Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

36. MEMORY LANE

The melody flowed through the music room where I sat quietly, surrounded by my classmates. My eyes were closed, my back leaned against the soft backrest, the palms of my hands resting on my lap.

The gentle sound of violin was weaving a story of longing in its attempt to touch our souls. For a moment, nothing else existed. Only me and the violin. But then a sound of the drum joined in, like a distant thunder. My memories came flooding in.

I found her. My race had spent decades wondering about one and the same, Where did the Princess go? I was the only Aquantien who knew the answer to that question. Ms. Cyan was the lost Princess of the reef.

I still couldn't believe it was all true. Even though I learnt that the story was more than just a legend, this was a turn of events I never would have dreamt of.

I could barely remain standing after she revealed who she really was. I did not know which was louder, the storm outside or my racing heart. I had to walk across the room to sit on the bed because my legs were just like my heart, too weak to handle the weight of that discovery.

She laughed. After her true identity was no longer hidden, Ms. Cyan laughed. She carried that secret for so long, and after all that time, she finally set it free.

"I'm the Princess," she said through painful laughter as if she wanted to confirm to herself that it was the truth. "I'm the one they were looking for."

She kept laughing, making me feel uncomfortable. I gazed at her in silence. What could I have said? What could I have done? She shared her secret with me and I felt the burden of it on my shoulders. I said nothing. Instead, I reached for a pillow and hugged it tightly.

Somewhere along the way, her laughter turned into crying. "No, I'm not," she mumbled. "I'm not the Princess. I was right when I said that she does not exist anymore. How could she? I took the ocean away from her." She shook her head, half-sat on the desk and placed one hand on the book. Looking at the picture of herself, she said, "You didn't think you would end up like this, did you?"

I remained silent as her gaze wandered to the window. The rain outside was reduced to drizzle and I knew that soon enough it would cease all together. She yawned, covering her mouth with a gloved hand. The eventful day was getting the better of her.

"You should try to get some sleep," I said. "We can talk more in the morning. If you will be up for it. Or we can simply agree that what was said in this room, stays in this room. I won't tell my parents who you really are. I promise."

She looked at me with her head tilted to the side. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she smiled. It was a brittle smile that never reached the corners of her eyes.

"Please stay with us," I said in a soft voice. Something inside me told me that if she left now, it would be for good.

"I'll stay until morning. I can't promise you more than that."

Lying on our pull-out sofa, I tried my best to prevent myself from drifting into the land of dreams. I felt like a night guard who had to do whatever it takes to push the sleep away. However, somewhere after midnight it came creeping in, bringing along unsettling dreams.

I was awakened by the sound of my parents' voices.

"...my parents still believe their granddaughter is an orphan from a poverty-stricken country across the ocean." My mother said that. It was true. Her parents did believe that story.

"And we have a very short memory." My father's voice. "We might forget everything that happened here the moment we cross the town border." I could just picture the smile on his face.