Work Text:
Jay rammed his shoulder into the wooden door of his living quarters, forcing it open like he did every afternoon after a long shift. It’s gotten easier over time, but it really should not be so hard to just get in his apartment for once. He’s put in a request for it to be fixed hundreds of times, it’s ridiculous.
With a deep sigh, he let the door slam shut behind him, automatically slipping his loafers off the backs of his heels like he always does. The aggravating spiny “Welcome Home” mat pricked him under his socks, a sign that he had 4 more steps in the dark before he could turn on his corner lamp and finally see where he was going.
After he could see, he ran his hands through his hair, undoing the styling he had done that morning. Jay never really had to do much for his hair, but the Administration requires there to be some kind of product involved so he’s always ordered the large bottle of hairspray they provide for employees monthly.
His first stop in the house is always the bedroom, he has got to get this damn suit off. It’s the one part of his job he can’t stand. To be fair, all he does is order people around while playing video games, but it’s hard to do that in a suit! Uncomfortable as hell.
The second his finger pulls the tie loose from his neck he feels like he can finally breathe again. The brunette’s wondered why that always bothers him, he’s not claustrophobic or anything… but he also can’t remember anything happening to him that involved his neck, or much at all honestly.
‘Amnesia’ is what his Administration assigned doctor called it. Some traumatic injury to his head made him forget everything about himself, even his own name for a bit, and now he must ‘come to terms with the state of his memory and learn how to function with limited knowledge’ or whatever. It’s not that bad, he keeps a pretty strict routine to keep himself on track most of the time; sure, he forgets simple things often, like coworkers’ names and his passwords and where he keeps his toothbrush, but that’s normal right?
Today his routine is being disrupted though, because instead of laying around and going to sleep he must go on a business trip. Something about retrieving missing equipment, he can’t remember all the details but three days away from his office is something he desperately needs.
He stares at the bag he packed this morning while putting on less irritating and more ‘business casual’ clothing, a white button up shirt with a sweater over it. It’s really hard for him to do buttons on shirts, his hands shake quite a bit. The doctor says he has nerve damage and tried to get him to do some Occupational Therapy to make tasks like buttoning easier, but it never stuck. So instead of spending an hour rebuttoning a more comfortable shirt, he just left the same one he wore to work and replaced the suit jacket with a blue sweater.
The cab Administration ordered him is supposed to come in 7 minutes, he wrote down the exact time on his hand so he could remember. Starting to rush a little more, Jay grabbed the overnight bag and repeated a mantra in his head of “keys, wallet, phone, turn the light off”. After waving goodbye to his bed, he slammed his shoulder back into the door and was off.
The brunette was super excited to be gone. The cab is taking him to the outskirts of what used to be Ninjago City, a higher up got intel about the equipment being around there. Retrieval wasn’t Jay’s job though, he was to ‘oversee the operation’ and have a meeting with one of the undercover employees in the area. The part Jay was actually excited for though was the beach.
Jay has been in the Realm of Madness for as long as he can remember, he’s never been anywhere else. The beach, mountains, outside the bubble of Administration at all, was a huge deal for him. This was stuff he’s only ever dreamed of doing. Working in Reassignment has helped Jay learn a lot about the individual realms, especially Ninjago. Countless stories he’s gotten about Ninjago being the best one to go to before The Merge.
It's not a long ride to Ninjago, all they need to do is take a 30-minute ferry, so he spent the whole time tapping his palms on his legs and staring out the window. He’d never been on a boat, being in a car on a boat was even more interesting, but he loved it. The rhythm of the waves crashing in the distance made his eyes tingle, he could even smell the salt coming through the vents of the A/C.
Soon enough, his cab was pulling out of the dock and into the beach city. This was the first time the driver spoke, “You know it didn’t always look like this.”
“Like what?” Jay tilted his head, turning away from the window for the first time after setting his bag down.
