John was in the middle of a peaceful dream, when the clanging of the church bell awoke him with a start. He opened his eyes, and made a huge yawn. He counted the bells, 1...2...3...4...5. 5 AM, he was up just in time. The fish would be biting soon. He sat up, careful not to bump his head on the low ceiling. He was in a small floating shack, in the small compartment above the boat and below the roof. He crawled through the small trapdoar, and swung into the lower part of the shack. He landed on the wooden planking, careful not to fall into the water between it and the small boat that laid before him. He opened the small cooler in the corner, and cursed loudly. "No more bait..." he mumbled to himself, still drowsy. He bumped open the door to the shack and walked outside.
He walked along the narrow dock, not pausing to look at the rest of the floating boatshacks. When he reached the top, he was in the middle of the market, already busy at this early hour. He walked over to his favorite vendor, and bought some assorted items to use as bait. He pulled out a crumpled paper bill out of his pocket and handed it to the vendor, who returned with a bucket full of his items and a handful of coins. Satisfied, he walked back out of the market and over to the docks.
John walked calmly down the narrow dock. He was heading to a small floating shack off to the side of the edge of the dock. He walked into the small hut and harshly ripped the curtains apart from the windows. It was 5 AM, and he was grumpy. The sun was just beginning to peak out over the horizon, but he could still only barely see. He rubbed his chin gently, feeling the hair starting to grow more. He hadnt shaved for weeks, and had a nice beard to show for it. He walked around, and after bumping into several small metal objects, made his way to the small lantern on an old rotting wooden barrel in the corner. He flipped it on, and turned away from the sudden brightness. Inside the floating shack was a small fishing boat, with some nets and bamboo fishing rods. John smiled to himself, and moved his hands around as the water in the bottom of the boat lifted out and over the side of the leaky boat. He smiled, and resolved that one of these days he was going to fix that.
In his hand was a bucket full of small fish, just purchased from the market less then a block away. He climbed into the small boat, careful to hold onto the floor as the boat wobbled about. The boat was small, only 3 foot wide and 7 foot long. He stowed all of his equipment in the back, and climbed onto the small seat. He pulled open the larger door to the floating shack, and pulled out the oar that was resting next to him. He pushed out of the shack, carefully closing the door behind him. He was at home now, out on the water. He quickly began rowing out of the small marina. As he did, the water around the boat began moving in that direction as well, making the little boat much faster. There were some larger ships, and even a large cargo ship visible on the docks. There were never any of them around here! He thought about going in for a closer look, but decided against it in favor of catching the early morning fish.
As he pulled out of the small harbor and into the open ocean, the sun had risen quite a bit, and he could see much better in the early-morning light. He gently rowed the boat towards a small speck in the distance. It was a very small Island, about the size of his boat shack, but it was a great fishing spot, and he had made many a good catch there. He paddled slowly, letting the sun gently warm his face, and stared out into the distance as the boat gently rocked up and down on the calm waves.
