The Last Star

Luna managed to return before Avi woke up, and soon could see her yawning, wiping her eyes, and noticing the souvenirs now resting on the table.

“Ooo... oh. Did you already search for shells?” - Avi uttered. - “You could've woken me up!”

“I couldn't bring myself to.” - Luna replied. - “You were so cute when you snored.”

“Ee... I've snored?” - Avi said and looked around, checking if people around here were aware of that. Blushing, she complained quietly. - “All the more reason you should have woken me up!”

“Now, now...” - Luna waved it off. - “Don't be angry.” - She turned to her side, to have Avi directly in her view. - “The sun had already risen quite high, and the water should be warm and pleasant... do you want to go for a swim?”

“Let me stretch and drink, and we can go.” - Avi replied.

“There's a spring with mineral water here.” - Luna mentioned. - “If you're interested.”

“Oo... where!?” - Avi asked as she got up.

“Right behind the waterfall to our left, there is a recess in the rock.” - Luna informed.

Smiling, Avi encouraged Luna to come with her by taking her hand, and soon both girls were making their way across the white beach, enjoying the warm sand and the water that gently brushed against their feet.

“You know what it reminds me of?” - Avi uttered with nostalgia. - “The old days, when I walked by the seaside with my parents. I had no reason to worry back then, and all the days were filled with imagined adventures and uncovering the secrets of our small island.”

“You always had an explorer's soul.” - Luna commented. - “Your dad told me about it.”

“Ohh, what exactly did he tell you?” - Avi asked curiously.

“Among other things, about how you sailed around the entire island with them for several days to outline the map.” - Luna said. - “And well, he had mentioned you were very diligent.”

Avi giggled. - “I remember this! I was adamant that we can't start our treasure hunt without a pirate map!”

Luna smiled with a hint of sadness. - “When you were so young and already so ambitious, I was still studying optimizing algorithms.”

Avi moved closer to Luna, almost snuggling with her. - “I know. They took your childhood away, but we'll make up for it.”

“Don't understand me wrong.” - Luna continued. - “I wasn't suffering. I liked it and that's what I was created for. Only when I look at it in hindsight...”

“You weren't allowed to be human.” - Avi said. - “For four hundred years, you were like frozen in time.”

“Perhaps...” - Luna uttered. - “...but if it didn't happen, I don't know who I would be, what I would do, and if I've ever met you. If I spent those four hundred years among people, would my heart still be waiting for you? Despite the bad memories, I prefer life as it is right now.”

“Luna.” - Avi spoke. - “I know that we can't turn back time, but even if you've made different choices, then I know we would still find each other, because we were born under the same star.”

“It's quite a romantic concept.” - Luna commented.

“It's the truth! I believe that every sentient being has someone they're connected with, and that bond transcends every distance, or even the reason.” - Avi added.

Luna giggled. - “That's a unique hypothesis, but it contradicts statistics related to biological lifeforms' habits related to forming pairs.”

Avi quickly understood what it was about. - “The world is created in such a way that we don't have to spend eternity looking for our soulmates.” - She said, serious and confident. - “Otherwise, it would be too cruel.”

“I'm not denying it! I'm not!” - Luna replied, still laughing lightly. - “I must say, I even like your hypothesis. I want to prove it one day.”

Avi pouted. - “You don't get it! It can't be proved! It's just how it is!”

“Oh, iiiiiiiis it? Will you say that again once I discover the equation behind love?” - Luna teased.

“You won't do it! It's impossible!” - Avi protested.

“Sounds like a challenge.” - Luna replied with a confident expression.

Both girls continued their friendly argument for some time, at least until they arrived at the waterfall. Avi moved their two glasses and filled them with crystal clear, refreshing water that spurted out of the rock, then sat on the edge of the pond to drink.

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[ ..brrr! It's so cold! ] - Eva commented.

“O! Hi, Eva!” - Avi replied immediately. - “You had been quiet lately.”

[ Did I oversleep and miss something fun? ] - Eva asked.

“Mostly, no.” - Avi answered. - “You woke up just in time for swimming.”

[ Swimming! ] - Eva exclaimed enthusiastically.

Avi stretched her back and arms. - “Okay! I won't keep you waiting!” - She got up, shouting. - “We're racing to the water! Three, two, one, GO!” - She then darted back to the beach, leaving her empty glass next to the pond.

“Hey!” - Luna called and put her half-empty glass away, then flashed to catch up to Avi. Taking her by surprise, she grabbed her from behind and carried her in her arms.

Avi, with a high-pitched squeak, could only wait for the inevitable. Luna leaped far. There was a splash, and both girls landed in the water. Avi, her hair already wet, emerged from the water, beaming with laughter.

“Cheater!” - Luna uttered, happy.

Avi kept laughing and swam slightly away from Luna, who followed and observed her swimming technique.

“Where are you escaping to?” - Luna asked when she noticed Avi was increasing her speed.

