Feeling

Mariana Pov

As I sit in the car listening to the radio, my mind keeps wondering back to that guy in the diner. It felt like I knew him, like we've met before or there's just something vaguely familiar about him.

I've only been on the island for a day and already things are getting weird. It also felt like...he's the one I'm looking for. I sigh loudly and just try to forget about it. "What be messin' with me girl's mind, hmm?" I look at Maria with amazement. This wonderful woman has known me for a day and she already knows that something is bothering me. It must be a mother's instinct. I wouldn't really know. My mother never concerned herself with any of her children's problems. "I can't stop thinking about that guy in the diner." A smile grows on her face and she has a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well...seems like someone's love struck." I feel like dying on the spot. Why are these humans so damn out for it to embarrass others? Including me?!

"I'm not love struck, I'm just...Ghaa!! I don't even know what I am!" Maria just chuckles at me. She sure enjoys watching me battle with myself. For a while I think that she might be right, I could be love struck, but that's just silly, I can't be in love unless it is with my mate. Besides, no one comes to the surface and finds their mate the very next day, it's cliche and just dumb.

We drive for a little while longer until we arrive at the largest shopping centre I've ever seen. I look at the massive building in amazement, humans sure are extraordinary and very talented. "That, my lovely girl, is what we surface dwellers call a mall." I've been reading a lot of books about the human world, but I haven't read about a mall yet. The definition is probably something like 'building complex housing other businesses' or something like that, because that's what a mall must be. The inside is just shop next to shop after shop. It all just screams spending!

It's possibly the biggest building on the island, next to the museum. I do want to visit the museum, though. According to Papa, that place has plenty of artifacts and history about my heritage. Which surprises me quite a lot. Maria finds a parking space, she hasn't even finished driving and I am already out of the door. My excitement is very clear. I feel like it's my first day of lessons again. The humans calls it school. My first day of lessons was when I had turned four and I couldn't wait to make friends. Then, I found out that since I was practically royal, I had to be tutored in private. That ruined the entire experience for me, up until now. So, my first day of lessons was a happy and very disappointing memory.

Maria comes and stands next to me. "I haven't been here in a while." I look at her and take her hand, I give it a squeeze, knowing what she means. Last time she was here, it was probably with her daughter, Clarice. They don't talk about her or what happened, just that they miss her very much. Maria looks at me and we smile at each other simultaneously. As we hold hands we make our way into the mall.

She leads me to a fancy looking clothing store and ushers me inside. "Alright girly, go crazy." She says and I let go of her hand to explore. I walk down every aisle, finding something that I like. Maria and Papa are well off. They both come from very wealthy families and they had started a business together when they got married. Papa has a boat garage by the docks where he repairs them and Maria manages the store where they sell parts and trinkets for the boats.

So basically when she says 'go crazy', I can literally get whatever I want. I love the sundress I'm wearing and decide to find more of them. Maria finds me at the farthest aisle and asks, "Found anything ye like?" I nod eagerly. "Yup, I've found plenty." She gives me a warm, motherly smile. "Then let's get the lot of 'em." I beam at her and we buy everything that I picked. Shoes, shirts, pants, shorts, the works. We also wonder around the other stores and shops and buy something from almost every one of them.

We made several trips to the car and back in. Later that evening a new movie was showing at the cinema. They even thought of putting in a theatre in a shopping mall. I guess humans won't seize to amaze me. I asked Maria and Papa if we could go and watch it. The movie's name was The House With A Clock Inside It's Walls. They both agreed to it and for the first time in I don't know how many years, they did something other than work, they had a chance to enjoy themselves.

We watched the movie and it finished a minute before midnight. It was amazing and also the funniest thing I have ever seen. My people can really come here to catch some tips on how to make a show worth watching. They always say how inferior humans are next to us, but the things they have accomplished and continue to do, I'd say they are superior in the creating departement. I realise that my first day on the island, was something out of a story, and I truly enjoyed myself, more than I ever have in my own home.

Once we got home I called dibs on the shower. It still amazes me that these people thought of a way of bathing while standing. After a wonderful shower, which I needed desperately to wash away the sweat of the day, I chose to wear one of my new sets of night clothes. As I was heading to the living room I heard Papa and Maria talking, they're sitting on the couch and talking about, me. I'm curious to hear what they have to say about me so I don't make my presence known and listen to their conversations. I know eavesdropping is bad and I would never hear the end of it if it were my family I was listening in on. "When do ye think her family will be comin' for her?" Maria asks. "I don't know, love. But, we will make the most of what time we have with her." Maria sighs and she almost sounds defeated. "I'm afraid for her. She's running from her home because she aint safe, what do ye think will happen when the trouble comes finding her here?"

Papa looks at Maria with a stern look, something I didn't expect to see on his kind face. "When that happens, we protect her. She looks just like him, ye'know. Just like her grandfather. We have to keep her safe, no matter what. Neptune did us a very big favour, he did something forbidden so we could be happy." Maria nods to every word Papa utters, understanding passing through her eyes. "Yes, me dear. We must, we also made a promise, didn't we?"

I stand there in complete silence. I'm beyond shocked to find out that they know Neptune, my mind won't process this. Did they find me by chance, or were they told to find me? What did Neptune do for them? What promise did they make to him? This is all so confusing. There's so many unsolved mysteries concerning his death, but it seems his life is the biggest mystery of them all.

At least I know for certain that they mean to protect me. I take a deep breath and calm my racing heart. I walk out from behind the wall and go to sit right between them. I look at both of them and ask, "So, can you teach me how to cook?" It's the most out of the blue question but I have to play the part, to not show any sign that I might have heard them.

Maria nods her head vigorously, clearly agreeing that I have to learn how to cook human food. I give her a toothy smile and jump up from the couch. "Great! Then I'll uh...I'm going to bed now. Goodnight." I say hastily and quickly leave them while shaking my head at myself. Way to make things awkward. When I get to my room I release a breath of relief. I climb into bed and lay there looking at the ceiling until the sun comes up. Just before the alarm goes of at four o'clock, I drift to sleep and sleep the entire day away.