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Uncovering Fables

Chapter Part 3.4

And soon, we found ourselves in a long hallway with doors along the walls. To get here, we walked through a door at the end of the tunnel we ran though moments before and as soon as we walked in, Maria closed the door behind us, breathing heavily. The hallway must have once been a nice place for the samurai to stay but now the dark place was nothing but decay. Human remains were scattered across the ground and the walls were smeared with blood. Tables, and large rocks were stacked by some of the doors nearby and Maria slowly pointed to them.

She whispered softly. “We should stack those against this door. Hopefully that will slow down that monster if it wakes up.”

I slowly nodded and I quickly started to help Maria carry a table to the door. I wasn’t much help for I was weak, but Maria was able to carry a lot of it to the door to block it off. After several minutes, I placed a table against the giant pile we had against the table and I breathed out heavily.

Maria noticed me breathing a lot and she looked at me worried. “Do you need to rest? W-We have been moving around a lot.”

I quickly shock my head, stumbling against the wall. “N-No, we need to get out of here. I… I can continue walking. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m going to worry.” Maria looked back at the blockade that we built up against the door. “We might be able to afford a few minutes. Come let’s go sit down.” Maria slowly took my hand and despite me shaking my head, we walking into one of the first rooms in the hallway.

It was dark, so we couldn’t see much but through the light of the lantern, we saw a few things. A low table and lines of mats on the ground along with many supplies scattered across the ground that must have been for medical purposes. I guess we were in the healing quarters, but did that really matter at this point?

Maria lead me to a mat and slowly lowered me to it so I could sit. Maria sighed and sat nearby, crossing her legs in front of me and gently grabbed my leg in encouragement. She weakly smiled to me and I slowly returned it back. This made Maria smile a little more and it made me grin too.

Maria looked around and tried to joke around. “You know… when I said I wanted to bring you to Japan, I wanted you to meet my family not see all of this.” Maria weakly chuckled.

I smiled a little at this. “W-Well, um… if we make it out of here, you’ll have to bring me there sometime.”

“When we make it out of here and sure. That sounds like a lot of fun. I would love for everyone to meet you and…. And um…”

I spoke softly. “And what?...”

Maria quickly stopped herself and looked away. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired… I… I wish I could sleep but that’s a bad idea. Just this is all so hard. I want to get out of here, Maria. I just want to leave. And… and… I w-want…” As tears swelled in my eyes, my throat tightened and I was no longer about to speak. I started flapping my hands, trying to calm myself down and get myself to breath but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do this anymore. The dragon was still alive, the cave was falling apart and we didn’t know how we were going to leave.

“W-We’re going to die. We’re going to die.” I said this softly to myself, not meaning to say it out loud.

Maria quickly hugged me when I said this. “No, no, we’re not going to die. I would never let you die like that, Penny. I could never let that happen to you. You need to know that.” I slowly looked away, but Maria slow and gently made me look back at her. “No, you need to know something, Penny… I won’t let you get hurt. I would fight through heaven and hell before something harms you. Okay? Please understand that. You will be safe and you will get out of here without a scratch.”

I still couldn’t speak but I understood Maria, I just wished I could do the same for her. I wish I could be strong and brave like her. I wish I could have done something. Maria did everything for me and… and I leached off of her. I took everything from her without doing anything in return.

No wonder she…

If only I was better…

I could have…

No…

I should have…

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 3.5

Penelope slowly sat down on her stool and started shaking a little, hugging herself. The story was becoming overwhelming for her and she began muttering to herself about Maria. Drew straightened himself up and watched in worry while Mr. King slowly stepped back, not knowing what to do since he was a stranger in all of this.

Alzena quickly went over to Penelope’s side and gently took her shoulder in encouragement. “H-Hey… hey… it’s okay. Maria was your friend, right? And you can’t just say you did nothing. Why would you think that? You probably did a lot more then you think? R-Right?”

“No… you don’t understand… y-you don’t…” Penelope spoke softly, holding tightly to her clothes.

