That Distant Island

Ai, Neo-Venezia is finally moving into summer. The gentle breeze is starting to bring with it all kinds of smells, and the city is starting to spring back to life. Winter was wonderful too, but there's something about summer that makes me feel warm. We also happen to have a lot more tourists in this season, which makes up a little for winter, when we had hardly any business at all.

I wonder what the weather is like back on Manhome.

I woke up earlier than usual; I guessed that it was due to the season change. I tend to sleep in a lot later during winter. President Aria had woken up before me, and sat at the edge of my bed. It seemed as though had been waiting there for a while.

'Sorry President Aria. Have you been waiting long?' I asked, slightly unsure of just how long I had slept in.

President Aria shook his head, though I get the feeling that even if I had overslept, he would still do the same. He's quite a considerate cat.

'I see. Thank goodness.'

President Aria mewled as usual. I've been with him for so long that it almost feels as though I should be able to understand everything he says by now. He quickly ran downstairs, as if beckoning me to follow him. As I made my way down, I noticed Alicia in the kitchen, preparing some food. She always wakes up early. It's almost become a ritual to say good morning and begin helping her as soon as I get up.

'My, my. Good morning Akari.'

'Good morning,' I replied with a smile on my face.

I can't help but feel wonderful in the morning. The sunlight seeping into the windows of my room, the noise of water boiling, and the chirping of the birds outside the window; it fills me with enough energy to take on anything.

I giggled to myself. If Aika heard that I can already guess what she'd say; 'no embarrassing marks allowed!'

I helped Alicia as usual, then sat down and had breakfast before heading out with President Aria. I planned on meeting Alice and Aika off La Certosa, it's an island near where the lagoon empties into the Chryse Sea. Neo-Venezia has been very busy recently, and that makes it kind of difficult to practice through its waterways. They always tend to get crowded during this season, especially near the busier areas.

Half way on my journey I decided to take a break. I figured that since the wind was pushing us in the direction of the island anyway, I may as well stop paddling for a while. I rested back on a quilt, and looked out into the sky as President Aria sat next to me. It was probably a bad idea, because I began to doze off without realising it. I woke up almost half an hour later when something suddenly shook my boat.

'Akari! What do you think you're doing? How could you have fallen asleep?'

It was Aika, miraculously the wind hadn't changed direction, and had pushed us all the way to the island. Aika started rocking my gondola from side to side with her oar in an attempt to wake me. I noticed that she was accompanied by Alice as well, who looked at me with a plain expression which read, 'not this again…'

'Sorry!' I responded instinctively, it seems I caused them some trouble.

Aika began to laugh in a haughty manner.

'Trust you to fall asleep halfway on a journey. How do you expect to become a Prima at this rate? No customer wants to ride with an undine who sleeps halfway through the tour!'

'Heh heh….' I responded. I really had no excuse. Summer makes me feel really drowsy for some reason.

'Anyway, now that you're awake, let's practice. You should have plenty of energy after that nap.'

'Eh?!'

Aika challenged us to a race. The first one to reach the cove was to be declared the winner. I wasn't usually competitive, but for some reason I had the urge to win. I decided to use my 'special technique' again for this race.

As soon as the race began, I swung my gondola around and began to row backwards. Before I travelled to Neo-Venezia I used to practice by myself, and somehow I ended up training myself to row backwards instead of forwards. This past year I've made quite a bit of progress, but I still find myself better at rowing backwards than forwards.

I started to overtake Aika, which was met with some hostile resistance. She isn't the sort of person to lose easily. Alice was ahead, of course. Despite being the youngest and lowest ranking of us, I had to admit that she was the most talented. I think it's wonderful for such a young girl to be so skilled already.

We soon finished the race, Alice finished first, with me finishing a close second. Aika shrugged and gave a slightly defeated look.

'I would have won normally! I just wasn't feeling very well today!'

'Yes, yes. Of cour—'

'Wait, what's that?'

Aika cut me off just as I was about to reply, then I noticed that she was pointing to a small cave hidden at the back of the cove. It looked fairly large, and the water led straight into it, meaning we would be able to take our gondolas too.

'Why don't we explore?' asked Aika excitedly.

'Eh?!' I shouted uncontrollably.

It wasn't that I didn't want to explore. I love exploring. But what the others weren't aware of, was that I had an irrational fear of the dark. I couldn't exactly say that I was keen on the idea of paddling down a pitch black cave.

'But won't it be dark? I mean, it'll be dangerous if we can't see where we're going, right?'

I hoped that my attempts to dissuade the others weren't in vain, but Aika replied almost immediately.

'I always keep a spare lantern around. I'll tie it to the front of my gonodala, and you two can follow behind me.'

The fact that we would be using a lantern eased my apprehension slightly. I still wasn't keen on the idea, but I realised that by now, it would be impossible to change Aika's mind. She carefully tied the lantern around the bow of the gondola, then lit it using a match. I guess Aika can be pretty resourceful at times.

