The dry leaves that floated around seemed to be dancing along with the rhythm of the wind before they landed on the ground, along with others that were sprawled on the floor. Blue hues glanced around the area, taking in the sight in front of her. The song that was being played from music lacrima filled her ears as her head bobbed from one side to another with the beat of the song. It was a soothing melody, the one that suited the season of spring and the peacefulness in the park. The weather was warm, not too hot and not too cold, almost the perfect weather for her. The girl hummed to the melody that has been on repeat, her feet tapping against the ground.

Snow absently plucked out blades of grass that prodded her skin through her black tights as she stared out into a distance, her attention shifting from the streets of Hargeon to the sky. The sky was a perfect blue, a few shades lighter than the colour of her eyes. She watched the clouds raced by the vast sky, carried by the momentum of the wind that blew across the vicinity. She plucked her headphones out of her ear and the noises around her began to reach into her mind. The sound of people chattering in a distance, children laughing with their families and the sound of waves crashing into the walls of the city.

The youth stood up on her feet and dusted off the soil particles and grass that were stuck on her clothing. She began walking towards the docks to purchase some fish for her companion and for herself to cook some dinner. Fish was easy to cook after all and she did not like wasting so much time on cooking when she could be doing something else. After receiving some cooking skills when she was back in Crocus, her abilities had immensely improved. She had planned to cook some steamed fish marinated with some spices and the thought made her drool for a moment. The market was still bustling as usual, with shopkeepers yelling on top of their voice to attract people while customers bargained at the lowest prices as possible.

Heels clacked against the wooden floor while she looked for a shop that sells perfectly fresh and large fishes at a decent price. The wind from the sea entered the land, billowing out her skirt and exposed her pale, slender legs and white bodysuit underneath. Snow noticed a familiar face among the crowd and the person seemed to be arguing with the rest of the men that surrounded him. Fits of giggles and bursts of laughter erupted among the men before they dissipated away to continue their own work. Snow knew the boy from one of the quests she did back in a few days when she came out to search for fishes to cook for dinner, like this time.

Not only she was rewarded with plenty amount of fishes, she received some jewels for assisting the boy and even enjoyed the time she had spent fishing that afternoon with him.

The boy turned to face her and the frown that had once rested upon his lips had immediately turned into a smile as if he was hiding something from her. His eyebrows lifted up in surprise at the sight of her and waved from a distance. ”What has brought you here again, ma’am? Do you want those magical fishes again?”

”Something like that.”

The youth nodded and examined the features on his face carefully. Upon noticing her doing so, his cheeks flushed and averted his gaze away before scratching the back of his head awkwardly. ”Please don’t stare at me so much.” Not wanting to beat around the bush, she began her question about the scene earlier that had attracted her attention.

”What were those guys before saying to you?”

Jacob paused, taking a brief moment to place his words before explaining that he was being made fun of his assumptions, that he had been trying to tell everyone that a mermaid exists in the Hargeon waters but no one wouldn’t believe him. She couldn’t blame the people. Mermaid did not exist in this word after all. The boy was young as well and it could be possible that he was seeing things however, he continued to argue that he had truly seen it that the citizens around the town have already grown sick of his jokes.

”Please come with me, ma’am. I know these people wouldn’t believe me but if you saw it like I did, you’d trust me.”

The existence of mermaids was a myth and no one knew if they were real or not. Despite how she firmly believed that there were no mermaids, she decided to accept his offer to prove him wrong. Although if her beliefs were brought to failure, it would have been massive and Jacob would have told the entire town about the specie he had come to fall upon. The young man showed her a magical polaroid camera so that he could take pictures of the mermaid if it ever came to the surface. She climbed on board of the small boat of his as they rowed into the middle of the sea. The waves seemed to have carried them easily away from the shore and Jacob circled around a single spot.

”This is the place where I last saw the mermaid. Please take a picture of it the second you see it.”

The camera was handed into her hands as she observed the waters carefully. Strangely enough, it had piqued her interest and somehow, she hoped that the mermaid existed for she wanted to see how it looked like in person. She had read numerous fairy tales of mermaids and princes when she was young and she ever wondered if they would look the same up close. Hours have passed since they were on sea and a sigh of exasperation left her parted lips.

”It’s not real. Let’s just go back.”

Her patience has run thin and she did not want to waste any more time just waiting on sea without doing anything else. After much convincing, Jacob finally gave up and they began to sail back towards the shore. Bubbles rose up onto the surface of the sea all of a sudden and a splash could be heard. The sight that she saw before her eyes had astonished her as she immediately grabbed the polaroid and took a picture of it without Jacob noticing her.

”I have a gift for you in this camera. Look it up yourself”

She returned the camera back to the owner and strode away to search for the fishes to purchase once again as a smile lingered on the pink line of her lips.