Uncertainty

Sai, Yuji, and I roamed around the park until we got tired. I'm now sitting on a bench, catching my breath. We just got out of a horror house, and Sai almost passed out again, even though she's the one who told us she wanted to go there.

Yuji went with Sai inside a souvenir shop, and I'm just waiting for them here. I really got distracted by the rides we went on, thankfully.

"Yohan, I need to go back to my mom. She called me," Yuji said. Sai was still inside the shop, so he went out alone.

"Thank you for accompanying us, Yuji." I smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"I should probably be the one to thank you. I'm going to tell Mom what I want to be, and you inspired me to do so. Thank you, Yohan." He even bowed his head.

"Hey, no need to be formal. I'm looking forward to your artwork when I visit here again," I said.

"Yours too! You should go inside the shop, Sai's having a hard time picking designs. We'll see each other again soon, right?" He waved his hand and walked away.

"Of course," I said and subtly waved my hand. I watched him leave before going inside the store. Yuji was right; Sai was frowning while picking out a bucket hat to buy. A bucket hat, I repeat.

"Yohan! Come here!" Her voice was so loud that everybody inside the store heard her.

"Keep quiet, Sai," I said in a low voice but she ignored me.

Instead, she showed me two bucket hats with different designs. The first one is sky blue and has clouds printed on it, and the second one looks like an aquarium with printed corals.

"Choose one! I want to buy one, but both of them look cute." She pouted her lips. "C'mon, help me choose."

"Just buy the two of them, I'll pay for the other one," I said. I didn't even bother picking a better design.

"What? Really? That's so kind of you! You should buy one for yourself too!" she jumped on her feet.

"That's not my thing." I glanced at a section of the store full of manta ray-designed items.

"You wanna buy one?" Sai asked, and she also looked at the manta rays.

I shook my head. "I'm not a fan."

And I'll never be.

"You don't need to be a fan to buy one. Besides, the show is meaningful, just like what the tour guide told us." She tried to convince me, but I shook my head.

In the end, I just bought a mug with a different design. Sai said it looked boring. We rode a taxi to the hotel and decided to rest for a bit. We will eat dinner in a restaurant later since this is our last day here.

I lay down on the bed, trying to organize the thoughts inside my head. It's not night yet, but I grabbed my journal to write down the information that I've gathered so far.

---

South

The southern region of Techne Island houses different masterpieces created mostly digitally. I went with a friend here, and it's our last day today. We'll head back to the North tomorrow.

Iseul appeared on a big screen. I can barely remember what she said because it was in a different language, but I clearly heard my name. I wasn't able to summon her for the past few days. We went to digital art galleries but found nothing associated with Iseul.

We wandered around Dreamy Studios today and went to their main production building. We met Ara Brent, a famous animator who happens to be Sai's aunt and Yuji's mother.

She animated the Mystic Manta Ray. She told me confidential information: the character she animated was based upon an anima perduta.

I can't help but... get irritated somehow. Some people use helpless lost souls for profit, and now I wonder if there are more animations based on them.

I want to set them free so badly. However, others just use them to gain profit. Not just animations but also traditional arts in the North. Just like artworks that emphasize Iseul, There's no doubt some artists sell them.

Sai and I also heard the conversation of some animators there. Iseul Project. That's the name. But I think they're having a hard time with their project. I hope it won't be as successful as they thought.

La mente

---

I drew the door that I saw on the last floor of the building, as well as the sign on it. Whatever it is inside, I know the company's hiding highly confidential information there. I just hope it's not related to Iseul.

Although they clearly said, Iseul Project for Pete's sake!

It's now 7 o'clock, and I'll be meeting Sai outside. I just wore a plain shirt and a pair of casual slacks, then a pair of sneakers. I brought my jacket with me and headed outside.

"Yohan! Hi!" Sai was smiling widely while waving her hand. I locked the door and walked with her to the elevator.

"You wore the cloud bucket hat," I said.

She held on to it. "Yeah! It looks cute, right? Thanks for this! By the way, let me pay for our dinner later!"

"Dinner's on me," I said. We went outside the building and waited for a taxi.

"I insist! You paid for my hotel room, then the entrance tickets for the digital art museums and Dreamy Studios! Plus, you even paid for this bucket hat!" she said.

"I didn't pay for them to make you return something to me. You really don't have to."

"Oh, a taxi!" She completely ignored me.

We went inside and told the driver the restaurant that we'd go to. It's a fine-dining restaurant, which is the most popular one in the South. I wanted to go here since I might visit here again after a long time.

A waitress from the fancy restaurant welcomed us.

"Yohan Chavez," I told her.

"Follow me, sir and madam," she said, and she accompanied us to a reserved table.

"What? You already reserved a table?" Sai said.

"Uh, yeah? The sign says 'reserved." I scoffed.

The waitress gave us the menu. Sai was looking at me as if she were confused. My eyebrows raised as I tried to ask her what was wrong.

"Dude, this is expensive," she coughed. "I can buy twenty bucket hats for the price of one meal."

"Just choose whatever you want, it's on me," I said while picking something to order.

"Damn rich." she hissed.

I ended up ordering some soups, salads, steak and ribs, beef, and cocktails for the two of us. Sai didn't want to choose, so I chose for us. Just like her, I also gazed around the elegant restaurant.

"Do you always eat at restaurants like this?" she asked.

"I ate once back home, and I was alone. I had a big commission at that time," I said.

Her mouth formed an "o." "Still! I want to pay half. You spent so much money already."

"If that makes you sleep soundly at night, then I won't stop you."

Turns out, I was the one who couldn't sleep that night.