At the Benbow Inn on planet Montressor business had been booming ever since the rebuilding of the inn. The reviews for the inn were good, the customers were always cheerful, there was a good steady income and to the innkeeper Sarah Hawkins the staff was a pleasure to be around.
She was back in the kitchen washing some dishes but through the doors she could hear the one other staff member she employed cheerfully engaging in conversations with the customers. He was polite, funny, and complimentary in their discussions. They would ask how he was doing and he would reply with talks of the academy or fixing up his solar surfer. They would wish him luck and he would take their order or their plates depending on whether they ordered or were done. It brought a smile to the mothers face.
"Here my lad, something for your service" she overheard the man at the table say.
"Oh no this is way too much" the young boy admitted "I can't accept this"
"You work too hard lad, take it I insist". Begrudgingly she overheard the young boy take the hefty tip.
"Thanks, come again soon" he called to them before she heard his boots stomp towards the kitchen. Then knocking the door open with his boot her smiling son Jim Hawkins entered the kitchen holding onto some dirty bowls and plates.
"Another happy customer?" she asked as she cleaned the plates.
"Of course" he responded "But you should see those kids, they're getting big for their age" he explained "Here ya go morph" he said tossing some crumbs to the small pink glob who then nibbled down on it.
"Well they're growing up, it's expected" Sarah responded "You were that age too once you know"
"Yeah and look at me now" Jim said as he placed the dished in the sink and began washing them with his mother.
"Perfect" she kissed him on the cheek.
"Just trying to help out" Jim said
"Well between you and Ben I think we're doing really well here, although Ben's cooking skills could be a little better"
"Order up!" the robot called out at that moment "Table 12"
"I'll get it, can do you the dishes?" she asked
"Sure" Jim said as he remained at the sink and his mother dried her hands to go get the tray.
"Oh Jim dear" she called to him "Do you think you could take the trash out too? Business has picked up so much that if I don't have the time to do it, it'll just keep piling up"
Jim looked from the leaking trash bags to his mother's smiling face. "Sure, of course mother" he sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Thanks dear" she smiled before picking up a tray filled with food and walked out of the kitchen to bring it to the customers.
"Yeah, no problem" Jim chuckled uncomfortably as he picked up the leaky bags of trash. But it was so greasy that it slipped from his hands and fell to the floor splashing some more grease onto his boots. It was a good thing he was wearing work clothes today. He picked it up again but before it could slip from his hands he swung it over his back and pushed the door open and walked outside to the dumpster.
The Benbow inn was rebuilt on top of the hill where the original was. The dumpster however was at the bottom of the hill by the water.
Jim walked down to the dumpster with the sound of the sea getting louder and louder as he got closer. The waves hit against the shore and receded into the sea. He walked down the rocky path until he saw the dumpster at the edge of the rocks before the sea. He stopped before it and was prepared to swing the bag off his shoulder to haul it away. But then he heard something, a woman's voice and he let go of the bag and it fell on top of him.
Wiping the grease from his head Jim looked around to hear the voice. He heard it again and it sounded like it was coming from the sea.
"Aaaahhh" the woman sang and held a note.
Enchanted by the sounds Jim walked towards the edge of the rocks and looked down below and he saw her.
Looking down he saw the back of a woman who was sitting on the rocks with everything below her waist underwater. She was stroking long red locks of hair as she continued to sing. Jim was entranced with this woman's voice and beauty. He backed out of his lean and stood up to his full height as he continued to look down at her.
"hhhmmmm" she hummed beautifully as she continued to stroke her hair. From Jim's distance above her it looked like she was using a fork but dismissed the idea since he was so high up. He wanted to say something to her, to get her attention like how she got his. He took a deep breathe, built up his confidence and opened his mouth to call down to her. But the voice that spoke was not his own.
"Hey Jimmy!" Ben's voice echoed down from the inn and down to the rocks "Are you lost down there?! Jimmy!" Jim looked back up to the inn and then down to the water. The red haired woman glanced back up at the yelling was coming from. It was then that Jim saw her face.
She was beautiful.
But he couldn't look at her any longer because once she heard the shouting she jumped down into the water and was nowhere to be seen.
"No wait! Come back" Jim called down to the rocks but he heard no response. In disbelief he raced down to the rocks below to find her. He jumped over the rocks and now stood on the rocks where she once sat. He looked around to try and find her but there was nothing to be seen.
The only thing he could hear was the waves hitting against the rocks.
But then something bright shined into his eyes. Covering them and backing up he looked down to see something bright amongst the dark rocks. He reached down and picked it up. Upon seeing it free from the rocks he instantly recognized it as a fork. Guess his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. So if this was real then so was the girl. He continued to look around hopefully, turning his head from side to side but he found no trace of her other than the fork.
He looked over the fork again and then the water.
"Jimmy!" Ben's voice called from above as Jim sighed.
"Yeah I'm here!" Jim called back as he gripped the fork tightly and went up back to the inn "I'll be right there" he muttered as he looked back at the water.