Endless Summer

Investigation

Marianna holds her breath and hides in an alley close to home. "Mom wasn't home when I got back, she must have gone out after I left. I didn't find the package mom handed me at the last moment. Did she take it with her when she went out?" Hearing the front door open and close, Marianna immediately lifts her head. Her mother had exited the house. "Let's follow her and see."

Marianna hides behind a tree, watching her mother. There was a man in a suit talking to Nori, inside of a cafe. "I'm really sorry for asking you to cover a shift on your day off."

"It's okay. I don't have much to do at home anyway." Nori responded with crossed arms.

"Can you take my order?" A customer asked.

"Coming! Boss, I need to go deal with the customers." The manager nods, and Nori takes some menus to the guests.

A few hours pass. Customers come and go in the small cafe. Nori rubs her waist and wipes fine beads of sweat from her forehead.

'She's clearly so tired, yet she's still pushing herself, all for me.' Marianna thinks as she watches.

"Nori, you worked hard today. You can leave early." The manager said, but Nori retorted by saying, "There are still a few tables left."

"I'll take care of them. I remember your daughter is about to start a new school term, you must be really tired. Go home and spend some time with your daughter."

Nori nods gratefully, her gaze fixed on the dessert counter. "Boss, I'll buy a box of the egg yolk pastries."

"No problem, just take it."

"I can't accept that..."

The manager hands the egg yolk pastry to Nori with a smile. "In these two months, you've helped the store so much, and your method for taking the bitterness out of vegetables has made our salads a signature dish! I haven't even had a chance to thank you properly."

"Boss, you're too kind."

'Mom always remembered what I like and dislike...' Marianna thinks to herself, guilt washing over her.

After packing the egg yolk pastries, Nori glances at her watch and hurries off.

'Huh? This isn't the way home, is it?'

At 5 p.m., Nori arrives at the ticket counter.

'The ticket counter? What is mom doing here?'

"Hello, do you still have tickets for ??/?? To Ha***?"

'She's too far away, I can't hear.'

"Yes, we do. How many do you need?" The ticket seller asked.

"Just one."

"That'll be 1000 E-Coins."

Nori nervously takes out her wallet, counts a few scattered banknotes several times, and hands them to the ticket seller.

"Here's your ticket, keep it safe." The ticket seller hands Nori a single ticket.

"Thanks."

'It looks like it's a ferry ticket... could it be?'

At 7 p.m., Marianna follows her mother to the night market. The sea breeze is refreshing and comfortable, the tourists in the market are chatting and laughing.

"There's a fireworks show tonight, do you want to watch?" One tourist asks another.

"Of course! Let's find a good spot before it gets crowded." The second tourist replies.

Nori seems out of place here, her gaze sweeping over the stalls, as if she's looking for something.

"Excuse me, it's so crowded... could you let me through, please?" Pushing through the crowded market, Marianna finally spots her mother at a small stall.

"Take a look, folks! We have all kinds of rarities from all over the world!" The stall owner exclaims in a dramatic voice. His eyes fall on Nori, who seems curious about the stall. "What would you like, Miss? This necklace of unmelting ice crystal would look great on you! It's said to enhance the bond between husband and wife. This gem-studded Debia watchband is nice too. The gems have the power to bring wealth! How about it? Buy both and I'll give you a 20% discount."

"I'll keep looking."

"Alright, let me show you a few more."

Several minutes later, and Nori was still at the stall with the eccentric stall owner. "Mom has been at that stall for a long time. What does she want to buy, anyway?" Marianna mumbles to herself.

The stall owner takes out a red string with a small, simple ring attached to it. "How about this? It's a peace charm from Tangton. Might look plain, but it can protect the wearer from harm."

"A peace charm?" Nori questions.

"That's right. The peace charm is a traditional piece of craftsmanship from Tangton. Like the name suggests, it wards off evil, protects against disasters, ensures safety wherever you go."

Hearing this, Nori's eyes light up. "I'll take it."

"No problem, let me wrap it up for you."

"Can you wrap these as well, please?"

Money changes hands and the stall owner wraps the purchases skillfully. The shape of the package catches Marianna's attention. "That package is what mom wanted to give me! So that's it, mom had already planned everything, but I..." Marianna recalls the arguments with her mother morning after morning, and looks down remorsefully. Then a black cat, meowing, walks past her. The same black cat as before. "Why are you always here? What happened to that girl?" Marianna picks up the black cat, and sure enough, the strange girl appears in front of her in her mysterious way.

"There's not much time left. Are you ready?"

"I... What if I fail again...?"

With this said, the strange girl turns and leaves. More and more people start heading towards the square. The fireworks show is about to begin. "Wait!" Marianna tries to grab the strange girl, but she disappears. A warm, familiar, yet somewhat calloused hand grips Marianna's hand. She looks up and sees her mother. "Mari, why are you here? You came here late at night without telling me?"

"Mom... I heard there's a fireworks show at the market tonight. Let's go watch the fireworks together, okay?"

"You came to the market to find me just for this?" Nori was going to scold her daughter some more, but seeing her teary eyes, she just nods. "It's been a while since we've watched a summer fireworks show. Where should we watch from?"

"Let's go to the place we always watched from."