Ken went to wake up Fred. They were going out fishing. They went to the beach, and Ken carried the little boat on his back. Fred only carried some equipment.
The tide was going out, and the sea was still. It almost seemed like the world had died. Fred was tired and wished he was as big as Ken. They soon got the boat ready and jumped into it.
Fred said it would be a great day. The sun was shining. They rowed towards an island. First Fred rowed, then Ken. Ken rowed faster than Fred. Again, Fred said he wished he had Ken’s body, as the girls were always chasing him.
Fred didn’t have a job, so he went fishing to make some money. Ken didn’t have to go fishing, he did it for fun. He lived with his aunt and he had an education. He couldn’t use it these days, but it still made him even more special. The two boys were very different.
Fred went on talking about Ken’s strength. Being strong wouldn’t help him if he worked in an office. His strength would be gone when he became old, and if he died it would be, too. That could happen any time, Fred said. Ken didn’t like to talk about that.
After a while Fred got the lines and the bait out. They stopped the boat and began to fish. It had really become a great day. It was completely still. No sounds and nothing moving.
Fred said it would be nice to stay out there for good. He said it was funny that Ken didn’t know how to swim. They talked about Ken’s future. How he would settle down there, get a good job and get married.
They both thought they had caught a fish, but it was their lines being crossed. Ken did get a small fish. Still, they threw it back in since it was too small. They looked at it swim away. Fred commented on how nice it would be to swim like that.
They couldn’t catch any more fish, so they decided to go to a reef by the island to get some better bait. The tide was out so there was almost no water on the reef. They could reach some big mussels there.
On the way to the island, the tide started to turn. A wind started blowing and the sea became a bit rough. The great day was ruined. Ken said that getting back could be difficult, but Fred said it was not a problem. They continued towards the reef.
Nobody else had come out to fish that day. Fred was glad about that. He didn’t like people around when he was fishing.
Soon they were at the island. The weather was getting worse. After a while they found the reef. It had deep water all around. They managed to stand on the reef to pick mussels, but the sea looked very uneasy. Fred worked like a madman, as if he didn’t have a moment to lose.
Then Ken took over, so that Fred had to hold the boat. He looked like he was going to die. Suddenly he shoved off the boat and jumped in. With his eyes shut he rowed off, towards land, leaving Ken behind. After a while, he stood up, and capsized the boat. Then he started swimming towards the shore.