“You know, run down and beat up. It’s a lot worse here now.” Jay was surprised by that, because he thought it looked amazing. Yeah, it was… completely different than the pictures he had seen deep in files at Administration, but it was a wonderful different.
“I like it,” Jay looked back out the window and watched as people walked in and out of makeshift shops down the street. “It reminds me of those old country movies, yaknow?”
The hairy man up front laughed loud, “I guess so. I used to live here back before the Merge, it was a lot safer back then, too. You know, with those Ninja around and stuff. I think there’s still one or two of ‘em that hung around but, the Merge really broke everything apart, here.” He took a deep with his last sentence, “At least there’s still a sense of community.”
Jay didn’t know what to say to all that, so he just kept quiet until the vehicle stopped at a rugged building. “The bellboy will take your stuff; you can’t miss him. Hope you enjoy your stay.” Jay nodded and opened the door to the cab, but he was stopped before he could shut it back.
“Oh, and kid,” The old man had his arm wrapped around the back of his seat, leaning down to make eye contact with Jay. “Don’t interact with any of the weird stuff, without those Ninja around no one knows what to expect here anymore. Just stick to your business work or whatever it is the Admin are doing, okay?”
He stuck his hand out to shake on it, which Jay obliged to. There was a weird flicker in the man’s eye after he let go, “I feel like I recognize you.”
“Never seen you in my life, sorry. I got to go.” Jay was sick of all the talking; he hates small talk. Without another word he slammed the car door and handed his bag to the bellboy, turning on his heel in the direct opposite direction of the hotel.
There were no plans tonight for work, everything starts tomorrow morning, so he’s going straight to the beach. He could see it right across the road, the sky starting to turn a dark pink behind the vast waters. He couldn’t even see where the Realm of Madness began, it seemed endless.
The second his feet touched the sand he slipped off his shoes and socks, half running towards the shore as he attempted to roll his pants up. He looked ridiculous but he didn’t care, no one was around to watch him right now, it was too cold to be swimming this time of year.
He walked far enough to have the water touch his ankles as he took it all in. The salt he could smell on the ferry was back even stronger, he could feel it clinging to his skin. The water was ice cold, rolling over the tops of his feet as the tide moved in and out. He felt awake, as if his whole life up until now was just a dream.
He stood there for what felt like hours, moving when the water started to get too deep and watching as small fish and shells danced around him. It got dark quickly as the second moon rose up over the water, and Jay was starting to feel his eyes weigh down. Travelling apparently takes a lot of energy out of him, even if it was only 45 minutes, but he didn’t want to leave.
He called it when he started to fall asleep standing up, the moons standing proudly in the center of the sky, but right when he was about to turn around, he noticed a light in the water.
It was only a few feet in front of him, a circular patch glowing a bright blue against the deeper, darker water. He looked around to see if anyone was near, maybe shining a flashlight towards the sea. The road behind him and the beach around him was uncomfortably empty, the only light that was even on in the vicinity was coming from the front door of the hotel.
He took a step closer, the water seeping up into the cuff of his pants. The patch seemed to be bubbling up, like a boiling pot of water. He turned around again, looking for somebody else to witness this and prove he’s hallucinating. The voice of the cab driver echoed in the back of his mind, What’d he say again? Don’t… don’t mess with uhh—
“Hello,” a voice spoke out behind him. It sounded like multiple people talking at once, a chorus. Jay whipped his head around to meet a blue figure only a few inches away from his nose.
It looked made of the water, small air bubbles swirling around the features in its face, “You’re new here, aren’t you?” The choir came back as it opened its mouth, bubbles swirling quicker through the words. “I’ve never seen you here before.”
“What… are you?” Jay reached his hand out, but was met with nothing, the watery figure pulling back and sinking down to the spot it bubbled in originally. It looked like a person for the top half and connected to a wave at the bottom.
“I do not know,” the more Jay heard its voice the calmer he got, it was a little off putting at first, but there was a beautiful pitch there. “What are you?”
