Editing Nerina/Story

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{{Neighbor Stories
|s1_title = Stars at Just the Right Warmth
|s1_text  = {{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina Stars at Just the Right Warmth Image 01|left}}<!--

-->The soft sound of currents breaking into tiny bubbles filled the space around her, and Nerina knew she was no longer alone in the coral grove.

"What are you looking at?"
"The stars."

The sky was always above, and the stars could be seen even from the ocean floor. When night fell, Nerina watched their "starlight" shimmer across the waves.

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Orange like the sun, yet not as vast or as daunting. She thought with relief that maybe the stars, of all things, were just the right warmth.

"Those are human torches." Her companion said and turned away.
The soft hem of their garment swayed in the water, and the waves in the wake of their departure bobbed Nerina up and down. Even so, she kept her gaze upward, watching as the "starlight" drifted closer, then slowly away again.
"Tor... ches." The word lingered in Nerina's mind like a melody, yet she couldn't form its shape. ''What are toches? And what do they sound like...?''
Her companion had already left the grove, leaving only a trail of bubbles behind. The bubbles carried a message, urging her on:
"Hurry. You'll be late for class."

''It's not my fault that composition is so boring.'' Nerina plucked at the lyre strings while spacing out. Nobody really wanted to be there for the dull lesson.
A coral pointer struck her lyre, breaking her out of her reverie. Seeing the teacher about to puff up like a frustrated balloon, Nerina quickly raised her hand to rejoin the orchestra's melody &mdash; a tedious, solemn, and weighty piece as slow as a sea turtle.

All raised hands in the classroom, then descended onto the strings in gentle, graceful arcs. Sometimes pausing for a second, other times much longer, long enough for a tiny planula to mature into a massive coral. Only after such an agonizingly long wait would the next note of the section slowly emerge.
This was the same section where Nerina almost passed out from holding her breath during the previous rehearsal. And when the next note finally came, she nearly drowned herself again with deep, deperate inhales.

She refused to move her hand again, because she couldn't fathom the meaning behind the piece. Maybe it was about an old sea turtle taking a stroll, or even the lives of seahorses, who were often motionless between the corals. In any case, it certainly wasn't a hymn that praised and celebrated the gift of joy from the Ocean God, as her teacher had claimed.

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"Nerina!" The teacher glided over. "What in the waters are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking... is this what music is supposed to sound like?"
"What do you mean 'is supposed to sound like'? What are you trying to say?" The teacher swelled up another size, rolling furiously around Nerina. "Of COURSE this is what music sounds like!"
"But it's so slow and silent."
"Isn't that exactly how the ocean is?"
"And it sounds so... cold."
"The seawater IS cold!"
Ah... Nerina supposed her teacher had a fair point.

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Icy-cold seawater births icy-cold music. Then... where does one find warm, rich, and delightful music?
Nerina tilted her head upward once again, at the sky forever above. When night fell, starlight would shimmer on the waves. Orange "stars," swaying like tiny little suns.
The music she was looking for was on land.

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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina Stars at Just the Right Warmth Image 02|center}}

|s2_title  = First Time on Land
|s2_text   = {{Tx|Image}}<!--

-->"Time: Allegro"
"Weather: Scorching"
"A few days ago, at night, I took the lyre and swam toward the stars on the ocean's surface, but a torrent appeared and carried me far away."

"Dizzy and uncounscious. When I woke up, I was on the beach."
"This is my first time... on land."

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"Everything is different here. The air feels dense, the sounds are rich, and the water is thin. Without water's protection, the sun is scorching."
"There are people living on land. The sounds of their voices are... unlike any melody I've ever heard."
"And there are so many other melodies, too. Wind rustling through treetops, waves lapping against rocky shores, butterflies spreading their wings, and beetles strolling across the grass..."

"I want to remember every single note."

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"Those on land like to press against each other warmly. They say it's called a hug, a ritual for becoming friends."
"Maria is... my friend. I don't quite understand what 'friend' means, but I broke a clay pot that humans cherish, and she didn't mind."

