I have always been afraid of the water. Or should I say what lives in it? Coming from a bloodline of fishermen this is rather unfortunate. Maybe if my father had been angry at me for it, it would have been much easier. I could have resented him for it. But instead he just told me to stay home and help my mother out; and I, being the coward son that I am, did just that. I was never forced to go near the vicious waters that surround our small island. I never had to get over my fear. Even when my father grew old and his body started to decay. Even when the fish he brought were no longer enough to support the family. I let the terror overcome my morals and didn’t do anything to help. Even when the word spread of an unyielding storm, my father went into the sea alone. He will be fine, I told my mother. Now I wonder if those words really were for her, or if they were for me to soften the blow of shame. Days turned into a week, and there were no signs of him. Then it happened, late at night a knock on our door. I answered, my mother standing behind me let out a whimper as soon as she saw the face of my father’s friend.

“I’m sorry, Martha.” His eyes full of pity met mine. “We found his boat but.. he wasn’t in it.”

I was possessed. That was the only explanation. Possessed by the desire to mend my wrongs, my heart filled with the need to finally do something even though it seemed too late. And so, when my mother finally fell asleep, I went to the shore. My legs moving by themselves, racing thoughts going through my mind. I didn’t even think about not knowing how to sail, I just got on the boat and went into the waters. My fear was overpowered by something much more important to me. The sky started to show the first signs of dawn. And then, just when I thought everything I did was futile, that I was an idiot because now my mother would really be alone, I saw him. Lying on top of a floating blue rock with a whole in it, peacefully sleeping.

“Papa!” I called out to him.

But he didn’t wake. He wasn’t dead, that much I was sure of. His chest was going up and down in slow intervals.

“Papa!”

Waves started to form and the blue rock suddenly floated away from me. A shadow six times the size of my father’s boat appeared beneath me. My knees gave in and my hands grasped the edge of the boat. I was now living in flesh what I thought to be my worst nightmare, and yet I wasn’t scared about dying. All I could think of was my father, now ten feet away from me. The boat started to rock back and forth, and just when I thought I would drown before getting to him something emerged from the water. Covered in drops of sea, was now a huge fish staring at me with beady black eyes. It didn’t have any scales, instead its blue skin was slick. On its wide back, was my sleeping father. I gasped for air, not realizing I had been holding my breath. How would I get to my father? How could I get him down from that monster? My shaky hands were tight on the edge of the boat.

“Papa!” I tried once again.

My father didn’t answer, instead I heard a weak wail. I stared at the monster in confusion. Could it possibly understand me?

“Give him back you monster!”

Another wail. I was amazed, to say the least. The creature didn’t make any attempt to eat me or drown me. It just kept its beady gaze locked on me.

“Please give him back,” my voice finally broke. “It’s my fault. If you want someone, take me instead.”

I don’t know how long I kept sobbing, until I noticed the creature receding into the waters. I could not believe my eyes, my father was now in front of me. I willed my shaky hands to wrap around him and pull him into the boat.

“Thank you!” I managed to say. “Thank you!”

The creature didn’t go back up, I only heard its distant wail as it disappeared in the sunlit sea.