Santiago had managed to lead the fury close to a bay of gravel. Helped by an eddy that was pulling ashore, he could strand the huge trout in few centimeter depth. She was lying a meter from him, gorgeous like a goddess, with her shiny golden flanks. He was exhausted and could not believe his eyes, short of breath and with the heart pounding in his chest. It was the biggest trout he had seen in his life. Lain on her side, with one eye in the sand, Tiamat could see her entire life passing in front of her. She decided that it will not be ending here and she summoned all her remaining power. With the now slack line, leveraging on the solid ground she sprung up to fall into deeper water, eventually free, and disappeared. Santiago was astonished, it all happened too fast. How could it end this way! He lost the fish of a lifetime. How could he ever tell this to the buddies at the club? He could almost hear them mocking him: "Come on you fibber, a monster in the little stream .. have another beer! Who knows where is Tiamat!"