7th Wave - The Song That Longs to be Sung [1]

I can feign innocence.

He could not.

I can pretend I’ve never seen this in my life.

It had been found in his bag.

This is just a painting, after all. Anyone could’ve done it, most people are not aware that merfolk can draw.

Humans did not paint, usually, in seaweed.

While Okihiro pitifully and, to no avail, continued to lie to himself while thinking about the best way to respond, Tomi-san got tired of waiting.

So she went to reheat her tea.

The woman put the pot back on the fire, waited a few minutes, poured a new cup for herself, and by the time she went back to her seat, the boy was still staring holes into the painting.

Tomi Seina glanced once again at the painting, her own heart echoing her old solitude while embracing memories far too precious to be forgotten, yet that brought too much sadness to be recalled often.

How many years has it been…?

Too many, she realized.

The woman took a few sips of her tea, letting its warmth spread inside her before she called up to the young man again. If she were to wait for him to reply on his own, she would die of old age.

“Answer me this, boy; your lover, are they a merfolk?”

Okihiro felt the heat surging to his face, feeling so embarrassed he could hardly think. He shook his head vehemently, redder than a lobster.

Tomi Seina let out a whistle. “Oh? Are you dating something else than? What are they, a squid? Dolphin? Didn’t imagine your tastes would be so bold!”

As she laughed, Okihiro’s face heated even more, the flush spreading to his ears and neck as he waved his hands with tearful eyes in denial.

 “Oh, are you saying that they are not your lover?”

Okihiro nodded with a relieved sigh, still feeling his face burn. He drank more of his tea, trying to see if that would magically calm down his heart.

Tomi-san pondered a bit, drinking more of her own tea before she continued.

“Yet you do like them, don’t you?”

Tomi-san’s speech was also easy to read. Her words were always very well enunciated, and the pacing she spoke, although at times fast, had a nice rhythm to it. A good flow. So when Okihiro read the words she spoke, it made his heart shake and throb.

He held the pen in his hand, looking at the blank page in front of him.

“…I don’t know.”

And somehow, he found it easier to say his words out loud. As if the fact he couldn’t hear his own reply made its question less real. His answer less significant.

The older woman only nodded, still enjoying her warm tea.

But then Okihiro surprised himself by writing something on his notebook—words, he realized, that were the closest thing to the truth he could get at that moment. And when he showed them to Tomi-san, she smiled with tenderness.

“I see… That is actually a very good response, boy.”

And then, with the words he watched her say right after, Tomi Seina managed to shock Okihiro for the second time that day.

“I can help you with that, boy.”

His eyes widened, his heart skipping a few beats as he wrote a hasty reply.

‘How?’

The woman’s grin got wider as she finished her tea and banged the cup on the table.

“I can teach you their language.”

                                                                   𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

It had been five days since her mother’s visit. Four days since all Eirin could hear and think about was the grand Ball the Palace of Pearls would host.

Her only comfort was how her family left her alone. Not even Uncle Taon came to bother her, except for the very first day she returned when he grabbed her by the tail and cried for hours, saying how worried he had been and how he couldn’t take her mother’s message anymore.

Fortunately, neither of them had to worry about that anymore.

There was one creature who did not, however, leave Eirin alone.

“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’…”

“Then don’t.”

The squid was, by no means, intimidated by Eirin’s harsh tone. Much less by her languid figure spread on the hard rock.

“Instead, I will say… If you had listened to me, you would be feeling a lot happier right now.”

Risei was correct. And Eirin also knew that.

She still felt she had a right to hate that fact.

The princess controlled her urge to punch the squid’s face, mumbling her words. “Don’t you have any concerts to go to today?”

As a matter of fact, he did.

Tickets he had purchased five months ahead, a special collaboration between the Daughters of the Seven Waves of Love and STAR✩SEANGELS. To prepare in advance, the squid bought and listened to all the songs of the STAR✩SEANGELS and also memorized all their lyrics. Of course, they were not as talented as Daughters of the Seven Waves of Love, yet the potential was there.

The concert would be, however, at the same time as the ball. And though Risei did find it amusing to watch Eirin face the consequences of her poor life decisions…

He didn’t want to see her defeated. Nor did he want her to be in pain.

The squid would never say those words, however.

“Since you asked, someone from the fan club I…overlook [founded and co-managed] was heartbroken that they couldn’t buy the tickets before they got sold out. So I sold it to them. Since their love and dedication were earnest.”

Princess Eirin sighed, rolling to the side.

“I see. At least you have one kind heart in you, since the other two exist solely to torment me.”

Risei cleared his throat, not being able to say much in defense of her last statement.

He sat close to her, stretching the silence between them for a while as he tried to find the right words.

“Your parents’ marriage was also arranged, as you know.”

To Eirin, Risei did not start on a good note.

“I don’t think there is any creature in Pearls who is not aware of that…”

“Well, yes, but…” Risei swam to the other side, so he could look the mermaid in the eye. “You know how much they cared for each other. You saw.”

And he was right. But he was also wrong.

The king and queen of the Palace of Pearls didn’t simply care for one another—they were each other’s heart and soul. Two missing halves that were only complete once they were in the same room.

For many years, Eirin watched her parents and envied their connection. Their love. But when they lost the king, the princess realized the toll it took on one’s heart and mind to be so intrinsically bonded to one thing—to one being.

And it was not something she ever wanted for herself.

“Word on the currents is that the second prince of Cobalts is quite the charming one. Merfolk back at Cobalts don’t share many of Pearls’ idealisms and culture, but…one can never know. You two may get along really well, if you open yourself to the possibility.”

But I don’t want to.

Eirin gazed at the ocean above her, its vast blue swallowing her. “Even if he ends up being the best merman there is, I don’t want to marry him. I don’t want to marry any merfolk. I want—”

And before she could finish her sentence, an image appeared in her mind. A quick flash, yet one so joyful and tender it made her heart throb and race. A memory. One of the sailor laughing as he looked at her, the sound so beautiful it resembled a song.

Princess Eirin rose from the rock, her body rigid, her cheeks flushing.

Risei blinked. “What? What do you want—to keep charming sailors to rob them of their petty trinkets?”

She barely heard the squid’s words, much less the mockery in his tone.

“Yes, that’s right. I…I better go back now, to get dressed. Uncle wanted to depart soon, so we won’t be late.”

And through all the way back, no matter how many times she tried, Princess Eirin could not push them away. Not the laughter, not the man, much less the way her heart fluttered whenever he appeared in her mind.

And she could not understand why.