Mourning till Morning

“Have fun sweety, can’t wait to never see you again.”

“Nikawiy? Nikawiy, what do you mean? Nikawiy?! MOM?!”

“Well, it looks like you’re having a good time in this new life of yours kiddo. Talk to you never.”

“Nohtawiy? Dad, what are you talking about? Where are you going? Where am I going?”

“Looks like you’ve got a new big sister Mina. Be nice to her.”

“Danis! No, stop, Danis don’t go! DANIS!”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mina bolted upright in her bed, eyes wide and nearly panting as she abruptly forced herself into the waking world. For a split second her eyes darted around the room confused, not recognizing where she was and making her panic even harder. But after a moment, her mind properly woke back up and she remembered where she was, safe but alone in her room at the Anaktités dorm.

‘That was just a dream. Mom isn’t going anywhere. I’m the only one that went anywhere.’ Mina thought sadly. She slowly curled in on herself, momentarily wanting nothing more than to block out the rest of the world, only for her hand to brush near her eye and feel wet. Realizing she was crying, she aggressively blinked and rubbed away her tears and forced herself to straighten out.

‘No, I can’t cry again. I already cried this morning. I’m a chosen one, chosen ones don’t cry. Chosen ones like me are brave and strong, they help people, so I can’t be crying like a little kid.’ She told herself. ‘I just need to get some fresh air for a bit. I should go grab a drink, then go back to bed.’

She then pushed herself out of her bed and grabbed the fluffy house coat that Iro gave her, putting it on as she carefully and quietly opened her door. Part of her wished she could check a clock to see what time it was, but she hadn’t seen anything that looked like a clock yet, so as far as she could tell these people didn’t actually use anything besides the sun to keep time.

As she slowly creeped her way towards the exit of the dorm building, she strangely began to hear something. Listening closer as she came closer to the door, she began to be able to recognize the sound as a guitar, with someone seemingly singing to the music. Then, as she opened the door to the dorm building, she saw where the music was coming from, and could even understand the words.

“Then as the sun says goodbye, and the stars begin to shine.

As the moon rises high, and the morning birds close their eyes

I will say my final words of goodbye, till the morning light.

Ohhhh oh oh ohhhhhhhhh.

Then in the morning, my heart will let go of all my mourning, and I lift my head up to the skyyyyyyy.

In this beautiful morning light.

…

…

In this welcoming morning light.”

Out in the center of the floating island, sitting beneath one of the night lamps, sat a single man playing a guitar. Unlike basically everyone else Mina had seen so far, the man was dressed in a coat of more than just blue or purple. In fact, his coat looked to be dyed all colors of the rainbow. The coat was draped over his shoulders, and beneath it Mina could see some firm dark brown leather and chain mail, while his legs were clad in some simple black pants, and his boots seemed more like work boots from her home world. As for his guitar, it seemed like a sort of hamade version of an acoustic guitar, one that sounded just as good if not better than the professionally made ones. Lastly, the guy had white skin and short messy red hair, but not bright red like Elias or the other people she’d seen in this world with red hair. Rather, his hair was more auburn, like fall leaves.

“Well, it seems I’ve got an audience. Did you like what you heard Miss?” The man suddenly asked, turning to look straight at her, and Mina belatedly realized she was staring at him without even trying to hide.

“Uhhh, it uh, sounds like the kind of music my dad would listen to.” Mina said, and the man smiled in response.

“Well, it sounds like your dad has good taste in music, but that doesn’t actually answer my question now does it. Do YOU like my music?” He asked again.

“… Yeah, yeah it sounds good.” She admitted.

“That’s good, that means I can keep playing. Come, sit.” The man said as he began to slowly pluck away at his guitar again.

Despite her confusion at the situation, Mina approached the man.

“Um, who are you?” She asked as she got closer.

“Ah, right, my name is Jordan Michigan.” The man introduced himself as, sticking his hand out to shake. Strangely enough, sound kept coming from his guitar despite one hand being taken off.

“Hi… I’m Mina.” She said, somewhat hesitantly shaking Jordan’s hand. Jordan noticed her hesitance and raised an eyebrow.

“Hold on, did the others not tell you about me?” Jordan questioned as he brought his hand back to his guitar, and Mina shook her head. “Ah, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m the owner of this here island.”

“You are?” Mina questioned, and Jordan nodded.

“Yep. These guys like to act like they’re some kind of secret society, so they don’t like to acknowledge that I actually own this place, but I do.” He explained. “I come around every once in a while to check things out while everyone’s asleep, make sure the place is still in good condition, ect.”

“Oh, that makes sense. But why are you just sitting here then?” Mina asked.

“Just relaxing for a moment after checking the underside of the island.” Jordan replied. “Now, from the looks of it, you’re up for a reason.”

“Oh, uh, I was just going to get some water.” Mina told him.

“Ah, so you’re going to the kitchen then? Mind if I join you there for my next stop?” Jordan asked.

A small part of Mina wanted to say no, she’d never met the guy after all. But, he just seemed trustworthy, even if the others hadn’t mentioned him. She wasn’t sure if it was his attitude or hie music, but Mina found herself relaxing around him without meaning to. So, she agreed.

“Sure.” She told him. “Come on.”