“13th of January, 2013“It has been probably fifteen days since the helicopter crashed in the ocean… probably.“I can’t tell how long I have been unconscious, and I could only make a guess from what David told me—the man who fished me out of the water.“According to David, everyone else onboard the chopper was killed, and only I survived miraculously.“However, with the concussions and my broken legs, the doctors said that I might need half a year to stand again, and that there was no certainty if I would regain my memories.“Yes. I have completely forgotten everything: my identity, my experiences, and where I should be.“My mind is an utter mess.“I just hope that I can regain my memories soon.”“21st of June, 2013“I’m not sure if I’m happy or miserable after remembering everything.“Captain David commands a rescue and salvage ship called the Seeker, crewed by vagabonds without nationality. I’m proud to be a part of them.“After I recovered, I joined the Seeker and return
As I leaned on the scaffolding and looked out across the boundless ocean, I took a deep breath. Then, I lifted my diary into the air and threw it firmly into the ocean, and it soon disappeared beneath the waves.Doing that seemed to stir ripples upon my heart, and the agony extended from my chest throughout my body. Even so, I held back my tears and forced a smile.Days later, the Seeker made port at the famous Floating City of Venice. David had come to attend an auction held at an underground casino. We would be selling the treasures we had salvaged out of shipwrecks and converting them to dollars, but it was very dangerous even if the trade earned us maximum profit. The Italian mafia was divided into a large number of clans. Therefore, even if David had been a longtime partner of the Mora family, other families would have their eyes on our goodies, and they would also come up with any reason to try to snatch territories belonging to the Mora family. That would always plague us
Soon, our contact led us to a stop in the middle of a winding canal, where a chained steel gate appeared before us. Elegant tunes could vaguely be heard from within, building lingering echoes within our ears. Glimpses of people could also be seen from the ever-changing lights shining out from within, and I couldn’t help recalling various scenes of medieval nobles indulging themselves.However, I know very well what sort of place this was—drugs were ever present, and there were also filthy human traffickers. Though I was now reduced to a wanted criminal, I still refused to mingle with them, and the reason I did not hesitate to refuse David when he asked me to get further involved in his illicit businesses.Meanwhile, the contact had flashed some sort of identification, and the gates slowly started to open. Another gondola rowed out just then, with David and several other crew members leaving on it.As for Mike and I, we would be staying outside to keep watch for any rival of the Mo
“Linda, you’re not saving yourself for the merman you dreamed about, are you? You should know that there’s a few in the crew who are interested in you,” Mike joked, the scent of alcohol strong in his mouth as he chugged his beer. After the doctor who cared for me insisted that I was delusional and had been constantly daydreaming, the crew believed the doctor’s diagnosis wholeheartedly. “Yes, he’s the only one for me and I can’t live without him. Even now, I don’t think about anything else—all I want is enough money to buy myself a boat, and travel across the world to find him,” I replied, playing along while mixing fact and fiction.I was not bothered to explain everything to the crew anyway, though they would all be wetting their pants if said merman appeared before them.Still, thinking about Dicken left me miserably having a few sips of beer, before picking up the pebble beside me and throwing it into the water.It skipped over the surface, kicking up multiple splashes even a
Be that as it may, the dark silhouette was already gone when I swiftly hurried past several bars and finally arrived at the edge of the bridge. It was no different from when I had looked at the edge of the canal while I was onboard the gondola not too long ago—there was no one there.Was that you, Dicken? Where are you? Just now, was that really you?I stood on one end of the bridge, my soul seemingly disembodied even as I stretched my eyes wide, searching. I did not care as the downpour pelted me, soaking through my clothes.Even so, I could no longer see that dark silhouette, and I had to lean on the scaffolding as I gasped for breath. Looking upon the surface of the river, I found my reflection robbing and left in pieces from the pouring rain.The alcohol that I had just drunk was burning my nerves, and my mind was an utter mess. I had to wonder if I was drunk right then, and was actually seeing things. To tell the truth, I wanted to cry—but I laughed instead, because I found
An iron gate blocked by steel bars was in my way. Though I could see through the gaps into the darkness inside, I saw several turns heading towards the left side, but there was no way of telling where it connected to. I also saw wall sculptings over the walls on both sides—the aqueduct may have been a tourist spot before, though it was now closed down for some reason.I saw the gap between the iron gates then and tried to push myself inside, standing on my sides so that I could squeeze my way in. Despite being skinny, however, I realized that I just wouldn’t make it through.If I couldn’t make it through when I was this slim, then someone as burly as Dicken would certainly not get through, not to mention that there was a long, thick tail hidden beneath his wide trench coat. Even if he had some method to turn himself human, he would never get through that narrow entrance.But how did he disappear from here? Could he be underwater like I was?I promptly jumped back into the nearby
I promptly sat up in reflex and jumped into the water, searching around crazily. Even so, all I found was the vague illumination of the lights from both sides of the canal, and no glimpse of a fishtail.Realizing that the glimpse I had a moment ago could be an illusion, I was crumbling inside and started to flail my arms wildly against the water like a child throwing a tantrum, but I just couldn't care about the weird looks pedestrians nearby were throwing at me.“Dicken! Get out here, you bastard!” I yelled maniacally. “I know it’s you! It has to be! Are you punishing me? Did you want me to see me lose my mind thinking about you? Or did you just want to see how much I yearn for you? Well, let me tell you this—you’ve totally won! I’ve been searching for you for over a year… A whole year! If I can’t see you again… Fuck, I’ve really gone crazy…”I lowered my head in despair and buried my face in the water, feeling as if something was stuck in my chest as despair overcame me. But sud
Dicken wasn’t baring his upper body like he used to. His black trench coat was soaked and sticking to his body, while his collar was opened and exposed his chest that was as hard as stone. At the same time, his skin was as pale as an ancient, noble vampire.He was staring at me from behind a black mask that covered the upper half of his face. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could feel the fire from his magical eyes, even as he admired my naked body with burgeoning lust in his gaze without constraint.Fuck! I had finally forced this pervert out of hiding! Complex emotions filled my heart as myriad feelings erupted like a typhoon in my chest, and a surging stream of heat rushed up my head.My eyes turned red in a split second, but I pretended to lie down again and looked smugly at him as if I was the victor—despite being naked and looking as if I was trying to seduce him.“Dicken, you bastard!” I cursed quietly, my tears welling even as my eyes couldn’t resist the urge to look at hi