skirts and apron were
tucked into her belt. She winked at Humari. "But I never told them
that."

"Hi, Nana! I fish!" Tumaril gave the woman proud smile, chin held high.

Humari looked up ad the woman approached and offered a slight smile.
"I'm sure they eventually figured it out. I didn't even think of
doing that. He wants to catch something big."

"And you will, won't you?" Ataria knelt beside her grandson and
ruffled his hair. "When you catch that big fish, you take it to me and
we'll cook it up together, hmm?" She glanced at Humari and smiled.
"You, me and your mum. And then we'll gobble it all up!"

Humari hadn't had much of an appetite, something Ataria had already
commented on, but if her son caught a fish, she knew that she would
be expected to eat least a bit of it. "Of course."

"Papa too? He come?" Tumaril looked hopefully at his mother and grandmother.

"No, baby. But we can tell him all about your big fish when you next
see him," Ataria said. She glanced at Humari. "What colour do you
think your big fish is going to be?" she asked Tumaril.

The disappointment in her son's face hurt. Humari couldn't mask her
pained expression but managed to look away before her son could see
it. Every day he asked about his Papa and Humari could only tell him
that his father was at home, loved him very much, but was busy
working on a special project. It stabbed her like a knife each time
the question of his father was spoken. Humari blinked tears quickly
away and caught her breath.

"Wed!" Tumaril answered, then looked back at the water, little round
face set in concentration. "Like uncoo catch."

"That's right, or maybe a big old silver one." Ataria ruffled
Tumaril's hair again as she stood. "How about you, dear? Are you going to catch
us a fish tonight as well?" she asked Humari.

Humari looked up at Taril's mother and quickly wiped at her eyes.
"No. I didn't bring a pole." She attempted a smile, but it didn't
quite reach her eyes. Her voice lowered. "He asks for him every day."

Atalia nodded. "He misses his father." She stated it as a fact, not an
accusation. The older woman hesitated, busying herself with re-tucking
her apron into her belt. She let the silence stretch for a moment
before asking gently, "And you?"

She felt a jolt of pain and misery. Looking over at Tumaril, who was
far too interested in watching his fishing line, Humari sighed. "Of
course I do. Every day."

"You know you and Tumaril have a home here for as long as you wish.
But... you're not happy." Taril's mother shifted to put her basket
over the other elbow. "What would make you happy?"

She bowed her head, staring at her own fingers as they twisted
together. Atalia was right of course; she wasn't happy. Her heart
hurt more than her body ever had. She gave a soft, bitter laugh.
"Forgetting everything that happened. Not to have bad dreams. Feeling
safe. Being able to trust him again. But I don't know if that'll ever
happen. I can't forget it. What if the next time someone he's
angered comes for our son?" She looked over at Tumaril, eyes pained.
"How can I trust him not to lie to me again? I can't. Not yet. Maybe
not ever."

"That's the very definition of trust," Atalia said quietly. "You never
really know if the other person will live up to it. But you do it
anyway." She sighed. "One thing I've learned, marrying into this
family, is that sometimes there are lies. Sometimes it's because the
things that they do are... I don't want to know about them. Sometimes
it's out of love. Sometimes it's to protect. And sometimes it's
misguided... but Ralion is only human, and so am I."

Humari bit her lower lip. "I can't. Not yet. I just can't. I'm not
ready and..."

"Mama!" Tumaril squealed in delight. "It tugged! It tugged!"

"Hold tight, Tumaril!" Atalia told him before turning her attention
back to Humari. "That goes for you, too. Find what makes you happy and
hold it tight as best you can. And-- oops!" She lunged for Tumaril's
pole to help secure it, spilling her basket of seaweed and shellfish
in the process, but she was laughing. "Looks like you may have caught
something!"

Humari turned to help her son and with Atalia's help, managed to
assist Tumaril in bringing up a wriggling packtail about the length of
her own hand. Laughing at her son's excitement, she looked up and
spoke softly. "Big enough to cook for him, perhaps? I'd hate to have
to throw his first catch back. "

"I think it'll fit nicely into a frying pan." Atalia caught the end of
the line with one hand and pulled the little fish over the dock. From
her belt she withdrew a small, slim blade that was usually called on
to open shellfish, but in this case worked well to quickly kill the
fish. "This is a packtail, Tumaril. See how spikey it is? If you ever
touch them, make sure that you wash your hands very well afterward."

Nearly bouncing himself off of the dock, Tumaril nodded eagerly.
"Otay! I show to ganpa! Please?"

Humari had to catch him before he hopped off of the dock, but laughed
and nodded. "I think your grandfather will be very proud of you. Let's
go take it back and show him, hm?" She looked up at Atalia. "Thank
you. I'll think about what you've said."

Atalia smiled. "Any time. But for now... do you know how to gut a packtail?"

The ones she'd always bought at the market were already cleaned,
Humari thought with a slight frown. "No, but it wouldn't hurt to learn
how. "

Last updated on the October 26th 2019

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Fishing and Trust