Submission (#61) Approved

As a child, Hiro was a scrawny thing - Hiro’s mother was often too sick to work, so meals tended to be few and far between. As soon as Hiro was able to, he began to work, tiny as he was. Some of his favorite memories as a child were assisting the local fishmonger - he was an old man and their neighbor, so Hiro would help him on market days to bring the fish down to the pier. He would help set up the fish stands (he took great pride in making his displays attractive), wrap fish for customers and help them load their carts, and break down the stand at the end of the day. Hiro loved learning about the different kinds of fish, talking to the customers and hearing their tales, and the best part: the fishmonger would give him a fish for him and his mother on top of the meager wage he paid. To Hiro, that fish tasted better than anything else in the world, especially the way his mother prepared it (though she would say all she did was roast it on the fire). His childhood was often gray and miserable, but he managed to find joy in the things he could. He collected stories from those customers and would expand upon them in his head, filling his otherwise tedious and laborious days with fantasy and what could be.

word count 233

Reward	Amount
Gems	25
Raffle Points	1
Deleted Asset	0