Jay was too awestruck and tired to think correctly, “I’m Jay.” He let his hand drop back down, realizing his mistake, “Well, I’m. I’m a human, Jay is just a name.” He stuttered through his sentences, running his outstretched hand through his hair now. “Do you have a name?”
“Hmm,” the sea moved so fluidly, casually drifting around in perfect patterns, “I’ve heard that before…” the creature looked deep in thought, flashing between a dimmer light and the normal glow. “I am the sea.”
“I noticed,” Jay held back a giggle, “what do you want me to call you?” The flickering came back, and he took a second to identify the different parts. It seemed to have long, pulled back hair and bright eyes. There was even a lighter spot that resembled a beauty mark on its face. “I am called, Nya, by humans.”
“Why Nya?” She swept around him in a circle, he moved his head to try and follow as she looked him up and down, then retreated fully back into the water, only the glowing patch remaining as her voice echoed. “I do not know.”
The glowing patch morphed into the head of a dragon as it lifted above sea level once more, with horns in the shape of seaweed. Jay shook his head, laughing lowly as he slapped his forehead, “This is ridiculous.” He turned around, started to head back up the shore. But the dragon followed him. “What’s ridiculous?”
Jay waved her off, walking faster, “You. You’re not real, I’m just tired.” He felt the sand stick to his feet as he walked up the beach back towards his shoes. The dragon couldn’t move any further, so he kept his head turned away to avoid looking at it, but it didn’t stop him from hearing the choir, “I’m not real?”
“No, I just need to go to bed,” he grabbed his socks and shoes and walked towards the road, keeping his eyes closed while whispering to himself out loud, “it’s not real, she’s not real, she’s not real.” When he made it to the door of the hotel, he glanced back one more time, just to see.
There was only the darkness of the sea against the sky.
“You’re here.” Jay’s whole body jumped when he saw the water dance in his peripheral vision as he looked out on the water he was standing in. He whipped his head around to see the familiar face only a few inches from his nose, just like the night prior.
“You scared me.” Jay let the hand that jumped to his heart rest back down at his side, stepping back a bit so he wasn’t so close to Nya’s face. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“Why are you here again?” A splash of water hit him in the face as Nya’s humanoid form dropped back into the sea. Only glowing served as a sign of her presence.
“Long day at work,” the brunette sighed through his words, “and I like the sea, it’s pretty.” He heard the voice hum in thought. “Why are you here?”
“I am the sea,” Nya appeared directly in front of him again, forcing him to look at her, “I am always here.” Doubt still trickled in the back of Jay’s mind. Nya has been all he thought about today, admittedly. He wasn’t lying, he did come back here because he likes the sea, but it was also on the off chance she’d be back. Maybe she wasn’t a dream. “What is work?”
“I’m an Agent at the Administration, from the Realm of Madness.” Jay could feel his brain frying from having to talk about work during his off time. “It’s unimportant, what do you do, Nya?”
It always took Nya a second longer to respond than the norm, like she had to think deeply about every word that was said and is to be said. “I do not know,” the number of times she’s used that phrase almost makes Jay sad. “What do you think I do?”
“Well,” he was a taken back a bit by the question, “I guess if you are the sea, then you must do a lot. Do you talk to fish or make waves?” Jay could get lost in the motion of her body, it reminded him of a kaleidoscope, the way the magical swirls moved in her.
“I guess, I do that.” Silence fell over the two of them for a bit, the sky was starting to turn colors again. It felt so soon, even though Jay had gotten here significantly earlier than yesterday.
He listened to the white noise of waves come from all around him as he thought; every waking second, he spent with her next to him made her feel more real. Even if he was hallucinating, Jay doesn’t think he’d care; there was so much he wanted to know about her. “Do you ever wish you weren’t in the sea? To what life is like on land?”
“I’ve never wondered.” The air bubbles inside of her started to bubble, so she dropped down into the water again. Jay could slightly see the head of the sea-dragon peep beneath the reflective surface, “Could you show me?”
