Part 62: The X Nostalgic X Voice

After minutes, the fascinating appearance of the King of the Swamp had finally ended, but that doesn't mean there are no more shows to watch in the middle of the lake. Different types of colorful fishes had been bouncing out of the lake while a flock of white birds dove into them, trying to catch them for food.

Even though there's a battle of the food chain in front of us, I couldn't help but to mesmerize by the beautiful fishes and birds on top of the sparkling lake. But all fun times must come to an end.

The sun started to set and that will be the signal for us to head home. It had been a great time hanging around in the forest, but the whole place would get dangerous once the night comes in.

"Are you going down?" Gon yelled as he is already standing under the tree. I couldn't help but be shocked at his sudden agility. I have never seen him going down earlier, and he's just there like he teleported. Even though he has no Nen at this point, he's still got his speed and strength. As expected of him, he never failed to surprise me.

"Yes, I'll be there in a minute!" I answered while I'm still stuck in the tree we were once at, cleaning up the mess that we left. While watching the scene, we made the picnic here for us to eat during lunchtime. I insisted on doing this by myself since he's the one who carried it.

"Okay. I'll wait for you here!" He responded as he started playing under the tree, while I was cleaning. It doesn't take that much time and I already finished the chore. This is a forest, after all, must never leave any garbage around here.

I stood up from kneeling down at the biggest branch, carrying the basket that we used. My short hair was bouncing along with my actions. While I'm staying in Whale Island, I cut my hair shorter up until my shoulders, so it's not that really short.

"Trust me..."

As I was about to leave the treetop, a sudden whisper of a female came to my ear, so I turned my head around to the shining orange lake in front, trying to seek the voice. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything other than the waters and the fish jumping.

I don't remember but I found that voice familiar. It's like I've heard before, but I'm not sure where and when. I also didn't understand why it just came to my mind all of a sudden. Is she trying to say something to me?

"Secco!" Then, Gon's voice brought me back to reality, as I almost forgot the reason why I am here. The rosy sky started to disappear and replace by the purple night. "Are you ready to come down?"

"Y-Yes! I'm coming!" I yelled back to him with a stuttering voice, unsure if I'm ready to come down. I looked back at the quiet lake once more, remembering the voice that I heard.

We went back to the house which is on the top of the highest hill on the entire island. I can't believe that they were living at it, separate from all over the other residents which are staying on the bottom, near the shore. I heard Gon's family were well-known in the place, especially if two of their families became Hunters.

But no matter how further I can think, the voice is still coming back, haunting my mind, insisting me to seek answers behind itself. All I know is that it's so familiar to me, and the fact that I have too many questions to ask is bothering me.

"Gon, calm down! There's plenty of food for everyone." Mito scolded as my friend started munching every food that he can reach on the table in front of us. It was plenty like it was someone's birthday party. Well, we're leaving tomorrow towards Zaban City, so it's reasonable that they would give us a farewell dinner.

"Sorry, Aunt Mito!" Gon replied, but he was still stealing everything on the table, not listening to what his aunt said to him earlier. I will found that funny if I was my own self right now, but my mind was too occupied by the voice. I started to lose some appetite.

"Secco?"

I was almost lost in my train of thoughts when Mito called for my name, which I raised my head immediately. Her eyes are filled with worry and concern for me. It seems like she saw through my actions.

"W-Wha...?" That's the only sound that came out of my mouth like I was just woken up from a long sleep.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, leaning her head to see my condition. I tried to avert my eyes away from me, didn't want her to see my condition. "You didn't bother to take a bite of your food. Normally, you would jump at it."

"S-Sorry, Aunt Mito. I was just..." I couldn't be able to talk to her properly as I lost my voice again, choosing between an excuse and the truth. "I just remembered something..."

"Well, make sure you finish your food, okay? Don't leave anything behind." She said with her arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed, looking down at me. Even though we're just sitting, one can still see that she's taller and older.

It looks like I couldn't be able to escape from her observant eyes and persuasive attitude, the same as Gon right here. I couldn't believe that she wasn't her biological mother at all.

Speaking of mothers, I wonder if he found her during his journeys all around the world. He said that he never met her mother since he was born, and even he just saw Ging in a photo.

