THE WESTERN PACIFIC ISLAND 1/2

Aquarius opened her eyes, slowly, and looked at the place where she was now. She was still lying on the soft bed when she decided to get up and sit down. To her curiosity, she dipped her hand in the matres. Opposite to what she expected, that it would be lanced, it didn't happen, so she was delighted. Repeating the first action, she stood up and was jumping on the bed. She was joyful to play with something unfamiliar to her.

The girl stopped when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Observing her appearance, she pulled the hem of the long dress she was wearing. It was loose on her that devoured her slender body. Her eyes moved while looking at the thing by the window, the thin curtain was blowing by the wind, and a wind chime hanging making a sharp melodious sound.

Suddenly, she felt the pain and throbbing in her head again. She pulled out her hair and sat down on the bed. She felt again the shortness of her breath with a sharp stabbing of small thorns-like in her chest.

'I can't breathe, I need water. I have to go back to the sea!'' Her eyes passed the glass of water near the bed. She immediately reached for it and drank as she got wet along.

Her eyes widened, causing her to let go of the heavy container and suddenly it rolled on the floor, only stopping when it hit the foot of the person in the room.

''You're awake,'' said the person in front of her. She smiles at Aquarius and waves.

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The colorful banner hanging on the arch reads Welcome to Charaya Island. The island is located in the Western Hemisphere of the world and the Western Pacific Ocean.

The surroundings were so colorful and noisy that Aquarius was amazed. And because she wasn't used to the banging and loud noise on the land, she couldn't help but cover her ears, she just walked like that even though the people were looking at her.

She was interested in the number of people walking, there were many tourists and residents she met. 'There are so many of them, they are like sardines.' In her mind.

She stopped for a moment to look up. The steam around was murky but hot, so she felt the immediate drying and flaking of her skin. She rubbed it on and drank some water.

A broad smile curved on her lips when she saw someone, her eyes focused on the person running towards her. 'Velvet, her name is Velvet.'

''S-sorry!'' said the girl who had arrived panting.

''There was so much gossip that I got when I left the house. Asking who the girl was with me this morning, and they thought I kidnapped you! Aist, those people.'' She said with a smile, then combed her long hair with her fingers.

When she noticed the girl's hand, she also looked at her hand. 'No more web-hands like a frog.'

Aquarius just smiled at the girl. You can see the amazement on her face because she just met someone, a human girl that's different from her. She held her cheeks, not understanding why it was hot. 'Is this the feeling called happiness? I guess it is.'

"You're new here, am I right? I already know the faces of the people here, where are you from and why were you naked on the boat?" The lady scratched her cheek when the other person didn't answer.

"O—kay," Velvet pouted her lips as she thought of another question, but Aquarius kept on smiling. The girl just nodded and snorted.

Aquarius voluntarily opened her mouth to answer because, for some unknown reason, she understood Velvet, but eventually, she only uttered an AA sound. She frowned and gobbled as she tried to speak again, but her voice suddenly disappeared. While the girl imitates her, they both end up gaping.

''Sorry, don't try to speak, maybe next time your voice will be back. Perhaps something had happened to you before I saw you. I'm not a doctor, I just felt that you understood what I'm saying, but off-topic, your pouty lips are cute." Complimenting the girl, Aquarius blinked three times before smiling.

''Thank you.'' She put her fingers on her chin, then she brought her hand back forward. A gesture she thought Aquarius understood.

Aquarius leans her head, wondering. 'What is that she should be thankful for?' In her mind.

''If you're wondering why I'm grateful, it's because you didn't leave the square, so I found you right away,'' she said.

Aquarius imitated the gesture her companion signaled.

''Ha! Are you thanking me for saving you? Geez, no worries,'' Velvet said as she grabbed the sling from her body bag.

''Come on, I'll just show you around our place, by the way, welcome to Charaya!'' Velvet winked at her companion as she spread out her arms.

