Nerina/Story: Difference between revisions

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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}}~~<!--~~

|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.

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?"

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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}}~~<!--~~

|s2_text = {{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina First Time on Land Image 01|right}}

~~-->~~"Time: Allegro"

"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."

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{{tx|~~insert picture~~}}~~<!--~~

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina First Time on Land Image 02|left}}

~~-->~~"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."

"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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|s3_title = A Tune and a Hermit Crab in the Wind

|s3_text = "Time: Adagio"

|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..."

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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina A Tune and a Hermit Crab in the Wind Image 01|center}}

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{{Tx|Image}}~~<!--~~

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina A Tune and a Hermit Crab in the Wind Image 02|right}}

~~-->~~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."

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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"Then it's... very dangerous. We should stay away. Otherwise, it'll dry us out."

|s4_title =

|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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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina Time Flies Like a Melody Image 01|right}}

It's changed so much, 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, "So you're saying, bonfires have melodies too? What do they sound like?"

"Bloop, let me sing it for you."

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.

The memories remain, the island remains, and I remain... Nerina thought to herself.

Nothing ever stays, but in the music they will remain. Forever.

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{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Nerina Time Flies Like a Melody Image 02|center}}

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

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