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                                 You come back again, okay?

                                 Promise me.

                                 I will be waiting.

                                Waiting, believing that you will return.

                                I will be waiting....

"It about time for you to set off..." A young pretty girl stood on the duck. 

"Indeed." A man replied. He was exactly the merchant who visited the mansion and then be slaughtered by Bestia.

"You take care out there. Don’t eat anything funny and get yourself sick, got it?"

"I will be fine. I am a tough one."

"No, no! The more overconfident you are, the more you will push yourself and risk getting hurt! Make sure you drink lots and lots of water, okay? Take care not to get heatstroke or sunstroke, okay?"

"You worry too much. Relax. I know how to care myself on a ship."

"I know... But you never know what might happen. I want you to be in good health when I see you again!"

"I will be. Though I will probably keep you waiting for a long time again..." the merchant made a sorrowful face.

"I will be waiting. Don’t worry about me. I will be waiting. I promise. I managed to wait a year and a half already, so I can handle this."

"....."

"Come back, okay?"

"....You have my word."

"Thanks. Safe travels."

 

                 I refuse to believe that he could be dead.

            I had to find the proof that somewhere out there, he is still alive and well. 

                I have to find him.

                I have to prove it.

 

"Madam, we have arrived at our destination. Though I dearly wish I could assist you in your search... I have things to attend to during our stay."

"No, don’t worry yourself. I couldn’t possibly impose on you any further."

"Madam....Pauline, you mustn’t put yourself in danger. Should anything happen to you, your mother would be devastated."

Pauline knew exactly her mother was sorrowful. Her sorrow as expansive as the Albufera wetlands, as deep as the ocean into which the sun sets. And knew it was all her fault.

"Don’t worry, I will be fine! As soon as I have certainty of his well-being, I will go straight home. Me and him. Together."

"Pauline, your lover is..."

"I have faith in him. He would never break a promise to me. He is always come back for me, no matter how long it took. A man like that wouldn’t just suddenly disappear on me."

"....."

"There is been a mistake, and I have to prove it."

Pauline knew she had to be the one to do it. Because he would remain gone unless she saw it with her own eyes.

"I wonder... who you inherited your stubbornness from."

"What?"

"Nothing... An acquaintance of mine lives in this village. I shall be staying with him. I will let him know about you. He should gladly welcome you into his home."

"Thank you, Orlando! You’ve been such a good help!"

"Pauline. One month. You search for one month, and if you haven’t found him... you come back with me. Will you promise me that? You are her only daughter."

"Okay..."

"Good. To tell you the truth, I regret bringing you with me. What I should have done is dragged you back home. But I couldn’t bear to see you like that, Pauline. It was like I was looking at her, when she was younger."

"Orlando..."

"Anyway, one month. Understood?"

"Yes. Don’t worry. A month will be plenty. I will find him before the month is up."

The sleepy seaside village is on the small side, but, from what she had been told, it used to be have a flourishing fishing industry. Now, though, it’s like there is a fog hanging over everything. That was not too surprising, she supposed. A few months ago, the village was part of a war for control of the country, and they were now under a different rule than before. Stripped of their independence and battered by the raging tempest of war, the people’s spirits had been eroded. And the spiritual damage was not so easily mended. Even if they were not physically harmed, there were deep wounds in their hearts.

"It’s a lovely village, though. The breeze feels different than it does back home."

Beneath it all, she was sure that people there were actually quite friendly and cheerful. 

A long lone time ago, she went on a trip to a land in the south. This village was quite a bit south of her too. People blessed with lots of sunlight are bound to be warm at their core.

"Say, Orlando."

"Yes?"

"May I take a look at the village?"

"I don’t see why not. The sun is still up. I will need some time to catch up with my acquaintance, so I supposed this is a good opportunity as any. Do you know where to find me?"

"Yes! You go down that way, turn at the second crossroad, follow it straight for a little, cross over to the other side, and it’s right there! Right?"

"Are you sure you can find it??"

"Don’t worry!"

"A-All right, then...You are planning to stay within the village today, right? I will see you in a little bit, then. If you get lost, give me a holler."

"Hehe. As much as you may insist otherwise, you really do care, Orlando."

"I feel bad enough as it is. Please don’t take advantage of me."

"I think I will take full advantage of this. Thanks! See you in a bit!"

Then Pauline took her leave to the beach.

There was a little boy on the beach.

She wonder what was he doing here all alone. There was no one else around, she wondered if something had happened. But talking directly to him could be a little odd, and she didn’t want to be labeled as suspicious on her first day here. That would be asking trouble. But....The boy stood all alone on the shore, looking somehow precarious. As though a breeze might whisk him away into a million grains of sand, and if she looked away, he would not be there when she turned back. That was how the boy appeared to her.

"Hmmmm, you never know until you try! Besides, it’s very important for me to communicate with the natives! Just go to build trust with the people of this village! Let’s go!" Eventually, the curiosity overtook the worry.

"Good afternoon! What are you doing out there all alone, little man?"

"?" The little boy did not response, only staring her with a confusing expression.

"Ah...." Pauline realized that, by force of habit, she spoke in her native tongue. How dense can I be! She thought. This isn’t my homeland.

Pauline had studies the langue, so she was quite confident that she could hold a simple conversation.

"Um, you don’t need to be afraid of me. My name is Pauline. I will be staying in your village for a while. Nice to meet you!"

"........" the boy still kept silent.

"U-Um? Do you not understand me? MY NAME IS PAULINE! WHAT’S YOUR NAME, LITTLE MAN?"

".......Dreadful."

"Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaat?!"

• He just called her dreadful! 

"That’s one hell of an accent you’ve got. Who are you, a bandit? What are you here for?"

"No! No! I am not a danbit, I promise!" Pauline stammered.

"Atrocious."

"There is not need to be so mean! I thought I put in a pretty good effort! You could at least compliment me instead!"

"Godawful."

"That’s not nice!"

"What’s a foreigner doing in this remote corner of the world? Sightseeing our little village? Sure got a lot of time on your hands."

"I do not! I-I am very busy! You are a little obnoxious! Aren’t you? You are supposed to treat your elders with RESPECT, you know?"

"Like I give a damn. Lady. You are older, but you are acting the way more like a kid than me."

"My name isn’t lady. It’s Pauline! PAAAUL-IIIINE! "

"And? What are you here for?" he completely ignored her words.

"I am here to look for someone. There are rumors that he was last seen around here. Have you, by any chance, seen any other foreigners around?"

"Hell if I know."

God. He just wouldn’t let her in. But Pauline had made up her mind to befriend him first. Of course he was going to be guarded if she just start throwing questions at him.

"All right. So you haven’t seen him. Then why don’t you tell me about yourself? What are you doing out here?"

"Is that any of your business, lady?"

"A boy is on the beach all alone. Wouldn’t that make you curious? Don’t you have any friends?"

"....."

Maybe he was one of those kids who didn’t have any. 

"Say, if you don’t mind, could we be friends? I am not familiar with the area, so it’d be nice to have someone with me!"

The boy murmured some words.

"What did you say?"

"I don’t need any damn friends. And who the hell would be dumb enough to say okay to someone they just met?"

"H-how are you so jaded! You need to be more courteous! Kinder to others! Not so antagonistic! I just though it would be nice if we could talk a bit... That’s all I want, really."

"How about you quit being so damn nosy, lady? It just so happens I like being alone. Ah. I just got some strange woman ruining my alone time. I am outta here."

"H-Hey! Wait a second!"

But he was gone. 

This was going to be really really hard! Pauline thought in her mind.