O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
“Somebody switch on the dryer,” Yeshua said, “We’ve got to get
him out of there. This time, check to see if anyone else is there too—
and send them back
immediately
.”
•
Harvey, Lemon, and Vlad had all spent what seemed to be a very long
time (though there was no time
per se
in the Dreamtime) together in
a dinghy, fishing. When they had finally managed to catch a large
fish, an argument broke out over whether or not to throw it back.
They all seemed to disagree on its value, because though it was a very
big fish, it was not particularly attractive. In fact it was downright
ugly, even for a fish, and furthermore it smelled awful.
“Throw it back!” said Vlad. “It’s disgusting!”
“Holy mackerel!” cried Harvey all of a sudden.
“Mackerel?” said Hopkins, “No, mackerel ain’t this ugly.”
“No—
look
!” Harvey replied, pointing starboard. The other two
turned to see what it was that had him so worked up.
Coming at them at full speed, a giant swordfish was skimming
the top of the water, coming straight at them. The three fishermen
screamed and instinctively ducked to safety. As Hopkins dropped the
original fish, the advancing swordfish heaved its massive body out of
the water and impaled it, both of them sailing clear over the boat, and
plunging back into the sea.
“The big one that got away,” said Harvey after they all caught
their breath.
“There sure is some fierce competition among these fish!” noted
Hopkins. “They’ve gotta kill each other sometimes to save
themselves. Let’s try again. There’s plenty of fish in the sea.”
They took up their fishing poles and waited.
And waited—
And waited—
Finally, when Vlad could take it no more, he stood up in the boat
and yelled, “God damn it! What’s with you stupid fish? We’ve been
waiting for ages!
I give up!
”
Before the boat had a chance to tip over, the other two pulled
Vlad back down into a seated position.
“Of course, you lummox, just invite them in,” said Harvey
sarcastically, “That will work.”
Oddly, it did.
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