It’s not often I comment on straight expository prose, but this read really well.

The only word that tripped me up and made me stop and re-read was “higher” in the first sentence of the second paragraph. For some reason I really want it to be “better” instead.
Nicely done :).

Great piece Robert, Happy Holidays too.

When I drive down the street and see a child’s bicycle laying in the sidewalk, with no children around, my heart skips a beat.

An unoccupied boat is the ocean’s version of that missed heartbeat.

I worked on boats and docks for awhile, so this called for a sequel.

Lovely scene, with lots of magic and mystery, that I think got across without a lot of, “Hey, this is magical!” sort of stuff. I really liked the idea that the name had other connotations that he’d forsaken—made it more relatable, something that we might experience since we don’t really live under the whole ‘real name has magical properties’ sort of rules.

Nice.

Congratulations on the feature. I have to confess that I’ve glanced over this piece a couple of times before reading it properly and commenting. It’s great to have you back again! As always, I love the tone that you maintain throughout – it almost feels like a moral tale.

I come from a long line of fishermen from the east coast of the Scottish highlands, so I can agree with 32 that an empty boat is freaky. The atmosphere you create in this piece is very chilling, especially in the last line.

Clever build-up. Perfect language, perfect structure. This one definately deserves the feature.
Abby x

It’s always hard to comment after THX 0477 because he says the things I want to say. :B

This is a great story. You set the tone well, and hint at a larger world with a few skillful phrases.

I would recommend reorganizing some of the sentences to make them flow better. These felt somewhat choppy:

The Seven Scales was where he’d spent most of his time growing up under the watchful eye of his grandfather and the ever-rotating cast that had partnered with the old fisherman over the years.

Heavy durable nets, the edges lined with tiny weights lay in disarray.