Chapter 16
The morning light fell on her pale face, and the sea breeze brushed through her hair, carrying a salty and damp smell.
“Would you like to go fishing with me?”
Elliot was sorting out the fishing nets, not even looking up as he asked.
Victoria stared at his skilled movements for a while, then nodded.
The small fishing boat gently rocked with the waves, Victoria sat at the bow, watching Elliot’s bronze arms pull up the heavy fishing net. Droplets of water slid off his sturdy forearm in the sunlight.
“He took it.”
He suddenly threw her a small bucket,
Pick out the fish inside and release the small ones.”
Victoria looked down at the fish and shrimp wriggling in the bucket, feeling a bit at a loss. She had killed people and fired guns, but she had never done such a mundane thing before.
Elliot raised an eyebrow.
Won’t you?”
He squatted down beside her and grabbed a shiny silver fish,
“This bream can be kept, this small yellow croaker should be released, let it grow.”
Victoria learned to pick up fish like him, and when her fingertips touched the slippery fish body, she couldn’t help but shrink a little.
“Scared?”
“Just not used to it.”
“I got used to it after a few more times.”
He said, and cast out the net again.
In the evening, they returned home with a full load. Melina set up a charcoal fire in the yard, and the aroma of grilled fish wafted through the air.
Victoria sat on a small stool, watching Elliot deftly scale the fish, and suddenly spoke
“Why did you organize the martial arts competition?”
Elliot’s movements paused, the firelight reflecting on his profile, creating a play of light and shadow.
“Your organization just throws the bodies into the sea and they end up here. Sometimes we find dead bodies from your organization, sometimes we find survivors and try to save them.”
“Some people have the same reaction as you when they wake up, but they learn after playing more.”
Victoria stopped asking questions. She watched the flickering flames and suddenly realized that this was the first time in ten years that she had felt “calm”
There were no gunshots, no betrayals, only the sound of waves and crackling charcoal.
“Try it ”
Elliot handed her a string of golden–brown grilled fish
“The first person to go out to sea must take the first bite.”
Victoria took it and took a small bite. The fish was tender and fresh, with the aroma of charcoal, warning her stomach
Mella asked lovingly.
Victoria nodded, with a slight, involuntary ward curve at the corner of her mouth
Goodel
“Hmm, delicious.”
looked at her rare smile, her eyes softened
Night fell, the stars twinkled, Victoria looked up at the sky and listened to Melina beside her chattering about the interesting stories in the village, feeling that “it’s pood to be alive.”
On the fifth day of clam digging, Victoria followed Elliot back from the beach and, for the first time, truly entered the village.
The damp cobblestone path wound upwards, flamloed by low brick houses. “Fishing nets hung on bamboo poles, swaying gently in the sea breeze.” Victoria walked barefont, with her pants rolled up to her knees, carrying a bucket of freshly dug clams in her hands. Elliot walked ahead of her, carrying fishing gear on his shoulder, occasionally looking back at her to make sure she was keeping up.
However, when they stepped into the village, the once bustling streets suddenly fell silent.
Several old fishermen who were mending fishing nets looked up, a hint of disgust flashing in their cloudy eyes. The woman sitting on the doorstep shelling beans stopped her movements and stared at her coldly.
Victoria continued to walk forward expressionlessly.
This look, she was too familiar with it, hatred, disgust, fear. For ten years, she had seen it in countless people’s eyes, and had long learned to ignore it. However, just as th
“You bitch!”
they passed the old banyan tree in the center of the village, a thin woman suddenly rushed out from the crowd,
