Shifting Tides

Life Started Anew

It was the same as yesterday.

Wake up. Go to the shore. Collect seashells.

The routine stayed the same even throughout the different seasons...but I don't mind. I like this free lifestyle.

Today I went to the beach again. There were many seashells that I've never seen before. Even though I've been living here for years, there were still lots of them that I haven't found yet.

I walked along the waves. The water felt warm. It felt nice. The sand was smooth and wasn't sticky.

As I skipped across the beach, I tripped on something and fell on my face. Weird. There wasn't supposed to be any rocks around here.

I got up and looked behind me. It was a person with white hair laying in the sand. He looks tired. His clothes are wet too.

He might get sick if he stays like this. I should help him find a nice place to rest. Oh, I know! I could let him sleep in my room.

But... how do I carry him? He's too big. Should I try waking him up?

"Hey...are you okay?" I spoke for the first time in years. I sound rough... I'll drink some water when we get home.

The boy's eyes were slowly opening. Pretty... He had pretty red eyes. I want to have pretty eyes like that too.

Maybe I should just stay quiet for a while. He just woke up after all. Even I don't like hearing loud things whenever I wake up.

"Where... am I?"

He doesn't know? He looks confused so it must be true. I should tell him.

"Salt. Kingdom. Here."

I really need to speak more after this.

He tried standing up but fell on his butt.

"Need... help?"

"...please."

I helped him walk to my home. It took me a while since he was a bit heavy but I managed to get him a place to rest.

I'll ask him more about himself when he wakes up. I'll get some rest as well.

"Sleep well..."

------------------

"Where.. am I?" He woke up in an unfamiliar place. The walls were that of a cave. There was a hole in the roof for the sunlight to come in.

The direction of the sunlight tells him that it was around noon. He didn't know why he was there nor where he was.

He was having a massive headache and he couldn't figure out why. The more he thought about it, the more it hurts for some reason.

His eyesight was taking some time to adjust to the low light in the room.

"Are you...okay?" A voice called out to him. A young hoarse voice that gave off a familiar feeling.

The boy looked around to find a young child in front of him. He nodded to answer the question asked by the child.

"Here... water..." The kid offered him a drink to which he did not refuse.

"Thank you..." His voice had the child mesmerized for a moment before they breathed a sigh of relief.

The child fidgeted with their fingers as if unsure on what to do. He looked at them with caring eyes and asked for their name.

"Lily..."

"That's a lovely name."

The child blushingly nods at receiving the compliment. It seemed like they weren't used to being given praise.