Chapter 4: People I Used to Know

Every afternoon, the market would bustle with a harmonious cacophony. It was the time for socializing and shopping, and it was the time when people tend to leave their homes for a stroll.

Walking around with a compass in hand, a stranger wandered the perimeters. From the speed of their strut, it was obvious the stranger was excited.

Their face glowed with an eagerness ready to devour every object in its path, and the hood they wore did nothing to contain that appetite.

"Here?" The stranger stopped, their cape coming to a sudden halt.

Pausing, the hooded figure spun about, almost as if they were searching for something.

"Torin!" A furious albeit murmured roar. "Is this compass really working?!"

"Calm down," a rumble echoed, heard by no one but the stranger. "The compass only leads you to their approximate location, not the exact place of their being."

The hooded figure clenched their jaw, but soon, they unwilling sighed and accepted the spoken fact.

With renewed determination, the stranger huffed in an ardent breath. In hushed tones, "That means at least one of them is here!" they exclaimed.

"Do not forget what you have been told," the voice uttered. After a short clamor, the voice disconnected, leaving the hooded figure standing alone once more.

After a few seconds of self-insulated excitement, the person spasmed in their spot.

"Yes!" they sang, hopping up and down.

Caught by their own cape, the person toppled over and nearly fell headfirst onto one of the signs. However, they were able to catch themselves and, ignoring the gaze of others, the foreigner began their adventure through the town with ease.

Checking out the stalls, watching random interactions, and running around the alleyways. It had been awhile since they've last seen this area.

Finally, the hooded individual found themself strolling through the docks.

The ocean air caressed their skin, and the salty breeze brought back nostalgic memories.

Standing still, the person breathed in the stingy air. With their ears still prickling, the person slumped down onto the ground. Sitting in a criss-cross, they hummed a familiar tune.

Behind them, people continued to travel the path, simply ignoring the bizarre outlander.

And yet, one individual dared to accompany them.

"What song are you humming?" the girl had asked, her voice gentle and curious.

Without looking up, the hooded figure answered in melodic reminisce.

"Do you know of the Wishing Star?"

"The Wishing Star?"

"Yeah! The Wishing Star will grant you whatever it is you dream of! In fact," the hooded stranger turned to face the person whom they're talking to, then stopped mid-sentence, their words caught between their breath.

The girl tilted her head, a smile gently caressing her face. Faint, golden hair wavered along with her movements, spilling down as lengthy strands of silk.

"Yes?" she urged, her pale eyes reflecting a dreamy hue of interest.

"I hope those tales are true!" the hooded person beamed, continuing where they had left off.

The girl simpered. "I haven't seen you around here before." Sitting down beside the hooded stranger, the girl continued to converse, "Are you perhaps a traveler?"

The person hummed. "I'd like to think myself a voyager."

"Is that not the same thing?" the girl giggled, covering her lips in an attempt to suppress her laughter.

The stranger mused, then snorted. However, they had not said anything more.

Their sudden exchange lasted only a short while, yet it left both party chuckling in satisfaction.

"You know…" the girl leaned closer, causing the stranger to regress back into their hooded cape. "You seem awfully familiar, as if I'd known you from somewhere."

The stranger pulled on their hood and exhaled an arrogant breath.

"A shame," they chimed an over-exaggerated croon, "I do not remember us ever meeting. I mean—how could I forget someone so charming?"

With an almost reluctant smile, the girl puffed, taking in such a ridiculous line.

Placing her slender fingers over her lip, "Then… my name is Ruri," she introduced herself. "You are?"

"A mysterious, hooded traveler," the stranger replied.

"Eh~ Am I not worthy of your name?" The girl, Ruri, feigned a disheartened pout, though she quickly reversed back to laughter. "Alright! I'm fine with not knowing." She rocked back and forth. "I don't need to remember, then."

The traveler raised an eyebrow, though it was masked by the cloth draped over their head.