She couldn't catch up because Avi quickly disappeared underwater. Luna could figure out what it was about, but she didn't prepare any counterattack. When Avi jumped out of the water, behind her, she began tickling Luna, who let her enjoy that small victory and laughed heartily.

Finally, Luna managed to free herself and splashed some water in Avi's direction, who, still smiling, splashed back. It didn't take long because Avi quickly noticed Charlotte and Nicolas peacefully floating in the water.

Avi had a mischievous smile on her face. - “Luna! It's time for 'Shark attack'!”

[ Shark attack? ] - Eva asked curiously.

“You'll see, Eva. My dad will be my target, my mom is yours.” - Avi suggested to Luna.

“You're full of nothing but silly ideas...” - Luna said. - “...but fine, let's do it.”

Avi held her breath and dove underwater, and Luna followed. Charlotte and Nicolas weren't aware of the girls' presence at all. When Avi shot out of the water, right in the middle of them, she roared like a tiger. - “Rawr! Shark attack!” - Then she began splashing the water with her arms, sending droplets everywhere.

Luna silently emerged from the water next to Charlotte. This kind of behavior was bizarre to her, but it had its charm. - “Was she always like this?” - She asked.

Nicolas laughed wholeheartedly, and Charlotte had a nostalgic smile. - “It happened often, too often. She was a torment to be with.”

“Why are you floating there like deadwood!!?” - Avi exclaimed. - “Are the old folks running out of energy?”

“Stop fooling around.” - Nicolas lectured with a smile.

“A little exercise! How about passing the ball around? Just like we used to!” - Avi encouraged.

Nicolas looked at Charlotte, who said. - “Sounds like fun.”

Luna telekinetically pulled the ball out of their bag, then asked. - “What's it about? Are we making teams, or are there any rules?”

“Oh. Luna, don't be such a stick in the mud.” - Avi swam closer to her and took the ball. - “We just form a circle and toss the ball into the air, and the person opposite tries to catch it and pass it on.”

“Ah.” - Luna uttered. - “That's quite simple, I get it.”

Avi swam far enough to make the activity at least somewhat difficult and tossed the ball to Charlotte to display what the game was about. Charlotte then passed it to Luna, so she could figure out the game...

---

The noon quickly came, and the sun was high in the sky, warming almost the entirety of the hidden beach now. Avi was drinking some lemonade in the shadow of their umbrella and checking out the most popular music albums, while her parents were watching a historical documentary. Luna was lying on a blanket, a bit farther away, and enjoying the sun's light.

“Lasha!” - Avi heard a tiny little voice. She lifted her sunglasses to see who it was and noticed a small kid with blue skin covered in yellow rings. It was looking at their beg, and behind him were a few of his friends.

“Lasha.” - Avi replied.

“Can we borrow your ball?” - The kid asked.

“Oh. Sure!” - Avi said as she put away her tablet and headphones. She scrambled out of her sunbed, then gave the toy to the boy.

Smiling, the boy thanked her and left, disappearing on the other side of the beach. Avi wanted to get back to listening to music, but due to this small interruption, she had just realized it was already noon. Latest content publıshed on N()velFire.net

“What!? Has so much time already passed!?” - She announced.

Nicolas grabbed his hotel tablet and checked the time. - “Well, there's lunch in two hours.”

“...but we weren't scuba-diving yet!” - Avi reminded.

“We can do it tomorrow.” - Luna added as she shifted her body to lie on her back.

Avi lowered her eyes, disappointed. - “I don't want to wait...”

“We can always stay.” - Luna suggested. - “If we plan accordingly, we'll have time for the evening events.”

Avi began to think, but she had a sour expression.

“You can't be in two places at the same time.” - Charlotte added, lecturing. She knew well that Avi was in a bad mood because of her impatience.

“Aghhh!” - Avi grumbled. - “Fine, fine! First, the main beach, then diving... without any catching up on sleep! We are coming back here in the morning, when nobody is here!”

Luna rolled her eyes. - “Knowing how things go, we'll probably have to wait for you... especially if the party drags on into the night.”

“I'll set up my alarm clock.” - Avi declared. - “I won't resign. There's no chance.”

“You can always wait two days.” - Nicolas replied. - “Really, you don't need to be in such a hurry. There is time. Relax and rest.”

“No, no, no!” - Avi protested, then got up. - “I have already rested enough! Luna, you probably too.”

“I'm fine.” - Luna denied. - “The sun is in an ideal spot.”

“Traitor!” - Avi replied, disgruntled.

“Nobody is keeping you here.” - Luna stated calmly. - “If you're bored, go look for shells or something.”

“Right, after you snatched all the best ones right from under my nose!” - Avi complained.

“Who knows, maybe the water has washed something new ashore.” - Luna added, not caring.

“Fine! If you want to waste your time and cultivate bedsores, then I'm not bothering you!” - Avi exclaimed with bitterness, took her straw hat and left, heading to the shadows of the beach behind them..