Statement of Gemini Tay, regarding a neighbor with a very intense hobby. Audio recording by [UNINTELLIGIBLE], Head Archivist of [REDACTED].
Look. Okay. I like to fish. That's not weird. It's a good way to get loot and food and- I don't know, it's relaxing. I like it. I'd say I do it a normal amount.
But I have this neighbor. Grian. We go fishing together sometimes, and it was all totally normal for a while. Y'know, as fishing tends to be. We'd just sit by the water and chat. He went without me sometimes—which was fine, I didn't take offense or anything—and I always knew he was a little more... into it than I was. Like fishing was his only hobby or something. I didn't think much of it. Why would I? Everybody has one thing or another that they're really into.
Grian, though... he's, like, really into fishing.
His usual fishing spot is by my house. I live out on the water. The way the ship rocks at night is soothing, y'know, and... well, that's all besides the point. I can see Grian when he's out fishing. I don't watch him or anything weird, but he's within my view. Sometimes I'll join him if I spot him, and I was in the mood to fish the other day when I saw him out there. So I went to go grab my rod, and I haven't gotten completely organized yet with the new boat and everything, so it took me a while to find it. When I came back out, Grian was... off.
I don't know how to explain it. I'd been gone for maybe three minutes, which I know isn't that long, really, but he hadn't moved a muscle. And I mean one singular muscle. Nothing. He was perfectly still, and so was his fishing line. He had his feet dipped into the water, but it kept on flowing almost as if it was going through him. It was like he wasn't there, or maybe he was, just- he wasn't him.
I told myself I was overreacting. I probably was, people sit still all the time, especially when they're fishing, but then- well. I swear I'm not crazy, okay? I swear.
He had two fishing lines. One rod, two lines. And I know that doesn't sound spooky at all and only barely sounds even a little weird, but the second line... it appeared out of nowhere. Grian didn't even seem to notice. That's when it started raining—it's rained a lot lately, but he doesn't fish any less—and he definitely didn't notice that. He kept on sitting there, didn't blink, didn't wipe the raindrops off his glasses... nothing.
Looking back on it, though... I- I didn't really do anything, either. I was too invested, I guess. That doesn't feel like the right word. I couldn't look away. I had to know what was going on. I stayed out on my deck, just watching him.
And I know I said I didn't watch him earlier, and I usually don't. Really. This time was just weird. He was weird.
It only took another minute for the third fishing line to show up. The other two had been so still before, but they seemed bolder now. Because of the rain, maybe. Like whatever they'd been hiding from in their stillness was gone. They didn't bob in the water like normal fishing lines, they sort of... I swear they were trying to catch something. It wasn't- it wasn't like Grian was fishing, it was like the lines themselves were fishing. And then there was four of them, five, six... all digging through the water. Like they were looking for something. Grian still hadn't moved. I guess I hadn't, either.
The lines just kept coming. They got harder to see through all the fog and the rain and it got dark, but I knew they were still there. Growing. They covered the surface of the water until that was all there was. I could feel them hooking themselves onto the bottom of my boat, clawing their way along, making sure that whatever they were looking for wasn't there.
And then it was dawn. Out of nowhere, it was day again and the rain was gone, and so were the fishing lines. Grian was kicking his feet in the water and it rippled and after a minute, he got up. He packed up his rod and went home like nothing had happened. I don't know that he knew what had just happened. If anything did. Maybe it was in my head, or something. But... I swear it happened.
I checked on my boat afterward. Dove into the water and took a look at the outside of it. It's brand new, like I said, but the bottom was covered in these tiny little dents. Perfectly fish hook sized.
I don't know why I'm telling you this, really. Maybe I should just talk to Grian about it. Maybe I should pretend this all never happened and take my boat somewhere else.
Or maybe I should go fishing. Maybe that's the only thing that'll explain it.
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