Past and Present
Written for SureMiku Week 2016. This is day 1: Water, Healing, Passivity.
General Audiences - "This content is suitable for anyone: kids, teenagers and sensitive people."
Disclaimer: The characters and universe of this story do not belong to me.
The beach was Sorey's favourite place to be. It has always been. And as he stood there with his small feet half buried in the sand, under the receding waves, he couldn't help but take deep breaths of the pure salty air with a huge smile. When he opened his eyes he spotted Mikleo, treading and waving at him from the shallow water. His white hair was untamed even by the heavy salt of the ocean and his violet eyes were brilliant and visible even from the shore where Sorey was standing.
Grandpa told him many times that it was on the beach that he met Mikleo for the very first time when they were both mere toddlers. Apparently they started conversing in baby language straight away and when the time came for them to separate they started crying inconsolably. From then on, their mothers would meet on the beach regularly for their babies to see each other. Unfortunately, Grandpa also had to tell them about the day their mothers perished in a car accident. Grandpa had said that they were hit by a drunk driver and their car veered towards a cliff. It was Sorey's incessant crying that saved them both. According to Grandpa, when he brought them both to the hospital after finding them during his morning stroll, Mikleo had been at death's doorstep.
But that didn't matter to Sorey now. The seven year olds were fine now and as he watched Mikleo swim closer to shore he could not think of a better life to have had. Sure, it would have been nice to remember his mother, but Grandpa was a great parent to both of them and even if they were the only ones in school who didn't have mommies and daddies, they were happy to have Grandpa!
Sorey ran deeper into the cool water with Mikleo's towel on his arms and a very big grin on his face. When he approached Mikleo he was greeted with an equally big smile as the boy's tail swung from side to side excitedly, splashing water all around them both.
Sorey loved Mikleo's tail. As they were growing up, Grandpa had to explain to them that Mikleo wasn't quite human. Grandpa didn't know much about mermaids aside from the fact that they were rare, pretty and that they had to go back to the ocean every few weeks. So the old man sold his old little house on the top of the mountain and had one built right on the beach for convenience's sake.
'Thank you!' Mikleo said as Sorey dropped the towel on his head and started scrubbing.
'Do you want to get out yet?' Sorey asked, feeling his clothes heavy with water and wondering if it would have been easier for Mikleo to swim without his white tunic. He peeked at Mikleo's face from underneath the towel and they smiled at each other.
Mikleo hummed a negative response to Sorey's question, placing his towel atop a rock instead, before grabbing Sorey by the hand.
'You have to see what I found!'
Sorey smiled and allowed himself to be pulled into the open sea. Mikleo never let go of Sorey's hand as he guided him around the face of the cliff and into a cave. The cave was very spacious, with a very high ceiling and there, on its surface, untouched by the eroding water, were intricate engravings that formed patterns and drawings.
The previous year, Sorey had found a book in Grandpa's library that was so old that the cover no longer displayed a title. Its pages were just as old and some of the text was already fading, but the book, large and heavy, was full of illustrations of old ruins and buildings of bygone ages. What was even more interesting however, were the notes made on the book. It was obvious they were written at a later date than the publication of the book, but they were also very old. The person that wrote those notes was correcting and amending what was written with knowledge they acquired, most likely by visiting the sites. Sorey and Mikleo read that book so many times they could recite the words without looking and it was their dream to revisit those sites to be able to ad their own amendments to it.
'We already explored this one.' Sorey commented, looking at the cave's walls in eternal fascination. 'Did you find something more?'
'Yes.' Mikleo confirmed. 'I found a passage on that side.' He pointed at the furthest wall of the cave. 'But it's very narrow.'
Sorey smiled at Mikleo with all his excitement clear in his green eyes. 'I'll just have to cling to you, won't I?'
With twin smiles and both vibrating with enthusiasm the pair dived under the surface of the water.
As soon as they dived, their entire world transformed. The sound of the waves crashing against the cliff outside the cave was muffled by the sound of water rushing all around them. The sun entered the cave in bright rays that were filtered into the depths and painted the fading but impressive gravures on the stone in shades of luminous blues. There were fish swimming around them and around the broken pillars that were no longer holding together the enormous structure. There were all sorts of plants and coral covering most of the sea floor and the stone with colours and life.
Sorey looked at Mikleo and smiled with his small hands covering his mouth so as to not let the water enter through his lips and into his inflated rosy cheeks. Mikleo held up a finger to signal Sorey to wait a moment. Then he breathed in through the gills he had at the back of his ears and blew out a very large bubble of air through his lips that encased Sorey's upper body, allowing him to breathe. The bubble trick never failed to make them both giggle because it looked like a bubble with arms and legs. Sorey let out a big breath and laughed as he looked at Mikleo.
Mikleo's tail wasn't the only thing Sorey loved. Mikleo was beautiful both as human and as merman, but down there, with the brilliance of the sun softly filtered by the ocean, the boy looked positively ethereal. His violet eyes were glowing as if they had miniature stars inside them. The rays of sunshine made his pale skin almost sparkle as much as the blue scales of the merman's tail, now completely revealed because Mikleo's tunic was floating around him like a veil.
