The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

There used to be a tuna processing plant in the center of Marzamemi village. Some of the tuna caught by the village's fishermen would be sent there, some would be salted and then sold, and some would be made into canned tuna in oil.

The economic climate has been bad these past few years, and the processing plant went bankrupt two years ago, with all the workers being laid off and sent back home.

Rosalia was one of the workers.

Her husband died young; one morning he went out to sea and never returned.

She has never remarried all these years. She used to be able to make ends meet with the wages she earned at the processing plant, even though it was tight.

Later, she lost her job and got older. She left Marzamemi to work as a waiter or a laborer in a big city, but no one wanted her. She could only go out to sea to fish using the tools her husband left behind.

She was the only woman in Marzamemi to go to sea alone.

But if a woman isn't truly desperate... what woman would go to the sea alone?

Her technique is not good.

Sea urchins like to hide in the crevices of rocks during the day, so she can't find them. She can only go at night, which is dangerous, because sea urchins lie on the surface of the rocks at night.

She is also a very poor swimmer.

They can't go very deep, and they have to come out to breathe after a while, so they catch whatever they see, and they never look down on small fish and shrimp that nobody wants.

But these things were still not enough for her to live her life as a "life" rather than just existing.

The rickety wooden door, the leaky roof, the old fishing gear... everything was a money-eating machine that dragged her into the abyss.

However, she couldn't ignore these things.

Because she lost the dilapidated wooden door, the leaky roof, and the old fishing gear... she no longer even had the right to live.

Rosalia is skilled at pickling fish. To earn more money, she buys tuna from familiar fishermen at low prices, pickles it, and sells it.

Although the profit is meager, she can save enough to buy a new door in two more months. The thought of a better future makes her feel that it's all worth it.

"After replacing the gate, next we'll change the fishing gear." Rosalia walked along the shore carrying a basket of marinated tuna, seemingly talking to herself, yet also confiding in the sea. "Simon, what should I replace first?"

"Aunt Rosalia!" A clear, childlike voice rang out from behind.

Monica jogged over and offered Rosalia a hand to support the heavy fish basket.

"Is today the day to deliver the pickled fish?"

Rosalia took the small hand that was supporting the fish basket, pulled her to her side, and said with a smile:

"Yes, today is the day to deliver the pickled fish. After I sell this basket of fish, how about I buy little Monica some ice cream?"

Monica skipped and hopped as she said:

"I already had ice cream today, but Mom said you can come to my house for dinner."

Rosalia tightened her grip on her hand and said:

"Okay, I'll be there after I deliver the fish. You go and have some fun, but remember to go somewhere cool, you look so hot."

Monica wouldn't let go of her hand, and said like a little adult:

"You always promise me you'll go but then you never do. Today I want to go with you. I'll go with you to deliver the pickled fish, and then we'll go home together!"

Rosalia wiped the sweat from Monica's forehead and nodded gently:

"Okay, then you can come with me."

The two, one big and one small, walked hand in hand along the embankment, their laughter echoing all the way.

.....

The fishmonger was Rosalia's former colleague, a young man named Navas, who lived in the next village.

Young people are quick-witted, and after the tuna processing plant went bankrupt, he started collecting these privately owned salted fish and taking them to town or Sarakusa to sell.

After more than a year, the business was barely making ends meet, and they even hired a helper.

Rosalia and Monica waited for a while at the crossroads at the edge of the village before Navas appeared in his pickup truck.

Before even getting off the bus, he started complaining:

"Business hasn't been good lately, Rosalia. I can't give you 13000 per kilogram anymore. I'll lose money if it goes over 10000 lira."

"Didn't the price drop just three months ago?" Rosalia told Monica to stay under the tree while she carried the fish basket over alone. "Before that, it was 16000 lira."

Navas sat in the driver's seat, fanning himself with his hand:

"You know what the situation is like outside. People are reluctant to eat, reluctant to drink, and even more reluctant to spend money on pickled fish, especially for things like this sold in bulk."

As he spoke, he took money from his briefcase:

"Here you go, 30 lira. This will be the price from now on."

Navas's men jumped out of the truck, opened the back of the van, and waited for Rosalia to deliver the salted fish.

Rosalie picked up her fish basket and turned to leave.

"I said last time that I would only compromise once, and you promised me that you would never lower the price again before I would continue to work with you. Now you've gone back on your word. These salted fish are fine to keep, I'll find a new buyer."