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-->"She took me to see the bonfire. The melody of fire was very pleasant. It's a... warmth that didn't exist in the sea. Maria couldn't hear it, so I played it for her. She loved it and danced along with the song. We sat by the bonfire for a long, long time."

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"But I can't get too close to the fire. Hair and hands... will dry out."

"I wanted to stay moisturized with seawater, but Maria wouldn't let me lie in the waves. She's right... I get swept away easily, and I don't want to leave yet. So I ended up bursting another big clay pot with water. Maria wasn't angry, because she is... my friend."
"I like having friends. And I like being on land. Next time, I must remember to get a bigger pot."
&mdash; A clay tablet covered in tadpole-shaped writing

|s3_title  = A Tune and a Hermit Crab in the Wind
|s3_text   = "Time: Adagio"
"Weather: Pleasant"
"This place is always raining. Sometimes I take out the old clay tablets, and they often get wet. I've transcribed memories from the days I spent with Maria and my other friends onto paper, but paper doesn't last long either..."
"Can these melodies really be preserved?..."
"..."

It feels like not much time has passed since I first stepped onto land, but truth is, I'm already so very far away from that first island."
"The wind will pick up in a few days, and when it does, I'll drift to a new place, even though I don't want to say goodbye to my new friends yet..."
"..."
"Maybe I should... repair the lyre before I leave."
— A unfinished sheet of music

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Beneath the brilliant sunset, on the soft golden sands, a cheerful melody from a lyre can be heard.
"Boop~ Bloop-boop~ boop-bloop, boop~"
A little girl with pigtails danced to the tune. When the song ended, her hair bounced with the applause.

"What's this song about?"
"Maria and I making pottery, picking olives, and eating grapes together."
"Ooh~ It must all happened on a beautiful sunny day, right?"
"...Bloop."
"That sounds wonderful! What about ours? If you wrote a song about me fixing your lyre today, what would it sound like?"

Nerina didn't need long to think. The strings vibrated once more, and the melody came. Opening with a light and gleeful tune for the serendipitous discovery of seashells, the melody softened into careful, bouncing notes that told the delicate work of the girl's repair on the lyre, before finally slowing into a bittersweet goodbye.

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"Wait, you mean... you're leaving?!"
The girl with pigtails clutched Nerina's arm, her hair standing on end. "Where are you going? When are you planning to leave? How? We've only just become friends! Do you really have to go so soon? Are you going home? I don't even know where you live..."

The questions came rapid-fire, one after another, and Nerina felt like she was back underwater again — tiny bubbles bursting all around her, sounds layering and overlapping until her little head was overwhelmed.

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"Why aren't you answering me?"
"I... don't know either."
"What do you mean you don't know?!" The drooped pigtails sprang back up. "You don't have a destination? No plan?"
"When the wind comes, I'll go. I can't stop."

Nerina had no way to hide from the "currents" on land. When the wind comes, she'd be lifted into the clouds. And when the wind stops, she'd drift slowly back down.
But the girl couldn't understand. She leaned in close, warmth radiating from her as she blinked with curious eyes, "What do you mean?"

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"So you want to stay, but you're too light. The wind would carry you away." The girl with pigtails nodded.
Nerina breathed a sigh of relief. The explanations were long and complicated, and as she explained, the girl kept adding even more questions, leaving her flustered and spinning in circles.
"Then just... make yourself heavier."

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-->The answer came logically as the girl casually picked up a conch shell on the beach. "Just put this conch and that hermit crab and the other big seashells in your pocket. If you have a bunch of them, you won't get blown away by the wind anymore. I mean, I've never seen a hermit crab get toppled by a breeze.""There's always a way to stay, as long as you want to stay," the girl said. "That's how it goes."

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The hermit crab poked its head out of the shell and, realizing it was wobbling around in someone's pocket, quietly retreated back inside.
Nerina stood in a daze. ''There's always a way to stay, as long as I want to stay.'' Last time, she wanted to leave, so she set off and came to land. But this time, she wanted to stay, so she clutched the shells in her hand tightly and readied herself for a second "departure."