'You look so pretty, Mikleo…' Sorey admitted on a daze.
Mikleo blushed all the way to his ears before grabbing Sorey's hand and swimming downwards, towards the wall of the cave he had previously indicated. When they arrived Sorey noted that there was indeed a small passage that would just about fit them both.
'Grab onto me?' Mikleo asked, his voice carried clearly by the water.
'Won't my bubble burst?' Sorey asked, poking it on the outside with his finger.
'It shouldn't.' Mikleo reassured, but putting a pensive fingertip on his chin. 'If it does hold your breath!' He concluded with a devilish smirk.
'Eh?' Sorey exclaimed becoming a bit nervous.
In the end, there was nobody in the world Sorey trusted more than Mikleo, so he wrapped his arms around the white haired boy and hugged him tightly as he was carried into the entrance to the passage.
It turns out that Mikleo was right and the bubble did not burst. Instead Sorey watched in fascination as it squeezed itself into the passage like a hamster would enter its tunnel.
'You're amazing, Mikleo!' He complimented and felt Mikleo's face heat up right next to his as he spluttered in embarrassment.
The passage was but a hole on the thick rock wall that led to the interior of an even bigger building, completely submerged in water and plunged in the darkness of its confinement. Only Mikleo, with his merman vision could see the entirety of the ruins; the stone arches that led to a labyrinth of corridors and stairs; the balconies overlooking the great space before them; the vastness of the deep chasm that divided the ruins in two; the transparent bridge that connected the two sides; the huge statue towering over one of the sides; the stone walls all carved with fading designs and mostly covered in coral and deep sea vegetation; the vast amount of marine life.
'We're going to have to come back with Gramps' flashlight…'Mikleo said in astonishment.
'Is it awesome? Is it big?' Sorey asked as he uselessly tried to force his eyes to see beyond the darkness, just like Mikleo's.
'It is very impressive!' Mikleo answered, using the new word he'd learned from Grandpa.
Mikleo felt Sorey's grip on his neck tighten ever so slightly in his excited impatience and, soon discovering that it was contagious as his skin tingled with the anticipation.
They returned to the shore with incessant chatter about the new discovery. Mikleo couldn't find the words he needed to describe what he'd seen, but he tried his best by using references to that title-less book they knew by heart.
When they reached the shallow water Mikleo held his arms high to allow Sorey to position himself in front of him. It was Mikleo's turn to hook his arms around Sorey's neck. He heaved his body by the strength of his arms and allowed Sorey to grab his tail, careful so as to not cut his skin on the scales.
'You're getting really strong, Sorey!' Mikleo exclaimed after a few moments. He noticed how the brunette didn't struggle as much as he did on previous occasions.
'You're stronger too, Mikleo!' Sorey remarked. 'Before I had to help you onto my back, but now you can do it on your own!'
Mikleo beamed with pride at the compliment and Sorey felt the smile on his own face due to the proximity. He smiled as well through the effort.
Mikleo wasn't usually heavy, but when he transformed his tail alone was twice his own size.
When they were out of the water, Sorey fell backwards on the sand heaving with the effort. The morning was hot already, announcing yet another day of very hot summer. Further away on the beach there were thousands of tourists and locals enjoying the beach, but they weren't visible from where Sorey and Mikleo were sitting. Grandpa had made it a point to build his house beyond a rock formation that was closed to the public. Sorey and Mikleo would soon find out it had something to do with a favour that a very important man owed him.
Sorey turned to face Mikleo, now in complete human form, yet still soaked in sea water.
'When we grow up we won't fit through that passage, Mikleo…'
Mikleo looked at Sorey and his heart fell with the fear that statement gave him.
'It's true.' He agreed. 'But maybe when we grow up we can learn to make the tunnel bigger?'
Sorey nodded and smiled.
'Let's become really smart so that we can go around the world and explore all the ruins in the book!' The brunette boy exclaimed. 'Let's discover new ruins!'
'And we can write our own book!' Mikleo agreed becoming as excited as Sorey. 'We have to promise to become smart and strong together!'
Sorey nodded eagerly. 'Then we should get married!'
'What?' Mikleo was shocked by Sorey's utterly random suggestion.
'Yes! You see, when people get married they stay together forever. We should get married and explore ruins together forever!' Sorey explained with a joyous expectant grin.
Mikleo pondered for a moment before deeming Sorey's plan to be a good one and agreeing.
'Okay. When we grow up we will get married and stay together forever.'
The two boys returned home a few hours later, completely dry, after discussing their findings and their plans for the future. Their hands were clasped in each other's and their faces were split into twin grins of happiness. Grandpa greeted them into the house with two fluffy white towels on his arms and an equal happy smile on his old features. And if and of them had dreams filled with big old ruins and celestial beings fighting evil, they did not remember them in the morning when they got ready to start another week of school, one more week of learning to become smart and explore the world together forever.
A.N.: I have a thing for children planning to marry each other (and actually doing it when they grow up). I think it's incredibly adorable! 3
A.N.: I have become completely addicted to Zestiria! When I looked up it was too late. Zestiria heaven (not hell. Never hell!) is my new home!
ON THE TAGS: #sormikweek2016