Alias turned his head so fast he was afraid it might fall off once he heard Hoshi's voice. Things had been a bit complicated between them lately. As they grew older and out of Tsu's shadow their feelings for each other started to grow and change. There were times when Alias found himself awkwardly staring at her in mesmerization. Things got better once their focus shifted solely to getting off the island and finding out if Kitsu was alive in another world. He really hoped he was. He'd hate to put Hoshi through losing her brother twice.
“Hey!” He finally said in response, but noticed her look. He recognized it all too well. They needed to talk. He was starting to stand up when a stranger appeared and asked if they knew how to get off the island. Alias gave Hoshi a curious look. Was this someone else confirming their other worlds theory?
“This is Destiny Islands.” Alias finally said, answering the strange man. He seemed to be only a few years older than them. But his appearance here now of all times couldn't be a coincidence. “We're actually working on that right now. I'm Alias and these are my friends, Hoshi, Levi, and Morgan. Can you hold on for a sec?”
Hoshi exchanged the quizzical glance that Alias had given her, and shrugged her shoulders, falling to a loss of words at the sudden appearance of the stranger. Nonetheless, when she turned to face the newcomer, she expressed a welcoming smile, waving as Alias introduced her. “Yeah,” she said with a nod. “Alias and I just need a minute. A lot to figure out. I’m sure Levi wouldn’t mind showing you around if you want though.” She threw Levi a half-begging glance, hoping he’d understand before she turned and began walking the short distance away.
Alias stood up fully and walked over to Hoshi and followed her. He wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about, but things were really about to get interesting. “So that's interesting, huh? The day we're preparing to leave someone shows up and asks how to. You think he's from another world, too?”
“Hmmm.” Hoshi held her chin thoughtfully for a second. She stole an inconspicuous look back at the stranger, and turned back to Alias. “I mean, I’ve never seen him around before. Have you?”
Alias shook his head. “No and I'm pretty sure I've seen everyone by this point. My dad would say he's probably from another island, but I don't know. I've been getting this really weird feeling today…” He paused, taking a moment to glance towards the ocean. He still felt like something or someone was coming. This stranger wasn't going to be their last visitor before the day was done. He returned his attention to Hoshi. “We can focus on that later. You wanted to talk about something?”
“Oh… Yeah.” Hoshi’s face turned a subtle shade of red. The stranger’s appearance had pushed the thought of her dream to the back of her mind; next to the thought of a visitor from another world, the dream felt insignificant. “Just… well… kinda feeling the same way I guess. Like something is about to happen. Something big.” She put a hand to her chest, averting her gaze and looking at the ground. “It’s almost like he’s calling out to me. I don’t know how, but I know it’s him.” She looked back up at her friend. “I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure. You really think the raft will get us far enough?”
Alias watched her full of intrigue. Her blush caught him off guard triggering his own hint of a blush in response. When she mentioned Tsu was calling out to her his eyes widened. Had that been what he was feeling this entire time? His friend? His brother? No. It couldn't have been. What he was feeling felt cold, almost dark? He wasn't even sure how he knew what that felt like. “It has to. I've been feeling something or someone calling out to me, too. I don't think mine is Tsu. I've always felt mine, but now it feels closer than ever. This might be our last chance.”
Hoshi paused in silence. She pulled her eyes from Alias and looked at the raft. “You’re right,” she said after some thought. “It’s the best we’ve got.” She forced out a laugh and cracked a fresh smile. “I haven’t said anything to my parents about it; better they don’t know. After what happened to Tsu they barely let me out in the boat by myself.”
“My dad knows.” Alias started. “I didn't tell him. He just figured it out. But he's not stopping us. He just wants to make sure we're safe.” Alias paused to look at the water again. He recalled Tsu's disappearance and the effect it had on them and the island. Would they be putting their families through the same thing again? “Ready to head back and figure out who this new guy is?”
“Yeah,” Hoshi said, now eying the stranger. Her voice hinted to a mild worry; if the mayor had found out about their plans, would he have told her parents? She couldn't be sure. Even if he wouldn’t stop Alias from setting sail, he’d surely think it proper for Hoshi’s family to stop her going if they saw fit to; even if they didn’t know, was it right for her to put them through the same kind of loss they went through when Tsu went missing? “Yeah,” Hoshi repeated. “Maybe he knows about other worlds.”
Alias could hear the small hint of worry in her voice and saw her mind racing through the twitching movements of her eyes. “Maybe. There's only one way to find out. Who knows? Maybe he even met Tsu out there. But everything's gonna be okay. Trust me.” Getting Hoshi to trust him would be easy on a normal day. This wasn't a normal day. It was the day their lives were going to change forever. Pushing any thoughts of fear and doubt to the back of his mind, Alias pressed forward, returning to their friends and their raft.
Hoshi stood still, hanging for a second on the thought of the stranger knowing Tsu. She responded with a quick nod, and followed Alias back to the raft.
Daxam,
Crimson Flame,
Bacon,
Eviledd1984,
Apoalo,
Sadu,
PuffPeace,
Dragonfly 9,
AtomicNut,
Little Bird