Jay hesitated before nodding, “How would I do that?” Nya stayed silent, letting him think for himself, which he expected. The silence hung around long enough for her to take a humanoid form once more, a weak idea popping into the man’s head. “Can I touch you?”
Jay reached his hand out to her liquid one, feeling the water flow straight through his fingertips as he tried to grasp onto her. It was unsuccessful, the way he phased through her tugged on his heart a bit.
She looked at him, tilting her head to the side and inching her face closer to his nose. She loved doing that for some reason. “I feel like I know you.” Jay’s eyes widened, staring deep into hers, still trying to get a grip on her hand. It’s like she didn’t even notice he was touching her.
Suddenly, she backed up again, losing her form and sinking into the water “Maybe not.” Her dragon form swam away towards the deeper water and started to go round in circles. He took the opportunity to look around the beach, seeing a perfect option.
“Wait here!” He ran up the sand towards a small blue pail, it looked like one a child may have been building castles with. He dumped the old sand out of it, running full speed back towards her.
“Could some of you sit in this? Then I can carry you around and show you places!” He dipped the bucket into a non-glowing patch of water to get the rest of the sand out, before sliding it over towards her.
She seemed hesitant, but slowly a small ball of light drifted into the bucket. It was significantly heavier when he lifted it up by the handle, so he shifted his hands around to hold it under the bottom, close to his chest. “Can you see?”
The top of Nya’s bubbling head appeared out of the bucket, turning around to look up at him, “I can.” He admired her features in that moment, looking even closer at her eyes and luminescent lips.
“What do you want to see first?” Jay had pep in his step as he swayed carefully up the shore. This was the first friend he had ever made, or even cared to talk to. Everyone at work was just a huge bore.
Nya didn’t respond to the question, so he just started to walk up the street. There weren’t many people out other than shopkeepers closing up, so there was less of a chance of him looking insane while talking to a water bucket. “These are stores, you can buy things at them. Which is when you give them stuff and then they give you stuff back that you can keep!”
“What kind of stuff?” Nya’s head peered over the bucket, taking in all the new surroundings, it was adorable to say the least. “Well, anything! Food, books, clothes, little trinkets, anything you can think of.”
Nya grew quieter and quieter, listening to Jay’s consistent ramble about the world around her. He knew it was a lot to take it, but the silence became worrying as they carried on. Jay placed her down on the ground in front of a brick building to rest his arms, sitting beside her crisscrossed.
He loved how easy she was to talk to, but he also didn’t feel pressure to keep speaking either. He was okay with the comfortable silence they adopted after sitting for a few minutes, until suddenly she rose up more in the bucket. Her head turned slowly back towards the beach, a blank stare decorating her flowing face.
“Are you alright?” Jay scooted closer to her, waving his hand in front of her face when she didn’t respond. It was like she was looking straight through him. “Nya?” his hand phased through hers for the second time that night.
“The sea… it calls me.” Her eyes moved the slightest bit, connecting with his while she re-grounded herself. “I need to go back now.” Jay’s heart sank slightly.
“Already? I thought we were having a good time…” Despite the disappointment, he didn’t stick around. She said she wanted to go, so he stood up, grabbed the bucket, and started walking to the water.
“I did.” She responded quickly that time, she could hear him at least, but that distant gaze found itself back in her eyes. “It gets louder the further away we go. I can feel it screaming at me, like a mother mourning its young.” Her form started to bubble as she sunk back down into the bucket, it must also be harder for her to keep it when she’s not fully connected to the sea.
“Okay, I’m taking you back. It won’t take long.” Jay started to speed walk; he’d run if he could, but the bucket was too heavy for that. If he ever dropped her, he’d never forgive himself.
He was panting by the time his toes hit the water again, lowering the bucket down enough for her orb of light to push itself back into the sea. “Is that better, Nya?” He watched as the orb spun in circles, hearing her laughter.
