The wait was long and I am deeply grateful for everyone's patience and kindness. Thank you as well to everyone who left a review! I love you guys, for sharing this awesome trip with me. It has been great!

And as promised, here it is.

XIV

It was a pair of right whales, mother and calf – from what Tooth could hear in their groans and creaks – somewhat late in their migration, as the summer had started already and the arctic was still a few miles away.

But while trying to reach the cetaceans, their distant growls reverberating through the ocean, Toothiana couldn't prevent the nagging sadness from heightening down her usually gleeful core.

She and the human boy had not parted in good terms...

It's not up to you now, she repeatedly reminded her guilt-filled brain. No one could help Jack but himself. He was the one that had to decide to end his self-imposed suffering.

As soon as the mermaid had ended her explosion, her iridescent form had plunged back into the water, swimming away as swiftly as she could. She would not dare to look back; because Tooth knew that if she did, she wouldn't have the strength to go away again.

Jack needed this... he needed the silence to hear the echo of both her words and his choices.

So she left, kicking the water behind her as strongly as her tail could muster, with the reassurance that land was close enough for the boy to reach the shore if he wanted to.

What brought her back from her musings was nothing more nothing less than the low pitched variations that melodically spread through the liquid environment: a whale's greeting.

They were unique to each individual, quite like saying your name, so Toothiana quickly sang her salutations back.

Eagerly gliding the last hundreds of meters, the dancing pair finally stood right before the mermaid.

Toothiana proudly checked that she had identified the whales correctly. They were right whales indeed, with their dark bodies and characteristic callosities. Each individual had a characteristic white bump, caused by accumulation of parasites. At least her boring classes where of some use.

And by the moon, they were huge! Even the recently born calf was about three times her size! Tooth knew they were smaller than the mighty blue whale, the biggest animal known on this Earth, and for a moment couldn't believe that there was something bigger than this roaming the oceans.

The mother doubled over her white patched belly, huge tender eyes gazing the recently arrived mermaid. She had a unique bump, right above her eye that reminded Tooth of a human's eyebrow. Jack...

She shook her head, trying to shoo the boy from her mind. Even when she was angry at him, he wouldn't leave her be.

She chose to focus instead on the confused little calf, which didn't seem to know whether to continue in his joyful twirls or to hide under his mother's huge fin. He initially opted for the latter, but with a small nudge and a reassuring groan the calf returned to his tricks.

Tooth giggled, and somewhat hesitantly herself, she swam towards the shy youngling. But a few twirls and loops was all it took to win his trust, and soon both mermaid and calf played in the deep blue waters of the ocean.

The trio remained in that peaceful gathering for quite a while, dear Toothiana desperate for stories from far away seas and incredibly curious to examine baleen plates for the first time.

And as Tooth laughed, twirled, swam and had fun, she was suddenly reminded of the boy, whose eyes should once had gleamed with the same mirth, with the same happiness. Because she was sure, in her heart, that the expression that truly belong in his face was not that guilt filed frown, but a crooked smile and a gleeful twinkle in those ocean-blue irises.

So the mermaid suddenly stopped in her frenzied chase with the now not so shy calf. And when the whale groaned a gentle question, as if able of sensing her inner turmoil, Toothiana gazed with an abrupt gloominess.

"I... I wish he was here", she started, eyes travelling to the undulating surface, "It doesn't feel right."

The calf whined again, but staring at his huge eyes, the mermaid's restlessness turned into decision.

No, there is nothing you can do now. It's all up to him. He needs time and you need patience. Besides, he was extremely rude! A human boy can't take you for granted and treat you whatever he feels like!

The self reassured scaly girl turned around, facing the empty vastness of the ocean with a deep breath.

She should just return to the peaceful environment of her own community, try to catch up with her newly assigned chores, be the responsible mermaid Rashmi wished for her to be.

But her life down there was so dull and boring, so full of rules and expectations. Toothiana had thought she wanted that, to be a respectable member of her society. But there was so much more in this new world she had discovered, so much to learn!

However, her pure and naive excitement was not received well at home, and though it pained Rashmi to bind her so much, her Core Sister had a reputation to take care of. Escutah was keeping an eye on them already.

'Mermaids are supposed to be serene and composed, like the moon. We are both beautiful and mysterious.' She would say. But then, glancing at her with and arched eyebrow, her guardian would calmly add, 'Though we don't have to be mysterious among our own...'

At this the younger mermaid would pretend that she didn't know what Rashmi was referring to. Then, quite conveniently, some interesting fish or seahorse would allegedly pass by and Toothiana would disappear among the wavering seaweed.

