The Busy Harbour

The harbour wakes before the town. At five o’clock, fishing boats return with boxes of silver fish. Workers carry ice, mend nets, and shout greetings across the water. Lina helps her father sort the catch: small fish for soup, big fish for the market. Gulls circle above, hoping for scraps. By seven, trucks carry the fish to shops, and the boats rest. Lina loves the smell of salt and the sound of ropes. She wants to be a boat captain one day and sail past the lighthouse to the open sea. In winter the harbour grows quiet. The wind is cold and the boats stay close to the wall. Lina’s father repairs nets and paints the hull blue. She writes the names of the boats in her notebook and learns new words: anchor, rope, engine, tide. Some mornings a big ship waits outside the harbour for the small boats to move, and the captain waves at Lina, so she waves back. In spring the fish return and the harbour wakes again. Lina saves the money she earns from selling small fish, and every evening she practises tying knots by the lamp. Her mother says a captain must be patient. Lina answers that patience is easy when the sea is waiting.