“That was amazing, Jay. I loved it,” She spun faster and faster until her humanoid form shot out of the water from a huge wave. She looked so happy, her eyes shining like pearls, Jay couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She looked down at him after she was done laughing, her cerulean eyes squinting into his as she washed herself down, water splashing on Jay’s face. He’s never smiled so hard in his life, “You barely even saw anything. There’s so much more I want to show you.”
He felt a chill against his face as water rested against both his cheeks, her fluid hands cupping his face was an interesting feeling, “Show me it all. Everything. I want to see everything with you.”
Jay giggled, lifting his hand up to meet hers, “That would take a long time. There’s a lot of world out there, yaknow.” He hovered over the back of her palm, the lingering fear of ruining the moment simply because he can’t touch her in the way she can touch him.
She laughed again, joyously, he could feel the bubbles brush against his face, “Even better!” Jay’s head tilted like a puppy, “Why?”
“Because I will spend all that time with you.”
The only thing running through Jay’s mind today is how stupid he is. How stupid is it to fall in love with someone in just 48 hours, let alone someone he can’t even touch! All he could think about during the meeting with his higher ups today was what he was going to do when he had to leave her.
He’d love to stay here with her, in the small little beachside town. Everyone was so friendly here; plus, they had fun events like every day going on in the streets. It was everything Administration wasn’t, it was unorganized, rural, unsupervised, and everything he wanted to be in. He can’t stay here though; they’d come looking for him.
Everything at his job had an order, everything had its place, and if he wasn’t in his place the day after his scheduled trip ends, he would be hunted. The same way he is overseeing a job right now, a retrieval gig, for something— someone that ran away from there.
He went through all the options, everything he could possibly do to transfer here or even take her with him, but he can’t do that. She wants to see the whole world, and he can only offer her a cubicle. Not to mention the ocean is her home, it is her. He can’t take her away from the rest of herself to leave her cooped up in his office. He’d never treat her like that.
This is why the second his meeting ended he rushed to see her again, not stopping anywhere else, not even taking off his shoes before touching the water. Jay wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, just in case he’d never see her again.
“Where do you go during the day?” He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, all the tension leaving his body when he heard her sweet voice echo through the salty air. “You look nice in that clothing.”
He’d be lying if he said he didn’t get a little flustered at that, “I told you yesterday, I go to work.” He did tell her that yesterday, right? Maybe two people (creatures?) with amnesia isn’t always the best combo. “I’m an Agent at Administration.”
She hummed for a second while thinking back to yesterday, “Oh, yes.” Bubbling up next to him, Nya studied his outfit, “Do you like work?”
“No,” that question was easy. The only good thing about his job was getting to boss people around while he played video games. “Then why do you stay?”
That was something the brunette had actually never thought deeply about. To be honest, he can’t picture himself doing anything else. He doesn’t know what other options there even are, “I guess because it’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve been working as long as I can remember.”
“You’ll never know what you do not seek to find.” Jay had no idea what to say to those magic words, so he just stayed silent, looking around for the bucket he used yesterday. He had no idea where he left it the night before, he was more concerned about getting Nya back into the water.
“Looking for this?” Suddenly, the bucket floated up into Nya’s body, surrounded by bubbly swirls as it drifted out of her towards his hands. He took it from her, smiling, “Where do you want to go today, dear?”
“Hmm,” her orb glowed in thought, slowly moving herself into the bucket as Jay held it under the water. “Show me your work.”
His heart thumped violently in his chest, “Well, I uhmm,” he ran his hand through his hair nervously, “I can’t really do that. I could take you to where I’m staying though?” He grabbed the bottom of her bucket and hugged it close to his chest.
“Why can’t I see work?” He could feel the cold radiating off her on his chin. “Well, I don’t work here. In Ninjago, I mean.” He stuttered nervously through his sentence, “I’m here temporarily, it’s not important. I’ll take you to see how I live though, or how most humans live.”
