The Legend of the Golden Carp part 3

Gorge opens his eyes. Periphirilia is sound asleep, lying on her side with her face close to his.

Thump - Thump - Thump

The sound of Gorge's heartbeat is loud and frantic.

Should I wake her up? On the other hand, maybe I should find the boat before she wakes up.

Gorge can't take his eyes off her face as he tries to figure out what to do next. The very sight of her presses him to stare.

Her eyelids flicker, and then she opens her eyes.

"Huh, you are awake already? Good morning"

"Morning..." Periphirilia replies sleepily

Gorge looks unusually calm.

"Have you been awake for long? You know you could have woken me up; the sun looks pretty high already. It's probably past 10 a.m. already."

She yawns and rubs her eyes.

"But you said that we have a long day ahead of us now that we must search for the boat and rest.
So I waited till you got the highest quality rest.
The boat could have gone anywhere, you know.
Maybe it swam until it fell off the planet and is swimming alone in the cosmos."

Periphirilia looks a bit perplexed.

"Uhmm, I don't think you can fall off the planet by swimming in the river."

"Yes, you can!" Immediately shouts back Gorge

"I have heard the fishermen talking about it.
One evening, as I was walking past the river, I couldn't help but accidentally overhear the fishermen plotting and sharing their deepest, darkest secrets.
So I had no choice but to hide myself and listen.
You know, just in case they are planning to do something dangerous.
Because then I would have stopped them and saved the whole world.

They talked about how one of their friends started sailing the river with a small sailboat. The boat was passed down through generations of the Fisherman family, an old but pretty and well-built boat with a big star on its helm. While the boat had served the family well, the area ran out of fish, so they had to travel into dangerous, unexplored waters to make a living. This time he was determined to make the big catch and set his family up for good. They even talked about how he said he wouldn't mind catching the golden carp.

Well, anyways, he kept sailing, hoping to make it big. He sailed, sailed. Days passed, and those turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, but the lone fisherman didn't catch a single fish. However, the fisherman was determined not to turn back until he made a single catch, so he continued to sail. 

At this point, he was long out of all his rations and supplies; he was so starved that he no longer had the strength to use the fishing rod or place the nets, so he continued to sail, getting carried by the water without being able to do anything, but then he did it, he had reached the end of the world. The boat dropped, and now he's swimming in the cosmos, catching many stars with his rods and nets. Some fishermen even said that if you look closely at night, you can see their fallen friend catching stars in the sky."

"Don't you think this story is a bit far-fetched?" asks Periphirilia

"Well, of course not." Replies Gorge
"All of the fishermen believe it.
And you should know that fishermen are generally a skeptical lot. Do you recall how those around the guy who spotted the golden carp refused to believe him?
Plus, you don't think that their friend didn't just disappear for no reason? If he's not even catching stars in the sky, what did he do all these years?"

"Yeah, I believe you."

She hands him a fish on a stick.

The shock on Gorge's face says it all.

"Whaaaaaat, where did you get this from?!"

"I made this while you were busy telling your stories. I reeled in some fish, prepared them, and even found some spices."

"Wow, you are so amazing," says Gorge with a sparkling face.
"The food is delicious, too."

"You know what? Maybe from now on, I will call you ms amazing since you are so good at everything you do."

Periphirilia blushes and looks down.

"Thanks"

"Now that we've finished eating, we should look for the boat."

"Let's go," Periphirilia agrees.

"Great adventure, here we come!" Shouts gorge

They both strolled along the river's edge, but the experience differs greatly from strolling along the city's concrete waterfront. They can walk carefree because the sand and grass are so pleasant to their feet and the nose. Even though it's peaceful, there is still a fair amount of environmental noise, such as birds and insects chirping, wind rustling the leaves of the trees and plants, the sound of gentle waves, and the splash of the occasional fish.

 Rather than braving the noise of cars, bikes, and people talking, shouting, yelling, and running along the city's shore, you can enjoy a peaceful stroll along the water. The act of simply strolling along this shore is calming. They are both silently appreciating the journey they are on when, all of a sudden, Periphirilia shouts out: 

"Oh no! Look !! It's our boat!"

She points to some big rocks on the shore.

And here it is; the wreckage of their boat.

"Maybe we can fix it." 

"Do you even know how to fix boats?" asks Periphirilia.

"Haha, of course not.
But maybe the Mises amazing could do something about it?"

She looks at him, annoyed.

Sigh

Picks up a piece of completely broken wood.

"No way, not even a god could fix this thing now."

"What about a golden carp?" Asks Gorge curiously

"Don't we need a boat to reach it in the first place?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess you are right."

"Well, don't mind; we just need to keep walking. I'm sure we will find ourselves another boat."

"Ummhh, what are the odds of finding a boat in a place no one has ever been?"

"I'm sure someone has been here before.
Like the golden carp guy and the guy that fell out of the world."

"Well, we just broke the guys who saw the golden carp boat, and the other guy's boat is off this planet in the cosmos.
So whose boat are we proposing we are supposed to find?"
Asks Periphirilia, slightly annoyed.

"I don't know what to say, but I'm sure I'll find something.
It's not like we can stop now and not do anything."
A grin spreads across Gorge's face.
"Let's go forward until we find the golden carp or reach the end of the world."

Periphirilia also smiles.
"Let's go."

The night draws in, and as they continue walking, they come across an unlikely sight: a massive wooden star protruding from the trees along the shore.

"Omg, I bet it's going to be something cool," says Gorge.
"Let's go and check it out."

"Well, it's not like we are going to lose anything.
Although it's getting dark, maybe it's some shelter that could be worth checking out."
Periphirilia also agrees, and they both head toward the wooden star.

Right before them is a beached sailing ship with a massive wooden star at the helm.
Both of them are speechless.

Gorge looks down.

Is that... He thinks to himself.

There is a skeleton lying on the ground. In his hand, he's holding a fragment of a large nest, and further ahead in that nest is a skeleton of a gigantic, never seen before long fish that resembles a snake or a dragon.

They silently look at the magnificent scene for a moment until Gorge finally speaks up.

"This guy is so amazing! Not only did he drop off the earth, but he found a way to return, caught this huge mysterious fish as promised, and then headed back to his family!"

Periphirilia is amazed by the unusual view.

"Yeah, he's most definitely something special.
However, something is unsettling about this whole situation."

"Like what?" Aks Gorge, "Are you scared of bones?"

She looks at him.

"Uhmm, not really; it's just that when you look at this scene, doesn't it look like the fisherman was deliberately fleeing from the boat? It also looks like he got killed or died before he could get very far."

The scene suddenly turned from mesmerizing to straight-up terrifying.

A wave of cold sweat suddenly hit Gorge.

The light has nearly disappeared.

Night has come.