Finches

Chapter 6 - Into Town

After another day's worth of rest, Colt was feeling as good as new. His wound had healed as well as it was going to, and wasn't really causing him too much pain anymore. He was sure he could get up and move around just fine, though the fisherman had insisted he remained in the bed for the entire day yesterday. All the sitting and laying around had made Colt antsy, and he couldn't wait to finally get up and about.

Neither could the fisherman, it seemed. As soon as Colt had woken up and eaten breakfast that morning, the old man had pulled up a chair and sat at the foot of his bed. He had evidently been thinking of all the things he'd get Colt to do, and he was ready to share the detailed itinerary.

"I go out fishing every morning," the fisherman started, tugging at his white facial hair, "that's when you'll do some chores around the shack. Dusting, sweeping, organizing, and whatnot. When I get back, I'd like you to place the fish in baskets and take them into town to sell. You'll also do some shopping and other tasks around town. You can get lunch somewhere in town too, if you like. I don't care how you spend your time after that, but dinner will be here when it starts to get dark. I may have some tasks for you before bed, but you'll have to check in with me about that."

Colt mulled this over in his head for a second, visualizing his schedule. "Okay," he said, "and what are you going to be doing when you get back from fishing?"

The old man leaned back and smiled a little. "I'm not completely sure. I'm usually busy all day, without any free time at all to worry about spending. I expect I'll take a nap after I get back from fishing, and then busy myself with making dinner after that. Who knows, maybe I'll even pick up a hobby or two."

"Yeah, well, don't get too used to it," Colt said. "As soon as I pay off what I owe, I'm out of here."

"Well until then..." the fisherman stood up and cleared his throat. He grabbed a broom leaning against the wall and extended it out to Colt. "Time to get to work."

Colt grabbed the broom and did as he was told. He began to slowly start tidying up the house while the fisherman prepared to leave. He worked fast and efficiently, even after the fisherman was gone. He'd been given a whole slate of morning tasks that he'd probably still be working on long after the old man got back from fishing. He didn't want to disappoint his caretaker, though, so he found himself working harder than he ever remembered working before. As he dusted off the tops of the cabinets and straightened the frames of the pictures on the walls, the thought occurred to him that he'd done more work in that morning than he'd done for years on the Bloody Manta. He wondered why. Was it because he had a reason to work, or because he had some respect for the person for whom he was working?

Or perhaps it was because his mind was on something else entirely. He had already figured out what his next move would be and had a whole day to think it through. He was going to help out the fisherman as much as he could for as long as he could, but Colt wasn't built to stay in one place for very long. He needed something stimulating like an adventure, and sensed a new one was about to begin. He just needed to play his cards right.

After a couple hours of work, Colt was drenched in sweat. He was feeling hot and tired, and he wanted more than anything to get out of the shack. So, after a couple more minutes of suffering, he concluded that he deserved a break.

He stepped outside of the shack and was met with cool, fresh air. He breathed it in and knew exactly what he was going to do. He pulled his tunic over his head and laid it down by the shore. He sat down, leaned his head back against the tunic, and stared up at the sky. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep completely.

The rest was nice, if not long. It felt as if as soon as Colt had closed his eyes he'd been jolted back awake again. He felt a splash of cold water hit him and he sat up straight. The fisherman was standing before him, back from his fishing trip, and had poured a bucket full of water on him.