Steveston, British Colombia, is a village neighborhood of Richmond in Metro Vancouver on the southwest tip of Lulu Island, founded by Manoah Steves in 1878. It had lived and adapted through the pioneer age and both World Wars.
Since 1970, it had been transformed into a lively village with a fishing port where many commercial fishing boats, seiners, trawlers, trap setters, line vessels, gillnetters etc. come in from the Pacific Ocean with their catch, whether it's fish, octopus, salmon, tuna, crabs, lobster, shrimp, urchins, cod, etc.
It became very widely known for many years, attracting tourism, film and TV, especially that series "Once Upon A Time." It was a place where people can dream to come. It also has a whale-watching event where people can get on a large boat and look at orcas, seals, eagles, etc. But, despite however popular it may be, there can always be disaster waiting to happen.
One morning, a man arrived at the harbor with his family, eyeing a commercial fishing boat on the pier, preparing to set sail with its crew and supplies ready for fishing. The man turned to face his family, saying goodbye to his wife and giving her a hug and a kiss, then whispering something to his wife's big bump in her belly.
Afterward, he knelt down to see his little girl, four years of age with rosy cheeks, black hair in pigtails, tied in pink bows, and navy eyes, wearing a pink, frilly dress and holding a princess poodle doll in her arms.
"I'm going to be going away for a while, Gwendolyn," said the man. "But I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Will you, Daddy?" asked Gwendolyn hopefully.
"You know it, my little princess," he said, patting her head before putting a tiny seashell onto the palm of one of her hands. "This used to belong to my father before he gave it to me. But now, I want you to have it. Always keep it with you. So, that way, it's like I'm always there."
Gwendolyn smiled again and nodded in agreement before he gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. With one last good-bye, he waved as he ran towards his boat where his crew were waiting for him. The moment he jumped on, the crew unmoored the boat and cast off immediately, leaving Gwen and her mother waving at the end of the pier as they watched the boat disappear from sight. But somehow, Gwendolyn couldn't shake off the bad feeling in her gut. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't make the words come out.
Then, one night, Gwendolyn was asleep in her bed. She could hear the sounds of howling wind and rain pelting on her window. It was strong and powerful like a scary thunderstorm outside. She could imagine the dark clouds and large waves rolling in the water, big enough to sink any boat that dares to come at it. She began to whimper in fright with every loud thundering sound and flashing light.
"No! Please, Daddy! Please, don't go!" she cried in her sleep.
At last, she rose up with a loud gasp and eyes open wide. She panted breathlessly, sweating before looking around, seeing everything normal. She also couldn't hear any sound of a storm now. She jumped out of bed in her pink pajamas and rushed to the window, opening the curtains to find only the peaceful, starry night sky with the moon shining bright.
Gwendolyn sighed with relief. It was only a nightmare. Then she turned and looked at the seashell her father gave her on the nightstand, picked it up, and held it in her hand.
"Please, come home," she whispered.
After putting it back on the nightstand, she climbed back into bed and went back to sleep.
Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed that little backstory. The real story will begin next chapter. So, don't miss out.