Makoto and the merman
Chapter 5 - Forgotten memories
When I got to the research facility everyone was standing outside of the door leading to the room which had the tank in it. Dr. Hamada was the first one to notice me.
"Makoto, it's great that you are here," he said in a slightly irritated tone.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"He's singing! The merman is singing!"
"Really?"
"Yes and I want him to stop," Dr. Hamada said this time even more irritated.
"Now, calm down doctor. Don't you think it's amazing?" My father asked.
"Amazing? I was doing some very important tests and all of a sudden he started singing! I need Makoto to tell him to shut up so I can continue the tests!" Dr. Hamada said, now in a very unplesant tone.
"You don't have to be so angry, don't you understand he might be scared," I said to Dr. Hamada who had now made me slighly angry with that attitude of his.
"Calm down both of you. Let's just let Makoto go in there and we'll see what happens," my father said.
"Fine," Dr. Hamada said and he looked at me before turning around and opening the door.
Once he had opened the door we all went inside and my ears were hit by a very beautiful song.
lala la lalala la lala la lalala
All of a sudden my entire body got stiff and I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe and I started shaking. All the memories came back to me at once.
"STOP SINGING!" I shouted with all my might. The song stopped and I looked up and Haru and everyone else around me were staring at me.
"Makoto, what's wrong?" My father asked me.
I was still shaking and I was my breathing was rapid.
"I remembered," was the only thing that came out of my mouth but my father understood what I meant.
"I see, maybe you should get out of here," my father suggested.
"No," I said looking back at Haru. I went up to the tank and put my hand on the glass. Haru had a slightly frightened look on his face.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Not really but I'm sorry if I scared you," I said and smiled. Haru blushed just like he always did. "He's so cute when he does that," I thought.
"It was you, you were the one who saved me," I told Haru.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
The reseachers had now moved closer to me and Haru.
"Ten years ago when I was ten me and my family were out in the family boat when all of a sudden a storm came. The waves keept getting higher and higher. A big one hit the boat and I fell into the ocean. I tried to swim but the waves were too strong. I really thought I would die when I could no longer breath and everything around me became black but then I heard a beautiful melody and I opened my eyes and..."
"It's you," Haru "interuppted" me. He looked at me and then continued.
"You're the one I've been looking for. I remember your face now. I saw you desperately trying to reach the suface. I couldn't just let you die so I saved you. At first I thought I might have been to late. I started singing that song because it's a song mermen and mermaids sing when they are sad. Then all of a sudden you opened your eyes. You thought I was an angel and then I heard voices so I jumped back into the ocean. After that no matter how much I tried I just couldn't remember your face but I remember now. Those voices were saying "Makoto". It's you." Haru said.
It was quiet in the room for a moment as me and Haru just stared at each other. It might have been just a moment but it felt so much longer than that. But the silence was broken by my father.
"Your name is Haruka, right?" he said and turned to Haru.
Haru and I took our eyes of each other and were now looking at my father. Haru nodded to my father's question. I noticed my father was crying.
"Thank you for saving my son back then. I could never thank you enough," he said and made a deep bow. Haru was looking at my father with big eyes and my father stood back up. What happened after that was truly amazing. For the first time Haru spoke directly to someone besides me.
"You're welcome," he said and looked right at my father.
Everybody seemed to be in shock and the room was once again quiet until Dr. Hamada broke the silence.
"Can I please get back to my tests now?" he asked with the usual ton of irritation in his voice.
"Yes, of course Doctor but he just spoke to me! He has only spoken to my son before." My father said.
"I know and we'll discuss that later but now I really need to get back to those tests," Dr Hamada said.
"Yes, Doctor. Makoto, let's go."
I looked back at Haru as me, my father and the other reserachers left the room. Haru looked at me with a look that seemed to say; Don't leave me alone with him and then I remembered something. Haru had said that his kind sung that song when they were sad. Haru had sung that song before when Dr. Hamada had been conducting tests on him. I could only come to one conclusion and that was that Haru definitely didn't like it when Dr. Hamada did tests on him. I realized what it was that had bothered me the night before. It was Dr. Hamada and his attitude towards Haru. Then I remembered about the sign at the Marine Park. "Mystery animal... A wonder from the deep sea..."
It couldn't be...