diamrem

note: Long Live 2786. The 2786 Project has sworn to spread word of 2786. It needs some more love, no? This story has warned me to ready your handkerchiefs and replenish your tissue boxes, because even I the writer, am unable to foretell the ending.

description: the story was being changed, and through an offer, the poor creature was able to have one more shot at what she'd been longing for.

Far, far from land, where the waters are as blue as the petals of the cornflower and as clear as glass, there, where no anchor can reach the bottom, live the mer-people. The mer-king had been a widower for many years; his mother kept house for him. She was a very intelligent woman but a little too proud of her rank: she wore twelve oysters on her tail; the nobility were only allowed six. Otherwise, she was a most praiseworthy woman, and she took excellent care of her grandchildren, the little princesses. They were six lovely mermaids; the youngest was the most beautiful. Her complexion was as fine as the petal of a rose and her eyes as blue as the deepest lake, but just like everyone else down there, she had no feet; her body ended in a fishtail.

The First Aria

"I know, right? It was just too funny. I couldn't help it! And you know-Ah. Haru, you're reading that book again?"

Haru's head popped out from behind the book and smiled an embarrassed smile. "I am. This book…It's really interesting, isn't it? I just really love it. "I can tell," her friend said with a lifted eyebrow and a hopeless smile. "You bring that book with you everywhere." Haru set down the book and stroked the cover, her fingers trailing over the painted waves. "I always feel bad for her...But even though the ending's supposed to be happy, it's not at the same time."

"Haru, did you know? Your expression always changes when you read that book. One minute you look like you're so blissfully happy, and the next you look as if some tiger mauled you. You look happy and upset at certain parts of the book, but whenever you finish that book, you start flipping through the pages really fast and this confused look appears on your face."

"Is that so…? I just feel like something's not right at the end of the story. It's interesting and it's kind of scary at the same time. Maybe that's why I like it so much." Haru's friend patted her on the head. "It's because you're a hopeless romantic. You want a happy ending where the mermaid ends up with the prince-I bet that's why you feel like the ending's not right."

"Tomoe, I'm not a hopeless romantic!" Haru protested with a childish pout. Tomoe laughed a long, hearty laugh. "Whatever you say, Haru. Alright, I have to head for track now. Do you want to come with?" Haru got out her money and tucked away the book into her bag. "Don't I always?" She remarked with a wink.

Once she'd seen Tomoe off, Haru headed to the river, a place she visited often. Haru smiled with satisfaction at her footprints in the sand and sang under her breath a song of the sea as she made her way to her special spot. It was right in the middle of the town, so she could hear the click-clacks of shoes hitting the pavement, fragments of conversations, the quiet squeal of cars in the distance and the sound of engines running.

Her city.

She first mouthed the two words and then spoke them aloud. They tasted strange on her tongue. My city. She continued to speak the words in various accents, different volumes, putting emphasis on different parts of the words each time with each footstep to her little spot.

"My city." The emphasis was put on city.

"My city." A slight accent was pressed onto my.

"My city!" The words were screeched out, like a cat whose tail had just been twisted.

"My city." Slurred, slow words that poured out like honey.

"My city?" A confused tone colored the words and ended up sounding like a question.

"My city?!" This time it was extremely confused, mixed in with a bit of shock and a sprinkle of unbelief.

Haru greeted her special spot with a little wave and then sat down. It was far away from the tunnel surrounding the river, away from the darkness shadowing the water. Her special spot was ten feet away from the left side of the tunnel and one foot away from the water. A few days after she'd first found the spot, she had flattened the dug-up soil and arranged red flowers in the shapes of the sun. It was deeply embedded so the flowers would never be able to escape and the river had never flooded so Haru never thought or worried about a chance of the flowers being washed away.

She pulled out her book again and this time her fingers traced out the words of the title. T..h..e..L..i..t..t..l..e..M..e..r..m..a…i..d.

The words of her friend echoed back to her. It was true, she liked the story. She loved it. She read it almost every day and could recite the words by heart. And it was true that at the ending, she'd flip through the pages earnestly as if she were trying to find an answer.

She supposed that it was a good ending. The mermaid was given the chance to reach heaven. Although she hadn't gotten the prince, she'd been given the chance to enter heaven after three hundred years. A whistle escaped Haru's lips. Three hundred years was long time. "But something's still not right after all," Haru murmured, a focused look on her face.

The book was thrown onto the top of the bag.

And then Haru clutched her head, shaking and moving this way and that. She had these tantrums quite frequently. "It doesn't make any sense!" She shouted, standing up from anger for the little mermaid. "Why can't she end up with the prince? Happy tales with princes and princesses are supposed to end up happy!"