That was… tense to say the least. He wasn’t ready to talk about how far away he actually is from her, not right now. He kept his head down, carefully walking past the receptionist of the hotel and up the stairs, as if he held the weight of the world in his arms.
Once he reached room 315, he set her down on the ground, fumbling with his keys to fight the right one to his room, “Alright, this is where I’m living...” The words right now floated away from his mouth, leaving out the threatening terminology.
His room was ocean themed, as is any beach front suite these days, but not obnoxiously so. He did notice Nya eying all the sea life decorations on the walls, though. “I know it’s not much, but this is the living area. Then the kitchen is there, and the bathroom and bedroom are in the back, down the hall.”
Nya stared blankly at him, unresponsive, “You don’t know what any of that means, do you?” He smiled softly as she shook her head. So, he gave her a huge tour, explaining each room, the purpose it serves, and what all the items are; they were stuck in the kitchen for a long time because she had so many questions about all the dishware.
Jay loved every second of it, she was endearing, and something about getting to explain things he knew all about was nice. She seemed to be enjoying it as well, her beautiful laugh sparking at every joke the freckled man cracked.
After about an hour, he noticed that look in her eyes returning, “Do I need to take you back to the sea for a bit?” Her mind was drifting off, gazing through the glass door across the room.
“It’s so loud…” she whispered, her already wet eyes somehow glossing over a bit. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, “What does it sound like?”
“There are no words to explain it,” She turned towards him, reaching out for his hand, “Would you like to hear it?” Before Jay could reply to the ominous question, she had one hand on his ear and the other absorbing his own hand.
He shut his eyes tight, trying to ignore the feeling of water sitting in his ear in favor of the.. singing? Shouting? She’s right, it is hard to explain. Furrowing his eyebrows, he rested his hand on the coffee table in front of the couch he was sitting on. After about 20 seconds, the water left, leaving a weird feeling on his left side.
“Did you hear her?” Nya’s voice sounded more echoey than normal, it barely even sounded like her. Her usual human shape bubbled and sank further into the bucket, Jay started to hyperventilate. “Will you make it if I take you now?” He shot straight up, ready to go.
“I want to stay here, I will be okay,” Jay’s hands went up to grab his hair, twisting his fists into the loose curls. He didn’t know what to do, he trusted that she knew what she was able to handle, but he also didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. Then an idea sparked.
“What if I put you in the tub? I can fill that with water, it all leads back to the sea doesn’t it?” He started to rush her to the bathroom, being careful to keep all the now dimmer glowing parts in the bucket.
He placed the whole pail on the floor of the tub and turned the water on, keeping it cool like the normal sea is. He figured maybe the more water she can sit in, the stronger she will be. His theory proved true as the glow grew brighter with each gallon being poured in through the tap.
“How did you know that would work?” Nya’s voice sounded normal again, swimming in circles with all the new space she had in the tub.
“Quick thinking I guess?” Jay huffed out a deep breath, leaning his back against the outside of the bathtub. “Sorry it’s nothing fancy, this place is mainly only used for… well nevermind.” He did not feel like explaining the purpose of a bathroom to her right now, especially not after his near panic attack.
They sat there for hours like that, talking back and forth about meaningless stuff and hypotheticals. It was the longest either of them had ever had a conversation with someone else, the first time either of them even wanted to talk in depth about anything with someone else.
Jay didn’t realize how lonely he had felt up until this point. He wondered if Nya felt the same, “Do you ever get lonely, by yourself out in the sea?” He could hear the beeping of his alarm striking midnight in the distance, he didn’t care.
“I do.” Nya had her cold head pressed against his, facing out the poorly placed window of the bathroom, staring at the moons that hovered over her home. “They used to send me gifts. Little lights that would float over the water every once in a while.”
