The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

The nights in Marzamemi are exceptionally long.

Every day at sunset, the villagers begin preparing a sumptuous dinner, waiting for their loved ones to return home safely from the sea.

At this time, the whole village is filled with laughter and joy, and the atmosphere is full of lively chatter.

However, there was one person who would leave every night during the liveliest night in Marzamemi.

Her destination was the opposite of everyone else's—the sea, and she was alone.

......

Rosalia walked alone on the path to the beach, wondering if the sea urchins had seen her.

She dislikes owing favors, just like her husband Simon.

Rosalia was unaware that Sandro had sent Enzo to thank Leo, but even if she had known... she would still find her own way to express her gratitude once more.

She wasn't well-off, and sea urchins were the most valuable thing in her house.

The next day, she deliberately left a small half-basket of sea urchins unsold, but when she went around to the fish market, she found that the person at that spot had changed.

Hearing that Leo would no longer go to the fish market in the future, she went to the shipyard early on the third day with the fresh sea urchins she had caught the night before.

Unexpectedly... I witnessed Leo and Salvatore fighting.

Rosalia doesn't like interacting with people.

Elena often invited her to her home for dinner, but Rosalia always declined with various excuses.

Besides being a matter of personality, it's also because I don't want to get involved in trouble.

She does nothing, yet she still manages to cause trouble.

Once interpersonal relationships become complicated, there will be even more "trouble".

Her only two encounters with Leo were not harmonious, and Leo was not even a stranger to her.

But this young man, who was not even a stranger, stepped forward to help her in her time of crisis, thus deliberately inviting trouble.

To repay the favor, Rosalia didn't choose to stay away from the "trouble" in the morning, but stayed instead.

Leo helped her out of trouble, she supported Leo, and then there was that basket of sea urchins...

"Shouldn't it be paid off by now?"

Once on the beach, she stopped overthinking. After throwing her diving gear and fishing bags into the wooden boat, the next step was to push the boat out to sea.

The boat was moored on a mudflat. Although she calculated the high tide time to go out every day, it still took her almost all her strength to push the small boat out to sea, and she often had to rest for a while before she could recover.

She has been living such a hard life for almost two years... it has long become a daily routine.

The wooden boat is already the smallest size, but even if you lean forward at an angle of more than 45 degrees, it will still take quite a while to push it with your own weight and all your strength.

However, my touch wasn't right today.

The small boat seemed to become obedient, sailing obediently into the sea without causing her any trouble.

She looked up and saw a pair of hands on the sternboard.

Rosalia stopped immediately; the sudden appearance of the person made her very uneasy.

But while her hand left, her other hand did not stop, pushing the boat out to sea on its own.

After doing all this, Leo turned to Rosalia and said:

"Thank you for the sea urchin, it's very fresh and delicious."

In the afternoon, Longo called me to the church, and then I went to the coffee shop to find Andre... Leo's 'time difference' is completely messed up today.

Since I couldn't sleep anyway, I went out to catch some crabs in the evening, worked on them for a while, and then went back to rest.

In recent days, he had traveled all along the coast of Marzamemi and had noticed the small wooden boat, guessing that it was very likely connected to fishermen who went out to sea alone.

So I came to this area today hoping to run into its owner and 'investigate' for some new information.

Unexpectedly, I ran into Rosalia.

Actually, Leo had been there for a while, but Rosalia was lost in thought and didn't notice Leo catching crabs.

Despite their frequent interactions over the past two days, Rosalia still distrusts the young man opposite her, especially since they have already settled their score and neither owes the other anything.

She said "thank you" and went into the water to push the boat into deeper water.

Even after jumping onto the fishing boat and paddling a distance, the people on the beach had not yet left.

Rosalia did not look back.

The next challenge she faces is even more difficult and dangerous than pushing the small wooden boat out to sea; she needs to get her body into top condition.

But a voice came from the shore, making her turn back again.

"Be careful!" Leo shouted to the women on the small boat.

The lights of countless homes behind Leo were reflected as twinkling stars in Rosalia's eyes.

The starlight was so dazzling that it made her eyes sting.

The tears that hadn't fallen when Navas was making things difficult for her... fell drop by drop.

This was the first time Rosalia had seen Malzamemi from this angle.

So this is what the fishermen see every day when they return home.

So lovely.

.......

The next morning, Leo received good news.

Solberto has returned to Palermo and called Marco.

Leo has been waiting for this day for so long!

The great detective's investigation has been going on for quite some time, and he's just waiting for Uncle Sauberto to fill in the gaps in his knowledge.

Sorbetto's insight remains as astounding as ever.

We haven't been in touch for half a month. It's impossible for Leo to just say that he wants to go out to sea alone right away. Can you give me some advice?

We must exchange a few pleasantries first.

But as soon as he mentioned that he had eaten sea urchin yesterday and that it tasted really delicious, Solberto guessed what he was up to.

"Would you like to try diving for fish?"

Leo had mentioned to Sorberto during their last meeting that he would be looking for opportunities to go to sea in the future, so it wasn't surprising that the other party had guessed his thoughts.

But it's no fun if you can guess it that quickly...

You're so boring to talk to!

"Yes, I'm considering that," Leo admitted. "I'd like to ask for your opinion."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before a voice came through:

"Diving is extremely dangerous. Holding your breath and losing consciousness, offshore currents, cross currents, reefs, and physical exhaustion—any one of these can pose a high risk of death. This is the ocean, not a game."

"But many people in Malzamemi go out alone..." Leo used someone he knew as an example, "like Rosalia."

What Sorbet said was indeed dangerous, but Leo had the [Beginning of Control] skill, so the safety was within a controllable range.

"I knew you wouldn't listen. Your father and uncle are the same kind of people; once they've made up their minds, they'll do it." Solberto's sigh came through the phone.

Leo comforted him:

"I'm a very good swimmer, so these things aren't too dangerous for me. I'd like to hear some professional advice from you."

"Okay," Solberto replied without hesitation.

Leo sat up straight.

That's what he's really concerned about.

Solberto has spent a lot of time dealing with the sea, so he can definitely offer a lot of professional advice and suggestions.

Solberto, in his professional opinion:

"A decent quality wetsuit will cost 40 lira, a mask and snorkel should be around 12, good fins will cost around 20, a weight belt doesn't need to be too expensive, 8 is fine as long as it works, a diving knife is essential and will cost at least 10, and a waterproof flashlight needs to be the best, you can find a used one for 15..."

With each number he heard, Leo's back slumped a little lower.

Compared to those dangers, these are the real obstacles!

Ten minutes later.

"The cost of nets, rakes, and shovels is negligible. You can look around the shipyard warehouse; you might find some. Let me think, there doesn't seem to be anything else. Anyway, be careful with the 200 million lira. If you want high-end equipment, it'll cost 1200 million lira. After buying all this professional equipment, you can give it a try." Solberto finished his professional presentation.

Leo remained silent for a long time, then finally managed to utter a sentence:

"I'll think about it some more."

......

Palermo.

A slight smile finally appeared on Solberto's serious face.

Leo's personality is just like his father and uncle's—once he's made up his mind, no amount of persuasion will change it.

Solberto guessed that Leo must have inherited their family's "good genes"—you can say anything, just don't mention money.