CH 102
As we drive along the winding Hawaiian roads, with the ocean stretching endlessly beside us and the dense greenery pressing close from the other side, I find myself preoccupied.
The closer we get, the more that excitement is edged with a strange sense of dread. What if she isn’t anything like I remember? What if she’s… different?
“You’re nervous,” Wake says, breaking the silence. He’s watching the road intently, his jaw set, but there’s a tightness around his mouth, a tension that I haven’t seen since we left Tokyo.
“Nervous?” I force out a chuckle. “A little. I don’t think this is going to be an easy reunion. But what about you? You’re tenser than usual.”
Wake’s hands tighten on the wheel. “There is something about this place, Phoebe. Something… unsettling.” His eyes sweep the road, his gaze sharp and vigilant, as if he expects an ambush around every turn. “I can’t explain it. But I feel as though we are being watched.”
I blink, feeling the goosebumps rise on my arms. “Watched? By whom?”
He hesitates, then shakes his head. “I cannot say. It is just a feeling.”
“Well, your instincts haven’t exactly been wrong before,” I murmur, scanning the scenery, though all I see are trees and the occasional empty stretch of beach. I wish I could sense what he does, that deep-rooted connection to the world around him. But all I feel is a nervous energy thrumming through me, mixed with an excitement I can’t deny.
“Wake… what if she doesn’t want to see me?” The question tumbles out before I can stop it. “What if she’s gone through all this effort to stay hidden for a reason?”
He gives me a quick, sidelong look, softening ever so slightly. “If she truly wished to stay hidden, I doubt she would have left any trail at all. She wants you to find her—whether she will admit it or not.”
I nod, though it’s hard to picture the woman I met as a child—aloof, mysterious, distant—now intentionally revealing herself to me. She’s as much a stranger as she is family. The silence stretches between us, filled only by the hum of the engine and the wind rustling the leaves outside.
My mind replays scattered memories of her face, her voice, fragments of things she’d said when I was younger that I barely understood at the time. Each one feels loaded now, like a puzzle piece that’s only just beginning to snap into place.
***
When we arrive hours later, the plaza is bustling, full of laughter, the smell of grilled seafood, and vendors selling everything from handmade jewelry to fresh coconuts. The sun is shining, kids are running across the sand, and for a moment, I can almost pretend I’m here on vacation. Almost.
But every time I catch a glimpse of the ocean in the distance, a twinge of reality tightens in my chest. I’m not here to relax on the beach, drink mai tais, or forget my troubles. I’m here to track down a grandmother I barely know, to finish breaking the last bit of normalcy I have.
“Pull it together, Phoebe,” I murmur, glancing around the crowd, trying to focus.
Wake and I have decided to split up. He was less than thrilled, given how on edge he’s been since we got here. I’d felt his eyes flicking toward every corner, every figure that looked like they could be a threat. He has a sense for danger that I trust, and his unease is catching. But this plan is our best shot at finding information on my grandmother, especially given how little I actually know about her.
I weave through the plaza, feeling both out of place and invisible at the same time. I’ve never realized how little I know about my grandmother. Now, armed with only scraps, I’m hunting her down halfway across the world, banking on a resemblance and vague memories to identify her.
At one stall, I buy a mango smoothie I can’t stomach, and try my luck with the vendor.
“Excuse me,” I start, attempting to sound casual. “Do you know anyone by the name of Cora? She runs a business called Nereid Limited that studies, uh, geophysics?” I can see I’ve lost them. “Maybe just studying earthquakes?”
The vendor squints at me, trying to understand why a tourist like me would be asking something so strange. “Earthquakes? I don’t know much about that, miss. Plenty of science types come through poking around this or that. I can tell you, your Cora probably isn’t too popular.”
My stomach sinks for an entirely different reason than my usual cocktail of anxiety.
I thank him and move on, my smoothie clutched tightly in my hand. Stall after stall, I try different approaches, rephrasing my question a dozen times to avoid sounding like a lunatic. No luck.
Most people give me polite but blank stares, and some even look a bit suspicious. Asking around a sunny beach plaza about earthquakes and obscure companies named after mythological sea creatures is clearly not helping my credibility.
After what feels like an hour, my shoulders start to slump. I lean against a railing, watching the crowd around me as I finish my smoothie, the cold sweetness doing little to lift my spirits.
I’ve come up empty. No one seems to have heard of Nereid Limited, let alone my grandmother.
The worst part is, I don’t even know where to begin looking for Wake. He’d gone in the opposite direction, weaving through the stalls with that single-minded grace that is his signature in either form. He told me he’d stick to the north side of the plaza, so I start making my way over there, but every time I scan the crowd, I come up short. I should’ve known better than to leave him in a place this crowded, this chaotic, with so many potential threats he’d feel compelled to check.
“Wake?” I murmur, trying to spot that tall, unmistakable figure with his fierce gaze.
I walk past the line of stalls on the north side, glancing down each alleyway and corner in case he’d veered off. Nothing. A small, sickly feeling starts to churn in my stomach. The last thing I want is for us to get separated here—if Enigma’s agents show up, we need to be able to move fast, together.
I scan the crowd again, anxiety prickling at the back of my neck. Where would he go? Would he really have wandered off without telling me?
“Wake!” I call out, a little louder this time, catching a few curious glances. But there’s no response. He’s gone.
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