The last word was stretched out, accompanied by balled-up fists, closed, scrunched-up eyes and foot stamping. Haru opened her eyes and her anger dissipated once she saw the sky.

The sun had set, and the clouds were the color of roses and the horizon was a line of gold. In the pale pink sky, Haru could make out the first star of evening as it sparkled, clearly and beautifully. The air was warm and the river was calm.

Haru undid her shoes and took off her socks. She dipped her bare feet into the river and giggled at the cool feel of the water. The river was praised for its cleanliness and unlike the rivers in other neighboring towns; this river was free from traces of pollution.

She kicked her feet at a gentle pace, singing a song she remembered from childhood. Once she finished her song, she put on her socks half-way and stepped into her shoes. "Time to go home," she sang with vigor. "Time to go home, go home, go home."

The princesses liked nothing better than to listen to their old grandmother tell about the world above. She had to recount countless times all she knew about ships, towns, human beings, and the animals that lived up on land. The youngest of the mermaids thought it particularly wonderful that the flowers up there had fragrance, for that they did not have on the bottom of the sea.

From one sister to the next, there was a difference in age of about a year, which meant that the youngest would have to wait more than five whole years before she would be allowed to swim up from the bottom of the sea and take a look at us. But each promised the others that she would return after her first day above, and tell about the things she had seen and describe what she thought was loveliest all. For the old grandmother could not satisfy their curiosity. None of the sisters longed so much to see the world above as the youngest, the one who had to wait the longest before she could leave home.

"Dad? I'm back!"

Haru placed her shoes on the shoe rack and balled up the wet socks till they were small enough to fit into the pocket of her skirt. Haru's father popped his head out from the kitchen and looked at his daughter with a mildly reproving look.

"Haru! Gone to the river again? You should careful. You might slip and fall on your head or fall into the water and drown." Haru waved his words away with a tiny flourish of her hand. "Dad, you know that won't happen. I know how to swim, remember? But I do promise to be careful!" She added hastily when she spotted a warning look in his eyes. The look disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced with a cheery air.

"Haru, dinner won't be ready for half an hour so change out of those clothes and do whatever you teenagers do to pass the time." Haru acknowledged his words with a salute and then stormed off to her room. She exchanged her dirt-stained clothes for her sweatpants and an over-sized T-shirt; a style she named as 'home clothes.'

In the dirty clothes went into the laundry basket. "Whoops, almost forgot about these." Haru mumbled absent-mindedly while tossing the crumpled up socks into the laundry basket. She burst into dance, twirling her arms and lifting her legs. She moved with grace, she jumped with utmost poise; radiant as spring. But such elegance could only go on for so long. Haru gasped when she collapsed on her bed, tired, but happy. "I haven't been able to dance for a really long time," she whispered to herself. "It was nice doing it again."

On the corner of her desk was a huge book of fairy tales. It was a habit for Haru to pick up the book and read her favorite ones. Cinderella…Rapunzel…Snow White…Beauty and the Beast…Sleeping Beauty…The Princess and the Pea…Hansel and Gretel…Rumpelstiltskin. She dived into thousands of other stories, immersing herself into the worlds they took place in. Just when she'd started to read the Little Mermaid, her father knocked on the door and pulled her out of the world of stories.

"Haru, it's time for dinner."

Haru patted the huge book and bookmarked the page she'd finished. "Bye-bye. I'll be back before you know it."

"Dad! I think this is your best one yet!" Haru exclaimed, eagerly sipping at the soup. And it was. Haru's father had been trying to create a splendid chicken soup and it seemed he had finally succeeded. The soup was not too salty and not too bland. It was just right. The flavors of the carrot and chicken engulfed the taste buds as one, wreathed with the taste of pepper. Haru's father ate the rice and soup separately, while Haru dumped the rice into the soup and ate them together.

"Dad, tomorrow could we have beef? Or steak?"

"Of course! Anything for my little Haru. You sure like meat, don't you?"

"I do. I like it very, very much."

"More than me?"

"Maybe."

"More than the boy you like?"

"Dad!"

Haru flushed crimson while her father laughed. "I don't even like anybody…" She mumbled. "I'm still too young to like a boy! So-So that topic is a taboo in this household from now on!" "Really?" Haru's father marveled at her words. "I'm surprised. I figured you'd have at least one teensy weensy crush. But I like the way you think, my girl! Keep away from boys till you get to college. They'll distract you too much and you've got your whole life ahead of you."