As the two talk, Penelope’s rising voice was getting the attention of other customers who was there. And it only perked Clayton’s attention more for he was already watching this. Slowly, he took out the ring that was still laying in his pockets and he considered something. As soon as he thought about it though, the sooner he dismissed the idea and quickly put his ring away.

Alzena hugged Penelope tightly as tears swelled up in her eyes, and Penelope slowly hugged back, shaking a bit as she muttered. “Th-The story… I need to continue with the story…”

“No… take a break for a moment. No one is rushing you. It’s fine.” Alzena gave Penelope an encouraging smile, but Penelope didn’t see it as she stared at the floor. “My friend… Maria, I would do anything for her. W-Why did she… I loved her. I loved her so, so much. S-She was great and loving and I want to protect her…. B-but I failed. I failed.”

Mr. King stepped back from them when he heard this and stayed a reasonable distance away from the two as Alzena softly spoke to Penelope. “Hey, hey… what are you talking about? I’m sure Maria still loves you even if you couldn’t do a few things. You don’t have to say that.”

“But… But…” Penelope was unable to speak as she pulled her hair a little.

Mr. King felt tears swell in his eyes as his teeth grinded together when he listened. “Do anything for them...” He mutters something softly as he buried his hands into his pockets and looked behind him, trying not to get attention towards himself but this was all in vain.

Suddenly Drew was next to him, patting his back a little. “You alright there, mate? You look a little sick… or upset.”

“Nah… I’m fine. I was just reminded of a few things.”

“Oh… sorry to hear about that. If you want I can-“

“You don’t have to do anything. That was a few years ago, I’m mostly over it.” Mr. King shrugs and brushed his fingers through his hair.

“That is exactly what someone who is not doing okay would say.”

“Oh? And if I was really okay what should I say some no one mixes up my being okay and my really not okay but trying to cover it up?”

“That is a good question but I can see it on your face. I own a bar so I can see when someone is here to have fun or when they’re in a runt.”

“And what are you going to do with this information?”

“I’m going to offer you a drink for free.” Drew pats Mr. King’s back and walks over to the bar to start making a very fruity drink for him.

“You’re too kind. Thank you so much.” Mr. King smiled weakly and slowly sat onto a stool closest to Drew and the two talked softly as Alzena tried to encourage and comfort Penelope.

Alzena was speaking softly and tell Penelope about the time she went camping with Daniel, saying how they almost got lost on a trail and had smores at a campfire. Penelope smiled a little at these stories. “Whenever we visited each other at work, we came up with so many excuses to say there longer so we can see each other. We spent so much time together and I love her so, so much… s-so much.”

“You two sound like very good friends.”

Penelope smiles slightly. “W-We were. Yeah… we were the best.” She slowly wiped the tears away from her eyes. “I think I’m ready to continue the story again… if that’s okay.”

Alzena glanced over at Drew and Mr. King who were talking for a bit but at these words, glanced over. Drew looked between Alzena and Penelope for a moment before he sighed and nodded a little, allowing them to continue. Mr. King quickly finished his drink and was moving the tip of his finger along the top of the glass, staying quiet.

Penelope took a moment before she sat up straight, her thumbs circling around each other. “O-Okay… alright. I’m ready. The story is almost over so… you don’t need to stay here for longer. I promise.”

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 3.1

As Maria finished reading, she slowly stepped back from the scroll and she glanced around. As darkness fell over her eyes, I knew that she was expecting something to jump out of the shadows and eat us but nothing did.

I looked between Maria and the scroll, my body trembling. When I tried to speak, the words were caught in my throat. I quickly swallowed my fear and stared at Maria. “W-What? What happened next? It just can’t end with ‘Hopefully I will return to bring good-‘and it stops. Please, it can’t. Maria… what happened next? He got out of it okay, right?”

Maria stared at me, trying to find the right words. “It… It ends there.” When she saw my look of fear, she quickly backtracked on her words. “B-But I bet they’re fine. It stopped because at that very moment, the researcher looked over and noticed the deadly creature at the foot of the cave! The researcher quickly backed away as monster jumped out at him and swiped his deadly claws at him, splattering blood everywhere! But the man wouldn’t go down that easily. They started a battle to the death where only one will win! It was long and gruesome but eventually the researcher came out on top and defeated the beast! And because of this… everyone congratulated him and gave him the recognition he deserved and everyone was okay. And the beast is-“

Before Maria could finish her attempt to help me feel better, something trembled above us. The two of us stared at the roof, trying to figure out what happened as some loose pebbles in the roof lodged itself out and fell to the ground, bouncing.

