EVERYBODY in Blackville liked Satesh. Many thought he had a few screws loose in the head. He had quite a reputation while ‘attending’ school. Satesh went to school but not into the school. As soon as the bell rang he was off like the shot of a gun.

His entire time would be spent swimming, stealing fruits, smoking a collection of unfinished cigarettes or the butts, and embarking on adventures. The latter were all creatures of his imagination. He tried capturing the sun, chasing the rain and commanding the wind. All ended in failure but he always had quite a blast.

He left school at age 13 and began working on Mr Logan’s donkey cart. They moved anything and everything; garbage, furniture, mud, sand, cow manure, dead trees and branches. If people left things carelessly whenever the cart passed by- bicycles, clothes on lines, shoes, chickens and other movable assets would vanish.

Logan migrated and gave the cart to Satesh. The boy was 19 and had not changed much.
Blackville was located close to the ocean, a place that Satesh had spent plenty of time in. The small village was primarily a fishing community. Small boats were taken out onto the dangerous waters and seine and lines were used to catch fish. Then trouble hit the fishermen. More than one sighting of a ‘water muma’ was reported. Fear gripped everyone. Fewer and fewer boats dared to go out into the ocean. The economic impact was felt by the quiet folks of Blackville.

It was while drinking with his crew that Satesh got himself involved with the ‘water muma’ business. The fellas were talking about how dangerous the creature was and how many people had vanished from encounters with it. Satesh listened with open skeptism. Then he opened his mouth and put his size 11 foot in it.
“I is one man not afraid a nutting. I gon tame dat wata muma and mek she me slave,” he said. These were fierce-sounding words but the truth of the matter was that poor Satesh didn’t know why he blurted this out or how he was going to accomplish this unbelievable task. He made a mental note to stop talking too much especially when he had consumed a few too many drinks. He sought advice and this varied in nature.

“You should stop drinking and go and get a mental check-up!”
“Boy just get a cast net an try yo luck, yo neva know.”
“If I was you I would stay away from de sea.”
“Jus go close to de seaside pon moonlight night and yo in business.”
The best advice he got was from one of his drunken buddies.
“Satesh, rest yo shupidee self and stay pon de donkey cart”.

By the time he was sober he had made up his mind. He would conquer the woman of the sea. Now I could understand if he had made this decision when he was blind drunk. But sober? I began to agree that there were more than a few screws loose up there. A few bolts had been shaken off as well.
Satesh set about his newly proclaimed adventure. He bought a large and beautifully embroidered sheet. He cooked a pot of shine rice with tasty relish, white onion, black pepper, Irish potatoes and plenty garlic and seasoning. That was just the appetiser. The main course was a small Low Low. Now a Low Low is the largest local fish with scales, so a small one was a meal for four adults.

Satesh chose a full moon night to spring his trap. He walked down to the seaside and spread his sheet, picnic style. The food was placed on the sheets. The cooked fish was inside of a large covered basket. He settled down to wait. He must have dozed off, for when his eyes popped open from a strange sound, he looked around:
Splash!
Glitter!

A silvery, shimmering figure was approaching from the sea. Satesh felt his body going into panic mode and struggled to stay calm. When she stepped from the water Satesh thought he had lost his mind. She was the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen. He greeted her with shaking voice “W-w-welcome,” he said.
Silence.
“Please accept my gift as an offering of friendship.”
A smile lit up the beautiful face. Satesh was totally mesmerised. He just gaped at her. She began to eat the shine rice but Satesh stopped her.

“Wait, I have something special for you,” he said.
He opened the basket and carefully took out the main course. As he offered it to her he noticed a drastic changed of her features. Instead of the beautiful woman, she had become a snarling, dangerous creature. On her face was nothing less than pure fury. Her attack was swift and vicious. The next thing he knew something hit him with immense power and he was sailing into the water.

Boojuum!
Splash!
She caught him and dived into the murky water. A few moments later she returned to the shore to finish off the appetiser.
Poor Satesh forgot one golden rule. NO FISH!