The landscape moved quickly around us. Trees, to my left melded together and the sand lost all distinguishing detail, turning into one solid strip of tan color. But nothing compared to the waters below us. The air resistance from the hoverboard caused the water to part and come back together in its wake. Unlike the constant color of the sand, the water rippled from clear to different shades of bluish green.
“Do you like the ocean, Amalia?” Tadahiro asked.
Without taking my eyes off the water, I cheered, “Always have!”
“Is that so,” Tadahiro asked, “I guess you remember more about yourself than you thought.”
I snapped up to look at him. “I guess, but that’s really all I can remember about myself,” I replied.
Tadahiro chuckled and said, “That’s good, at least you remember something.”
As Tadahiro turned his head forward, I looked back down at the ‘ocean.’ We were a little higher now, but I could still feel the life and the joy that radiated from it. Bright and inviting, I just wanted to jump in and join in the fun. It gave me a sense of familiarity, yet mystery at the same time. There was something truly special about it; something I always wanted to get to know but was always out of reach.
Tadahiro looked back at me and asked, “Do you want to touch it?”
My eyes widened, “What?”
“The ocean,” he replied.
“Of course, but don’t you need to catch that Etsuo guy?”
“Oh, we’re not stopping,” he said then steered the board downward. Then he leaned to the right and told me to do the same. “Hold out your hand.”
I slowly shifted my grip. With my left hand, I held Tadahiro’s shirt tightly; then I dipped my right hand in the water below. Even though I was still quite damp from when I woke up on the beach, I could still feel the chill as the water moved passed my hand. “This is amazing!” I exclaimed.
Tadahiro replied with a laugh, but then suddenly the hoverboard started to slow down.
“Crap...” Tadahiro growled as he shifted the board’s direction back toward shore.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“My board needs a new battery,” Tadahiro replied, “I was on my way to get one before I landed here. My board is motion powered so it will charge up the more I walk around, but it can barely hold a charge lately. We’re gonna have to stop at the next town. Looks like we’re not catching Etsuo today.”
“But what about your ship?” I asked.
“Well, I’d prefer to get it sooner rather than later, but I know where Etsuo is going with it. If we don’t catch up to him, we’ll just have to meet him there.”
“But what about your treasure?”
“I’m a pretty organized guy, so I always store it in the safe. He’ll never figure out the combination to open it. Now get ready to land, Amalia.”
The hoverboard's internal fans hummed softer as they lowered to just above the grass. Tadahiro motioned for me to get off then he moved slightly away from me and with a click of his heels the hoverboard shrunk back into his right shoe.
He gracefully landed on his feet and said, “Okay, Amalia, in a few yards, we will be entering a merchant city. While we are here, we will stock up on supplies for our journey. We need to buy a backpack and some food. Here’s some of the money I have left,” he took a small bag of money out of his pocket and continued with, “Remember not to mention my name or that I’m a Sky Pirate.”
“Why not?” I asked taking the money.
“Not everyone likes Sky Pirates. You’ll see eventually. Now, if we get separated,” he said pointing at a sign resting on a striped pole, “We’ll meet here by the city’s welcome sign. Got it?”
“Understood,” I replied.
When we entered the town, the word 'dismal' came to mind. All the buildings were all the same brown color and it looked like each house only had maybe one or two rooms inside them. The bathrooms were detached from the main structures, often three yards away.
Tadahiro grabbed my hand and led me to the nearest backpack stand. It was a small wooden structure that stood in front of one of the tiny houses. The bags all hung off four racks that carried at least five bags per row. I picked out two black backpacks and paid the man at the stand three pieces of the paper money Tadahiro called, "Dolens."
Tadahiro then led me to a grocer stand and said, "My backpack will carry the water we need to travel to the next town. You gather some food and I'll be right back."
We glanced over at the various snacks and produce that lay on the stand before us. Some looked to be in vacuum sealed packages so it was hard to know what was inside. The ones without packaging or were in lower quality plastic looked a little spoiled.
Tadahiro wrinkled his nose and said, "Do us both a favor and only pick the prepackaged items. The sanitation level in this town is not ideal."
"I can see that. Are you sure this is the best place to buy supplies?" I asked.
"The next town is a two days walk away, even if we do get to use my hoverboard for a period of time," he replied, "This town is too isolated so not a lot of big cities want to go out of their way to trade with them, which makes them low on supplies. As you can see, some items from the nearest city make it here. I'm definitely going to make sure I only buy water bottles with the seal still intact. Keep that in mind while you're shopping." Then he turned and walked away.
I looked at all the items displayed and realized that I had no idea what to buy. Tadahiro told me to buy prepackaged goods, but I just didn't recognize any of them. How am I supposed to know which ones are good? Which ones had too much salt or sugar? Are any of these items healthy to eat? Will Tadahiro be upset if I spent too much of his money here on items that he doesn't like? It's not like I knew Tadahiro well enough to choose anything for him.
I saw the vendor across the table helping another customer. He wore a long sack and was bald at the top of his head. Even though most people here wore frowns, this man had an overly friendly smile. I decided to ask for his help; he would probably know more than I would know anyway. “Excuse me,” I said, “What would you recommend for a two day journey?”
“A two day journey?” the vendor half chuckled, “What would a pretty little girl like you be going on a journey for?”
“I’m trying to find my way home,” I said innocently.
“How old are ya?”
“Uh,” I said. I really had no idea.
“That’s okay. You don’t need to tell Old Papa your age. Take these,” he said picking out various items. Some looked like fruit while others had pictures of nuts on them. “Do you live in Mariton?"
"Huh?"
"The next town is Mariton, but that's more than a two days walk away," Old Papa explained then asked, "Do you need a horse? Not sure how much money you got on you, but I can always find a rider to escort you there for a fair price."
“Oh no," I said with a smile, "My friend has a hoverboard so we won't be walking the whole way." Friend? Is that the right word to describe a guy I just met that's helping me out like this?
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a Sky Pirate or something,” he said with a half chuckle.
I felt my stomach sink. Tadahiro told me not to mention that he was a Sky Pirate, so how did this man know? Did he recognize Tadahiro when he brought me to the stand? Stiffly, I knelt over to the man who called himself, ‘Old Papa,’ and asked, “So are you one too?”
All the color drained from ‘Old Papa’s’ face. For a moment, he stared at me. Then he cried out, “Help! Help! Sky Pirate! She’s come to steal my produce!”
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