As a chill went down my spine, Maria continued to speak, quieter this time. “And even if that didn’t happen. That monster is dead. He couldn’t have survived all of these years so we’re safe.”

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 3.2

The room was large and dark. The ground alongside the walls was scattered with broken pieces of wood that once was torches. I inched closer to Maria and hugged her arm, shaking as we looked at the terrifying sight in front of us. Across the rocky and misshapen ground, there was several holes that fell into a great abyss and dried, old blood was scatted across the rocky landscape. Broken samurai helmets were tossed carelessly across the ground and the remains of broken swords were sticking out of the ground.

Maria swallowed her fear and pulled a sword that was broken in half off the ground, in order to protect the both of us. She took a step forward and something cracked underneath her. Maria slowly brought the lantern down to her foot and froze when she saw that she was standing in a pile of moldy, rotten bones. Maria quickly stepped back away from it, pulling me back with her and glanced around.

Her eyes widen, she held her breath at the sight. We both got a closer look at the floor and fear struck me. Across the floor was piles of bones, none of them with any meat on them. Was that from the decay after several years from it being here or from something else?

Maria’s voice was quiet. “They must have had a training session when that monster came here. Most of them were here and they should have been good at fighting but… they were all taken down and so gruesomely.” Maria nervously chuckled. “I-It’s a good thing that the beast is probably dead, right?”

I hugged Maria tightly, shaking. My friend could feel my fear, “P-Penny? Is everything okay?”

I spoke, my voice barely being able to be heard. “I saw it.”

Maria stared down at me, “W-What?”

“When we were in the tunnel, during the earthquake… I looked behind us and I saw two eyes staring at us. W-Whatever it was is probably trapped in the lab but we’re not alone… What if that beast is still alive?”

Maria stepped back at this and made a small noise of fear. But this look of fear only lasted for a moment as she knew that I must have been terrified. Her face hardened and she took my hand, deciding that she would be brave for me. “Then we must get out of here quickly.”

I slowly nodded. “Y-Yeah. Yeah. We should. We need to.”

Maria tightened her handhold and nodded. “I’ll lead and if anything comes out, I’ll protect you.” I nodded again, unable to speak, and Maria slowly walked across the large room, trying to find the exit.

I tripped over a helmet but managed to stay on my feet as I took in the surrounding and was horrified the more, I thought about what happened here. All these men were made to be strong and fearful fighters. All of them. Yet one animal was able to sneak up on all of them and put an end to their lives. If the dragon found Maria and I then we were all doomed. There was no question about it. None of us could fight so what advantage did we have over the monster?

It was trapped in the lab. That was the only thing that kept me from fainting or giving up entirely. We were safe. Right?

We were. We had to be.

Soon enough, Maria finally found the exit of the training room, took one more glance at the room and walked through the old door. I thought I heard something right before we entered the long hallway that resembles closely to the one that lead us to the lab.

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 2:11

As we sat on the cold ground, shaking, I looked at my friend. Maria had saved our lives and there was nothing I could do to thank her for this. She really was the greatest person in the world.

Maybe there was one thing I could do to thank her…

I leaned closer to my friend and was about to speak when something clanged in front of us. We quickly jumped to our feet, scared that another trap was coming. I hugged Maria’s arm tightly as she slowly patted my head and glanced around. I flinched as the pedestal in front of us slowly lowered into the ground until it was at ground level.

Another clang could be heard before the wall behind the pedestal was slowly lifted towards the ceiling to open an entrance to another room.

I muttered something in confusion as Maria slowly walked towards this new entrance. I only took a step away from it. Maria tried her best to look inside the room, but it was extremely dim, and I couldn’t see anything inside it from where I stood. Maria thought for a moment before she took a broken glass shard from the ball she broke and tossed in it the dark room. It crashed against the floor but other then that, nothing happened. The next room appeared to be trap free.

