5th Wave - Unprecedent Tides [2]

There was an unmoving form lying on the great throne.

The throne was made of the most beautiful and colorful corals, standing meters tall with its impressive figure. Encrusted with coral stones, it was a true sign of power.

A whimper echoed through the space, coming from the very unmoving form who—although as impressive as the throne itself—failed to match its authoritative nature due their weeping.

“You look pathetic, father.” Two voices spoke at once.

Both Princess Hin and Prince Tsun stood in front of the throne, staring at the figure of their dying father from above.

“…she didn’t even ask how were things. All she did was shout and say cruel things to me. Now I will have to aid her with the ball, but I know she will discard all my ideas…”

That, the twins could understand. King Taon’s ideas for social events were, in a few words, a pitiful tragedy.

“Auntie wants to talk with cousin Eirin.”

“Just have cousin Eirin get the messages for once.”

Hin and Tsun spoke with no amount of warmth in their voice. In their eyes, the image of the King of Corals whimpering and sobbing alone on his throne was already too much for a single day.

Their father turned to them, his eyes reddened and hurt.

“But she’s never here anymore! No one can get a hold of her these days, and it’s not like I can have someone watching her every step. My niece deserves her privacy, after everything she’s been through…” The king mumbled his last words, curling his body even more as he hugged a cushy and very well-behaved sponge.

Hin and Tsun exchanged a silent conversation through their gazes alone.

It is hard to see cousin Eirin these days, sister.

And she has been behaving quite oddly for some time now, brother.

Should we interfere in some way?

Her disruptive behavior has been causing some grave distress to Father—

—which is affecting us as well.

Since Father’s soft heart won’t allow it, we can follow her and see what’s been keeping her so occupied.

Agreed. We can report our findings to Kei and Mother directly, in case it will trouble Father even more.

Agreed.

The twins turned back to King Taon, patting the bulky merman on his head and shoulder a few times.

“There, there. We will talk with cousin Eirin, so stop crying.”

Taon’s eyes twinkled and shone as he blinked a few times.

“…you will?”

As his children nodded once, the king opened a big smile and trapped the twins in a big, warm embrace. All sorrow and hurt gone from his face.

“You may complain all you want, yet in the end you still love your father very much, isn’t that so?!”

And as they were both smashed into his father’s muscles, the twins exchanged a few last 

glances.

Dare we correct him?

We dare not.

Once their father finally freed them, Princess Hin and Prince Tsun cleared their schedule for the day. Their first mission was to find their cousin, which wasn’t difficult at all. Even with her newly erratic patterns, she was still very much predictable with her habits.

They found Princess Eirin in one of her favorite spots, different ink pots spread out around her, singing. The twins raised their eyebrows as they watched her from afar, hiding behind a rock. As the mermaid painted something in the white and thick seaweed, her tail swung to the sides. That was a state of elation they hadn’t witnessed in her cousin for quite a long time.

Hin and Tsun turned to each other.

Cousin Eirin gave up on painting after she pathetically lost to you.

And she always complained about how tedious it is.

She is too cheerful. This is not a normal pattern, sister.

Agreed. Something abnormally strange is happening, and we lack data. We must observe further, brother.

Agreed.

The youngsters continued to watch Eirin as she painted enthusiastically in the seaweed. However, Eirin herself hadn’t realized the extent of her excitement. All she was aware of was how curious she was to see the man’s expression when she finally showed more of her paintings.

She already had a rough sketch of the Palace of Corals, one of Risei, another one of her childhood pet, and one of Corals Garden.

What can I paint next…?

Suddenly, an idea floated in her mind. One that began as an innocent curiosity, and soon became a keen and honest desire. Eirin touched the brush with hesitant fingers before she started again, the lines slowly combining and giving life to the image she had in mind.

First came the face.

Then the hair.

Next, the lips and nose.

She painted the eyes last, trying to recall the exact position of the scar.

