Chapter 21, part 1

When I got to the kitchen to drink some water, Jimena was there.

After drinking water, I told her about fishing and asked her if I could watch it.

She thought about it for a while, and then she gave me her permission.

"I will need help cleaning all this fishes anyway, and it would also be better to go fishing first before we wash the clothes using soap in the river."

"Okay. So after fishing we will do the cloth washing." I said.

"That's correct." Jimena confirmed.

I went back to the deck and saw that Lucas had returned, and I approached him.

"I was looking for you before, but you had disappeared."

He looked at me and smiled shyly. He scratched his neck.

"Yes, I had an urgent need," he told me and looked away.

I smiled and changed the subject. "I asked Jimena and it is okay to watch the fishing. Can I tell Lady Brielle to come if she wants? When will it be?"

"Yes, of course you can tell her. Soon I believe. We will see what the men will say when they return."

I didn't understand the connection referring to the men, but I didn't ask anything more.

"I'm going to see what Lady Brielle is doing," I informed him. He shook his head, and I moved, making my way to the room, and I opened the door and went inside.

"Brielle, why are you not going out? Don't sit in the room alone all day."

Brielle looked at me and sighed. "And where should I go? What can I do? I don't want to be a trouble for those who are working. You have reason to be everywhere all day. What reason do I have?"

I smiled with understanding. "I imagine you can go out on deck to get some fresh air. I don't think it will be banned. And you will not be a trouble to them. If you see that they have a lot of work to do, and you indeed be a trouble to them, you can return to the room. Do you want me to ask them about it?"

He frowned. "If anyone is to ask, shouldn't it be me?"

I raised my eyebrows thoughtfully. "I don't know. If you want you can go and ask the captain."

"Okay. Let me think about it for a while and I will tell you."

"As you wish. For now you can come out with me to watch the fishing that the men will do in a little while."

"Okay," she told me and got up from the bed.

We climbed on deck and approached the handrail.

"Look the view, Brielle. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yes, it is." She agreed.

"Ah! Look, the boat with the men the captain had sent to check the seabed in that bay is coming back," I told her, pointing to the spot that the captain had shown me.

When the boat approached the ship, the men informed the captain that it was safe to enter the bay.

"Okay, very well. Don't elevate the boat on the ship as you will need it later. Just don't get in our way," the captain raised his voice to be heard.

"Okay, Captain."

"Men, lift the anchor and open the middle sail. We set sail for the bay ".

He didn't have to say it a second time. Immediately the men obeyed his orders, and the boat moved until it reached the bay and dropped the anchor again.

The small boat then approached the ship, and with a rope ladder, more men from the crew entered. Among them was Lucas as well, passing them the wooden box with the nets, and entered the boat.

They rowed until they reached the middle of the river and threw the nets. And then they waited, and we stayed with them.

The time came for them to collect the nets, and then I understood why they needed so many men. They all worked together, pulling nets that eventually turned out to be filled with fish. The light reflected on their smooth surface, and from the handrail, we stood and watched we saw the glow fishes emitted.

The other men on the boat started cheering, and I couldn't help but smile with their joy.

When they carried the fish on the boat, I couldn't believe the quantity of them. From a distance, I couldn't calculate, but now, it was a whole mountain.

What would we do with so many fish?

Jimena when she came on deck carrying Knives for cleaning the fishes. When she saw how many there were, on her face spread a huge smile.

"Well done, boys!" she told them and then added. "And now gather. We have a lot of work to do with that great catch. The fishes must be cleaned immediately. We will keep apart what we will cook to eat today. And the rest will go for salting."

"At your command, kitchen's woman captain," said one of the men, and everyone laughed.

Jimena handed out knives to everyone. Even Alma came to help even if she hadn't removed the splint yet. The doctor said that it would take a few more days for her ankle to heal completely.

We sat around the fishes on low stools, and in front of us, instead of tables, we had barrels cut in half. As luck would have it, I was sitting a little out of place with the others, and they almost turned their backs on me.

Jimena was in charge of supplying our 'table' with fish and picking up the cleaned ones so that we didn't have to waste valuable time doing it ourselves.

I had fish in front of me, but I didn't know how to clean them. I looked at them, turning them here and there; I didn't know what to do. I started to panic. I glanced at the others, but I couldn't see what they were doing to copy their movements from where I was sitting.

I didn't have a clue what to do, and cold sweat had started to bathe me.

They had all kept their nose to the grindstone cleaning of the fishes, and the metallic, rhythmic sound of fast-moving knives filled the air.

I didn't know what to do, from where to start, when I felt someone standing next to me at some point. I swallowed hard.

I didn't dare to lift my face and see who it was.