Maria gave a sigh of relief as she looked around thinking. “Well, it’s going to be very difficult for us to return the way we came. There’s too many pillars out of the walls… Um, I know this might be dangerous but… maybe the next room has an exit?”

A chill went down my spine as Maria said this. I knew she was right, but did we really have to continue? I stared at Maria, who had her head poking in the room. She grabbed something from inside the room and sat down on the floor, near me. In her hands was an old yellow lantern that has red and green stains smudged on it. I was scared to know what this was as Maria started messing around with the lantern.

Maria was right. There was no way we could leave the way we came. There wasn’t. That still didn’t mean that I was terrified to go into the next room. What if there was a trap in the next room and Maria didn’t see it. What if we were killed? It was all a possibility but… we couldn’t stay here forever. If we stayed, we would still die as we didn’t have food or water. I drew a shaky breath at this.

Surprisingly, my friend was able to get the lantern to work and its bright light filled the hallway. I had to resist the urge to hug the warm and protective light as Maria stood up. She tightly held onto the lantern’s handle and gave an encouraging smile to me.

“Are you ready to go?” She softly spoke.

After a moment, I nodded slowly, and I took Maria’s hand and squeezed it a little. The two of us stared into each other’s eyes before we gained the courage to walk into the next room.

Thankfully, nothing set off when we walked into the next room. As Maria lit up the area with the lantern she firmly held, it appeared that we were safe. The room was a long corridor and with the mat in the corner of the room it appeared that someone used to sleep here. Used to.

Despite the mat for sleeping in the corner of the room, this room looked more like a working area then anything. Or was this a lab? The back wall had a long, gray table that appeared to be crumbling at the legs and it was covered with strolls and other supplies. There were a few strolls on the ground around the table and one appeared to be open on the table. More Japanese writing was on the stroll. There were other tables as well on the opposite sides of the door that we entered through. There were covered with strolls and other supplies— small containers, paper, and other things that I had no idea what they were used for.

Along the ceiling was paper-like lanterns that were old and dark. One of them was blacken from being burnt. Over the table with the strolls was a torn-up map of what appeared to be Japan and the ocean and land surrounding it. Far under Japan a red ‘X’ was drawn. It was where we were. There wear also old cabinets and the doors to them where barely hanging on.

There was cobwebs and dust everywhere and I almost choked on some as I breathed in. With closer inspection, I noticed that everything was stained with a red or green color that appeared to be some odorful bodily fluid. I quickly held my nose as I almost gagged from the smell.

Against the far-left wall, in may have once been bare but now a gapping hole laid in the wall, like a creature had dug its way through the rock. The tunnel was pitch black just a few feet in and I didn’t want to know what made it in the first place. Between that wall and the table with the strolls in it was what appeared to be the remains of a cage, its bars made of metal. The top and the front side of the cage has been ripped apart as something probably escaped from it. Inside the cage was what appears to be the chewed up remains of a femur and a faded purple cloth.

I couldn’t help but whimper at this. “Nothing good happened here.” I hugged myself, shaking a bit.

“No… No, it didn’t. What the hell happened here?” Maria stepped further into the room and used the lantern to examine every inch of it. She reached the deep tunnel in the wall and used the lantern to examine the walls of the tunnel. The walls had deep claw marks on it and soon, Maria backed away from the tunnel, wanting nothing to do with it.

Maria bounced on her feet, trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess. She walked to the table with the strolls and laid the lantern on it so she can lean against the table to get a breather. I slowly approached next to Maria to try to comfort her with a hug. Maria glances over at me and blushed a little as she sighed.

“We might have to walk through that tunnel but… I’m not ready to go further.”

I slowly nodded, agreeing with her.

Maria sighed again and moved her lantern over the table a little to examine the markings on the bloody, open scroll in front of us. “H-Hey… want to do some light reading? It might help us relax before we head forward.”

