Elysian Wish (Kenja no Mago x OC)

History - 12 years old

They sat in silence while looking towards the dock. Merlin taught Shin how to cast a fishing rod, guiding him. Shin took a step forward with his right foot, raised the fishing rod above his head, and in one swift motion cast it into the river. Merlin patted him on his back as they sat down, paying close attention to the line.

"Grandpa, do you have any stories from when you were younger?" Shin asked, leaning forward towards the water, eyes glued to the fishing line

"Ho-Ho." Merlin laughed, gently pushing Shin's chest towards the dock "I do, want me to tell you?" Shin frantically nodded

"One time I was walking through the forest when I sensed an aura of a demon and another source of mana. I rushed to the area. When I arrived a saw a young woman my age covered in wounds, desperately throwing spells at a demonized grizzly that was at its final stage of evolution. I swiftly got rid of the demon and went to help the woman. I healed her and we exchanged names, then we went our separate ways. As fate would have it, I started seeing this woman more often, and before I knew it, I fell in love."

"Was that your first love" Shin rested his head on his knees and looked toward the water

"It was." Merlin followed his gaze, and they watched as a water snake swam past them "Her face had every man and woman alike turning their heads, her olive skin gave her freshness I had never seen before. Her smile brought me joy I could only dream of achieving and her eyes were a direct mirror to her pure soul. She always looked for ways to help people and when I was down her words would always lift me to my feet. She...." He looked up at the sky "She was everything to me at one point."

"Then where is she?"

"One day-" Shin tugged on Merlin's elbow, the line moved ever so gently, but stopped soon after "She disappeared. Without even saying farewell"

"Did you ever see her again?"

"I did," Merlin looked towards the sky and chuckled "But the person I met that time wasn't the person I loved"

The fishing line darted all over the river. Shin yanked the fishing rod upwards, and a big fish flew out of the lake. It flew above Merlin's and Shin's heads; it hurled through the air carrying Shin's fishing rod along with it. It hit the ground and bounced towards Melinda and Miyake, narrowly missing them as it hit the tree behind them with a dull thud

"You two!" Melinda jumped up and rushed towards the dock, where Shin's and Merlin's sweat could be seen from the shore. When she reached them, Melinda grabbed Merlin by the ear, "How can you be so irresponsible, someone could have gotten hurt. And you!" She grabbed Shin's ear "Learn some self-control" She pulled them up and kicked them into the river

Melinda returned and continued sunbathing. Merlin and Shin left their clothes to dry and joined them as well. The four of them laid in silence, Shin and Miyake were in the middle with Merlin next to Shin and Melinda next to Miyake. Eventually, Merlin fell asleep, and Melinda closed her book and shut her eyes as well.

The afternoon sun bathed them in its warm light, slowly turning their pale skin into a bright red. Even though Shin warned Merlin about the dangers of the sun, Merlin ignored him. In his mind, the sun wasn't something one should be afraid of, and instead, we should be happy that it rises each day for it is an invitation for us to rise as well.

"Miyake" Shin whispered

"Hm?" Miyake turned to face him, Shin greeted him with a smile and pointed towards the dirt path they came from. Silently they got up and walked away, leaving behind their grandparents to enjoy their carefree slumber

"Where are we going?" Miyake asked after walking a couple of meters away from his grandparents

"We haven't marked down this area of the forest on our map. You still have it right?"