Awang looked at the dawning sky, the moon and the stars were yet to drift away as he walked towards the shores of the lake, where his little boat was moored. It was his private world, the little boat had been his comrade in all his lean times and he valued it more than his own life. The early morning breeze was invigorating; a sign of the onset of winter, and the morning seemed unusually calm this day. Maybe it was a harbinger of the good times that were to come. His son was to graduate from the city where he was studying and he thought about this impending deliverance from the ever pestering life of want and poverty. The boat was wobbling as it wafted over the gentle wave of the lake and seemed to be playing hide and seek with him as it bobbed up and down amongst the weeds that grew along the shoreline. A good day for a catch, he thought. A good catch would mean that he could get a good bargain in the market, the day being a Sunday and city dwellers were the usual customers as they came down from the city to get a good deal. It also meant that he could send some more money to his son studying in the city. Some of them came down, usually for a weekend getaway and if he was lucky enough he could sell his catch at a premium. Besides, the locals were extra generous on it being a Sunday and didn't mind paying a higher price on this day. Either way, Sunday was business day and it made him excited, pressing him to pitch in some extra effort for the day’s catch. He slowly steered the boat towards the southern end where the fishes were in plenty and paddled hard so that he could reach there before the others could cast their nets. The early bird catches the worm, he thought, but then again it was luck and queer luck which decided the outcome, usually. The morning air was cool and the net had to be cast deep enough if he was to get his booty. The first few casts didn't bring up anything significant except for some fingerlings. The morning pulled on without much luck. Noon was fast approaching and time was running out. Awang felt this may not be his day. He was disappointed a bit but with a renewed vigor he moved the boat a bit upstream and made few more casts. He was about to call it a day when as he pulled up the final cast he sensed it was something big. It was unmistakable. The final and deciding haul revealed a fat and full ngashing, a local delicacy and it weighted around a good three and a half kgs. He heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe the Gods had been more than generous to him today. A good catch was a poor fisherman's elixir. As the evening soared, Awang pulled up his net and oared up to the shore. Once ashore he sorted out the fishes, split up a part of the smaller fish for himself and put his prized catch of the day aside. He split a reed and shoved one end of it through the gill and pulled it out through its mouth tying the ends together to make it easier for him to carry. He headed for the market as fast as his legs could carry him. He could not afford to lose anymore time. The market was already in full swing, and by now the buyers could already be haggling for the best fishes around;

Chinglen and his friends had hoped for a quick weekend getaway and the day did not disappoint them. They had started out early from the city, roamed around the country side, trekked up the hill and visited the national park on the fringes of the lake and also managed to locate some deers. The four of them were exhausted and were returning back to the city. They hoped to buy some fish for the evening along the way. The weekend market threw up quite a few surprises and a good buy, usually a fish, would be the perfect topping to an eventful day. Nglen was thinking about all this when he noticed the middle aged man straddling along the road, a big ‘’ngashing' dangling along in one hand. He stopped the motorcycle and called out, ‘Sir, are you selling the fish'. It looked tempting. This seemed to be the highlight of the day. The man was a bit hesitant at first, but sensing their keenness he decided to give it a second thought. ‘ Yes, I am',he said. He had expected some big fat loaded city guy to buy off his fish not some cash strapped students on a pleasure trip. They had not quite fitted to his plan of the day. ‘But you know the price of fish these days, It will be Rupees hundred and fifty to the kilogram', said Awang. Chinglen was a bit dismayed. They were students on a budget. Not losing heart, he decided to persist. " Sir, but we are students, out for the weekend and we won't be able to afford the fish at such a premium price. Though we would love to have it, we will not be able to pay you more than two hundred for the whole fish'. They haggled for some time and Awang realized it was going nowhere. It dawned on him that they were about the same age as his son, and it made him feel empathetic.  He knew he was letting off a bargain, but he would have many more days to recover the loss. If it actually was a loss, he thought. ‘’ Ok, then, I guess I have to part with the fish anyway; a day's loss could be another day's profit'. The boys were delighted. They knew they got lucky this time, but were more than happy once the deal was made. Money changed hands and Chinglen and his friends rode off towards the city feeling no less triumphant then a warrior back from his conquests. They laughed and chatted about the steal of the day and it took center stage in their banter all the way back home. Chinglen had another reason to celebrate. He thought about his messmate Atiya, their makeshift cook, who lived with them in their mess. Apparently, it had been a long time since he had a hearty meal of fish curry and rice. He was a nice lad, who had taken upon himself to be their cook as a way to compensate his inability to pay the rent. He was somehow managing to get through with his studies with the paltry sum his father sent every month and he hoped to make it big someday like his other friends. Dinner in the student's mess that day was extravagant. There was potatoes mashed with chilies and fermented fish, fine chopped cabbage salad mixed with grinded dried chickpeas topped with local herbs, chopped and boiled banana stem seasoned with dried fish and green chilies and finally the day’s trophy, in hot red curry beside the usual rice. They devoured every morsel and all of them agreed that the fish could not have been made any better. Atiya took extra care to make it special and worth the bargain. Chinglen told Atiya about the deal. How they had almost given up on the bargain and how the good old fisherman had agreed to sell them the fish at such a ‘throw away' price. Atiya thought about his father, a small time fisherman fishing every-day at the edge of a very forgettable lake, fending for his family and saving money for his son. He adored the grit of the man who had the audacity to provide means to educate his son, given the very limited means he had at his disposal. He could be a small time fisherman by the lake, one of the many, but his dreams were no means small. He smiled to himself and thought, maybe it was him. He couldn't have been more right. A fishy Bargain indeed!