I couldn’t help but nod at this. Maybe it would help us if we just sat down for a moment and heard the writings of someone from the past. It may be even cool. Maria took a few scrolls and sat down on the ground and I sat close to her. Maria slowly opened the first scroll, cleared her throat and started reading.

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 2. 7

I was in. After several minutes of swimming, I finally found myself in the cave. My first thought was that I was surprised that I was now above water. The entrance must have been below sea level but with our swim upwards, we must have rose over it. This was a nice surprise because I was ready to take off my mask.

The second thing I noticed was Maria standing on the ground next to me, smiling a lot. She had already taken off her mask and goggles so she can get a better look of the place. She squealed slightly in excitement. “Wow! We didn’t die! We’re here! What do you think?”

I slowly took off my goggles and looked around in the dark cave. If it wasn’t for the small cracks and holes in the ceiling, letting in the sunlight from above, we wouldn’t be able to see. I was in a small pool of water in the middle of the cave and Maria was currently taking off her air tank and flippers and she laid them down by the pool. I quickly rolled out of the pool and started to do the same thing as I had a sense of the area.

The rocky ground wasn’t smooth and had many small hills and spikes coming out from it. The room was large and the ceiling loomed over us. Many rocks above didn’t seem stable and I was almost afraid to know how the holes in the ceiling got there in the first place.

At the back wall was what caught Maria’s attention the most. Still standing by our pile of equipment, and me, who was sitting on the ground taking off my flippers, Maria’s eyes sparkled at the sight. There were three hallways on the backwall, but they weren’t rough and natural as most cave tunnels would have been. These ones were smooth, like people have carved in these tunnels. Right next to the tunnels, metal plates were drilled into the rock with something carved into it, which I couldn’t see from where I was. Along with that, there was also carvings on the wall around these tunnels. They appeared to be footprints with the blue and pink eyes overtop the middle tunnel. These carvings were painted, but due to time, the color has worn down to a duller state.

It was clear that there were people here before us, but who in their right mind would decide to build something here. How did they get here in the first place if the entrance was underground? Was there another way in that no one knew about? Or did there used to be one but the cave collapsed like I feared?

I slowly breathed out, scared of this thought but Maria still had that grin. “You ready to go explore this place. It looks so pretty. Maybe we’ll discover something special.” Maria brought her hand to me and I slowly took it without saying anything. Humming softly, Maria helped me up and now both of us were standing on our feet.

We were ready to explore.

I tripped a little on the way over to the tunnels. The ground might have been smoothed once, but it wasn’t anymore. It was too easy to fall over a lose rock on the floor and that’s what I almost did. I quickly was able to catch myself before I face planted, and that’s when I glanced behind us and I made a tiny noise of fear.

For a moment, I thought I saw a large shadow crawling across the furthest side of the ceiling. From the quick glance, all I noticed was its large tail and its sharp claws that allowed itself to crawl across the roof.

Maria noticed my small tumble to the ground, and looked over at me, worried. “You okay there, champ?”

Before I could say anything, I blinked and the shadow was gone. I quickly stepped closer to Maria. “Y-Yeah. I’m okay. Let’s continue.”

“You’re sure? You’re-“ “I am.” I quickly responded back.

Maria stared at me for a moment before she slowly nodded and the two of us soon made it to the entrance of the tunnels.

From where we stood, we noticed the remains of where torches used to be hung, right inside the tunnel but everything was still dark. Maria looks at the metal plates that hung next to the tunnels and tilted her head at the curvy engravings. “It’s Japanese. Huh.”

I stared at the engravings. “What?” “Look…” Maria touched the leftmost plate. “This says ‘living quarters and training.’” Maria walked to the middle tunnel. “This says something about being respectful? I don’t know. The engraving is falling apart. And that last one,” Maria pointed towards the rightmost panel. “Keep out. Private.”

Maria shrugged at me and I softly spoke up. “Why is it in Japanese?”

“Well… Japan isn’t that far away from here...” Maria’s eyes sparkles. “What if we found a hidden base...”

“Um, well… It’s just Japanese… That doesn’t mean that we found a base.”