'What did she do?' In the mind of the newcomer, she imitated what the latter did. She also tries to wink, repeatedly. The reason, why the pretty girl giggled. 'Is that funny?' Aquarius thought.

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Velvet did take Aquarius around the place and one of the things the girl noticed was that she could easily remember what her new acquaintance was saying. The actions of the people that he had been imitating, and their speech registered well in her brain. She was a quick learner and easily mastered new things.

Aquarius smiled and ran when she saw something that pleased her eyes. The girl saw her stop at a store of colorful shells and, in an instant, picked up a big clam. The silly girl tried to stick it to her hair like she always does in the ocean, but it didn't stick much to her disappointment.

"You want that?" She shook her head at Velvet.

'Why does it not stick to my hair? Ah! maybe it'll stick in here.' Aquarius thought that's why she lifted her dress. The old saleswoman was surprised but the latter just smiled at her. She snorted when she saw the bralette she was wearing. 'What is this?' She raised it meanly, then stuck the two shells to her chest, then faced Velvet, who was shopping for a bracelet.

"Holy sheet of paper!" The shrill, raspy tone of Velvet's voice echoed like a cry. She took back the clams from the girl and took down the girl's bralette and clothes.

"Are you crazy? Don't show your private parts in public. There are a lot of bad people who might be prying on you." The girl just nodded but she was secretly happy. 'Then there's plenty of food here!' She thought.

Later, the shape of a mermaid's tail caught the attention of Aquarius. Tourists and residents were fanning it so she picked one up and opened it and imitated what the locals were doing. The fish-shaped food also caught her attention and she poked it one by one until the red bean filling came out. The old lady seems angry with what Aquarius have done.

"Don't poke it, —Velvet whispered to Aquarius— Velvet pouted her lips as she handed the bill to the old woman and turned to her acquaintance smiling awkwardly. "Grandma, I'll just buy the ones she lanced."

"Thank you!" she said once they got what she bought. She handed one fish to Aquarius and the other to herself. One bite from Velvet instantly split in half. A few grains of red bean paste filling even dripped while the girl next to her hesitated to take a bite because she was not familiar with the food. 'I feel like I'm going to throw up.'

''Don't you like it? It's delicious, look at it,'' Velvet gaped and looked at the girl before swallowing half of the food again then she smiled while chewing. A small grain of red bean stuck to the side of her lips.

The girl points to that thing which the fellow immediately gets. She used the tip of her tongue to pinch it and closed her eyes to taste it.

''What you saw is a red bean, it's delicious so try it. Do you want me to taste it for you?'' Suggested by Velvet and thought of tricking her acquaintance to have another fish pancake. Aquarius shook her head at what her acquaintance said. She looked at the food in her hand before taking a bite. While Velvet was gaping, watching her for the first bite.

Aquarius took a bite of the fish pancake, chewing it with her mouth still open. 'Great, it's delicious! It's like I'm floating in the ocean.' In her mind. She was stunned for a moment but she couldn't stop herself from biting again. 'The sweetness of the filling. I can't explain it but it melts on my tongue! Delicious.'

She even took the wrapped food from Velvet's hand. "Oh, I thought that it was for me." Aquarius stopped chewing and turned to the girl.

"Alright, that's all yours, it looks like you're still hungry." Aquarius nodded and smiled at the girl and continued to chew.

"It is popular here on the island, wherever you are, you see someone making it," she said while opening the lid of a water bottle.

'It's delicious! Is this how delicious human food is? I don't know what I feel, it feels like warm blood is traveling to my heart.' She thought.

"You're a little weird, but you seem nice." Velvet said, smiling at the girl. The girl didn't understand her because she managed to look at the void for a while and continued eating.

When the girl finished, she pulled Velvet to another food store. While they were walking, Aquarius saw some big shrimp, so she felt hungry again. She licked her upper lip and took a seat opposite the shop. She couldn't explain it but her nostrils moved spontaneously and smelled the smoke coming from there. 'Looks like this thing on my face is now useful. I can already smell my surroundings.'

