Lights and Shadows

A Sad Reminder

"Kizaru-san? Kizaru-san, breakfast is ready." Kizaru looked up suddenly from his slumber. Cyremala was already awake and she was reading a book.
"Come in." The man walking in with a tray of soup, shooting a glance at Cyremala who was engrossed with reading. He put the tray onto his desk.
"There you go Kizaru-san." Turning on heels he left. It had only been a few seconds before the cook himself showed up, giving Cyremala a beckoning hand.
"Hey Mala, I cooked something just for you." No response. "Oh Mala, I may just eat it myself then." Finally, looking up, smiling, she jumped off the couch and followed. Borsalino scratched his head.

Now in the kitchen, a mouth-watering aroma filled the air, the same smell as Borsalino's breakfast. She looked around and saw a bowl of delicious soup on the table.
"Go on, try it." The cook pulled out a chair for her.
"What is it?"
"Well it's a soup. But it has a very rare fish, so very delicious. You must try, you must try!" With that he sat opposite her , staring.
"Borsalino has some as well. But I made yours stronger and gave you more of the fish chunks."
She blew the soup on her spoon to cool it down, then entered it into her mouth. Her eyes widened and she just sat there looking at her bowl.
"W-what? Too much? Bad tas-" Before he could further ask, she splashed into the soup, such delight on her face. She thanked him through slurps and gulps, which made him smile and a spark reignited in his eyes.
"That was the best breakfast I've had! Thank you thank you!" The cook was so pleased that he gave her a hug.
"I have to make some more for the crew now. Haha they will love it!"

"Hey, Mala? You've been sitting here for some time now. You ok?" The crew had already been fed and Cyremala had been there staring off into space.
"Mala?" She glued her eyes on the cook, smiling at the short name he gave her.
"Sorry, Von. I... the soup just reminded me of someone."
"Someone?" She nods. Without saying anymore, she leaves, leaving Von to wonder. Borsalino was still at his desk when she entered. He looked up upon her entering the room and saw a glint of melancholy in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I just... nothing."
"Hmm?" As she sat down on the couch, he could see her eyes well up with tears.
"Come on, did someone make you upset?" Leaving his paperwork, he made his way to her side, kneeling down. She shook her head.
"Do you think, when someone does something... really bad to you, but they had no choice. Do you think you could forgive them?" Borsalino took in her words and looked perplexed. He thought for a moment.
"You see," She carried on "I have a friend. Well, she used to be my best friend. But then she did something terrible and it got me in a really bad situation. I... I know that she had no choice, but it hurt me."
"I can only say that time will tell, but I think you could. But I don't at all know the full details. Perhaps you can tell me a bit more later. But, one question. Does that have anything to do with those pirates?" She nodded after an eternity. He told her that he could tell her when she felt more comfortable and at ease. She decided to carry on reading her book, her tears now gone.

Borsalino was now looking into these pirates and what they could want with her. She wouldn't say anything more and he didn't want to push her, fearing it would cause her more pain. She was still reading, but her expression was a little sad. Sounds came on deck as the world went about its day, orders were given and a few chastises to some poor soul who got something wrong. He decided to check on deck himself, smiling at the young woman, who watched him leave. As he left she carried on reading but, not in the mood, she put it down. The reminders of her past was strong, even if it was a bowl of soup. It tasted like he mother's. She made soup exactly like that. It's amazing what things, tastes, smells and such, could bring back all the good times, the good memories. Only those memories were haunted by that terrible event that lost her those good times. She wiped her eyes as the tears were returning, then she stood up to stretch, the clock on the wall ticking and circling.

Looking at the desk, all the papers that Borsalino was looking at lay there, the words small from this distance, looking like a thin line.
It would be rude of me to nose in she thought as she quickly turned her gaze to the bookshelf. Scanning the books for a better story, perhaps to enlighten her mood, but most were just facts and tips about the sea and also military stuff. She turned her nose up at most of these and sighed until one book stood out, 'The Magnificent World Of The Deep'. Her eyes widened and she picked it up, sat back down on the couch and began to read. At first she thought it was another of those fact books, but no. It seemed to be about a fictional man by the name of Gurard, who wanted to travel the sea's deeps. She was so fascinated that she hadn't even noticed that Von had come in to sit next to her, a mug of tea for her in his hand. Reading two pages, she still hadn't noticed.
"Well I guess this tea is for me then." He spoke sarcastically and she jerked up, shocked. Then she smiled.
"I'm so sorry! I just got really interested in this book."
"Oh?" She held up the books cover in his response and saw a huge ship, under the ocean. The ship was that of a sailing ship, not a submarine. It looked quite serene, the ship surrounded by marine life. The only thing that seemed to intrude that calm serenity was the Sea King, which seemed to be chasing the ship.
"Haha, I bet I could cook a good dinner for a whole year or two with that King Fish! Looks interesting." She laughed at that and put the book down, ignoring his protests that he did not mean intrude her reading. Sighing, he gave her the hot drink and she took a sip. They stayed there chatting for a bit when the Admiral's voice called for him.
"Oh crap! It's lunch! Time flies by fast, eh?" He said, flying out himself leaving a giggling Cyremala.

Lunch was fast. The whole day was fast. Borsalino was busy on deck the whole day and the sea's turned choppy. Von had said that we headed into a storm, but not a dangerous one. They would be out of it by morning. Cyremala was forbidden to go out and she was stuck in her room. She had left the office to get some rest, but she found it hard to sleep with the rolling of the ship. It took her at least half an hour to finally fall into a deep slumber. Within this, a dream.

"Mally! Mally do not go further!" Her friend's voice told her. She was coming up behind from a distance and she quickly searched her surroundings. She looked at her friend and pointed to a building, the broken floor boards would make a good hiding spot. Without waiting, she snuck under and turned, facing the outside. She was well hidden, yet limited visibility. Her friend, sadly, was stopped by the gang of pirates who knocked her to the floor. Screams, in her dream, became louder and the vision turned a fire red and her friend had been heard to betray Cyremala. Telling the thugs where her house was, where her parents were unaware of what was going on. Breaking of buildings and screams, they all encased Cyremala in terror and frightful jolts. One last fear woke her up, screaming. She was sweating and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was crying in gulps as someone, she did not see who, entered and held her into an embrace. She just wept and murmured inaudible words into those arms, before falling asleep again. Her dreams were as silent as the night now, as her shaken form eventually cuddled into the blanket she was kept warm by. It would be morning soon, out of the storm.