“Who?” Jay’s voice had grown a bit raspy after talking so late into the night, he could even feel himself nod off a few times. Her presence was so comfortable. “The people of Ninjago. They would thank me.”
“You don’t get them anymore?” He could feel the coldness radiating as she shook her head behind him.
“A lot turned into a few after a while, then just one. I got one every night until the second moon appeared. I wonder what happened to that one.” Jay wondered who it was that sent it, and what she might have meant to them.
“How did you end up here?” he decided to poke the bear, “Have you always been the sea of Ninjago?”
The two of them were silent for a long time, broken only by a sniffle, “I do not know…” Jay turned around, his heart breaking at her silent tears. They couldn’t even fall, immediately merging with the rest of her watery soul, “It’s so hard not knowing.”
Jay wanted to say he knew what she meant, that he could relate to her because of his own amnesia, but it didn’t feel comparable. So instead, he reached out his hand for what felt like the hundredth time, simply trying to comfort her.
It only phased through.
Their last day together went by quickly, way too quick. It was already late into the night, Jay had to bring her back to the ocean this morning before he finished up work. He regrets doing that, he would’ve much rather made up for lost time; time he might never get to spend with her again.
It’s too late to dwell on that though, so he’s just been enjoying his time with her now. However, the higher the moons get in the sky, the higher the water wells behind his eyes fill up.
They had been sitting in silence for about an hour now, just staring at the stars. Jay doesn’t really get to look at them at Administration, so at first it was a beautiful sight, but now all he can think about is how he’s going to tell her he’s leaving.
Ultimately, he just needs to rip the band aid off.
“I’m leaving tomorrow, Nya.” The freckled boy spoke just barely above a whisper, sitting down on the wet sand beside her. The stars flashed above them in the magenta sky. “Leaving?”
He looked down at her, silently, nodding his head in response, “Where are you going?” Her beautiful voice will never cease to amaze him. He wants to wake up to that voice every day. Hearing the disappointed tone crushed his heart in a way he could’ve never imagined. “Back to work.”
She hummed in thought, “but you don’t like work.” He felt her start to waver, she’ll need to change form again soon. He waited for her to do that before responding, trying to ignore the crack building in his throat, “You’re right, I don’t.”
“So, stay with me.” That’s exactly what everything in his body is telling him to do. He would want nothing more in the world than to stay with her on this beach forever, but he’d be hunted down the second he didn’t walk in at exactly 7:30am on Monday. If he refused to go back, then… “I can’t.”
“Oh.” Every sad word pushes the dam further and further. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. “I’ll visit you.” He studied the reflection of her dragon in the water, the way her seaweed antlers flowed freely.
“Visit?” Jay nodded quickly, figuring he’d need to explain the word to her, “I’ll come back and see you again, and we can watch the stars. Just like we are right now. I promise.” Well, she was watching the stars, he was watching her.
“I don’t want you to come back.” The pause after that sentence was daunting. Did she not like him? What had he done wrong? Why wouldn’t she want him to see her again? He couldn’t let himself fall into a spiral like this on his last night, so he broke the threatening silence.
“Why?” He really thought she liked him, or at least enjoyed their time together. This felt like it came out of nowhere.
“Because I don’t want you to leave. What about our world? You said you'd take me.” The dam broke, immediately. Jay shifted his gaze back up toward the stars to try and keep the first tear from falling down his face. His vision blurred before he could get another word out. “They’ll kill me, Nya.” The voice crack he had should’ve been embarrassing.
“I’m sorry.” She reappeared by his side, in her humanoid form again. Her legs were more distinct from the water than he’d ever seen them; she laid with them out in front of her, keeping her connected to the water at her heels.
“It’s not your fault,” when he looked down to meet her eyes, the tears started to pour. He brought a hand up and sniffled, trying to keep himself from falling apart completely. “It’s just how the cookie crumbles.”
Jay’s hand suddenly got cold and when he looked down, he noticed it was enveloped in water, her hand atop his. She whispered, looking at his tears, “I know that phrase.” Jay shut his eyes and took a deep breath; he really didn’t want to cry in front of her.
