Rusałka Mami travels: Adventures of Tomomi Ogawa and the Odd Water Nymph.

Chapter 12

  Written by Crystal, edited by Crystal & myszkin 

-Tomo speaks-

Might I say I forgot to consider Mami was a slightly different kind of tourist of this country. Most people want to see the famous sights and scenes because that's what being a tourist is about right? Well part of it.

Except she asks all sorts of questions including the absurd ones that four year olds ask and parents don't know the answer to. So I made her great pals with my iPhone' Siri. But that's hardly the end of it. After marking out all the historical sites and museums around town on a old fashion foldable map and blackmailing me into joining a ghost tour, Mami was the happiest rusalka I had seen. And mind you, she was avidly great at planning which took off the burden off me. Plus kind of unexpected of a water spirit that lazed her days in and around the lake for the last x number of decades. She had been telling me where she wanted to go and what busses and trains to take, well credits to Google and self motivation. I asked how she was capable of all this I got the usual response of 'I can be what I want to be when I want to be.' Followed Mami's mouthful of sugar powdered donut and jam. The way she savoured them reminded me of that pawn shop owner in Ostroda. I couldn't help but shudder.

Mami brought the treasured map with her everywhere we went. And she'd make people circle places of interest on the map.

"Hm Tomomi." Mami said as she laid her colossal map on my bedroom floor.

"Yeah?"

"I really want to go Shark Island tomorrow."

"But we have to meet Haruna."

Oh, yeah and about Haruna, what a small world, she's the daughter of a family friend's friend. Which I met yesterday evening at a family gathering, Aunty Matsuko's party queen friend's birthday. She was also visiting a 'friend' in Ostroda but didn't say who...

But that aside she said she was willing to hang out with us for a couple of days in the coming week.

Mami sighed. "I didn't come here to do meet and greet humans." She said as sassily flicked the page of the book she was reading. She really knew how to get on my nerve.

"Well one minute, you were more than excited to meet her and now you're all over it. How?"

"I changed my mind. Water is flexible you know. And I'm just that."

"No, you know what you are, hard to put up with."

And there was the other thing that was indispensable to Mami, some second book on the Aboriginal Dreaming stories of the Dharawal area. Which we found in a second book shop down the main road in Newtown. And she's only been generating more places to visit as she reads more stories.

"How about we go to Shark Island the day after tomorrow."

Mami didn't say anything. So I assume she had no objection. Well knowing that I'd let her object last minute.

"It's getting late, isn't it human? You should probably rest that body of yours. I don't want you to get sick and die from fatigue this early in the trip."

"Come on Mami I'll be alright." But I just had to let out a sneeze at the wrong moment.

Mami raised an eyebrow.

"Bless you."

Then another sneeze.

Mami's eyes widened.

"Ah don't sneeze. I'm only giving out one blessing a day."

I tried to hold back my last sneeze. It became a snuffled sneeze.