As the sun once again chased away the dark of night, Anima and his family set out, climbing a gentle slope under the bright sun on their way to the port town. The girls had conquered a mountain a couple days before, so the shallow incline gave them no trouble. Still, even the smallest of slopes was not to be underestimated. Given enough time, they would tire a person out, so Anima began looking around for a suitable place for them all to take a break.
“Is the port somewhere on this hill?” Myuke asked.
“No. It’s on the other side, at the bottom.”
“So we have to get all the way to the top, huh?”
“Do you want to take a break?” Anima offered, but Myuke shook her head.
“I’m fine; this is nothing!”
“Impressive, Myuke.”
“Me too! I can keep cimbin’ too!”
“You’re very impressive as well, Marie. If only I could be as strong as you girls, but Daddy’s getting tired. Can we rest for a bit?”
“Daddy, no rest! Seeping on the hill’s bad! You roll!”
He wanted to tell Marie that she was right, but letting the girls stop for a breather was more important. Their desire to see the port as soon as possible drove them onward, but they were clearly running out of stamina. They all took a break under the shade of a roadside tree, then got up and resumed their climb, which transformed into a descent soon after. At the end of the road, hidden by a luxuriant thicket of trees lay their goal, the port town.
“We’re almost there! Let’s go!”
“Lessgo!”
Anima and Luina took the lead, the girls encouraging them from behind. They continued their journey, arriving at the port town just as the sun reached its highest point in the sky.
“We’re here!”
“Yaaaaay!”
They passed through the town’s wooden gate and immediately squinted their eyes in response to the blinding light that greeted them. The white buildings surrounding them reflected the strong sunlight, making the whole town feel bright and bustling. The busy voices coming from the surrounding stalls and the salty air enticed the girls; they were ready to explore the port until they were completely exhausted.
“What are they selling there?”
“Whassat ’mell?”
“Oh, yeah! What’s this weird smell?”
“It’s the salt water,” Luina explained. “You can tell that you’re close to the sea by the smell of salt in the air.”
“We’re at the sea! C’mon, let’s go! I wanna see it!”
“Me too! Me too!”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Why don’t we go to the overlook I know? Follow me!” Luina nonchalantly took the lead. She was excited to reexperience the beautiful view she had enjoyed with her family as a child.
Her excitement was contagious. Anima and the girls followed Luina down the cobblestone road that cut through the town. In only a couple of minutes, they reached the outskirts, where the tightly packed buildings were replaced by peaceful, detached houses, and the busy stalls were nothing but a quiet backdrop to the serene atmosphere. Not long after that, they arrived at a large cliff, towering above the rest of the area and overlooking the sea.
“Let’s head up!”
A flight of stairs led up to the promontory. Anima brought up the rear to protect the girls from falling if they happened to slip. There was a handrail they could hold on to, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
The top was covered in a thin layer of green weeds, and there was a wooden fence around its edge. What drew Anima’s attention, however, was the white structure in front of him. It was a tall tower, standing proudly atop the promontory like a knife stabbed into a cake.
“Tall! What’s it?”
“It’s a lighthouse.”
“Whassa lihhouse?”
“When night falls and it gets really, really dark, ships out on the sea can easily get lost. They light the lights on the top of this tower to help ships find their way.”
“Thank you, lihhouse!” Marie thanked the lighthouse while Myuke looked at it in amazement.
“D’you think we can climb this?”
“It’s open to the public during the day,” Luina said with a chuckle. “The special spot I mentioned is at the top.”
“Yaaay! We’ll see so far out into the sea from up there!”
“I’ll see the sea!”
Myuke and Marie were all too excited.
The lighthouse doors opened, welcoming them inside. The girls immediately started climbing the spiral staircase that led to the gallery, and Anima and Luina followed behind them. While the climb was tiring, the view from up there was sure to reinvigorate them.
The space got narrower and the steps got smaller as they got higher up. One wrong step and they could easily have found themselves tumbling down to the base of the lighthouse. It was especially difficult to climb for adults, but the girls’ small feet easily conquered the stairs; they briskly made their way up to the top.
