Ondo Ferry

When I lived on an island in the Seto Inland Sea, I used to take a ferry with my mother to go shopping. I heard later that it was the shortest regular ferry route in Japan, spanning only about 100 meters to the opposite shore. At the time, I hadn't even started kindergarten yet, so I think I was probably around two years old.
I don't remember what we did after crossing to the mainland. There shouldn't have been any shops where we landed, so perhaps we took a bus from there.

When I returned home a few years ago, I took this ferry on my way to visit a grave. There was no particular need to ride it, but I felt like taking it, and I also wanted my daughter to experience a ferry ride.
It had been exactly forty years, and all I remembered was the act of riding it and watching the jellyfish. I didn't remember any practical details, like how to board. When I went to the boarding area, the fare was written down, but it didn't say whether to pay in advance or afterward.
There happened to be a woman who looked like a veteran hostess, so I asked her if I should pay in advance, and she waved her hands with a surprised look, saying, "I don't know."
It seemed she wasn't a staff member, but she didn't look like a passenger either. I guessed she might be a woman who lived nearby and was like family, but even then, she should have known how to pay. I thought she was a rather suspicious and unnatural person.
However, whoever she was, if she wasn't staff, it meant there were no staff members there. I concluded that we must pay the boatman directly, and that settled it.

It was a clear day, and the surface of the sea was sparkling.
While I was waiting for the boat on the floating pier, a hydrofoil passed nearby, causing the pier to sway.
"Whoa!" my daughter cried out and clung to her mother's hand. Because of that, her mother took her back up to the land. I stayed there, swaying back and forth.
Soon the boat arrived. There was no timetable; it seemed they just set sail when passengers arrived. So, if I hadn't been on the floating pier, they might not have seen me from the other side.
There were only three passengers. Sure enough, the veteran hostess was not on board. I had no idea who she was anymore, but I watched the jellyfish in the waves and pushed the hostess out of my mind.
While I was doing that, we arrived at the opposite shore.