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It’s finally autumn now.
The temperature is cool from the changing seasons, and the leaves are starting to change to various shades of red, yellow and orange. The wind is picking up its pace, slightly swaying the branches of the trees around the lake.
Ina shrinks into her hoodie as a gust of wind blows in her direction. “It’s starting to get a little chilly,” she says, snuggling further into the warmth of her clothes.
“Really?” Kiara asks, “I think it’s hot.”
“You’re a phoenix, Kiara,” Calli says, tying up her hair, “not all of us have such a high body temperature, you know.”
“Fair point.”
All the Myth members decided to go out somewhere to hang out together. After many hours of arguing about where to go, they finally settled for the lake, which, to Gura’s dissatisfaction, was much closer than the ocean. Even though it is slightly chilly, it's warm enough for a dip in the water.
“Come on, Gura. The last one in the water is a slimy shark!” Amelia says, fully expecting her friend to get mad and say something along the lines of ‘sharks are not slimy’. However, she receives no response from the Atlantean.
Gura is sitting near the lake's edge, dipping her toes on the water's surface and staring at the water as it forms ripples around her feet.
“Gura?” Amelia calls.
Still no answer. It was as if the Atlantean was in a different world, where Amelia’s voice couldn’t reach her. Feeling concerned about the lack of response from her friend, she walks closer to her, ruffling Gura’s hair as she sits down beside her. It seemed to do the trick in getting the shark girl’s attention.
Gura looks at the detective, “What was that for?” she whines, fixing her hair.
“No particular reason,” Amelia says.
The two sit in silence for a minute or two, until Amelia speaks up again.
“Aren't you gonna go swim like the others?” she asks, gesturing toward the rest of the Myth members.
“Later,” Gura replies, “I just wanna think right now.” She makes a few small splashes in the water. “You can go with them, you know.”
Amelia lets out a small hum. “That is certainly an option,” she says. However, Amelia doesn't move from her seat. She wanted to stay with the shark girl until she felt better. To let her know that she'll always be here for her.
Gura smiles.
“Idiot.”
The other myth members are in the water now. Ina is floating on the surface with her eyes closed. Similarly to Gura, Ina is also an aquatic creature, so she feels relaxed in the water. Kiara, however, was the opposite. Water was a phoenix’s worst enemy, but she didn't seem very worried. When Calli brought up the topic, Kiara told her that she could just revive if anything happened.
As Ina floats around, she notices the two girls sitting along the edge of the lake. “Do you think they’re alright?” Ina asks, worried about their friends. “Gura was acting kinda weird earlier.”
“It’s Gura. She’s always weird,” Kiara jokes, “But you're right, I’m also worried.” She grabs onto the floaty beside her. “Normally, she would have pulled someone under the water already,” she says, pulling the floaty over her head.
“Do you think we should go talk to them?” Ina asks.
“Nah, don't worry about them,” Calli reassures, “They’ve got this figured out.”
Ina hums, “Yeah, you're right, Calli.”
“So, what’s on your mind, stinky?” Amelia says, trying to lighten up the mood. Gura pouts at the attempt. “That's good,” Amelia thinks, “She's feeling well enough to react to jokes.”
The two sit in silence for a while until Gura finally answers Amelia’s question.
As much as she denies it, Gura misses the ocean, but she doesn't want to go back either. “I’m scared,” she says. “I’m scared of being alone like I used to be. Scared that no one would hear my cries for help, just like that time when I was stuck under that pile of rubble in the ravine. Scared to lose everyone I cared about again,” Gura thinks, “to lose you…” The thoughts are intrusive, but Gura couldn't ever say that to Amelia out loud.
All Amelia could do was listen attentively as Gura admitted to her fears and insecurities. Amelia wanted to do more, but she was at a loss for words.
“Ironic, isn’t it? A shark afraid of the ocean?” Gura curls her knees up to her chest. “I can’t go back. I won’t.”
“Then don't,” Amelia says. Gura looks at her for the first time today as Amelia enters the lake, slightly wincing as the cool water touches her skin. “Stay here with me.”
Before Gura can react, Amelia pulls the shark into the lake. Gura closes her eyes. She doesn’t want to see what’s under the surface. She’s scared of what could happen if the memories of her past resurface inside her, and most of all, she's scared of herself. She doesn't want to—
Gura’s thoughts were interrupted when she felt something soft on her lips. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, widening when she saw what was happening. She couldn't see anything except for the blonde detective. Mere seconds felt like an eternity as the pair shared the moment under the water. Gura wished it would never end, but of course, that didn't last.
The two resurface as Amelia gasps for air. Unfortunately for Gura, Amelia was still human, despite her timely abilities.
“That wasn't so bad, right?” The detective asks after catching her breath.
Gura looks down at her reflection. She nods with a hum. Gura felt happy with Amelia. She made her feel calm, and safe from the dangers of the ocean. However, all good things must end.
“Ame sure is nice, huh? Even to someone like us,” a familiar voice echoes through Gura’s head. “You don’t deserve her. You don’t deserve to be happy,” she continues. Gura tries to ignore it, but she can’t. “Remember who you are, Gura. Who we are.” Gura begs for it to stop.
Amelia can only watch as Gura succumbs to the voice inside her head. She knows it’s there, Gura has mentioned it before. She knows it’s slowly trying to drive Gura into madness, to become a ruthless killing machine like she was before. Amelia doesn’t want that. She doesn’t want to see the Gura she knows and loves to become a cold-blooded killer. Not again. So, Amelia acts on instinct and does the only thing she can: offer comfort to the shark.
Gura snaps out of her trance when she feels Amelia’s arms around her, pulling her closer. Tears are swelling up in her eyes, but she doesn’t care about that right now. All she needs is to be in the comfort of her sunshine…
But it’s not enough.
As quickly as it left, the voice came back just as fast, growing louder and louder by the second. “Just return to the sea,” it says, “A shark is all you’ll ever be.” The voice just keeps getting louder, more frequent, and more violent. Gura can’t take it anymore.
“Kiss me.”
Amelia is sure that she had heard her wrong. “What?” she asks, hoping the Atlantean would repeat herself.
Gura turns around swiftly, her normally cheerfully smug eyes filled with emotions that usually couldn't be seen in the shark girl. “Kiss me again. Make me forget everything,” she says, her tear-filled eyes looking straight into Amelia’s.
Amelia stares at the Atlantean in surprise. Gura is probably just trying to use her to numb the pain, but she can’t help but think there’s something more to it.
“Alright.”