Stepping out of the room, the corridor carpet swallowed all our footsteps. I walked half a step ahead of her.
She fell half a step behind, glancing down at her own hem. The dusty pink dress fluttered as she walked, like a flower stirred by the wind.
"This girl wants to see the sea." Tsukago lifted her head.
I didn't turn around, only quickened my pace a little.
The glass corridor was on the seventh deck. The curved glass curtain wall swept from ceiling to floor, framing the sea like an enormous oil painting.
The glass wall became a giant mirror.
My face and Tsukago's floated side by side on that transparent plane. Our reflections tangled in the glass, like two colors of ink dropped into clear water at the same moment, their edges blurring, seeping into each other.
In the mirror, our skin held no pores—like glazed porcelain. Tsukago's skin was a shade warmer than mine, equally smooth, without fuzz or texture.
It was as if these faces had been born to be flooded with light.
Tsukago tilted her head to look at me. Her reflection did the same, perfectly synchronized, like someone on the other side of the glass was controlling an identical double.
"Sister, look." She pressed her face close to the glass. The mist of her breath fogged a small circle on the surface.
I stretched out a hand and brushed a fingertip across the porthole glass.
In the mirror, our nails nearly touched, separated only by the thickness of the glass. Beyond our reflections, the sea stretched out, endless layers of gray and blue. The horizon was a thin silver thread, trembling gently with the ship's sway.
My fingertip brushed the silver ear thread on my earlobe. A translucent floating interface projected out. The livestream camera automatically trained itself on me and the sea.
"Morning, darlings." My voice came out soft and tingling, like the first sip of warm water upon waking.
She turned the camera toward the window and panned it slowly. A seagull flew past the lens, its wing practically grazing the glass.
"It can't come in, see." She turned the camera back on herself and tilted her head. "This girl here is wearing a dusty pink dress today. This dress looks so nice in this light."
[chat] The light today is just unreal 👏
[chat] Beauty is sparkling today ✨
[chat] That dress in this light looks so ethereal ✨
Another flying fish leapt from the sea. Its silver-white body flipped mid-air before splashing back down, the tiny splash swallowed by a wave.
Tsukago stared at the spot where the fish disappeared, then turned to look at me.
"Sister, did you see that? A flying fish."
"It jumped high, silver-white. You want to jump too?"
"This girl wants to see the sea."
"The sea is right outside the window. That cargo ship is riding low in the water. Like that young mother—calm on the surface, carrying something heavy underneath."
A seagull cried outside the window. Tsukago leaned against the railing, gazing at the distant silhouette of the cargo ship.
I walked over and stood beside her. The two of us just leaned there, watching the sea. The sea breeze gusted through the porthole, carrying a salty, damp tang.
The seagull was still perched on the railing, tilting its head. The mist on the glass wall had cleared, and the reflection grew sharp again.
"If you're cold, lean closer."
She shifted half a step toward me. Her shoulder pressed against my arm, her warmth seeping through the fabric of our dresses.
With her free hand, she pinched the edge of her skirt and spun in a circle. The hem flared as she turned, catching the light.
I steadied her. "Spun too fast, a little dizzy."
"Serves you right for spinning that fast."
"This girl here just wanted to let the darlings see clearly."
"They saw clearly. The dress is very pretty."
She lifted her head.
[chat] This pink is so pretty ❤️
[chat] Daughter's twirl is so sweet 💕
[chat] That little mark on her forehead is adorable 😆
"You stepped on my skirt when you were spinning."
She looked down. My ink-black skirt did indeed have a shallow crease where she'd stepped on it. She quickly lifted her foot and reached out to smooth it. I took half a step to the side.
"It's fine. I'll just iron it when we get back."
She turned the camera toward me.
"Sister, say hi to everyone."
I glanced at the camera. "Morning, darlings."
[chat] Wifey is so cool ❄️
[chat] Morning, daughter
[chat] I love this contrast 😆
[chat] Wifey is stunning 👏
A seagull landed on the stainless steel railing outside the window, tilting its head at the camera. Tsukago moved her phone closer to the glass. It didn't fly away; instead, it hopped a step closer.
"You want to come in?"
The seagull tilted its head. Its bean-black eye stared into the lens.