"What do you mean?" Navas leaned halfway out. "You promised to give me 30 kilograms of salted fish every week, and now you're not. How am I supposed to explain this to the boss who already placed the order?"

Rosalia glared back with a sharp look:

"You know the price of tuna. If it's pickled and sells well, it'll fetch 13000 lira per kilogram. You won't make much profit at all. If it's 10000 lira, I'll be the one losing money."

Navas jumped out of the car in a hurry and chased after Rosalia to explain:

"I told you, the overall economic situation isn't good, so prices will always fluctuate. Maybe they'll go back up in a couple of months. You can ask other people if you don't believe me, or you can find new business partners. But you have to sell this basket of salted fish to me; I've already placed an order for them."

Rosalia waved to Monica, who was in the distance, signaling her to go back together:

"We've known each other for so many years, you should know my temperament. It's not that I won't take a penny from you, but that no one can take a single penny from me. I must do what I promise, and I never promise what I can't do."

"Yes, yes, yes." Navas grabbed her fish basket. "I only asked you to buy salted fish because I know you're a principled person. I've never asked any of my colleagues before, but you have to keep this basket of fish!"

Rosalia stopped, her composure vanished, and she seemed like a different person, fiercely warning Navas:

Don't touch my fish basket.

Navas beckoned to his colleague to come and help, his tone hardening as he spoke:

"I've already ordered this basket of fish. You can't leave me with no way to explain this. We've been working together for so long, and you've made quite a bit of money from me."

The implication is—you'll just have to suffer this loss this time!

The creaking sound of the already overburdened wooden door was right next to her ears. Money can be earned slowly, but after this loss, Rosalia was even further away from her goal of replacing the door... How could she agree to that?

The frail woman suddenly displayed astonishing strength, snatched the fish basket, and issued a stern warning:

"Try touching it again."

Navas was stunned for a second by this imposing aura.

The person in front of me was like a mother beast fighting to the death, issuing a final warning to her enemies.

Navas's men stood by, unsure whether to help or not.

Two men are bullying a woman, what's going on here?

Navas had lost his temper and yelled at him:

"What the hell are you standing there for? Are you afraid of a widow like her?"

After saying that, he immediately reached out and grabbed the fish basket:

"I'm sorry, Rosalia, I'll give you another 1, making it 31 lira. This basket of salted fish must be delivered to Pachino today!"

Two grown men and a widow got into a fight over a basket of pickled fish, and neither of them would let go.

Monica, who was standing to the side, was already terrified.

But remembering what her mother had told her countless nights—"Aunt Rosalia is a pitiful person, we should help her as much as possible"—the little girl cried as she bravely rushed over.

"Don't bully Aunt Rosalia!"

"Don't come any closer!" Rosalia immediately called out to stop them.

Having experienced the pain of losing a loved one, she understands how important children are to their parents.

She immediately abandoned the fight for the fish basket to protect the children who rushed towards her.

But the scene was too chaotic, and Navas still accidentally bumped into Monica, who was throwing punches.

The little girl fell backward like a frail doll. Although she managed to steady herself, she was so frightened that she burst into tears.

At that moment, Rosalia let out a heart-wrenching, desperate scream.

Why?

Why is life so hard?

She held back the tears that were about to spill from her eyes and drew the rope-cutting knife she always carried.

After her husband died, she carried this knife with her every day.

"You think widows are easy to bully?" Rosalia's hair was disheveled and covered her face, mixed with sweat, making her look like a madwoman. "You're wrong. Widows have nothing to lose, including their lives."

As she spoke, she picked up her knife and walked over...

But the sudden sound of hurried footsteps made the crazed widow stop in her tracks.

She turned around and saw a young man panting heavily behind her.

She had seen this man before, at the fish market that morning, and she had rudely yelled at him and sent him away.

Rosalia didn't know why this person would appear here at this moment.

But no matter who he is or what he wants to do, as long as he shows hostility... there's one more spot on the 'fight to the death' list.

"Go back to Marco and tell him something happened at the village entrance." Leo shielded Monica behind him.

After the little girl ran away crying, he picked up a brick from the road and walked toward Navas.

Navas and his men were too frightened to move.

A madman with a knife is scary enough, but why is there a man with a brick?

"Let me explain—" Navas stopped his grabbing action.

"I don't want to hear any explanations," Leo's voice was chillingly cold.

The Godfather is very angry now.

Putting aside how much effort it took to find you...

If you had arrived a minute later, someone would have died on my turf!

He was certain that this widow was truly capable of murder!