Emi let out a groan as her eyes opened slowly. What happened? The five year old blinked and slowly sat up, feeling sand underneath her feet. She suddenly coughed harshly as ocean water spewed from her lips. Emi continued coughing up ocean water as her lungs ejected the water.
When her body was rid of the water she looked around her surroundings, confused and scared. The last thing she remembered was being swept off the Baratie by a massive wave. Emi blinked again and slowly stood up, gazing at the miles of sandy beach. On the other side was a thick forest, and bird calls could be heard.
Emi felt her lip trembling as she slowly walked along the edge of the beach. She was all alone.
"Jii-jii...Patty...Carne...anyone" she whimpered as tears pricked at the back of her eyes.
A sob shook through her shoulders as she continued walking. The ocean had caused her pyjamas to become stiff and uncomfortable, and a cool wind blew across the sand. It caused the little girl to shiver, and some sand particles got into her eyes. Emi began to cry and rubbed her eyes, trying to get the sand out.
"J-jii-jii" Emi sobbed as she continued rubbing her eyes.
The sand really hurt! No one told her that it hurt so much!
Emi sat down on the sand and pulled her legs to her chest, burying her face into her knees. The beach echoed with her sobs as fear consumed the child. She wanted her jii-jii to come and swoop in and save her. She wanted her papa to come and save her, and to smell the combination of food and cigarette smoke on him. The five year old's cries gradually reduced to hiccups and sniffles. Her fists still rubbed her eyes as the sand particles irritated her purple eyes.
A rustle in the forest behind Emi caused her body to flinch.
"Hello? Are you okay?" a female voice said, and Emi scrambled back from the voice.
"G-go away!" Emi cried out, scuttling backwards with one hand while the other furiously rubbed at her eyes.
She yelped when the cold ocean water brushed against her back, and she felt tears prick at her eyes.
"Are you okay?" the voice said as it got closer.
"W-where am I? Where's jii-jii?" Emi's voice trembled.
"You poor thing! You're soaked through and you have so much sand in your eyes!" the female voice cooed to the frightened girl, and Emi heard footsteps in the sand come to her.
She felt soft hands stroke the side of her head, and Emi realized that she had been shivering. Her teeth chattered as the cold water sent shivers down her spine. The voice continued to coo and hands continued wiping at the sand on her eyes. Emi felt gentle pressure as some sort of soft material pressed against her eyes, wiping the sand away. Little by little, the five year old could open her eyes.
"There we go" the voice said as Emi opened her eyes slowly.
She blinked as a figure that belonged to the voice appeared in front of her. A young woman was kneeling in front of her with a gentle smile on her face. Long light brown hair was pulled back from the young woman's face in two pigtails and bangs hung over her forehead. Red eyes with long lashes gave the woman a striking appearance, and Emi blinked again. The woman smiled as she reached down to help the child up off the wet sand.
"What's your name?" the young woman said.
"Emi" the five year old answered as she looked down shyly.
"Such a pretty name for a pretty girl! I'm Pudding" the young woman said with a giggle.
Emi gave Pudding a small smile as Pudding took her hand and led her to a small path in the forest. As they walked, Emi began to open up more. She told Pudding about her life with her jii-jii and her papa, how she lived on a ship in the shape of a fish, and boasted about how she could easily hide from any of the chefs. Pudding listened to the child, laughing at her stories.
"Miss Pudding? Where am I?" Emi asked suddenly, gazing around.
"You're on Cocoa Island. I own a cafe here" Pudding answered as they exited the foliage.
Emi gasped at the vision that she saw: houses and shops that were made from candy and chocolate!
"Wow..." she breathed in awe as Pudding led her to a small building.
"This is Caramel" Pudding said, and Emi eyes widened.
"Pretty..." Emi breathed as Pudding led her to a small room where a couch, table and kitchen was.
"I don't have that many things for your age but let me see if I have at least something for you" Pudding said as she went towards a closet.
She rummaged through as Emi gazed around.
"Here we are. I hope it will fit you" Pudding said as she brought out a long shirt.
"I think it'll be a dress on you" the woman giggled as she helped Emi to take off the soaked pyjamas.
Pudding pulled the shirt over Emi's head and helped the five year old put her arms through the sleeves. It was indeed a dress on Emi, but it was warm and dry at least. Pudding then got a brush and towel and began the task of drying and brushing the girls hair. Emi winced a couple of times as the salt from the ocean had coated her silver hair, making some hair strands stick together.
Pudding was tying Emi's hair in two pigtails like herself as the five year old chattered about how she came here.
"It was stormy and and and I was outside. My jii-jii always told me to never go out on deck when it storms but I went anyways. This biiiiiiiig wave came and it took me into the ocean. I was really scared" Emi finished in a quiet voice.
"And I woke up on the beach here" Emi said, lip trembling and tears welling up in her eyes.
Pudding frowned and softly stroked the girls head as Emi began crying. She didn't know where or when she would see the chefs of the Baratie or even her jii or papa again. Pudding continued to soothe the grieving child until her sobs became hiccups.
"Let me get you some food and something hot to drink. You can stay here until we figure something out" Pudding said with a warm smile.
"We?" Emi echoed, cocking her head in confusion.
"Yes, I'm part of Big Moms pirate crew. Don't be scared" the woman said, and Emi shook her head.
"I'm not scared! My papa joined a pirate crew too!" she said with a big smile, and Pudding's shoulders relaxed.
"I'll take you to meet Big Mom after" Pudding said, and Emi smiled.
"Okay!" Emi chirped, but her stomach let out a viscous growl and Pudding laughed.
It looked like this child was starving, and Pudding would have to fix that.