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Tazmily Village was always a large family, in a sense. Even so, I wasn’t really raised by any particular “parents”. Instead, I spent my childhood years on the peaceful shores of Cerulean Beach, where the waves licked against the sand and dolphin ossicles were carried in by the tide. It was here that I spent many days sitting on the grassy cliffs, my feet dangling over the salty spray of the water, sometimes daring to dip my toes in and experience its cold embrace. And how I loved to talk. Even when there was no one there, I would sometimes talk anyway. To the fish who passed by. To the frogs that hopped along on green, rubbery legs. And, in many cases, to myself.
Even now, it feels like I’m rambling... but thank you for listening to what I have to say. My name is Nana. Sorry, but I don’t know how old I am. But people always say I’m older than I actually look. That I’m a “late bloomer”. I don’t actually know for sure, though. Can you even think of anyone else who doesn’t know their own age?
Oh, I’m beginning to forget where I was even going with this. That’s right. I remember now. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember, and no matter how much you stretch your mind, you just can’t find what you’re looking for. But, this time, I somehow managed...
It was the peak of summer one year, and I was beachcombing that day. It’s one of my favorite things to do, spending all my time at Cerulean Beach and all. But you also have to understand there isn’t a lot of “beach” at Cerulean Beach. Between Reggie and Dona, who live nearby, it doesn’t take long for all the shells and ossicles to get picked up and carried away. That leaves little old me with nothing to fill my pockets with. And then, it’s back to sitting down, whistling a tune, and wondering what lies beyond those distant shores.
“Your father was a sailor,” Pusher told me a long time ago. I had ventured all the way to Tazmily Village in my boredom, and I had gone to our esteemed mayor for advice. After all, he was the mayor, so he was supposed to know our history, right? “One day, he sailed out to sea, and he never returned. I know this must be difficult to accept, but that’s just the way it is.”
That was a conversation that I floated back to every time I was listlessly waiting by the ocean’s edge. Some days, I took it better than others. That day, however, I was driving myself crazy with rumination, and I made a vow: to go beachcombing and keep myself busy even if it meant exploring uncharted territory. In Tazmily, we were easily satisfied people. People did not stray far from their homes, except for when Hinawa would take the twins to their grandpa’s place. That’s why I knew the shore north of Dona’s house would be ripe for the taking.
It was not an easily accessible beach. You can get to most places in town without having to hop down ledges or clamber up cliffs. This was not one of those places. After ducking behind her house, my arms crossed behind my back and trying my best to act innocuous, I hopped down a three-foot drop; particles of sand billowed up, and some of them even got in my hair. Good thing it was the same color.
“Now...” I peered up the forgotten shore, and my eyes dilated. What a sight! The beach here stretched at least two miles ahead, and its surface was scattered with all sorts of prizes. Not just the regular shells and ossicles, either. Sand dollars. Pieces of dried coral. I could even see a few shark teeth among the mix. I couldn’t help it — I started laughing with joy. Then, I bounced along, beachcombing to my heart’s content.
Why hadn’t anyone tried gathering little treasures here before? By all means, this was a paradise for a girl like me. And something like that, well, unnerved me. It was a feeling that was emanating from my core and to the surface, fighting against that happiness, that excitement I’d felt entering this place. Like I was trespassing. Like I wasn’t supposed to be here.
“...You’re just imagining things, Nana,” I told myself.
I kept going, but the thoughts never really went away.
* * * * *
By the time I was a mile up the shore, my hands were already filled to the brim with shells, and the pockets I had sewn into my dress were overflowing with my favorite finds. I wouldn’t blame you for expecting me to turn around and go home at that point. But I guess it’s like that old fable about the boy who reaches into the candy jar, grabs a massive handful, and can’t fit his fist through the opening. I just had to keep going — even if it meant overwhelming myself.
Little did I know what lay ahead.
It began with my eyes skirting the edge of the nearby cliff. On top of that stony structure, trees sprung towards the heavens, their green leaves waving in the wind. Sunshine Forest. It felt so far away down here. Then, something else called out to me: a dark opening in the side of the stone. I froze in my tracks. A cavern. I’d heard of caverns before, but I had never dared to enter one. Even so, this cave mouth was enormous. It was almost as large as the entire village, in fact; you could’ve fit several of Mayor Pusher’s manor in there.
