05. Encased Shell

"Helbert! Helbert!"

Little feet in flip-flops sprinted across the sand towards a young guy with long hair standing barefoot on the beach. The kid’s face lit up with joy, like seeing Helbert on the shore was the best thing that happened to him today, giving him two precious moments at once.

Helbert Dylan, the young guy who had been his friend for a few years, grinned as he saw Sieghal running his way. The eleven-year-old boy had slightly dark skin and reddish hair from too much sun exposure and swimming under the blazing midday sun. His habit of wearing sleeveless shirts added to his uneven tan, a stark contrast to Helbert’s diamond-white, pale skin that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

"Hey Sieg, you shouldn’t run like that, it’s dangerous," Helbert warned, worried that if Sieghal fell, he might land on the sand and get hurt by hidden shells.

True to Helbert's warning, Sieghal tripped, breaking his sandal strap, and almost fell if Helbert hadn’t quickly caught him. They hugged, and Helbert looked very concerned as he held Sieghal.

"Are you okay? Did your foot hurt?" he asked, full of worry, without letting go of Sieghal.

Despite Helbert’s concern, Sieghal just laughed, showing off his white teeth, even though his skin was half burned by the sun. "I’m fine because you caught me," he said cheerfully.

Hearing that, Helbert sighed in relief. "How can you still smile after nearly falling?"

"But if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have caught me."

Helbert was speechless, shaking his head as he let go of Sieghal, who was clutching something that piqued Helbert’s curiosity.

"What’s that?" he asked, unable to stop staring at Sieghal’s hand that seemed to be hiding something.

"Oh, this is for you." Sieghal opened his hand, revealing a shell the size of an adult’s palm. The shell had a rainbow-colored exterior and a bright silver interior, incredibly beautiful, which made Helbert marvel.

"For me?"

"Of course! I found it when I went shrimp-netting with Dad! It looks perfect, so I brought it to give to you."

Helbert smiled, accepting the shell and lifting it, gazing at it under the sunlight until it seemed to reflect rainbow-like lights. Helbert's golden eyes sparkled as he admired the shell he just received.

"It’s beautiful, thank you."

"I told you so!" Sieghal said proudly.

The newly acquired shell was indeed beautiful, but when he looked at Sieghal’s smile, Helbert paused for a moment, then brought their faces closer and kissed the younger boy’s cheek.

Surprised by the kiss, Sieghal unconsciously held his cheek, blushing. Feeling embarrassed, he looked down, appearing cute in Helbert’s eyes. When Sieghal tried to avoid him, Helbert grabbed his hands, bringing their noses close while staring into Sieghal’s eyes from a very short distance.

"Are you embarrassed?"

"Of course—I’ve never had anyone do that to me before."

"So, I’m the first? How lucky me…" Helbert whispered in Sieghal's ear, biting its reddened tip, then slowly pulled back. But as Helbert was about to turn away, Sieghal quickly grabbed his hand and said,

"I—I will find another shell as beautiful as this, I promise!" Sieghal stammered nervously and shyly.

"Really? I’m so lucky to get something this beautiful from you, thank you…." He said sincerely.

Sieghal beamed at the compliment from Helbert, and feeling very happy, they strolled hand in hand along the shoreline.

Due to his promise to Helbert to find even more beautiful shells, that afternoon, Sieghal swam a bit further from the shore to collect prettier shells among the coral reefs.

Since he was young, Sieghal often did things like this: swimming out to sea, catching fish using traditional tools that Shira people used in the past, and then showing them off to Theo—his little brother. But now, his reason for swimming was to find beautiful shells among the coral reefs a bit further from the shore.

For Sieghal, it was a common thing to do, even though his father always scolded him when he found out. But Sieghal was confident that he would return safely as always.

However, this time he was wrong.

As Sieghal almost reached the coral reef area, something held onto his foot, pulling his swimming shoe. Sieghal thought it was just a squid mistaking his shoe for seaweed, but every time he tried to free his foot, it pulled him deeper into the ocean.

Apart from being a good swimmer, Sieghal could hold his breath underwater for quite a while. But as he was dragged deeper, his small lungs couldn’t withstand the strong water pressure, causing him to release bubbles while his foot was still being pulled by something strong.

What Sieghal initially thought was a squid, or some sort of octopus, turned out to be much bigger than the usual octopuses his father used to catch—it was a Kraken, the monster his late mother often told him about. Now, that creature was opening its mouth wide, ready to swallow him alive.

Sieghal struggled, trying to free himself from the Kraken’s tentacle, stabbing it several times with a small knife he carried to pry open shells. But no matter how many times he stabbed it, it seemed to have no effect, and the creature kept directing Sieghal’s body toward its mouth.

Sieghal screamed as loud as he could when his foot was bitten. He felt his bones break and his flesh tear. Due to the water pressure, shock, and too much water entering his lungs, Sieghal started to lose consciousness. But before he did, he saw something swimming rapidly towards him, tearing the Kraken’s tentacle, freeing Sieghal from its grip, and then swimming away with his bleeding foot.

However, losing just one tentacle didn’t stop the Kraken. It extended another tentacle, ready to capture Sieghal again. But at that moment, Sieghal woke up, drenched in sweat.

Panting, his eyes were vacant, his body trembling. Amidst his fear, Sieghal got out of bed, searched for his bag, took out a bottle of medicine, and drank it without measuring the correct dosage. The dream always looked the same every time he had it.

Due to his shaking hands, Sieghal didn’t realize that some pills fell to the floor, scattering. In the quiet of the night, anyone could hear Sieghal’s laboured breathing until, after a while, the tranquillizer took effect, giving Sieghal a sense of relief.

Feeling much better, Sieghal sat on the floor with the bottle rolling and spilt pills around him. Is an antidepressant that Sieghal takes regularly. Since that incident, his fears have worsened, and he has become almost dependent on it.

"I knew it, I couldn’t do this…" Sieghal muttered, wiping the sweat off his face. Although he felt calmer, his hands were still trembling.

Leaving Sieghal in his room, terrified. In the luxurious mansion standing tall on the cliff, Helbert gazed at a shell he received from Sieghal thirteen years ago. As if paying high tribute, Helbert placed the shell in a glass case, setting it in the centre of the room under warm lighting.

"Are you sure this isn’t too much, brother?" a long-haired girl interrupted.

"He has to overcome it if he wants to be worthy," Helbert replied, turning and walking away from the girl. However, she didn’t immediately chase after him. Like her brother, Guinevere also gazed at the glass case with the shell inside.