She went ahead, and we followed close behind. We soon entered the mouth of the cave; it almost seemed as though we were being devoured as the light outside began to fall further and further away. Ahead of me, I could just about see Aika's gondola, which the small candle tried desperately to illuminate.

'Look down there!' exclaimed Aika as she pointed to the water. I squinted closer under the light of the lantern, then noticed that we were floating above a railway track.

'This cave was probably used while the planet was still terraforming,' explained Alice, 'before there was even an ocean, builders would of had to travel great distances across the planet. They would have used trains to transport the materials. That's why sometimes you'll still see railroad tracks under the water sometimes.

'Wow, that's amazing,' I responded.

Alice's knowledge of aqua was impressive, sometimes I wondered if there was anything that she didn't know.

The cave started to open up after a while as the ceiling grew higher and higher. This came as quite a relief, as I was beginning to feel claustrophobic against the tightly closed walls. At first I didn't notice it, but the cave had also gradually begun to grow brighter. I wondered whether we were reaching the exit, but that wasn't it. I couldn't see anything ahead of me, instead the light seemed to be coming from above.

'Look!'

Alice was the first one that noticed, she pointed up to the ceiling excitedly. I tilted my head back, then suddenly gasped. The ceiling was covered in an assortment of gems and crystals. Each of them gave off a unique glow, reflecting an assortment of colours around the cave.

'It's beautiful,' I exclaimed, 'it's like the cave is trying to guide our way by lighting up our path. This light... it's almost like the colour of its heart.'

'No embarrassing remarks!' Aika exclaimed, scolding me.

'Eh?!'

'But you're right... it's beautiful.'

For a moment, I think I may have just experienced Aika's softer side. I giggled, then continued to look up at the light.

'I'm sure Al would like this...'

Aika suddenly blushed, realising what she had just said out loud.

A-Anyway, we should probably keep moving,' said Aika, as she quickly tried to change the subject.

President Aria looked at Aika, then started to make some kind of strange noise that almost sounded like laughter. It seems that even he was able to see through Aika. She merely pouted in response, and began to move forward without saying anything. We followed closely, though it wasn't like we had much choice, she was the only one with a lantern, and the last thing I wanted to do was row through these caves in the dark.

We continued rowing for several minutes, filling the silence with idle chatter. Then, without warning, I was brought to a halt as Aika stopped.

'What's the matter?' I asked, steadying my balance.

'The route forks into two different directions, I'm not sure which one we should take.'

I peered past Aika's gondola and realised what she meant, the waterway split into two separate tunnels. I then dreaded what she was about to say next, I could already picture the question in my head, 'why don't we split up?'

Aika looked thoughtfully at the two routes, then she turned to me, as if she had suddenly come up with an idea.

'Looks like the only way is for us to split up. We've gone to far to turn back now. Alice and I will go left, you take the other route.'

I somehow knew that I would end up alone. Well, I still had President Aria, at least. I turned to him and smiled.

'Shall we go?' I asked.

He nodded in reply, and I began to row forward, before abruptly stopping moments later. I had completely forgot that Aika was the only one with a lantern.

'Wait, what about the lante—'

I cut my own sentence short as I realised I had been talking to myself. Aika had disappeared, blissfully unaware that I was lacking any source of light. I gulped, and reached out to President Aria under the dim light to reassure myself that he was still there. Sure enough I heard him call out happily in response.

Without any alternatives, I pushed the gondola forwards and began to row into the darkness, until eventually the last of the light from the crystals had faded away.

This is definitely the last time I go 'exploring' with Aika... I thought to myself. I'll admit that the crystals were beautiful... but that didn't make up for the fact I was now heading into what could only be described as a dark, empty void completely devoid of any other kind of life.

I continued to row, not knowing where are was heading, or how long it would take to reach there. But to my relief, a small orb of light appeared in the distance. I started to row faster, hoping that it was the exit.

It grew closer and closer, but to my dismay, it was not the exit. Eventually it came so close that it was only inches away. The light seemed to flicker and dance around in the air, I looked at it curiously. It burned a bright blue, but looked too big to be a firefly. Either way, I was relieved that I was at least able to see now.

Then, the light began to move, almost as if it were urging us to follow it. I pushed my gondola forwards to match its speed, then we continued down the cave. With the entire tunnel now illuminated, I could clearly see the water. I peered over the boat to look. Mysteriously, the water was perfectly still, the movement of the gondola should have at least caused a few ripples, but it remained unaffected. It was almost as if the water was a mirror, which reflected my features perfectly as I attempted to see past the surface.

I dipped my fingers in, hoping to cause some disturbance to the water; I wanted to prove to myself that it was actually water that I was looking at. I swirled my fingers around then pulled them out – to my amazement, there wasn't a single ripple. But what I found even more extraordinary, was that my hand was completely dry. I decided not to pursue it any further, and pressed onwards. Though, it wasn't long before it caught my attention again.