He has long eyelashes, and his eyes…they are not conceited, they are not arrogant. No, his gaze is intense and fierce. Strong. Assured. He is…

As Eirin stared deep into the portrait, she found herself lost within Kojin Okihiro’s eyes she had drawn with her own hands. The more she stared, the more those eyes stared right back. 

Making her feel…

…feel…what?

The brush slipped from her fingers while her heart kept on racing, heat rushing to her face the more she gazed at the portrait.

The sudden appearance of a shoal pulled Eirin back to reality, making the princess snap out of her trance. Flustered, she grabbed all the paintings and put them inside the pouch strapped around her waist, wasting no more time before she swam toward one of the currents.

Toward a very particular boat.

When Okihiro saw his dog rushing to the side of the boat and wagging his tail, his heart skipped a few beats. As the mermaid pulled herself into the boat, it took little to no time at all for their eyes to meet.

Eirin's smile was bright and warm, like a pearl sparkling under the scorching sun.

Okihiro swallowed hard, feeling his face warm up.

He waved and signed with his hands.

「 Hello. 」

She laughed—though its melodic sound was lost to him—before she signed back.

「 Hello. 」

It was a first, for him. Communicating so openly with someone. With so much…ease. And it all started with drawings.

It had been a few weeks since the mermaid brought up the idea of creating a language for them to communicate. After Okihiro’s attempt at drawing Okirin, Eirin started bringing her own painting. Since neither of them could understand the words the other wrote, Princess Eirin started making signs.

Although there were still times when they misunderstood each other, they were slowly progressing. And before he realized it, Okihiro was constantly anticipating their next encounters. 

He would set sail earlier than usual, and catch as few fish as he could, just so he could stay longer and sail more. After all, it was not as if he could ask Tomi-san if she could lend him her boat so he could have his date with a mermaid.

The man suddenly froze.

Wait…

A date…?

Okihiro banged his head on the mast, making Eirin jump and widen her eyes. When he turned back at her, he simply gave her an ‘OK’ sign before he got closer. The mermaid tilted her head and frowned.

He must be suffering from one of those human diseases. The ones caused by the heat.

In a way, she was not wrong.

Once again, the man was speechless as he saw the mermaid’s new creations. And as he reacted just like Eirin imagined he would, she felt a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Okihiro gaped at the one showing the Palace of Corals, his eyes twinkling with amazement. When she saw that, she tapped at the painting and then signed one of the new words they had learned a few days before.

「 Home. 」

He widened his eyes, his gaze going from the drawing to Eirin with its own uncontrolled excitement.

「 Your home?! 」

When she nodded, he gasped. It was so beautiful, so mesmerizing. With a hint of longing, Okihiro wondered what it would be like to live in a place like that. To be able to call it ‘home’.

With a smirk, Eirin signed, 「 Jealous? 」

His cheeks flushed for a brief second before he nodded, making her laugh out loud.

Yet when he went for the next drawing, he paused. When the mermaid realized the painting he was looking at, it was already too late. She wasn’t supposed to show him that one, yet in her rush, she had forgotten to put it away.

Is that…me?

Okihiro lost his breath as he stared at his own portrait. When he glanced at Eirin, she had her lips pressed together in a firm line, face as red as a bell pepper, averting her eyes. As he lowered his gaze, a person he could barely recognize stared back at him.

Is that how she sees me?

With a heart that could barely remain still and composed, Okihiro brought the drawing close to his chest, signing with slow and hesitant movements.

「Can I keep this one? 」

Princess Eirin could barely meet the man’s eyes as she nodded, her face burning, her fins twitching, her scales itching.

And though it took both of them a while to recompose themselves, soon they were deciding on more signs and drawing new things, with Eirin trying to teach the human how to draw proper lines and with Okihiro showing her trinkets and objects she was not familiar with.

From afar, Princess Hin and Prince Tsun continued to watch their cousin interacting with the sailor, the mermaid and human eying each other with flushed faces and nervous eyes.

“…I think we have a problem, sister.”

“A very grave one, brother.”

“And cousin Eirin has an even bigger one.”

Which they had no idea how to solve.