A moment of silence passed before it was broken by Ruri once again.

"Well, I'm not getting your name, so may I ask you why you're here?"

"At the dock?"

After a short ponder, "Sure," the girl conceded.

"I used to travel the sea." The traveler stared off into the vast expanse of the ocean. "You could say I'm here to… visit some old friends."

Ruri hummed, carefully paying to attention to every word.

"You know." She sifted in her seat, bringing her arms around her legs. "I also have a strange fondness for the ocean."

She dipped her hand into the water below, noting the cold and grimy feel of the water. Then, looking over at the traveler, Ruri noticed the complex atmosphere surrounding them.

The traveler opened their mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.

"Hey," the person stammered, trying to force out the following words, "Are you happy, Ruri?"

Taken-aback, such a question left the girl unguarded and speechless. However, she diligently answered the strange inquiry, albeit with a bit of puzzlement.

"I think I'm pretty happy," she responded, then paused. Looking up into seemingly nothing, the girl bit the innards of her lower lip. "But… I just… Something is missing… Just some part of me feel…"

A beat—short and abrupt, yet filled with a deep and complex fixation—as if each puzzle piece were now finally intertwined. How suffocating.

"Maybe," Ruri realized, "I'm… not happy…" Soft creases formed between her brows. Then, resting her cheek atop her knees, the girl turned to look at the traveler. Her eyes shown a translucent gold, shimmering as though it were a reflection of the promising sea. "I'm sorry," she breathed, unable to say anything more.

Feeling a sudden tap on her shoulder, Ruri raised her head to find another girl standing happily behind her.

"I'm here," the young lady beamed, unaware of the solemn transaction just seconds prior.

Turning over towards the traveler, "I'll be going… I hope you find your old companions," Ruri announced her parting.

"Yeah," the traveler stuttered, standing up to bid the two girls bye.

With a wavering inhale, only from the view of God will the tightening of their grip be noticed.

"Torin," the traveler heaved, "What was that?" Their grip around the compass continued to tense, causing the knuckles on their hand to whiten.

"That…" the voice echoed, "shouldn't be possible-"

"Not unless Ruri's wish had something to do with your disappearance!" interjected an upbeat message. "The string-"

"Can it, Rabbit. Do not interrupt when someone is speaking."

"But you just interrupted me!"

"Only because you did so first."

"That's-"

"To continue from the previous message…"

Nosy ruckus could be heard through the transmission. After a brief moment, quietness consumed the atmosphere; that is, until Torin cleared its throat and continued speaking.

"Do you remember your wish?"

"Why wouldn't I?" answered the traveler, "I wished for my family's happiness."

"Yes. At the moment of your warp, every member of your crew should have had their memory erased of you. Then, their own wish should be fulfilled in time."

"But~" the Rabbit interjected once again, its energetic tone a stark contrast to that of Torin's, "because you were warped to our dimension, if your crew-mate had a wish that involved you, then it couldn't have been granted!"

An audible gust of air could be heard from the transmission, signaling Torin's sigh.

"What the Rabbit said is true." Loud thuds resonated in the background; Torin was tapping its tail, pondering. Moments later, a titter escaped its mouth.

"What is it?" the traveler queried.

"…Nothing," Torin drawled, its voice containing tones of amusement.

Skeptical, "Are you hiding something from me?" asked the traveler.

"Not at all," its voice rumbled. "Time is needed for an answer to be reached."

"That overgrown Snake just wants to watch your next move," the Rabbit clarified, albeit with a hint of added bias.

Ignoring that blatant joke of an insult, Torin continued to speak at its own pace.

"Your crew—their memory of you is still locked away. Decide what it is you will do from there."

"Yep!" the Rabbit hooted, "A promise is a promise, after all! Have fun, Aspen!"

The hooded traveler couldn't tell whether to smile or to frown. "Thanks, Wester," was all she could utter.