Maria sighs, a little disappointed before her eyes sparkled again after a few seconds. “You may be right. You may be very right but… We never know until we look around. Come on.” Maria smiled widely and grabbed hold of my wrist before she quickly ran into the rightmost tunnel.

I almost tripped as Maria dragged me along, but I managed to keep my footing. The tunnel quickly got darker and I was no longer able to see the scene around me. All I could do was hear the excitement from Maria. At least she was happy, right?

I almost regretted this thought, when I felt my foot sink into something as I stepped on the floor. A loud clucking sound could be heard far away from us until it rose overhead us and then the clang of a door closing behind us could be heard.

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 2.2

“It’s time for me to say the legally obligated safety instructions.” The driver of the boat had finally brought us to our destination and has made us sit on the boat’s benches. I sat awkwardly there as I watched Maria sit down right across from me on the opposite side of the boat.

Maria kept making faces at me since she was very bored as our instructor spoke and I didn’t blame her. Maria had done this kind of thing many times before and the fact that the driver thought he had to tell her what to do, annoyed her. She stuck her tongue out at me and I quickly looked away to stop myself from laughing out.

Now that we were no long moving, the heat had caught up to us and stuck to our skins. If it wasn’t for the beautiful view around us, the beating sun would have claimed me by now. The sea went out in all directions and it was devoured by the horizon in the distance. Several yards away from the back of the boat though, was an island. From the side we sat at, the island rose above the sea and there was a 20-foot rocky cliff that rose over the shore. The waves crashed into the cliff and the force of the waves would sometimes break rocks off the cliff and into the water with them.

The surface of the island was mostly sand with shrubs and a few trees growing on it. Towards the middle of the small island was an even smaller forest. The dense woods was colorful and its leaves were full with life. I couldn’t see it from where I sat but… I bet the island was full of lively animals.

Coming back to reality, I listened to the driver finish off his instructions. “And, last but not least, As, you can see there’s an island near this reef. I advise you that under no circumstances, you swim over there.”

This caught Maria’s attention. “Why do you say that?”

“I say that because underneath the island are underwater caves.”

Maria’s eyes sparkles. “Whoa! What are you saying? There’re caves down there? Whoa! But like, that’s just screaming adventure and treasure!” Maria, getting excited, stood up on her seat. “Just imagine what we could find! Of course… It was probably already all discovered but-“

“Sit down!” The instructor quickly said. “And you’re not going. It’s extremely unstable there.”

“Pfft. Stick in the mud.”

The driver looked a little offended. “I am serious… That cave was discovered 50 years ago and only two people have explored it… It’s said that the cave was founded by divers just like you. The two of them got a little too curious and they stepped out of the safety of the waters… No one knows what happened in the caves. But two went in and only one came out, beaten and injured. The survivor refused to tell what really happened that day. All the survivor could do was speak softly as their traumatized eyes stared at the sea. ‘Claws’ she said. ‘It had terrible claws.’”

Maria smiles. “Whoa. So, we’re telling scary stories now?”

“I’m being serious! No one has been down there since that day and it’s most likely still very unstable and dangerous. If you go down there, you can be seriously injured or die like the other diver.”

Maria slouched a bit at this. “Fine, I get it.”

I decided to finally step into the conversation. “At least we still get to see the beautiful reef.”

“Your friend has a point.” The driver said. “Now if you excuse me, I need to go set up your equipment.” And with that, the driver walked back over to the front of the boat.

Maria and I still stayed sitting. We sat there in silence, admiring the sea view around us, at least I was. When I glanced back over at Maria, I froze. How long has my friend been staring at me for with that slight smile on her face. The two of us looked at each other for a while until Maria gave a small nod. And that’s when I understand what Maria was trying to tell me. She didn’t care what the instructor told us; she was going down in those caves. She was too curious to give up an opportunity like this and she was going to drag me with her.

Pervious

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Uncovering Fables

Chapter 1 Part 2.1

The day was bright and had a torture like hotness. The heat stuck to you, wanting to dry all the moisture from your skin. There was barely any clouds in the sky, giving the sun the perfect chance to beat down on anyone who dared to step out of their houses. It was pretty obvious to say that it was one of the hottest summer days in the southern hemisphere. It was one of those days that invited people to steak out in their houses and never leave or the heat would surely kill you.

