章節 18: The Sea Legend - 17

ON THE SURFACE

The market place was a mess. The loud yells coming from stalls' owners and the weird mixture of smells that flew with the hot breeze. Small children running around and taking advantage of any cramped space to hide from their friends. The melting of an ice cream that started to graze Key's hand as his head dropped to his elbows while he was crouching on the ground.

The ice cream was forgotten. He sighed every few seconds and brought passersby attention to him. They would give him weird looks and even some would whisper and wonder about why this middle-aged man was in such a state.

"I mean, what did you expect?" A childish voice resounded beside him. Following that sound was the noise of licking ice cream. All of that combined with the sarcastic remarks helped in making the atmosphere around Key darker.

"We are in a market, you know," the small child continued, staring intently at her ice cream as if it will restore itself and grow in number. "You won't find anyone that fits your descriptions here."

Key gradually lifted his head. His forearms supported his jaw as he stared into nothing. The emptiness that surfaced out of his eyes worked as a shield, pushing everyone out and making sure no one saw anything.

His eyes merely reflected the scene in front of him, they reflected how a mother was dragging her child to a stall, promising something about this being the last booth; a man holding a few bags of fish and vegetable, mumbling numbers and calculation; a stall lady sleeping in the back while snoring, not detecting how few children would steal some apples and run while giggling.

And then his eyes looked up at the sun and suddenly all his surroundings changed into something older, something extremely familiar. The stalls were the same but the people that owned them were younger and more youthful.

Mothers and family members passed by him and he sat on the ground. In his hand was new ice cream but the depression in his eyes stayed the same.

He was younger then, more fit and had energy that could fill up the place and more. His wrinkles not visible and his face was still full.

"Your job isn't going to do itself for you," his dad told him, looking at his younger self with disappointment. "You are still keen on not helping us around here,"

"I help," he replied weakly, not bothered if his voice reached his father or not. "Just not in the way you want me to."

He heard a small gruff and his dad disappeared behind the stacks of fruits. Key let his eyes return to the crowds, watching as people welcomed him into small parts of their lives.

He expected nothing, his hair and clothes made him look like a loser — his father loved to remind him that he absolutely was — and felt like one too. He only let a sigh escape him and stood up, squinting as the sun hit his eyes.

In the midst of the blur that the sun created, he saw an opportunity pass.

"And let me guess. That opportunity was Lucas?" His daughter's chuckle brought him out of his zone. He didn't even notice he was speaking.

He only sighed and stood up, throwing the melted ice cream in the trash.

"Yeah, he was much younger back then. Was just as arrogant, though,"

After he stretched a bit and found that his muscles hurt him, he looked at the unimpressed eyes of his daughter. "Dad you are getting old. Young people no longer come to such a place."

His daughter's words stung a little but were ultimately true. He only raised an eyebrow and told her, "Continue being like that and I will let your mother pick you up next time."

He saw Ruby's eyes widen and her lips instantly went to form a pout. Her ice cream was long eaten by her, but streaks of dark chocolates decorated her cheeks.

"I'm sorry! Daddy, you are the best." Noting how she changed her demeanor in seconds, he only chuckled lightly and poked her head.

"Yeah, yeah."

He took out a tissue and cleaned her face. His eyes were very different than a few minutes ago. Now they were filled with love and affection. He stroked his daughter's raven hair and smiled gently at her. "When I find the star that I want, I will work so hard that you won't have to fear your mother."

That sentence had produced a chuckle out of Ruby. "I know dad, I know." With that, she left his side and ran up to some lady.

With her being away, his eyes dimmed, and he got his phone out, searching for a number.

"What is the situation on your part?" He asked instantly when the other person picked up. He could hear the background noise from the other side.

"Nothing, boss. Nobody here fits your descriptions."

Key made his eyes wander around the place, seeing nothing impressive, his eyes lingered onto a familiar stall but then looked away.

Sure, the place was exactly the same. But he had changed. He was no longer a loser, and he had a job and a family now.

"Keep searching! I want you to find a person by the end of the week." With that, the call was ended.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 🐟 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Light music traveled through the air. The breeze at night near the ocean was refreshing and almost soothing. People took advantage of that as they danced around.

A group of guys was sitting around and passing beers to everyone. One of them chuckled as he saw his friends joke around with girls.

The atmosphere was definitely sweet and even sometimes ambiguous as some people escorted the girls back to the beach house.

As everyone got up and moved to the beat, only two guys stayed back and observed everything from afar.

"Man, they make me want a girlfriend." The scrawny-looking one said.

His friend pushed his black hair back as the wind played with it, and eyed him suspiciously. "Didn't you have a girlfriend just last week?"

He only got a chuckle as a reply. "What girlfriend? That was only a one-time thing." He didn't require further clarification to understand what his friend was suggesting.

As the music got louder and cheers mixed with them, it was impossible to hear the ocean or any other sound from afar.

The black haired guy sighed and felt bored from this event. If it wasn't for his friends, he wouldn't agree to come.

"Noah, come here!" He saw some of the girls that were enjoying their time gesture to him to come forward and dance with them. He flung a lazy glance at his friend that suddenly was busy with someone. He found himself with no other choice than to comply.

Especially since everyone here was wealthier than him.

Noah stood up from his chair, and at that exact moment, the wind got much stronger. And he heard the ocean roar and with it, his heart shook. Grains of sand flew and he had to close his eyes. He took a step back as one of the chairs fells and he heard a scream from afar. He tried to open his eyes a bit but he couldn't.

He didn't know what happened, but the fire suddenly went out, and someone kept shouting and getting closer.

As the shoutings continued and the wind calmed down, he was able to see the damages. Some of the tents fell, and some of his friends were on the ground, probably they either were pushed or had stumbled. Noah looked at the edges of the beach, trying to identify whose voice was calling out for them.

There in the far corner, he saw someone familiar running toward them. He could see from where he stood that his friend was stumbling every now and then, but kept waving with his hands. He couldn't clearly hear what he was saying, only a few words and phrases.

"The sea-"

"Someone-"

"Split-"

Noah frowned. Fortunately, no one was hurt around them, and even though he was weirded out by what had happened, he only motioned to his friends to look at the running man.

They all exchanged glances before nearing him and finally hearing what he was saying.

"The ocean split! It split! A mermaid came out!"