Author's Note: Short. My apologies. -_-;
"Hikari?"
"In the kitchen!"
Hikari stirred a pot of oatmeal on the stove, sniffing carefully to make sure it wasn't burning. The wind carried in so many smells from outside--mostly salt and sea--that it was difficult to tell. Her brother stumbled into the room, still wearing his nightclothes.
"You're lucky it's August," she said as Taichi yawned. "I wouldn't be here feeding you otherwise."
"Uh."
"No, you're really lucky all those people in Africa decided to up and feed their flu strain," Miyako said. The color had finally returned to her pale cheeks after a few days here, far away from the viruses that were infecting their schools. "Anyone seen the laptop?"
A bit of watery oatmeal sizzled and leapt out of the pot. Hikari's hand dodged it, but it caught her on the bare thigh. She winced. "Living room?" she suggested, wiping away the scalding liquid with a potholder.
"Aha."
Taichi rubbed his eyes. "I'm hungry."
"Breakfast is served!" Hikari set a bowl down in front of him. "I already ate, so I'm going for a walk, okay?"
"Um," he mumbled.
She pulled a white cardigan over her sleeveless arms and started off towards the rockier side of the beach in hopes of finding some sea glass for her collection. It was growing rapidly since they arrived here only a week or so ago.
The rocks were uncomfortable under her feet, since she hadn't bothered with shoes. Rethinking this, Hikari realized that wasn't the best idea--teenagers liked to party by the old boat wharf, drinking beer and such. But that was probably also why there was such a diverse collection of perfectly sanded sea glass the closer one got.
The wind whooshed swiftly past her ears, blocking out all other sound. She followed the shell road that wound away from her small white house and towards the wharf, and beyond that it reunited with the main road. She didn't go that far, however. For the first time, though she'd passed it a countless number, she felt drawn to investigate the old wharf.
It was made up of solid wood beams, up to ten inches thick in some places. The doors appeared closed, but Hikari guessed one could most likely open them if one tried. It was colder in the shadow of the main building, and she continued out onto the pier, testing each step before putting her full weight on it.
As she traveled the length of the pier, a faint glinting could be seen from what looked like the very end. Then, when she had reached the last board, it seemed to be under the water.
So much as twenty minutes she might have stood there, staring into the depths, watching this shimmer, which was so much like a green-gold star it seemed to belong in the sky. Her toes inched over the edge of the soft, water-soaked wood. The smell of salty air floated to her nose with every sploosh of the water below on the supports. She seemed to be able no longer to feel the warmth of the sun or chill of the wind, but the latter could still be heard, clogging her ears with its whispers.
With a soft splash, she was in the freezing water. It seemed to calm her very nerves so that she did not even need to breathe. Her arms drifted above her head as she let out her breath and sank lower, lower, the star now dancing in front of her, like a beacon from a distance. Her legs dangled freely, every part of her submerged in the glowing water, from her toes to the last strand of stray hair.
The star was mesmerizing. She could see it and all around her clearly, though because of the depth of the water and her lack of goggles it should have not been so. All was lit with its golden light, and it called her to it, somewhere just beyond her reach.
Two minutes passed, and she did not move.