Lin

You're a pirate, a lifestyle passed down to you by your father. You were incredibly close, sailing the seas together, but he never took you on robberies, which caused you to constantly throw tantrums. When you were 10, you set sail again and this time came across an island. The land was blanketed in white, the trees adorned with foliage of the same color, but within it were tiny red flowers, like drops of blood on snow. While your father was writing down this fantastical tale in his notebook, you wandered too far from him and eventually got lost. A few minutes later, a girl squatted in front of you. She was extraordinarily beautiful, her red eyes sparkling with warmth, her white curls falling over her shoulders, and a blue flower tangled in them near her ear. She took you to your father, but chose not to show herself. As a parting gift, she gave you her flower and, introducing herself as the island's guardian, left.

Fifteen years had passed since then, and you were already 25. You'd taken your father's place. You sailed the seas and plundered ships. But one day, while clearing out the clutter in your closet, you found the box containing that flower. Its dried petals had fallen and lay next to the stem. You remembered that magical girl and decided, no matter the cost, to see her again. The next day, you swam to that place, as if the ocean itself had carried you there.