The only way someone would dare stroll out of their air conditioned homes on this day was if they were planning a water activity. That's what I and… one of my closest friends decided to do.

We were out in the middle of the peaceful, beautiful blue sea. The bright sun’s rays shimmered down onto the waves, which caught the light and almost blinded us when we watched the waters. The seas were calm, as in the distance, I could see some fish leap out of the water and slash right back into it, elegantly. The waters were very welcoming and almost seemed like it was calling out to us to jump in, but we weren’t at our destination yet.

I stood at the railings of the small, white boat we were riding, watching the water pass by. The driver of the boat, who had long red hair and brown eyes, stood at the front and was bringing us towards our stop. My hand rested over the railing as the speed of the boat, flung some water up towards me and settled onto my face. It was a nice refresher from the day of heat.

The boat were rode on was very small and could only fit a few people. It was a boat made for only a day’s outing as besides for the seating on the edge of some of the boat, the boat was mostly a flat platform. Half of the boat, the front side with the captain's controls, was covered with a purple canopy to give some shade. I still stood by the back side of the boat.

I took a breath in, admiring the gorgeous view when suddenly someone pushed me. I squeaked loudly and hugged the railing tightly. Even if there wasn’t a way for me to fall off, I still feared it for a moment. A beautiful laugh soon followed after this. She snorted as her laughter seem to touch her soul and lift her up. I smiled at this and blushed slightly as the laugh gave the same effects to me.

“Gosh, Penny. It was just a slight push. You don’t need to make a show out of it.” I looked over and smiled slightly at my best friend, Maria Kato. Her blue eyes sparkled as a wide grin spread across Maria’s face. Sure, one of her front teeth was chipped but Maria had the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

Her long black hair was put into a messy ponytail and this covered her ears. She had a round nose and face and even though we were about to go scuba diving, she had red eyeshadow on. She was a very tall and skinny woman. Her body shape was the complete opposite of mine and she almost towered me because of this. She was a bit tanned and sometimes it was hard for me to remember that her mother was Japanese. Even then, she presented herself in a welcoming and confident manner, like you could tell her anything. She also wore a dark blue jacket over the wetsuit she wore. It looked like mine but this one had red markings instead of blue.

Even if it was only a year back, I appeared to look a little different. I was a little skinnier and my face was softer and more nice. My hair was a lot shorter and was neater than it is today. I also wore my contacts that day and didn’t need my glasses.

I chuckled softly and slowly let go of the railings. “If this wasn’t here, I would be drowning right now.”

“Wha? Come one, don’t say that.” Maria frowned. “You’re a great swimmer.”

“...I’m not.”

Maria thought this through and slowly nods. “Okay, yeah. You have a point there but if something did happen to you. These big guns would save you.” Maria posed like a strong man to show the muscles on her arms.

I couldn’t help but laugh again. “You’re my hero.”

“You know it, little squirt.” Maria ruffled my hair, messing it up. I pouted at this and tried to fix my hair. Maria didn’t let this happen, as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me. My face became redder as Maria continued speaking. “Do you think we’re going to find treasure out there? We’ll be real life pirates.”

“...I… I don’t think anyone would have left gold at a coral reef.” I whispered.

“Come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? We’re going to be pirates and it’s going to be great! Arg!”

I giggled and responded with, “Yo ho!”

“That’s the spirit! And after this, we’ll get all the rum out there. We’ll have a party.”

Gosh, I loved this woman. No one could make me happier than her. She encouraged me. She helped me be a better and braver person than I was now. I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my days with her…

Why couldn’t I?

Crap, that was a good question. I could tell Maria how I felt. I could tell her that I’ve had this dumb crush on her forever. I could tell her that every time I’m around her, she gives me this feeling of pure joy. I could tell her that every moment I’m with her, it felt like I was in heaven, twirling around and dancing softly.

I could tell her that I loved her.

I opened my mouth to try to speak but something stopped me. I sighed and I quickly closed my mouth to watch the beautiful sea pass by.

Pervious

First