“Wooow!”
“So pitty!”
Their shouts upon reaching the gallery echoed through the lighthouse. Arriving moments after them, Anima instinctively squinted his eyes due to the bright sunlight. His eyes tickled by the salty breeze, he slowly opened them.
“This is... incredible.”
The wonderful scenery enraptured him. The azure sea panned out as far as he could see, melting together with the horizon to blend the sky and sea. Below him, light waves licked the rocks. The white bubbles swimming with the tide could very well have passed for fluffy clouds.
“Look, Marie! We’re at the sea!”
“Bue and pitty! Like the ’ky!”
Marie pressed her face against the iron guardrail encircling the gallery with a genuine, awe-filled smile.
“Right?! I thought the same thing! I figured it’d be all see-through, but it’s so blue!”
“It’s blue because it reflects the color of the sky. It actually turns red during sunset.”
“I love red!”
“Me too! I so want to see that! Say, when’s the ferry leaving?”
“I think Shaer said right after lunchtime, didn’t she?” Luina asked. “But don’t worry, you’ll have a perfect view of the sea from the ferry. No matter when we depart, you’ll get to see the sunset paint it red.”
Myuke’s smile grew even bigger.
“Where are all the ships?”
“The harbor is on the other side of the town.”
Luina pointed across the port town, which was shaped like a boomerang. The pier they wanted, stretching into the sea, was abuzz with people loading cargo into a big ferry. Other piers were crowded with smaller fishing boats, but reaching the capital in one of those was sure to be difficult, if not impossible, so they were going to ride the ferry.
“I can’t wait to set sail,” Anima said. “I hope the ride will be nice.”
“Same! But I’m kinda nervous... I heard boats sway a lot.”
“Don’t worry,” Luina assured Myuke to calm her down. “It’s true that small boats sway quite a bit, but bigger ships like the one we’ll be on are fairly stable. The ship I rode when I was little didn’t sway at all.”
“Ah! Look! Look! There!”
Marie’s voice filled the lighthouse. She had made her way to the other side of the gallery, and though the guardrail surrounded the entire platform, it could have been disastrous if she were to start climbing it, so Anima rushed over to prevent that. Before he could get there, though, she pressed her face up against the fence in a daze of pure wonder.
With a sigh of relief, he followed Marie’s gaze. A vast, emerald-green field surrounded by a wooden fence stretched out before him. Within that field, a number of long, black shadows caught his attention. They were rather far away, so he couldn’t say for certain, but the shadows were probably being cast by the cattle inhabiting the field. In other words, Marie was most likely entranced by the meek-looking cows.
“Whassat?”
“Cows,” Luina told her. “The owners of the ranch treated us to a cup of delicious, fresh milk the last time I was here.”
“You getted milk?”
“Yes. It was really sweet and warm.”
The girls gulped in unison, which set the gears in Anima’s head in motion. He began thinking of how he could quench their thirst for new experiences.
“Where are you going next?”
“Eep!”
“I-I’m terribly sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you!”
Shaer had suddenly floated up on the other side of the fence, only to be greeted by Myuke’s short yelp. She had been accidentally startling Myuke ever since they’d arrived at Barjyo—Myuke would jump, and Shaer would apologize profusely.
“‘S-Startle’?! Who’s startled?! I’m perfectly calm!”
She was obviously feigning composure, but Shaer believed what she said and let out a sigh of relief.
“So, what is your next destination?”
“The rash! I’m, I’m gonna dink lossa milk!”
“I understand.” Her words put a warm smile on Shaer’s face. “A trip to the ranch should fit into our schedule.”
“Are we departing soon?”
Shaer nodded in response to Anima’s question.
“The cargo has been loaded into the ferry, and boarding for the general public will begin shortly. I’ll inform you when it’s time to board, so please, enjoy your remaining time in this town.”
“We will. Thank you.”
After expressing their gratitude to Shaer, Anima and his family descended the lighthouse and made their way to the ranch.