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"What's on your mind?" The girl took Nerina's hand and led her forward. "Let's go to the mayor's house in a bit. I heard he has something like a kerosene lamp, called a lightbulb!"
"Lightbulb?"
"It's really bright, like, way brighter than the lamps!"
"Brighter than... fire?"
"Even brighter than fire!"
"Then it's... very dangerous. We should stay away. Otherwise, it'll dry us out."

|s4_title  = Time Flies Like a Melody
|s4_text   = 
Nerina huddled in the shadows of the deck as the tour boat sailed past the desolate island. The tour guide's commentary crackled through the loudspeakers while scattered tourists showed little interest in this particular site.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would look to your right, following the direction of the boat, you'd see a seemingly unremarkable island. It was the cradle of an ancient civilization..."

"Could you take a photo for me, dearie?" A gray-haired traveler held out her camera at Nerina. Nerina hesitated for a moment, then quietly took it from her.
"Okay."

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"...Based on recent archaeological findings, we can confirm that a highly organized human settlement existed here at least three thousand years ago and vanished following a volcanic eruption..." The loudspeakers continued.

After the flash went off, the traveler named Harper smiled cheerfully at the photo of herself and the island and said, "Isn't it marvelous? My age is nothing compared to the island. To it, I am but a child."
"Mm." Nerina agreed and curled back into the shadows. Even with the moist sea breeze, the midday sun had left her feeling more than a bit parched.
She squinted at the faraway island that looked like an emerald gem pinned to the surface of the ocean.

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<i>It's changed so much</i>, she thought to herself. The place she once called home had become an archaeological preserve, and not even she could come and go as she pleased anymore. A long gaze while passing by on a tour boat was all she had now.

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"...Through systematic excavation of the ruins, archaeologists discovered inscriptions on the unearthed clay tablets that strongly resembled modern sheet music..."

Harper seemed like a genuinely friendly old lady. She smiled warmly and sat down beside Nerina, "This isn't exactly the most popular tourist route. Are you here alone?"
"...No, with friends. Together. Coming back for a visit."

"Oh, to be young." Harper shakily pulled out a black-and-white photograph from her pocket. Slipping on her reading glasses, she pored over it intently. "A long time ago, when I was still a young girl, my friend and I made a promise that one day, we'd come here together to listen to these ancient melodies. They say that when the music plays, a divine spectacle appears above the sea. Haha, isn't that fascinating?"
"...Mm."
"Such a pity she passed on before I did."

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From the corner of her eyes, Nerina glimpsed a group of young girls embracing before a cascade of flowers in the photograph, smiling at the camera.
"She'll never hear the song now."
"...People always leave."
"Yes," Harper removed her glasses and closed her eyes in the warmth of the sun. "People always do."
"Nothing ever stays."

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The boat honked as it slowly drifted away from the island.
Harper had fallen asleep, her breathing gradually becoming shallow and steady. Nerina slipped away from her and hurried to the stern of the deck. She pulled a pearl from her pocket. Beneath its honey-colored luster, a melody seemed to breathe and pulse within.
Clay tablets would get drenched, paper would dry out and crumble to dust. Nerina had searched long and hard, and in the end, only pearls could hold those precious moments in time.

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As she plucked the lyre strings, the sky seemed to darken. The bonfire on the beach in her memory flickered, its warm glow blurring Maria's smiling face, but her voice remained crystal clear.
Nerina could hear her again, <i>"So you're saying, bonfires have melodies too? What do they sound like?"</i>
<i>"Bloop, let me sing it for you."</i>

Nerina began to sing the song.
Together, the two of them sang the song once more.

Their voices and the lyre's melody made ripples through time, travelling from the island of yesteryear to the boat in the present before finally landing warmly back onto the sea.
<i>The memories remain, the island remains, and I remain...</i> Nerina thought to herself.
Nothing ever stays, but in the music they will remain. Forever.

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"Mama, look! The fishies are swimming over!"
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