I guess I wasn’t paying attention because my arms went limp, and all the shells I was holding poured onto the sand. I ultimately didn’t pick them back up. As they pooled at my feet, I strode forward, towards that gaping cavern. That was when I heard something deep inside my head — and though I was more than used to my internal monologue, this felt different.
Turn back.
I paused, taking some time to further study the cave’s opening. The beach leading to that cavern was depressed, as if a path had been dug out of the sand and was only recently polished by the high tide. And the upper rim of the cave mouth was chipped in many places. Where there had once been stalactites, there were blunt points, like the tips of teeth torn from their roots.
Turn back.
My head said one thing, but my feet said another. I walked into the cave without thinking about it. As the midday sunlight faded behind me, the shadow of the cavern ceiling consumed my form, and I plunged into the depths of that chamber.
You aren’t supposed to be here, Nana. You need to turn back!
But wanderlust would be my undoing that day. I continued, and as that cavern, larger than life, curved like a circle, I followed its direction. We went further into the earth, and with what remains of the light, I saw the walls of that rocky passage. They were lined with deep scars — gashes that not even a Drago could have carved.
Not supposed to be here
I dared to keep going.
Not supposed to be here, Nana
I had to keep going, I felt. Was this how my father felt? When he sailed out to sea? What forbidden territory had he dared to encroach?
The cave stopped bending. I fully passed the corner, and as if stepping through a threshold, I felt the temperature of that place drop. A cold breeze washed over my body. Or maybe it was all in my head. It was hard to tell. But there was something I knew wasn’t an illusion. In my peripheral vision, there was white. All-encompassing white, even in the darkness of that deep cave.
I turned towards it, and I felt the air escape my lungs.
The construct was so tall that it nearly reached the ceiling of the cavern. Its shape was indiscernible to me; it was like a square prism on one end and a pointed triangle on the other. Whether it was a building or a vessel, I could not tell, but its surface was lined with deep ridges and glassy portholes. It fought against its binds, the many chains that held it in this stony prison. A metallic groan; it was as if the construct was speaking.
Eventually, I started groaning, too. My head was aching.
You have to go
I closed my eyes. I saw the construct; it was leaning against a coastal shelf, and men had gathered with shovels and ropes.
You need to turn back
The light of a shimmering oval sliced through the vision. I could not tell if it was a stone or an egg, but its light was that of paradise.
And you need to forget
A man reached towards me — a man that both seemed familiar and like a complete stranger — and he smiled.
You need to forget you saw anything.
My thoughts and body were in agreement now. I pivoted on my heels, and I ran from that place. The construct cried out to me with a final moan, but I did not look over my shoulder to face it out of fear that if I did, I would turn into dust or catch aflame or otherwise feel the soul escape my body.
Even once I was back on the beach, I kept running. I didn’t stop until I was back in familiar territory. That’s when I fell onto my back, gasping for air and struggling to regain my breath.
It’s the weirdest feeling, you know — being back in your stomping grounds, only to get the sense that, somehow, you never belonged there in the first place.
* * * * *
The next day, something strange happened. I wanted to be far, far away from the beach, so I wandered all the way to the Cross Roads. I didn’t come this far out often. Leder was here, standing near the bell and holding his mallet in one hand. He didn’t talk, so I didn’t try making conversation with him. It was actually Mayor Pusher, walking in my direction, who started the chatter.
“Nana, Nana,” he snickered. “The sea girl dared to step away from the waves for once. Did the ocean grow old?”
Although it was unlike me, I didn’t even smile. “It’s weird to say, but I guess I didn’t feel comfortable there today.”
“Maybe you’ve been thinking about what I said,” Pusher said. “About your father drifting out there. It is a shame... we never did find his ship.”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “And if we did, what do you think we’d learn?”
Something didn’t feel right. It was like an invisible hand on my back. I turned around by instinct alone, only to see that Leder’s calm gaze had landed on me. The old man didn’t say anything. He never did. But, he raised his mallet, and he struck the bell thrice in a row. Dong, dong, dong. It was like he was offering his condolences.
Condolences for a tragedy I couldn’t even remember.
I let out a deep sigh, and for the first time in days, I felt at ease. Maybe everything would be okay. Even if it was just little ol’ me keeping to myself at Cerulean Beach, I could take care of myself.
I decided not to worry anymore, and I didn’t go beachcombing on that shore north of Dona’s house again.