If he didn't yet, then I wonder if he was looking for her at all. I, too, had never seen my mother since I was an infant. My father said she left us at the hospital instantly, like a fleeing animal, looking for its home in the wild. I wished I could see her and feel her warmth, even though she left us alone. I forgave my father for betraying me, so maybe, I could also forgive her.

"Okay." I tried to give her a warm smile, but it failed. I continued to chew down all of the food on my plate. Gon even challenged me to whoever was fastest to finish their dinner. Unfortunately, he won, but that it's no big deal for me.

Dinner's finished and all the chores were done for the night. The starry sky hit my face as I was sleeping on my mat near the window. I'm awake, but not because of the light that had been striking my eyes all this time. It wasn't the heat or Gon's noisy snores.

"Trust me..."

The memory of the voice is still fresh, and I couldn't be able to forget it. No matter how deep I'll bury it in my mind, it's still coming back. If there's an invention to forget everything, I would be glad to use it to myself.

I couldn't help but walk out of my sleeping mat and went out of the room. I walked downstairs, towards the kitchen. I tried to find something that would help me sleep through the night, and found a bottle of fresh milk in the fridge.

It was cold and sweating with water, so I couldn't help but grab it and have a drink. It would be better if I found an orange juice lurking somewhere in the fridge, but the sweet creamy beverage made me forget about citrus juices.

I put the glass on the wide table with a gentle slam, still stained with white remains of the milk. The sound is not that loud, but because of my quiet and dark environment, it would hear by someone from afar.

After the toss, I sat down in my chair silently, didn't bothered by any noise. Then, the memory was brought back to me again, which made me lost focus on reality. I couldn't be able to remember when I heard that voice in the past, but every time I hear it, I felt warmth and love towards it. It's like it is the love that I've been looking for all this time.

"Secco..." Then, I heard a familiar voice from behind. I turned around and saw a figure of a boy walking towards me. I couldn't be able to see his whole face, but based on his green spiky hair and unusual muscular body that a normal kid like him couldn't be able to get, it was Gon. "...is that you?"

"Yes." I sighed before confirming his question. I thought he would be something dangerous, like a burglar or a wild animal beside the forest. We actually ended up being intruded on by a gigantic bear during my days of vacation here. But it wasn't that dangerous, since my friend talked to him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me again, turning his head everywhere to find something.

"Uhh... I can't sleep." I answered as I rubbed my arm with the other and lowered my head, trying to hide my face from him. Gon had been my first friend at my age, and I couldn't help but rely on and protect him with everything I can. Now that I don't have my cursed arm, I could be able to protect him freely.

"I've been thinking a lot of things lately," I added, explaining everything to him. I wouldn't mind telling him everything that had been inside my head. I trusted him, and will always trust him. "It's like I've been hearing a voice inside of my head."

"Could it be...?" He said, not finishing his own sentence.

At first, I didn't understand what he was talking about until I remembered the time when I was struggling with the voice of my arm. It was horror and torture for me to experience that kind of thing, and now that it's gone, I'm glad. But I'm still new to see the arm that had the same tone as my skin.

"No. I'm sure it's not." I reassured him, trying to remove the worry he had been keeping with a smile. Then, I rested my chin in between my fingers. "Because it's so familiar, and nostalgic, it's like I've heard it before."

"Well, if that's only just memories, then there's nothing to worry about, Secco!" He said with a wide cheerful smile on his face, his golden eyes are shining with great comfort. I couldn't help but stare at him for a long time. "If you wanna have a talk, I'll always be right here."

"Thanks," I replied with the same smile as him, but he was warmer than mine. It was too innocent for me to imitate. If I didn't go through that arm during my childhood, then my sanity would be perfect right now.

We had a great time talking until I remembered something that we had to do tomorrow. I was too focused on that bothering whisper that I almost forgot that we're actually doing something the next day.

"We're actually gonna met up with them tomorrow, right?" I brought the idea up out of the blue.

"Yeah. I can't wait!" He responded with an optimistic spirit, standing from his chair and raising his hand in the air, forming into a fist. I couldn't help but smile at him.

I've never seen them for a year, especially him. Tomorrow is the day that we'll be leaving Whale Island and towards Zaban City, meeting up with them. The memory of him confessing was still fresh. The joy that I felt as he said those words couldn't be compared to anything that happened to me on that day.

"Me either."