At first I thought I was seeing things, I had been rowing in the dark for quite a while after all. Perhaps my eyes were just readjusting. That, however, was not the case. The shapes that reflected off the surface of the water began to twist and merge together, until they were replaced by a completely different image. The reflection still showed the cave, however, it was illuminated by the warm, orange glow of a candle. Several men could be seen hurling pickaxes against the ground as they dug a path.

I wondered if I was actually seeing the past. It sounds farfetched, but I get the feeling that the cave was trying to tell me something, like it wanted to show me the history of the cave, and all those who worked to dig it.

Then, I heard a splash. I spun around to locate its source, then realised that President Aria had disappeared. I knew what had happened immediately, he must have accidentally slipped off the gondola, it wouldn't be the first time its happened. Luckily, this time the water did move, and I could see a large ripple directly behind me. I clambered over to the back of the boat, and plunged my arm into the spot where the ripple was.

I lost my balance. I had leaned too far without realising it. The water drew closer and closer and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Without any alternatives, I firmly shut my eyes as I braced myself for the impact. I waited, but it never came, when I opened my eyes again, I was standing on the floor of the cave. I was completely dry, and even more remarkably, the water had disappeared. It seemed I had entered the image I had seen on the surface of the water.

I quickly turned around, scouring the cave for President Aria. To my relief, I spotted him behind me. He stood next to a worker, and watched eagerly as the man swung his pickaxe against the rock.

'Hello?'

I called out to the worker, wondering whether or not he had seen me. But I received no answer. I called out again.

'Excuse me, can you hear me?'

Again, no answer. It wasn't just that he couldn't hear me, he couldn't even see me. I waved my arms in front of his face madly, but he continued to work undisturbed.

Defeated, I turned around and began to make my way further down the tunnel. President Aria followed behind, and looked around cautiously. Eventually, I began to hear voices, they sounded jolly, and sounded like it belonged to a small group of men. I pressed onwards, hoping to locate the source of the sound.

'This is the last one,' said one man, who hovered his mallet over a loose nail sticking out of the track.

'I can't wait to get back home,' replied another man, as he laughed heartily.

I crept closer, and nervously approached them; however, it seems that they were not able to see me either.

'Excuse me, can any of you hear me?'

There came no reply, just as I had expected. With no other alternatives, I leaned against a nearby wall and watched the men work. The one who held the mallet suddenly struck the nail without warning, it cleanly dug a path into the ground, securing the rail track that it had been nailed into. A loud cheer erupted through the cave as the men began to dance jovially – and although I wasn't a part of it, I could feel a warm feeling in my heart. I smiled, and started to clap with them.

And then, darkness. All the light had suddenly been extinguished from the cave, and I could feel the familiar sensation of rocking from side to side upon the water's surface. I shot up with a start, and looked around. The light was dim, but I could realise that I had returned to where I was before I fell into the water. I checked my clothes, and miraculously, they were completely dry. I spotted President Aria sitting at the front of the boat, seemingly unharmed. The bright orb of light had vanished, and I was left without a source of light yet again. I took a moment to collect myself, and tried to make sense of what happened. It was to no avail, I had no explanations for what had happened at all.

Deciding not to dwell on it any longer, I continued down the cave, Aika and Alice had probably found the exit by now, and I wouldn't want to keep them waiting. Soon enough, I saw another light in the distance, but this time it was different. It seemed more natural, and instead of it coming closer to us, it appeared that we were heading towards it instead. I thought to myself, could this be the exit? I was beginning to breathe easier as I could taste the fresh, salty air of the sea, which made a nice change from the thin, musty atmosphere of the cave. There was no mistaking it, it had to be the exit. I rowed faster in anticipation, and sure enough, the cave began to open and I soon found myself on open waters again. I looked back towards the exit of the cave, and breathed a sigh of relief.

'What took you so long?'

A familiar voice shouted at me from behind, I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Aika pulled her boat next to mine, then looked at me with a slightly cross expression.

'We've been waiting here for hours!'

'Hours?'

It took me a moment to realise that it was now night – I had grown so used to the darkness of the cave that I hadn't even noticed. The sun had completely disappeared from the sky, and the only light came from the pale moon which floated in between a set of puffy clouds. But how could that be? I had only been there an hour at most, unless it had something to do with that incident. After I had fell in the water, I really had no idea of how much time had passed. I shook my head, and bowed apologetically to Aika.

'Sorry! I must have lost track of time.'

Aika shrugged her arms, while Alice suddenly crept up behind me. She caused me to jump slightly as she began to speak.

'Where exactly did that path lead? This cave only has one exit.'

'Huh? But the other exit is just over there.'

I pointed towards the area that I had just exited, but to my surprise, it had disappeared. Instead, the area where I should have come out was covered by rock, as if it had never been there in the first place.

'Never mind about that,' barked Aika, 'We need to head back now, it's going to be hard enough rowing in this darkness. I want to get back as soon as possible.'

I smiled, then began to follow Aika as we made our way home.