He opened them back up when he felt a coldness press against his cheek, Nya’s hand was picking up all the tears streaming down his face, “I’ll hold onto this for you.” He watched as his tears began to glow in her palm, swirling together into a ball and hardening. It looked like a small blue pearl.
After she made Jay’s pearl, she dripped her own water into her palm, forming it into a slightly bigger blue pearl, “and you hold onto me,” she rolled the ball off her hand into his palm. It was light, with a swirly pattern etched into the sides.
He glanced back up at her beautiful face, briefly seeing his own reflection in her eyes, “I want to kiss you.” She giggled, the sound Jay would miss the most from her, for just half a second, “You can. You have my pearl.”
She tapped his pearl to her blue lips gently, as if to show Jay what exactly to do, “Did you feel it?” Maybe it was just hopeful thinking, or lingering touch, but he did feel it. Right underneath his left eye, he pointed and nodded his head. “Your turn.”
Jay lifted the orb up, feeling the texture against his lips as he placed a hesitant kiss on it. She giggled again, crashing back into the ocean, “That was on my hand!” He watched as her dragon swam in circles a ways out, jumping up and splashing back down repeatedly.
She was everything he always wanted.
Jay slumped over in the back of the taxi cab, staring down at the pearl in his hand. The car had just pulled onto the ferry, he could feel the waves moving them side to side. He looked out on the water, once again doing everything he could to keep the dam behind his eyes from breaking again.
About halfway through the ride, he sat up straighter, seeing a greenish blue tinted sea dragon shoot straight out the water from about a mile away. His heart thumped loud in his ears, begging her to come back up just one more time.
“That’s Nya, you know,” Jay’s head snapped to the rearview mirror, making eye contact with the driver. “You know Nya?”
“Of course, everyone knows her.” He swears he can see the top of her head peaking from beneath a wave in the distance. He twirled the pearl in his hand, feelings the ridges in his fingertips, “How do you know her?”
“She was the water ninja. Saved us all by making herself one with the sea, don’t you remember?” Jay tilted his head, pondering those last three words. He couldn’t see Nya anymore.
“How would I remember?” He hesitantly made eye contact with the driver again, noticing how the man studied his features. The driver hummed slightly in thought, squinting his eyes and moving closer to the mirror, and scratched his head as he leaned back against the seat. The ferry pulled into the dock, so he readied his hands and shifted into driving gear. “I dunno, just forget I said anything.”
Jay watched as the water got further and further away, until he couldn’t see it at all. The other half of his heart disappearing behind the trees of the road back to his work. Secretly, he pressed the pearl to his lips, praying that Nya could feel his touch on her watery hand again. He would give anything to hear her echo right now.
“Alright, Agent Walker, this is your stop.” The cab pulled to a slow in front of the gray building his living quarters was in. “Home sweet home, huh? Maybe I’ll see you again soon?” That was the last phrase Jay would ever associate with this place.
He grabbed his bag, ducking down in the doorway, “I never got your name.” The driver smiled, no one ever cares enough to ask questions like that. “I’ve gone by a lot of those over the years, hard to choose just one,” he chuckled through his words, “My name doesn’t matter, kid. Stick to what you know alright, and if you ever want to see the sea again, give me a call.”
Jay took the small blue sticky note from the man and said his thanks, leaning back to shut the door. He peered down at the paper while the noise of the taxi faded away behind him, it was just a scribbled phone number.
Looking back up at the boring gray building brought tears to his eyes again. This place was a prison compared to what he had just been exposed to. His body moved without his mind controlling it and by the time the sob deep in his throat finally broke through he was lying on his bed.
He only stopped crying when he started to drift off to sleep. He was staring at the ceiling, pearl in hand, blinking heavily when his breath hitched.
Just under his left eye he felt the faintest touch, as cold as the sea.