Seashells by the Seashore

"Woah, so this is Barbados.." I have never seen quite a sight like this before. 'It's magnificent' I thought as I looked outside the enormous window. We landed near the beach, and the pleasant weather today was just the perfect shade for the sun to reflect on the clear blue waters. Just outside the hall we were at was a small gray, rocky cliff that had pretty tall grass, dancing along the wind. There were still few people on the sands—I guess most people are still on the ship.

All my life—life before this one, I was constantly fighting to survive. I was constantly striving for strength until I can't seem to see colors anymore…It was all black and white.

But this…It's beautiful.

Taking me by surprise, the alluring smile of Sypher greeted my face. "Boo!", she tried to scare me…but me being me, I didn't flinch. Well, I did, sarcastically. "Wah~"

"Goodmorning to you too." I pushed away her face, slightly annoyed. 'I haven't even had my morning coffe yet.'

"Why are you so abusive?" She smacked my on my shoulder and proceeded to rub her cheeks gently.

"I am not, you're just annoying." I jested, "It's somehow my curse to be constantly surrounded by annoying people."

"Curse? You mean a blessing?" She trodded along with me as I made my way into the dining area where I can get a pretty decent cup of coffee. I would be lying if I said I wasn't embarrassed by her carefree attitude that seems to attract a lot of people around us. "Cut it out, you're embarrassing me."

She pouted, "Why do you treat me like a commodity, or something? I'm just having fun, you know? Unlike you, I came to this cruieship to get some stress-free time." She then smacked me on my shoulder before crossing her arms in a pout.

"Sure…" I just sigh in defeat, no point in arguing with a 'grown' child.

"By the way, where's the Golden guy?" She asked, as she looked around the café we just entered. The smell woke me up.

Briefly glancing around for a place to sit, I replied, "Well, if you mean Caner, then he's out asleep."

"What? It's noon already." She grumbled, "I don't wanna stay alone with you for too long. You're way too boring, you know?" Smirking, she again slapped my shoulders. This time, my brows twitched in annoyance 'How dare she?!'

Foooooo…

But I ignored her, I will just get my cup of coffee and get the heck away from her.

I ordered my usual go-to cup, which is a cortado.

A warm, creamy, but strong taste of coffee pierced my senses. It tingled my addiction…finally, a decent cup.

"I heard coffee is a good remedy for hungovers." Sypher suddenly said, sitting next to me with a plate of donuts and croissants. Now that I took a good look at her, she looks quite different than our previous interactions. She was wearing a frilly blue dress, and every move she makes, her straight hair follows—it was intrancing…for a normal human that is.

"I'm not hungover, I just like a cup of coffee in the morning." I said after taking a good sip, a foam lined up my lips.

I noticed something odd, however, for she smirked. "You sure?" She asked.

"Well, yea."

"Think again. What do you actually remember from last night." Saying that, she turned away and looked at the giant glass window to our right that overlooks the island and the blue sea.

"It's quite beautiful, isn't—"

"Well shit." I hit my forehead with my palm as the memory from last night came back to me, "Who took me to my room?" I asked her.

She raised both her eyebrow, and looked at me wryly. "Caner carried you to your room."

Basically, I got drunk last night. So drunk that I somehow made ruckus saying that 'I am God!' and 'You puny humans, should rot with my death smoke!' Sypher told me that, apparently, some people took videos and shared it to the onboarers of the ship, and it made me known as the 'God' that drowned himself in liquor.

"Ah, shit! First day on the cruise and I already got a bad reputation."

A sudden realization came upon me, "Is that why they were staring so much?' I asked the Filipino girl next to me.

She didn't reply, but she laughed…loudly, and it again, garnered a lot of attention to us.

"Well, look who it is, the infamous 'God'." A man with dark red-brown hair approached us. "You're quite a celebrity here." He smirked. Although I don't sense any malicious intent from him, it still irked me how he acted like we were close. He was wearing a loose cream-colored sweatshirt and dark pants. The aura he was emitting was firey but pleasant.

"Urk…another annoying one." I shook my head, I feel like this would be a common occurrence soon…well, it kind of is now, to be honest

"…who are you?" I asked, not bothering to be polite with my tone. "Get lost if you have nothing good to say."

"Woah, chill out, big guy. I'm just here to make friends." Not minding the impoliteness one bit, he patted my shoulder, 'What's up with these people and their shoulder touching?' I wryly thought.

"Ah, well, nice to meet you. Now, go away." I waved my hands, shooing him away.

"Not so fast." He grinned, "Let me introduce myself first, then I'll leave you alone. How's that?" He Stretched out his hand, asking for a handshake.

I, being the merciful deity, shook it…like a man.

"O-ho? Strong man, you are." He still wore a carefree smile and didn't budge one bit. "Nice to meet you, My name's Brody, Brody Rufina."

"Kolin Evasphear," I said nonchalantly.

"Oh? What a unique name. I shall never forget!" He cheerfully said after letting go of my hand. As he promised, he went his way after introducing himself. "Well, Mr. Evasphear…and" He turned to Sypher, "Mrs. Evasphear, nice to me—"

"We're not married." I cut him off.

"Is that so? Well, regardless, nice to meet you both. Enjoy the ship!" He waved his muscly arms as he turned towards the café door.

"Hear that? We apparently look like couples." Sypher grinned at me, but I ultimately ignored it—the secret to dealing with people like her is to act oblivious.

I finished the rest of my cup and prepared to go outside. The massive glass window showed the grand island of Barbados. It would be a shame if I didn't savor every minute that I'm here.

Sigh

I motioned for Sypher, "You wanna come with me?" I might as well take her since I'll for sure be stared at.

Hearing the invitation, she smiled at me, "Sure, whatever you want!"

"…"

"Kolin?" She peaked at my lowered face.

"Nothing, let's go," I said, putting up a stoic façade.

…

Landing on the sandy beach, I realized that it was even better up close. "I have really been living my life without colors…this is amazing," I mumbled under my breath.

Without hesitating, I took my shoes off and felt the sand with my bare feet. It was ticklish at first…then it became therapeutic—it felt surreal. 'How long has it been since I went to a beach?' I thought to myself.

"Ah look!" Walking alongside me was Sypher who also took her high heels off. "Go pick some shells off the ground, it's like a free souvenir." Her cheerful voice rang out throughout the beach. Accompanied by the sounds of waves, and the blowing gently breeze, she truly looked beautiful—I admit. My opinion on her personality won't change, however, she's still annoying.

"Sure, I'll pay you to get some off the ground." I jokingly said, but to my surprise, she agreed.

"For real? Alright then! 20 bucks per shell." She said, her eyes squinting due to her wide smile.

"H-hey I was kidding!" I shouted as she ran along the white sandy beach. "Don't take too much! Or the demand would drop!"

"Sure!" She just smiled at me.

"Gah! How hopeless." Although I said that, a wider grin was plastered on my face as I also picked up some shells.