Opposites Attract

Part 2

"Marisol."
I stirred in my bed. It was a cold morning but my blankets were warm and cozy like a fireplace. My feet stuck out from under the covers, so I pulled them back to the warmth. But a second later, my older sister pulled the entire blanket off, leaving me in the cold. Ugh.

"Marisol, I'm going to town to buy food. I need you to come." My sister's voice was prettier than mine, it sounded like music to the ear. It was still painful to wake up to in the early morning.

"Nerice, why do I have to," I groaned.

"I just need your help."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'? You're coming with me."

We argued for a minute, as usual, but as usual she eventually she forced me to agree. So I got out of bed, threw on a dress, and headed out the door.
We lived just outside of our small coastal town. Sailors often made stops across journeys to rest or get food. I always like sitting by the port near the town square and watching the ships come in. I also knew that in another part of town, pirates make rare visits. Of course, I never really go into this side of town. But maybe, just maybe, that's where the pirates I saw yesterday were at that moment.

We were finally on the outskirts of town, when I realized that I had no money, nor anything to trade. I had my necklaces, but those weren't going anywhere. My mother gave those to me before she died.
"Um, Nerice?"
"What?"
"Well..."
"Marisol!" She snapped. "You didn't actually forget stuff again, did you?" I had already forgotten different things twice that week; it drove my sister insane. But right now I happened to have some coins on me. Why not spend a little for myself every now and then?
"Uh, oops?" I replied. "Not much I can do now."
"Just, help me look for things to buy."

The small town was as busy as usual. It was overly crowded, and at the same time wasn't totally empty. During the summer, it could get to the point where you had to weave your way through the crowd of people just passing through for a quick visit. But on early spring days like these, not much happened.
The town square was where merchants set up shop. During the summer my sister and I sell small jewelry and beads, but there aren't enough people during this time of year to make a lot of money off that. She returns to serving food and drinks and I sometimes look after people's children.
"I need some different fruits, but they're gonna be more expensive right now because they're barely in season. I need you to go look around for me," my sister said while eyeing tables of food.
I nodded, and walked further into the square. After walking around for more than five minutes I saw nothing. Well, nothing that my sister wanted. My favorite small shop was right down the street. It had crystals and tarot cards and all kinds of herbal mixtures, not mention massive shelf full of books. I had enough to buy a few small things, so I slowly headed towards it.
If I kept walking down that street for a little while, it would've taken me to the area of town that I was taught to stay away from; where men get drunk and girls dance, and where the pirates go when they make their secret voyages. I wondered if the boy was down there, with his dark eyes and messy hair.

The shop hadn't changed since I last went inside. The crystals were laid down by the jewelry in the front window, with the jars full of herbs ling the walls and the books in back. Sometimes, they would have pictures of books about mermaids, which always made me smile.
I always went towards the bookshelf first. Today, I picked up something titled The Tales Of Pele. I'd heard of the Hawaiian goddess, but never knew much about her. So I started reading. But before I could get beyond the first page, I heard someone whistling. Another person walked up to the shelf but I didn't look up. And of course, they were still whistling.
"Hey, can you please be quiet?" I asked, still looking down.
"Sure thing, beautiful."
That made me freeze. I didn't know whether I should be flattered or frightened. "What?" But then I looked up. Holy crap. It was him. It was the boy from the ship.
"Huh? Oh. I said sure thing, beautiful." He slapped the book he was looking at shut and picked up another one, skimming a few pages in the center and folding it closed.
"Oh. Ok then." What the bloody hell do I say to this boy?
"Well," he said. He had some kind of faint accent, but I couldn't identify it. His shoulder length hair was in a messy ponytail, and it looked like he had at least ten layers of clothing. I wondered what kinds of weapons he had hidden underneath them. I looked back up at him, and his eyes darted away from me; he was checking me out, too. "You gonna say thank you? Or not. You know I'm gonna assume you don't talk much."

"Actually thats not true, I do talk a lot sometimes." Lies. I just wanted to prove him wrong, even though he's right. "I just don't talk to boys that like talking down on girls."

"Sorry," he said, a little taken back. But he still had a snarky smile buried somewhere inside him. "But I'm not lying, you are pretty."

"Ok then. Glad you think so." I kept the book about Pele, flipping pages and skimming over them, and after a minute I walked to the counter. I paid and left, hiding it in my jacket. But of course, the boy followed me outside. And secretly, I was happy he did.

"I just wanted to know your name." He looked me in the eyes. Was he being serious? Yes, actually.

I sighed. "Calypsa."

"Archer." He slowly stuck out his hand and we shook. His skin was rough and his hands were big. He must be good with ropes and tying knots. When I pulled my hand away, I noticed how different it felt not touching his.

"I need to go now, my sister is probably wondering where I am." I looked up at the market in the town square. It was more crowded than earlier, so she probably thought I was lost in there.

"Nice to meet you, Calypsa."

"Nice meeting you too."

I turned to walk back to my sister, but Archer stopped me one last time. He looked me in the eye sincerely. "I saw you in the water yesterday. I know what you are."