The Fairy By The Sea
Cast:
Cure Felice, Hanami Kotoha - age 14
Hayase Ryuuto - Falsetto's son / Cure Peace's stepbrother - age 13
May, 2017
The afternoon sun shines high in the sky. Ocean waves glitter in the distance. Close up, those same waves crash gently against the slate gray seawall. A boy stands at the edge, his shadow cast into the water next to a fishing line. A wide-brimmed straw hat provides him with a measure of shade.
Ryuuto has taken up fishing on his own initiative. In actuality, he is free to do anything or nothing when he is away from the family home. In his own mind he remains the eldest brother, even though his stepsister is several years his elder. He is only occasionally asked to look out for his younger brother, or to take care of his baby half-sister, but it is only by doing something productive that he can cleanse his heart of the grim specter of responsibility.
Fishing is simple and peaceful. Fish caught can be cooked and eaten.
So far today, he hasn't caught anything. C'est la vie.
He is mainly concerned with watching his line when a girl wanders into his peripheral vision. Pink hair frames her face and covers her shoulders. She is wearing a frilly white blouse and a pale green skirt. If she were not staring so intently at the smartphone in her hand, she could almost be some kind of fairy.
It is the sort of impression that makes him want to shout, "I do not believe in fairies!" But he holds his peace, just in case this girl is one of the sort who might lie on the ground and make him clap for her. Anyhow, shouting like that would be rude.
"Ha..."
Was that a sigh or a statement? The girl seems to be deep in thought. She shifts closer to him, still absorbed in whatever it is on the screen. The forward tips of her shoes protrude over the edge of the wall. Ryuuto watches, his fishing momentarily forgotten, as she extends her hand with her phone as far ahead as she can reach, then begins to lean forward.
A sudden gust of wind.
The girl tips forward, flailing her arms. There is no hope of recovery. Ryuuto moves, dropping his fishing pole and catching her by the wrist.
It is not enough. As his body begins to pitch forward as well, Ryuuto once again feels the specter of responsibility.
He pulls as hard as he can, sacrificing his own balance to yank her back upright. She stumbles and falls on her butt, but remains high and dry. Ryuuto splashes into the water a meter below.
A moment later, his head breaks the surface. He sees the girl kneeling on top of the seawall, pink hair framing her face as she stares down at him.
"What, now you get off your phone? Are you some kind of idiot?"
"Ha?!"