Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful young schoolteacher in a fishing village by the sea. The children love Miss Oliana with all their heart, and as the decades pass by, she loves her kids, her kids' kids, and her kids' grandchildren. But one tiny thorn of regret grows and grows over the years—often, she finds herself drifting back outside the window, beyond the bay, and out to the horizon and the sea beyond it. But invariably, the children continue to read their lessons, and she, hearing the eternal melody beneath their words, is moved to tears. Centuries pass, and still she teaches. But her restlessness has grown—one year, the night before her town's festival, she finalizes her will and labels each of her possessions with its heir's name. Just before dawn, she covers herself in tallow to keep warm, wades into the water, and allows a swell to carry her out to sea. She'd washed in from the sea long ago—a fisherman had found her as a girl tangled in his net. No one, however, has ever told her this. She also has no idea that her notoriety has grown over the years. Her village comes to treasure her, so much so that the entire country plans that summer's festival to honor her. But when they knock on her door to bring her to the festivities, they find her gone. At the periphery of the village lives an aged, isolated fisherman. Since his wife and daughter's deaths, he has gone out to fish every day. That morning, he pulls in an unexpected catch: a beautiful young woman. To his surprise, her only wish is to be thrown back. No storybook magic, no favors or wishes here. She slips over the side, and as the fisherman sees his life as it really is, his heart sinks. But when he pulls the net up, a cascade of tiny fish rolls into the boat. He pulls ashore, and the catch spreads brightly over the sand with the sound of bright silver coins.