For some time, our dear Tooth had been able of dodging her sister's curiosity, declaring that all this new responsibilities and lack of freedom were simply overwhelming. It was the truth, but only half of it.

And her disappearances became so regular, and the dreamy smile plastered in her face so usual, that it was difficult not to notice the change.

Toothiana had always had her head out of this ocean, but now it seemed she entered this distracted state for a whole different reason. And Rashmi was no fool.
But she ignored it, for the younger mermaid's sake. She seemed happy after all. Her only fear was that Tooth, prone to trouble as she was, would end in some sort of dangerous mess.

What she didn't know was that the restless mermaid had entered a path that meant only trouble the moment she poked her head out of the water, all those weeks ago.

And though Tooth didn't want to hurt her Core Sister, the only other truly important being in her life, she could not just tame her curious and vividly spirit into submission, living a life of imprisoning maturity. There would be time for that, someday...

So for now, she would take her mind out of such serious business, forgetting both the weight of the hopes of her own kind and the ominous presence of a certain human boy who had slowly accommodated in her heart.

Unfortunately, even if she tried to distract herself, caressing the rubber-like skin of the calf, the later also refused to abandon her mind, infiltrating in the break between each thought.

It was a strange feeling, different from the constant presence that would made her blush and giggle when no one was around. She felt agitated, like something was off...

She was suddenly brought from her thoughts as a simple goodbye sounded from the right whales, the mother urging her to be careful.

And so Tooth watched the pair dive towards the dark depths with a mild sorrow for the lack of their company, the white bump above the mother's eye the last thing fading.

It was only when her violet orbs stared at nothing but open darkness that she felt the turbulence in the surrounding environment.

With a bone shaking shrill she swam away, tail kicking as powerfully as her muscles endured, towards the distant shore, giant walls of water raising above her very head. Because as soon as her eyes left the increasingly violent undulation – so violent that the ocean itself seemed to suddenly remind her of a certain shepherd's rage – Toothiana knew, in her very core, that the human boy was not safe on land.

...

..

.

'What was I thinking?'

His arms were tired, his legs were faltering, his lungs were panting. The only thing that should be enduring the effort was his will, but even that was becoming weaker with each wave. They were like unceasing series of enormous walls, pushing against his body, blocking his way.

But she couldn't, she wouldn't leave like that!

When her tail finally disappeared under the grey ocean he had half expected for her to splash the salty liquid in his face. But her reaction never came.

Instead he was left completely alone, floating up and down in this undulating surface, blue eyes flickering all around as if waiting for her to suddenly jump out of the water. But it seemed that the mermaid was really mad.

However, Jack was mad too; so when he was left with nothing more than the coldness of the ocean around him, he did what any angry boy who would not be given attention would do: he gave a tantrum.

The shepherd swore and kicked and hit the water with clenched fists, going against the waves, fuming like he hadn't been in some time.

Oh, how he hated the pity he saw glimmering in her eyes, as she pronounced those last few words. As if he was some poor lonely boy needing her help!

Later, as he got more and more tired, and the blazing fire of his rage faded away, Jack realized he was precisely that: a poor lonely boy...

So he chased her. Because, what if the mermaid peered too deeply into the darkness of his being? What if this time she had truly seen the monster within and got scared, swimming away to never come back?

The mere thought of it made him sink under a huge wave, as if the early signs of despair immediately pulled him down.

The ocean itself was ruthless, throwing wave upon wave of cold salty water, as if angry at the human boy himself for daring to treat its daughter in such rude way.

Soaked and panting, the beginnings of tiredness heightening down on his limbs, Jack found himself gazing back at the shore.

His ego, both prideful and desperate for his own survival, told him to swim back; swim back and wait until the mermaid came to apologize. Yes, he would just have to wait; she would soon show up... And let's say she didn't! See if he cared!

The boy understood the ridiculous of his assumptions as soon as the thoughts morphed in his mind.

She wasn't the one that needed to ask for forgiveness. In the hindsight... well, maybe she was right. He was the one who insisted into drowning himself in a constant sea of grief and sorrow.

It was perfectly understandable that the mermaid didn't want to reside in such dense waters. The shepherd was even surprised at her will to venture in the turbulence of his being. He ran away from the misery of his house as soon as he could!

For a second he wondered why... why would anyone willingly try to enter the darkness of his heart when even himself wasn't brave enough to do it?

The only answer that crossed his mind was that Toothiana did care for him.

