The little boy was anxiously moving his legs on the front porch of his house. It was night and there were two lanterns lit on each side of the door. He was dressed in a dark blue yukata with white koi fish. He could hear the music from the summer festival that was happening on the city. He had dark blue spiky hair and green eyes.
"Aaaah!" he complained. "Where are they?! We are going to be late!"
He stood up and went to the living room window of his house. His mother was there, breastfeeding his little sister. The baby was around six months old. The young woman had red hair reaching her shoulders and golden eyes. The little girl got her mother's hair but she had green eyes as well.
"Ka-chan! Ji-chan and Ba-chan are late!"
"Calm down, Ryota." She smiled at him. "They promised you they would come, right? Just be a little patient."
"I'm ready!" his father returned from the bath. He was wearing a red and white stripped yukata. He had long dark blue hair and light green eyes. He was tall and handsome. After many years of teasing, Toshio's prediction was right and his son really started to court Ryoma's older daughter when they were still teenangers.
"Ryota, did you know I proposed to your mother on the same summer festival, 9 years ago?" he sat by his wife's side.
"I know…" he was bored. "You tell this story every year."
"You were so nervous. I thought you would break up with me." She smiled at him.
"I would never do that." he kissed his wife's cheek. "My heart was always yours."
The little boy made a face and rolled his eyes. hIS parents were still deeply in love with each other and they could be very embarrassing sometimes.
"Good evening." The boy smiled and turned around with the familiar voice. He ran and grabbed his grandfather's legs tightly. Ryoma smiled and caressed his hair. "Hello, Ryota."
"Ji-chan!" he grinned happily and looked at Sakuno. "Ba-chan!"
"I'm sorry we are a little late." She smiled at him. The mermaid was wearing a purple yukata with pink flowers and her long hair was tight on a bun, two strands of hair framing her face.
Ryoma was dressed in a black yukata. His silver hair glistered under the moonlight. He was already 55 years old.
The baby had finished eating and Yuki fixed her clothes and placed her on her father's arms before going to her parents. She hugged them tightly.
"Welcome home. How was the trip? Is everyone well in Muramasa?"
"Everyone is fine. Your aunt and uncle sent their love and some gifts to the children. They are on our house, I will bring them later." They had traveled to visit Kaori. It was his nephews' birthday.
"Oh, my sweetheart." Sakuno picked her granddaughter and her arms and smelled the baby's hair when her son-in-law got close. "Akane, you are so big already."
"She missed you." He said, with a smile.
"How about the twins?" Yuki asked.
"Shoichi and Shinji are well too. They decided they are going to rule Muramasa together when the time comes. They are already working very hard and helping their mother out."
"Can we talk about this later?" Ryota asked, pulling his grandfather's sleeve. "We are going to miss the festival!"
"Yes, yes, I am sorry." He smiled and held the boy's hand. The entire family left the house and headed to the city.
Everything was filled with colorful decorations and the streets were crowded. The good scent of different food on the stalls mixed together.
"Did your sister send any news?" Sakuno asked to her older daughter. Natsumi had moved and now worked as a traveling doctor to help cities and people in need after she finished her training with their father. Their younger daughter was a wild and free spirit. She had Ryoma's hair and Sakuno's eyes that she kept tight on a long braid.
"She said she is going to spend some time on the south, but she will be back for our birthday, Tou-san."
"Good." He smiled.
"Ji-chan, let's go buy some candy apple!" he was very excited.
"Okay."
Sakuno and Yuki looked at them and smiled.
"He is always spoiling him."
"This is the reason grandparents exist."
They walked for a while, talking and greeting friends. Ryota was playing games with his grandfather until dinner time. They had sit together and ate different festival food on a shared table with other families.
"Ah, I am stuffed!" the little boy smiled with a satisfied expression, sitting by his mother's side.
"Well, if you excuse us." Ryoma offered his hand to Sakuno. "I am going to take a walk with my beautiful wife under this moonlight."
"I'd love to." She replied.
"Eh?!" Ryota complained while they distanced themselves from the table. "But I wanted to play with Ji-chan again!"
"Ryota, let them be for a while. The time they share together with each other is more precious at each day." His mother smiled gently at him and caressed his hair.
"What do you mean?"
"You will understand someday." His father completed. He was holding the baby.
"Let's go to the grass field. The fireworks will be out soon."
"Yes!" he grinned, happily.
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"Ah, this is a good place." They sat together under a big tree, away from the crowd, but still close enough to look at the festival. The big moon on the sky was illuminating everything.
"How many festivals have we gone so far?" Sakuno asked gently.
"Ah, too many of them. Since the girls were very small. You were still pregnant of Natsumi on our first ones. She was born just before the fall."
"We've created so many memories." She smiled at him and touched his face. He had some small wrinkles on the corner of his eyes and mouth. "I want many more still."
"We will." He kissed her cheek. "A lot of happy memories."
The mermaid kissed her husband deeply and Ryoma held her in a passionate embrace.
They lips separated when the fireworks started to fly and explode on the dark skies.
"It's always so beautiful." Sakuno said, looking at them with a big smile on her face.
Ryoma looked at his wife. She now looked no older than 25, her skin was still soft and smooth. The scarlet eyes glistered under the changing colors and his heart was tight. He was absolute certain that, no matter how much time passed by, the love Ryoma felt for her would only get wider and deeper, just like the blue ocean that brought them together.
His wife leaned on his arm and they quietly continued to watch the fireworks together, enjoying each other's company on that pleasant summer's night.
For many years yet to come, the red mermaid and the human would share other summer festivals, appreciating the exploding colors and never letting go of each other's hands.
THE END.