Tears flowed

There were a couple of good reasons why ships couldn't leave this place.

Number one, the shallow waters and odd reefs and corals. Number two, the sirens. And number three, the currents. Although the sea wasn't necessarily violent, it was somewhat impossible to travel against the currents which mostly coursed through just below the surface. I'd gotten terribly lucky to have washed into that island. If it were to be any place else, I'd have been shredded in my sleep way before I made it to the shore.

We could avoid the reefs as long as one of us was below the water and we used narrow boats. But that would leave us vulnerable to the sirens and even if we did reach the actual sea, how were we going to cross it with narrow boats?

And how the fuck are we going to deal with the currents?

The more I thought about it, the less I thought about other things. So, it was a good thing I wasn't getting any immediate solutions.

"The city's changing," Shia said.

We walked towards the port. Mostly bricked roads. Somewhat nice to walk on.

The houses were more spaced out here and not as large as what they were near the entrance on the other side of the town. The people looked to be about the same but their clothes were slightly lackluster by comparison. Some of the people from the mountains were moving here. In other words, construction and noise everywhere.

"Looks the same to me," I said. Not much had changed since the last couple of days. It was about the same when I arrived.

"We actually came here first," Alustur said. "Then we traveled across the continent and again arrived here. Some days later, you arrived."

"Thank you for all the hard work," I said.

"Don't worry about it. Thank you for relying on me."

"Does it. Does it ever get any better?" I said. I didn't look at him. I couldn't.

Droplets fell on the dry ground. I was trying so hard to suppress the emotions. Suppress the sadness. Suppress the thoughts. Even the mere mention.

Yet, I was the one who kept bringing it up again.

"It does," he said. "With time you'll forget some memories. With time you'll make a new family. With time, you'll learn how to live with your loss. However, if you're asking whether you will be okay without her, I'm not sure. I'm not you. But speaking from experience, nothing can replace your mother."

"Right…" the word came out but my voice died.

Ah… I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have bothered to go out for a walk. I shouldn't-

Alustur picked me up and put me on his shoulder. He didn't say anything and neither did Shia.

We kept walking.

***

Near the very end of our little trip, we found the sailor boys. The captain was also here. I nearly forgot about them. Scratch that, I'd definitely forgot nearly everything about them. I had a hard time telling who was who so I tried my best to fake a smile and just greet them.

One of them, a guy in mustache lounged at me and dragged me to his chest, giving me a firm embrace. "I'm so sorry for your loss," he said.

The others offered their condolences and although I thought I wouldn't cry, I cried. I didn't hold back and cried till my eyes dried. Afterwards we went to a small cabin and had a talk with the crew.

Alustur did most of the talking and the crew just nodded a whole bunch. At some point, one of the sailors cleared his throat and started- "Yes but even if we manage to get out of the reefs, what about the sea beasts?"

"What sea beasts?" I said.

"There are great sea beasts just past the horizon. Giant squids, lobsters, krakens…"

"The lobsters are really delicious," I said. Speaking of lobster. I still had some of the stuff I'd gotten. Most of the things were lost at sea but some things-

What things…

I had my bracelet. I had some of the gifts I'd gotten from the guys back home and I had a shield that somehow hung onto my belt. I'd lost most of the good stuff I'd gotten from the goblin village and remembering all that made me want to sigh.

"They actually make good lobster here," Shia said. "Let's get some later."

"Yeah."

Promised them I'd get back…. That's why they were so helpful, the sea goblins.

I let out a snicker. I didn't intend for it to be a mocking one but… I couldn't help it.

"What?" Shia said.

"Nothing. Just remembering things. What do you do about promises you can no longer keep?"

"Be ashamed," Alustur said.

Right.

They kept talking and we didn't quite come to any solid conclusion.

So, we left for the time being.

"Let's just see how our negotiations go," Alustur said, on the way back.

"I have a suggestion in case nothing works."

"Go on."

"There's an island. A freaky island with unpleasant things. I don't want to go back there. But, there's a good chance we can leave from there."

"I'll keep that in mind."

I hadn't noticed but it was more or less afternoon. The road we were taking had a lot of stalls with sizzling sounds and a good smell.

I had a feeling Shia was the one who wanted us to take this path. Probably because I wanted to eat Lobster. I wasn't necessarily craving it. In fact, I wasn't craving any food. Couldn't hurt. I haven't been eating much and my body was still holding on.

"That place," Shia said. "They serve great lobsters!"

I followed her gaze and found a guy boiling some lobsters. He boiled them, cut into the boiled stuff with a sharp knife and layered some sauce on it. He proceeded to barbecue the heck out of that and then serve the stuff.

But no, I wasn't interested in the stuff he made. I was interested in the man himself.

After all… he was a goblin. "Didn't think they were going to be here," I said.

After all, weren't goblins persecuted?

"I was surprised too!" Shia said.

I approached the lobster making man, and spoke in sea tongue. He replied back in sea tongue and asked what I wanted. Fried Lobster or just the boiled ones.

I asked for a fried one with extra sauce. He served it to me. I tasted it and yup, authentic. Just the stuff I'd had back there in that village.

"Did you come here on your own or got lost?" I asked.

The man eyed me suspiciously for a minute but then seemed to recognize my bracelet. "Oh, you friend."

"Yes, friend."

His face lit up with a smile and he laughed loudly before pulling up some damn big lobsters, weighing at least ten kilos each and firing up the stuff!

"Woah~!" Shia marveled. "I've never seen him do that. What did you even tell him!?"

"Oh, I've been to his village. I actually promised I'd visit with…" Ah… right, she was dead. "I promised them, after all this journeying was over, I'd go back to their place and spend some time with them, helping them hunt and stuff."

"That is a big promise," Alustur said.

"Yes friend, very big promise. We will always wait," he said. "Always."

"I know," I said. "I'm somewhat in a bad state right now, but I yes, a promise is a promise and it will be shameful to go against my word," I said, taking a bite out of the lustrous lobster meat.

Sweet, soft, juicy, and above all… delicious.

It's not over yet. There's more to life… Yet… the tears… flowed.