''Buttered shrimp, do you want that?'' The girl asked her, to which she instantly nodded.

The shopkeeper smiled as she handed them the container. The girl licked her lips and touched the shrimp that was sliding on her finger. She immediately bit it from the tail and chewed it up to the head. 'It's so delicious!'

"You don't eat the shell and head, I sliced ​​it for you to taste." Velvet brought the peeled shrimp to the girl's mouth. Aquarius took a bite of it but she also spat it out after eating it. 'Tasteless.' After she said that in her mind, she took another bite of the shrimp she was holding.

"I guess you didn't type the one that has already been peeled." Velvet scratched her head in frustration. The latter also tried to eat a whole shrimp but it just got stung on her gums. She immediately spits it out and pinched the part that was pierced with her tongue.

"Shit!" She yelled.

A minute later, the girl ran away from Velvet when she felt her stomach turn. 'I feel like everything I ate is coming out. The food I have swallowed is already in my throat.' She ran to a space and let the piled-up in her stomach spill out of her mouth.

She held her stomach. 'Doesn't it like human foods?' Followed by her acquaintance, she handed her the bottle of water. "It looks like you've eaten too much, drink up and rest first."

While she was drinking, she couldn't avoid watching Velvet eating shrimp again. 'What a beautiful human,' She thought.

The latter enjoys watching her acquaintance, as she eats, her eyebrows furrowed while chewing. Her eyes then reached Velvet's skin, it widened in amazement because of how smooth looking it was. Secretly, she smelled the girl even though she was at a distance. Even if her eyes close, the strong, sexy, and sweet scent hits her nose and she can't ignore it.

The merhuman (mermaid/human) was fascinated by the girl's long red hair covering its forehead with eyebrow-length bangs. She looked down at the young woman's face, focusing on the tip of her nose and heart-shaped lips with purple paint that had been wiped off with a table napkin.

Her eyes followed the girl's long and slender legs. The chest and tummy that were exposed in the clothes she was wearing did not escape her sight either. When Velvet turned back, Aquarius' eyes could not escape the three ends of the scar behind it. It seemed like a scratch from some creature.

Aquarius approached her companion when she no longer felt the weight in her stomach. A few moments later, she suddenly turned to the woman who was anchored in her companion's arms. She didn't even notice it coming.

''Vel!'' A woman with red hair and shoulder-length hair greeted the girl sweetly.

''Peachy! You surprised me.'' Velvet said as she squinted her eyes, clearly not wanting the lady's presence.

The lady's voice was sharp and painful to the ears but she was also eloquent and had very high confidence. Aquarius frowned, her head was throbbing at how piercing to her ears the voice of the new lady was. She didn't do anything but look around at the two talking because she didn't understand anything.

''I'm busy, you know that, right?" Velvet said lazily.

''Wait, who's with you? She looks so weird." She pointed at Aquarius when she finally noticed her presence. She squinted her eyes at the merhuman and looked at her from head to foot.

Velvet pinched the face of Peachy. "Don't be like that."

"Well!" The woman was annoyed and avoided the girl's hand.

"Peachy, meet… oh shoot!" she said, remembering that she didn't even know the name of her companion.

"Anyway, she's a friend, — she patted Aquarius' shoulder— She's Peachy, my childhood friend." Introducing the latter to her friend.

"Hi!" The lady answered in an uninteresting tone while looking at Aquarius with widened eyes. The girl imitated what the latter did, so they both widened their eyes.

"Ridiculous!" She said, then kissed Velvet's cheek and smirked at Aquarius. "See you later, Vel," she said as she walked away.

''Don't mind her, she's been like that since we were kids.'' Velvet said while scratching her nape.

"Are you okay? You're not sick anymore?" Aquarius nodded in response.

But on the other hand, something is bothering the merhuman. 'Since I can use my nose, I can no longer see the shapes, objects, and colors of hearts. With so many people today, how do I know who has a good and a bad heart? How can I eat?.'