The Tale of Eria

Reunited

When I awoke, the sun was setting. I quickly shot up from my slumber and scanned my surroundings for any potential signs of danger. Nothing. I quickly stood up, brushed the sand off of me, and started to walk alongside the shore, looking for an entrance into the town. Maybe there would be someone who would help me. As I was walking, I spotted a cobblestone path. I started to run towards it and followed it into the town.

Why does this place look so familiar? I thought as I looked around the town. Dozens of small, circular seafoam colored shops decorated the grey cobblestone streets of the town. From the lamps, long strands of seaweed hung from the oval glass making them look as if they were taken straight from the ocean. The roofs of the shops were made of various white shells melted into tanned bricks that were compiled high into a dome shape. I entered the nearest shop and quickly looked around for supplies. But when I looked inside, expecting a grocery store it turned out to be a sea taffy shop. The smell of sweet and salty taffy filled my nose as I entered the shop and looked around. I smiled as I looked along with the brown woven baskets to the right of me that held various colored taffy. They had flavors like the original white color and crazy colors like yellow and pink. I remembered in my old village I liked the pink flavored ones the best. It tasted just like strawberries.

"You're more than welcome to try a taffy free of charge," A soft feminine voice said behind me. I turned around to see a water genasi gesturing to the glass of pink taffy I was looking at. She had dark green hair that barely reached her shoulders which complimented her teal skin. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of dark blue, that looked as if they were from the ocean. She also had gills like mine.

"Oh um, thank you!" I said as I took a small piece and bit into it. The taste of fresh strawberries filled my mouth as I swallowed it quickly. It reminded me of summertime when I would go out with my ex and hang out at the strawberry field.

"Is that your favorite flavor?"

"Yeah, when I was a teenager I would go to a shop like this every Friday and get a whole bag of pink taffy,"

"Sounds like a fond memory. I'm glad I could bring it back to you," I smiled as I turned back to the basket. It looked as if there were an endless void of taffy in the basket.

"Yeah, it felt just like home,"

"Which village were you from?"

"The water village,"

"Well, welcome home," I turned to the water genasi and looked at her surprised.

"This is the water village?"

"Yeah! I'm surprised you didn't recognize it,"

"It's been a while since I've been here," I said smiling. Tears filled my eyes and I quickly wiped a loose one away.

"Well, welcome back once again," the water genasi said as she bowed to me, a sign of respect. I smiled as I bowed back.

"Thank you for helping me," I said as I turned around and started walking towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" The water genasi asked. I turned around and looked at her.

"I'm just gonna find an old friend of mine," I said as I exited the glass door. I quickly turned around and scanned the area for a street sign of some sort. I needed to find my master so I could talk to them. My eyes scanned the rustic cobblestone streets until they finally landed on a wooden pole. I ran up to it and read the small writing engraved on it.

"Shelly street. Wait! That's right next to their street, ocean lane!" I exclaimed as I ran south of the sign. I entered an identical street that had the same types of shops. I looked up to see that the sun had fully set, and it was now nighttime. The lanterns illuminated the street and I quickly took the opportunity to run along the lit streets of the town. Dodging people in my way, I continued to try and run to the same house I had abandoned that fateful night. I scanned my left to see identical circular buildings similar to the taffy shop I had just visited. I looked to my right to see small rectangular dark green colored houses. That's where families and couples resided. I shook my head as I continued to run towards the house. Then, I spotted it. It looked just like the ones that I had run past, but instead, it was smaller. And instead of the normal seashell-covered bricks, teal green stained glass created a dome around the ceiling. I quickly ran up to the rectangular black door and knocked. I stepped back and looked at the door smiling. This was my master's house, I needed to see her again. Moments later after standing in front of her house in silence, the door finally opened. I smiled as I saw her, my master. Her hair was now a light shade of green, a sign that she was growing old. She still had the same dark teal skin that was adorned with freckles as well as the same emerald green eyes. She was wearing a long blue robe and had her light green hair up in a messy bun which showed off her gills.