"It doesn't understand."
"What if it does?"
"Even if it understands, it won't answer you."
——That seagull still hasn't flown off. What's it waiting for?
But I said nothing, just took the phone from her hand and kept it aimed at the sea.
She walked toward the girl. Her high heels clicked softly on the glass floor. She crouched down beside her, bringing her gaze level with the girl's.
"What are you looking at?"
The girl didn't turn her head, her eyes fixed on the sea. "Waiting for a flying fish."
"A flying fish?"
"Mm. Mom said flying fish can fly, with shiny wings."
She too looked out at the sea. The water was glittering. No flying fish.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"I don't know."
The girl finally turned her head to look at her.
"Are you here alone?"
"My mom's over there." The girl waved a hand vaguely behind her.
I didn't see anyone. My camera was still aimed at the sea, but I tilted the audio pickup slightly in their direction.
A sudden flash of silver-white leaped from the sea. A fish burst from the water, its thin fins spread like wings, skimming just above the surface for over a dozen meters before dropping back in.
"A flying fish!" the girl shouted, her voice full of a clean, bright surprise.
She turned to look at Tsukago, then at the empty corridor behind her.
"Where's Mom." She said it softly. Not asking anyone, just asking herself.
Tsukago reached out and stroked her hair. "Mom will be right here. This girl here will wait with you."
The girl didn't pull away, but she didn't say anything either, just turned back to the sea. My camera shifted from the sea toward the corridor.
A young woman came running over. A light blue dress, a dark stain on the hem—coffee, the fresh kind. A bag was looped over her wrist, the handles digging red marks into her skin. She was panting, and when she reached the girl she bent over, bracing her hands on her knees.
I'd seen her on the corridor the first day. That coffee stain wasn't from today.
"Xiaoyu, Mom told you not to wander off." Her tone wasn't harsh, but her voice was shaking.
The girl said nothing, just reached out and grabbed the hem of her mother's dress.
The young woman looked at Tsukago. "Thank you, little miss. She disappears the second you turn around."
Tsukago shook her head. "It's okay. Xiaoyu was very good, just waiting for the flying fish."
"You saw it?" The young woman looked down at her daughter.
"I saw it! Shiny wings!" The girl's voice was back.
The young woman smiled briefly and reached out to tuck her daughter's wind-blown hair behind her ear.
"Are you still rushing to that interview?"
She froze for a second, then unconsciously pushed the bag higher up her arm. "Yeah, the sky's still early. There's time."
Tsukago pulled a small, delicate bottle from her light pink bag. She unscrewed the cap and pretended to freshen her perfume, but her thumb pressed a different nozzle. An icy mist with a minty scent sprayed straight into the young woman's face. She squeezed her eyes shut, stumbling back half a step.
"Ah, this perfume is new, this girl here pressed the wrong thing. Refreshing, isn't it? Are you wide awake now? The mint smells nice, right?"
The young woman wiped her face with the back of her hand. The corner of her mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
"Your perfume, it's pretty strong stuff."
"You're bringing her up alone?"
"Her dad works out of town." The young woman tightened her grip on her daughter's hand. "I'm used to it. Eventually, the body just knows." Her tone was flat, like she was talking about the weather.
"We should go." She took her daughter's hand.
The girl was pulled along a couple of steps, then suddenly looked back and waved at Tsukago. Tsukago waved back. I handed her phone back to her; the camera was still recording.
They disappeared around the corner of the corridor. The hem of the young woman's dress swayed as she turned, the coffee stain looking very dark in the light.
[chat] Daughter is so gentle 😭
[chat] That little girl is so cute ❤️
[chat] Hope she stays happy
[chat] Mom's working so hard 🙏
Tsukago turned the camera back on herself. "I hope Xiaoyu always has someone with her when she watches the sea."
I stood beside her in silence. I glanced down at my own skirt. The crease she'd made earlier had already been smoothed out.
A voice came from nearby. "What are you two?"
A foreign woman tourist had edged closer with her phone, the screen showing a livestream interface, the camera pointed at us.
I glanced at her. "Fashion bloggers."
She nodded, gave our dresses another look, and walked off smiling.
I didn't watch her go. My eyes were fixed on the curved glass wall at the end of the corridor.