The shining sun made the sea water around them sparkle like jewels. Aleksis was truly amazed. She could not wait to jump into the water and hunt for fish to show off her fishing skills. Although she was still small, she should not be underestimated.
They had tuna sandwiches for breakfast and were now relaxing while reading a book. After getting tired of reading books, Aleksis inspected the kitchen and looked for equipment that could be used as an emergency fish spear.
Ah, there was a small knife and a piece of wood from the broken broom handle. She painstakingly prepared her spear, and half an hour later, she was ready.
She was in her swimsuit, she had neatly braided her hair, and she had her spear in hand. A cloth bag was tied around her waist for her to keep the fish she caught.
"Can you cook fish?" she asked, smiling broadly. "I'll catch fish for our lunch."
The man looked up from his book and nodded, "I can. Don't catch too much, okay? I know you must be eager to show off your skills at catching fish, but have mercy on sentient beings in the sea and take only as needed..."
Aleksis nodded. That was what Uncle Rory taught her. We need to live side by side with nature and we shouldn't take more than what's needed.
She stood on the bridge and immediately jumped into the water. As soon as her body touched the refreshing cold sea water, Aleksis felt very much alive. She was in her element.
When adrenaline filled her brain, for a moment she felt she could remember many things in her life that were forgotten yesterday.
She remembered that her family had a farm and her two younger siblings raised a herd of sheep... Her father was a very warm and pleasant man who enjoyed cooking a variety of delicious food for them. Her mother was very beautiful, and she was the gentlest woman Aleksis knew...
Ah, if only she could remember their names...
"Are you OK? Why are you silent?" The man had walked to the end of the deck and looked down, "Found the fish?"
Aleksis immediately moved from her reverie and nodded, "There are plenty of fish, I'll catch some. Don't you want to jump in? The water is very refreshing."
"Hmm... maybe later. I still want to read." The man shrugged, "Have a good time. Call me if you want to get on the ship again."
"Of course. Happy reading!"
Aleksis then dived and searched for a horde of fish swimming under their ship. She deftly speared two big fish in just 10 minutes. Every two minutes she would rise to the surface and take oxygen.
Aleksis was very happy to be in the water. In her heart she was sad that the young man did not take part in swimming and preferred to read his books. Her intelligent brain then thought of tactics to draw the man into the water.
"Ahh... please!! Lower the stairs!! I want to go up, there are sharks below!!!" Aleksis screamed suddenly. A moment later the young man looked over the edge of the deck and saw Aleksis swimming frantically toward the hull. He quickly threw down the rope ladder so Aleksis could board the ship, but before the girl could reach the rope, she screamed again, "Ouch... my legs are cramped..."
Aleksis stopped moving her legs and looked in pain. Her face turned red and her body slowly sank.
"Gosh! Hang in there !!" Without thinking twice, the young man immediately dived into the water where he last saw Aleksis' body to look for her. He found the girl in the water looking weak and her eyes were closed.
The young man hugged Aleksis' body and swam to the surface with her. Deftly he moved toward the hull and held the rope ladder with his left hand while his right hand held Aleksis' body. With some difficulty he managed to climb the stairs to the deck, carrying Aleksis who fainted.
"Ouch... you're so troublesome huh..." he complained while pumping water from Aleksis's lungs. Within a fraction of a second he made the decision to conduct mouth to mouth resuscitation to help the girl.
When his lips touched Aleksis' lips and was about to blow, Aleksis suddenly opened her eyes and woke up in surprise.
"Gosh!!! What are you doing!!????" she panicked.
The young man was astonished to see that the girl suddenly pushed him away as hard as possible.
Wasn't she drowned and passed out just now?
"I wanted to give you CPR." The man frowned in astonishment, "Why do you look at me as if you have just seen the devil?"
Aleksis held her lips frantically. Gosh... she just pretended to drown to get this man to jump in the water. She did not think this man would kiss her to give CPR.
"Aarghhh.....!!!" Aleksis could only cover her face with her hands and blame herself for being too stupid. Her face looked very embarrassed.
The man finally realized what had happened and he laughed out loud.
"Jeez... do you think I kissed you? That was mouth to mouth resuscitation, CPR. I thought you fell unconscious from drinking too much of water. You are really weird, Little girl, last night you insisted on going to sleep with me on the ship's deck, but now you think of a CPR is a kiss? Inconsistent much, aren't you?"
He laughed for a long time as if Aleksis' behavior was a very funny thing, "Little girl, you are still a child. I am not interested in you. Believe me, I would not have any silly thoughts about you."
For some reason, when the man said he was not interested in her because Aleksis was still a child, Aleksis felt annoyed. She was indeed only 12 years old, but the man was also still very young; he was probably only 24 or 25.
In eight years, when Aleksis was 20 years old, he would still be in his early 30s. They would still look appropriate for each other. Moreover, Aleksis' mother and father had a huge age difference, over 400 years...
Aleksis thought all that while pursing her lips.