Minato had no regrets. If ever he had the chance to go back and do it all over again, he would make the same choice in a heartbeat. He was proud of himself for upholding his sworn duty as a firefighter. But he did have one lingering worry: Hinako.
He couldn’t remember much of his death, but he remembered floating in darkness for a long time after the waves pulled him under. Perhaps that had been purgatory—the space between this world and the next.
Prior to his death, Hinako had never known Minato was a bad swimmer. How could he possibly tell her, when she was so convinced he was Superman? Chalk it up to his fragile male ego, but…her admiration had made him feel good about himself.
Then one day he heard her singing, and the next thing he knew, he was looking at her through the water. His vision was rounded, like he was looking through a fish-eye lens, and it felt like he’d turned into a porpoise…but in reality, he was probably some kind of ghost.
At first, Hinako was completely perplexed. No surprise there, of course; one minute she thought he was dead, and then he was in her water glass. But once she accepted that it was really him—she was either really open-minded, or optimistic, or she just didn’t think too deeply, all perfectly valuable traits—she seemed to stop caring about any minor details whatsoever.
“Minato, let’s go outside!”
It must have been surreal to watch a young woman lead a plastic porpoise full of water down the street. Minato did his best to keep up, walking along on his crescent-shaped tail fin. The passersby all stared at Hinako as she passed, but she didn’t pay them any mind.
“Which do you prefer, Minato?”
She had brought him to a plus-size men’s clothing retailer. After propping him up in front of the mirror, she picked out a handful of shirts and made him try them on, one by one. And when he saw how happy it made her, he decided not to press the issue.
But time flies while you’re having fun, as they say. And as they spent morning, noon, and night together, the seasons changed…and the dogwood trees began to bloom.
One night, at Hinako’s request, they paid a visit to a newly built shopping mall.
“Minato!”
She was skipping along, leading him by the hand like usual, when she suddenly looked over her shoulder at him. With each movement, her white dress fluttered like the wings of a little white butterfly. She was adorable.
“I wanna get some gelato. Ooh, and bubble tea!”
While Hinako was distracted talking to Minato, a man popped out of a store just ahead of them, and the two nearly crashed into each other.
“Gah!”
The guy managed to dodge away in the nick of time, but Hinako fell to the floor.
“Ow ow ow…”
“You scared me! You okay?” the man asked her. In his hemp jacket, he gave off something of a surfer vibe.
“I’m so sorry about that!”
The guy offered her a hand, and Hinako took it, rising to her feet once more. Minato had offered her his fin too, but she seemingly hadn’t noticed.
“Where are you from?” the guy asked, casually placing a hand on her back.
Hey! Don’t touch my girlfriend like she’s yours! But alas, the porpoise couldn’t speak.
“Um…Chiba…”
“Oh, so you’re a local. Anyway, I see you’ve got a big boy here with you…”
He was a smooth talker, and Minato could tell he was totally a ladies’ man. Hinako seemed a little flushed in the cheeks. Was he her type?
Feeling like a third wheel, Minato stared down at his hand—and gasped. It was…fading…? Startled, he looked down at his feet. His toes were fading too.
The time he spent with Hinako was so much fun, he had somehow forgotten he was a ghost… No, that wasn’t quite right. They had both been through so much pain, he couldn’t help but want to avert his eyes from the truth for a tiny bit longer.
Somewhere, deep down…he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay with her forever.
That evening, the two of them went back to the local beach.
“Is something wrong?” Hinako asked, leaning in and tilting her head. Clearly his worry showed on his face.
“Oh, it’s just… I wish I could hold your hand. Or help you up, like that other guy did. But I can’t.”
“Wait a minute… Don’t tell me you’re jealous!” she teased.
Minato scowled. “I’m not.”
“I’m not going to cheat on you, Minato. You’re the only one for me.”
“I told you, I’m not jealous!” he shouted, and Hinako flinched back. Come to think of it, this was the first time he’d ever raised his voice at her.
“We’re finally having our first fight, huh? C’mon, cheer up,” she continued playfully as she gave the inflatable porpoise a little smooch. And as she giggled bashfully, he found her more adorable than ever.
He wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly in his arms…but of all the wishes in all the world, that one could never come true.
“Gimme one more.”
“Oh ho! Greedy, are we?” Hinako feigned surprise, then gleefully buried her face in the plastic. “Mmmmmwah! Now can you forgive me?”
“No.”
“Aww, c’moooon!” she wailed dramatically.
“Can I ask you for another favor?”
“What is it this time?”
Her expression was one of amusement, but he stared back intently.
“Take me out on the water.”
At this, her face fell.
“I want to see you surf one last time.”
But Minato’s return hadn’t pushed Hinako forward. Unbeknownst to him, she had only regressed.
The sea was dotted with surfers awaiting the arrival of the next wave. Dressed in her wetsuit, Hinako stared out at them from the shore, surfboard in one hand, Minato’s porpoise fin in the other.
One of the surfers on the outer side caught a wave. His techniques were downright captivating. After a display like that, anyone with a board would be itching to get out on the water themselves. Just then, another surfer with a twin-fin board did a takeoff in the first surfer’s direction.
In surfing, there was a general rule: one surfer per wave. To snake on someone else’s wave was a taboo of the highest order, not to mention extremely dangerous. Sure enough, the two surfers nearly collided, and one of them got knocked off his board into the water.
Hinako gasped, and all the blood drained from her face. Maybe the wipeout reminded her of the accident… Either way, she was clearly in no condition to surf, so Minato decided they should rest on a nearby bench instead.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, slumping her shoulders.
“If anyone should apologize, it’s me. I should have taken your feelings into account before I made that stupid request,” Minato replied as he sat beside her, gazing at her with concern.
“When I was little, I used to live around here…” she began slowly. “Back then, surfing came second nature to me. But right now I don’t even know how to paddle, literally or figuratively…” She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands.
When Minato first saw Hinako surfing from the roof of the fire station, he had half-wondered if the water was supporting her of its own free will, like it had a mind of its own. She used to be confident and fearless. But now she was utterly defeated.
Don’t give up.
Minato started to reach out to her…but his hand balled into a fist. With his stubby little porpoise fins, he couldn’t even put an arm around her shoulders.
“If you think about it, the ocean is pretty powerful,” he said. “Even the smallest waves are still strong enough to travel all the way to the shore. I know it might be a little overwhelming for you right now, but these waves will pass—me included. You’ve just gotta get out there and wait for the next one.”
Hinako looked up sharply. “Don’t talk about yourself like that! All I need is you! I’ll stay with you my whole life!”
You can’t, Hinako. You have to move on…before I run out of time. Minato said, “I’ll support you until you can ride the waves on your own again. I love you, and I want you to succeed.”
He tossed up a shaka and gave it a shake. But Hinako frowned sadly and didn’t return the gesture.
Minato floated inside a column of water rising up from Hinako’s bathtub all the way to the ceiling. She approached, wearing a yellow bikini. Then she placed both hands on the wall of water and slowly stepped in.
He was the one who had initially suggested this. Sure, maybe they couldn’t ride the waves together, but they could still swim together.
In the water, nothing could keep them apart. They drew close as if magnetized to each other…but the moment they made contact, he burst into bubbles and reformed.
Together, they swam around for as long as Hinako could hold her breath.
He wanted to kiss her. To touch her. Impassioned, he leaned against her lips, but swiftly burst into bubbles once more. In bubble form, he drifted along her arms, legs, torso…
“When I’m in the water, it feels like I’m wrapped up in your arms.” Hinako closed her eyes and relaxed like she was finally at peace.