Haru smiled. Every now and then the subject of boys would come up and she'd always hear this speech. Not that she minded. She was kind of used to it, actually. But it was just so embarrassing. Haru fidgeted a bit, just thinking about it. It was hard to imagine herself liking a boy. It was hard to imagine herself chasing after a boy, showering him with attention and trying to win him over.

"GAH!"

She squirmed, shaking her head vigorously. Sure, she read about romance in the fairy tales, but she was so uncomfortable about the subject in real life. "You okay there, Haru?" Her father asked with a knowing look in his eye.

"I-" Haru coughed. "Yes, I'm fine."

"You sure there's not a single boy in Namimori that you've got your eyes on? You can trust your old man."

"DAD!"

"Sorry, sorry."

It was hard to imagine her father acting like this around the college students. In the university he worked at, he was solemn and stern. He didn't joke. He was a serious math teacher. But at home…he was a carefree father joking with his daughter. She sure was lucky, Haru thought. Because she was one of the few people who got to see this side of him. "You know, your grandmother called."

"Grandma did?! Why, did something happen back at the village?"An amused expression appeared on older Miura's face. "No, she called to say hi. Why, your grandmother can't call and just say hi?" Haru's face flushed. "That's not what I meant. I mean... Grandma rarely calls to just say hi. So I was just wondering...""Well, she called about your sisters too.""How are they? Are they alright? Are they eating well? Are they okay? Has that mean old lady-"

"Calm down, Haru. As much as I love you, it's hard to look at you if you're banging the spoon onto the table."

"Oh. Sorry."

Haru placed her spoon down and leaned forward. "So? What's been happening?""Your grandmother called to say the village is doing fine. She is the head so... She should know best. Your sisters are doing fine and they're still a little shaken about what happened, but overall your grandmother says they're doing better than before." An intense look came over Haru. "And... Has that lady been caught?"

"No. Not yet. But the police will find her soon enough." "If the police find that lady, then I get to have a go at her first. I'm never forgiving her." Haru's face was dark with anger. Her father patted her on the arm, trying to calm her. "We'll find her. Don't worry! For now, calm down and have some more soup. Do you want to call your grandmother later?"
Haru smiled and shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow, but not today. I still have homework to do." Her father nodded in understanding and took Haru's bowl."Hey! Dad, I wasn't finished with that!"
Moments later, he returned with another hot bowl of soup. "I mean... Ahem. Thanks, Dad."Haru returned to her room, happy and full. "Chicken soup today and steak tomorrow. Dad sure is the best when it comes to cooking."

But deep inside her heart, she knew that if she were to compare her grandmother's cooking and her father's cooking…Her grandmother would win. The elderly Miura had a talent for whipping up feasts for the village. Just thinking about her grandmother's foods made Haru's mouth salivate a little while she did her homework. Her elderly grandmother was a kind, intelligent woman. The only thing that marred the charming woman's character was her extreme pride in her position as Head of the village. And her sisters…

She missed her sisters. She missed her village.

Haru and her father had moved to Namimori one year ago, while her sisters and grandmother remained at the village. It seemed like only yesterday when she and her sisters had been swimming in the sea while their grandmother and father watched them. A pang of homesickness struck her heart and she squirmed. No, Namimori was her home now. No matter how different it was from the village, it was now her home. She had to accept this.

"Tomorrow will have lots of adventures for sure…" Haru murmured sleepily. "Adventures and steak."

author's note: I have to admit, I still can't get used to the new template on . But a change always has to happen, so I'm slowly getting used to it! How about you guys? I'm still stuck in summer school and I come home late from a writing program I'm attending to improve my writing. Inspiration for this story stuck when I was at the writing program, and all of a sudden an idea entered my mind... So after trying a couple ideas, I finally came up with this story. I'll try to work on the other stories as well but you guys pretty much know how I write and upload my chapters. There is still hope though! …Not likely. Ha. Well, I was recently searching around the web (for 2786 pictures, what else?)...Artists! I challenge you to draw a picture of 2786 and post it on the web to share. I'm actually thinking about doing it myself but I wouldn't want to blind poor, unsuspecting people around the world with a horrible drawing…Back to writing then!

I must confess. I really want to go to Japan and just ask Amano-sensei just who Tsuna's going to end up with. It's so frustrating for me as a 2786 supporter. She's just dropping all these hints about 27K and…Keep on persevering 2786 supporters! KEEP ON LOVING.

If you lovely readers see any grammar/spelling mistakes, please inform me so I can correct those mistakes! I'm very, very weak when it concerns grammar...And my eyes just seem to jump over any spelling errors. Sigh.

next chapter: The Second Aria

...The whole school was in a bustle; every person she saw was whispering of a name she'd never heard of before.