Realizing this had been hard only because it seemed that no one did. Ever since Em left, the entire family seemingly fell apart; they had been all by themselves, buried in their own way of dealing with the grief.

Jack chose to maintain the carefree spirit that was so characteristic of him. But his eyes showed the truth, as they were often gloomy and dull. Tooth always saw behind that! It was indeed curious: it was only with the mermaid that his smiles were sincere and his sorrow not masked. Only with her Jack found the chance to be truly honest.

But there was one last secret, one last confession that weighted down on his soul. It was the reason why he couldn't let go of his sister, why he could never allow himself to be happy again, even if the cost was the lost of Tooth's friendship.

But he had to tell her... he had to say it, out loud, because the truth was like an acid, corroding him from the inside.

With this new found motivation he struggled the raging seas with the last of his strengths. But if he advanced two meters, the waves pushed him back three. It was exhausting.

Jaaaaack...

The shrilling scream almost made his heart stop. The shepherd turned around in the waves, desperately looking for the source of such desperate howl. But he already knew who it belonged too. He was always hearing it... over and over again. It the thunders that broke the skies in the darkest of nights, in the cries of seagulls that glided above his head. It even haunted his dreams, when the boy was most helpless.

One might think Jack would have grown used to it already, that it didn't affect the young man anymore. You would be wrong. He still shivered... every single time.

But now he couldn't afford giving importance to his personal ghosts. He needed to reach the mermaid. Because if he didn't do it now, he might never get the chance to do it again...

So he kept swimming.

A mixture of salt and sweat plastered his bangs to his forehead, sore muscles threatening to give up at any moment. The shepherd had swallowed more sodium today than he would need for an entire life! Reddened eyes burned, salty water continuously being sprayed by the wind into his face.

But he had to move on... he couldn't give up! No, he couldn't lose her! He wouldn't lose her too!

Then...

"Jack!"

And he could swear he was holding her tiny slippery – oh, so slippery – hand again, right in his own gelid grasp. The young man could almost feel her nails digging into his palm in pure desperation. Because they both knew that if she didn't held on tight, she would be dragged away.

"Jack, I'm scared!"

He chocked and scoffed as the salty liquid came right down his throat. A strangled gasp left his lungs as soon as his face broke the unsteady surface once more, hands grasping the emptiness of the ocean in a maddened attempt of keeping him afloat.

But as soon as the boy was minimally out of danger, the memories of her, of that day, came drowning him again.

Jack clearly felt her grip on his hand loosen, and then, just like that, her little hand – his little sister – would simply slip away.

And relieving that all over again was more overwhelming than he could ever imagine. The boy felt his already tortured heart squeeze painfully inside his chest. And with all the terror, with all the sorrow, with all the guilt that mingled inside his tormented, Jack truly believed that it would simply collapse. There was no way such tiny organ could endure so much pain.

"Em..." he managed to whimper, in a strangulated breath.

But soon his body was being pushed down again, as if the ocean himself was finally punishing him for her death, making him leave this world in a similar way. It was only fair...

So he sinks...

It was incredible that even with such violent storm dwelling on the surface, his body could sink so peacefully.

But what was even more amazing was that a bright silver disc shone directly above him, perfectly visible from his underwater tomb. If he could smile he would.

The moon itself came to say goodbye...

A hurried line of air bubbles ascended towards the increasingly distant surface, shinning in the moonlight.

And when he was just about to close his eyes, ready to depart this pain-filled world and join his beloved sister in whatever came next, a dark figure shadowed the silvery aster.

Jack managed to frown, slightly confused, but soon his face was peaceful again. It undulated beautifully, as if it flew towards him, shimmering in the moons glow in a way that could only be described as otherworldly.

Two warm arms fiercely embraced his body, and the boy couldn't think of a more merciful way to leave this Earth: hugged by an angel...

And soon, everything was darkness, as it was in the beginning and as it will be in the end.

But before his conscience could finally slip away, Jack was graced with those last final words, spoken in a voice that brought only pain before. Now there was only peace...

"Jack... I was scared. But not anymore." And he could swear he felt her smile. "Besides, I was the one to go!"

... Please don't let my departure take you away as well...

Well, were you tired of fluffiness and peace? Here you have some pain and grief! (Did I make anyone tear up a little? I hope I did!)

I hope you liked it, even if it isn't as long as I wanted it to, but i figured that if I included the next part, it would take me much more time to update. So I hope this is enough ;)

Either way, I think you'll like the next chapter. Wait to see what I have in mind.