A few days passed.
Astera kept his promise. He didn't bring up Ohara, and spent time in the study like usual.
But Rouge was even more worried.
Her brother got quieter. He ate even less than before, and when he sat in the study, he didn't read. He just stared blankly out the window.
'If this keeps up...'
Rouge bit her lip.
* * *
The table was set.
Rouge watched her brother pick up his spoon, then carefully spoke up.
"Astera."
"Yeah."
"You've been looking really bad lately."
"I'm fine."
Short answer. Astera didn't even look up. Rouge set down her utensils and looked at her brother.
"Liar. You're not even eating half your food."
Astera's hand stopped. He set down his fork and answered.
"I'm just not hungry."
"Astera."
Rouge's voice shook. Astera looked up.
"Was I too harsh?"
"No."
"Then why..."
"Just."
It wasn't "just."
'I want to go to Ohara.'
His head was a mess. He wanted to know the answers his father had been searching for. But he'd made a promise to his sister, and he didn't want to worry her either.
"I'm sorry."
Astera lowered his head.
"For making you worry."
Rouge couldn't say anything. She just stared at her brother's bowed head.
* * *
Sleep wouldn't come.
Rouge lay in bed, staring toward her brother's room.
Six years.
She'd been raising her brother for six years since their parents died. It would be a lie to say it hadn't been hard. When she took in her little brother at sixteen, she didn't know what to do or how to do it.
But she endured.
Because her brother smiled. Because her brother grew.
But at some point, her brother stopped smiling. He only read books, stared out windows, did nothing. Like he was alive but not really living.
And then a few days ago.
When he discovered the hidden drawer and brought up Ohara, her brother's eyes lit up for the first time.
For the first time in six years.
And she crushed it.
Because she was scared. Scared he'd leave like their father and never come back.
But things couldn't keep going like this.
Rouge stared at the ceiling.
'Maybe...'
Maybe it would be better to let him go. What would their parents have done? Would they have sent him, or held him back?
No answer came.
* * *
Rouge woke up earlier than usual and made breakfast.
Astera sat at the table. His face still looked drained.
"You're up early."
"Yeah."
Astera answered as he picked up his spoon. Rouge watched her brother scoop up soup, then spoke.
"Did you sleep well?"
"...Yeah."
Obviously a lie. There were shadows under his eyes.
Rouge took a breath and looked straight at her brother.
"Astera."
"Yeah."
"Go to Ohara."
Astera's hand, about to lift his spoon, stopped. His eyes widened.
"...What?"
"I said go to Ohara."
"But you said I couldn't..."
"I changed my mind."
Astera set down his spoon. He looked like he couldn't believe it. Rouge continued.
"I've watched you live like this for six years. Not doing anything, just like you're dead."
"..."
"Then a few days ago, for the first time, you seemed alive. When you were talking about Ohara."
Rouge's voice shook but she kept going.
"If you stay on this island your whole life like this, I really think you're going to die."
"Sis..."
"So I decided to let you go."
Astera opened his mouth then closed it. He seemed at a loss for words. Rouge added:
"But there are conditions."
"Conditions?"
Astera asked. Rouge held up one finger and said:
"First, you have to come back. Promise."
"I promise."
Astera nodded without hesitation. Rouge held up a second finger.
"Second, send letters. At least once a month."
"I promise that too."
"Third."
Rouge's voice became firm. Astera straightened up and listened carefully.
"Don't do anything dangerous. I heard Ohara is an island where scholars live. No pirates, it's a quiet place. Find what Dad was looking for there, study, and when you get bored, come back."
"...Okay."
"Fourth."
Rouge reached across the table and gripped her brother's hand tight.
"You're all I have. You know that, right?"
"...Yeah."
Astera's voice got small. Rouge squeezed her brother's hand harder.
"So you have to come back no matter what. You can't die."
"I won't die."
Rouge stared at her brother for a long time, then slowly let go of his hand. He could see the tension drain from her shoulders.
"When are you leaving?"
"...Tomorrow?"
"Okay."
Rouge stood up from her seat.
"Then pack today, and we'll go to the port tomorrow morning. I'll pack you lots of food. You can't go hungry at sea."
Astera looked down at his empty bowl.
His heart was pounding. For the first time in six years.
'I'm really going.'
To Ohara. To find the answers his father had been searching for.
* * *
He headed to the study.
He sat at the desk, opened the hidden drawer, and carefully took out the compass and letters.
'I'm really going now.'
He started putting things in his bag one by one. The letters, the map, everything he needed.
That's when the door opened.
"Astera."
Rouge came in. She was carrying some of her brother's clothes in her arms.
"Take these. I heard the sea gets cold."
"Okay."
Astera took the clothes and put them in his bag. Rouge looked at the compass on the desk and asked.
"That's..."
"Dad hid it. It's a compass to Ohara."
"...I see."
Rouge picked up the compass. The needle pointed in one direction. She stared at it for a while, then slowly spoke.
"I didn't know there was something like this in Dad's study."
"You didn't know either, sis?"
Astera asked. Rouge set down the compass and nodded.
"No. I knew Dad was a scholar, but what he researched..."
Her voice got quiet.
"He never told me. Just that he read a lot, got letters sometimes, stuff like that."
"..."
"I'd never even heard the name Ohara before. Until a few days ago."
Rouge gently stroked the desk drawer. Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
"I can't believe this was here..."
"I'm sorry, sis. It feels like I was snooping."
"No."
Rouge shook her head and smiled. It was a sad smile.
"Thanks for finding it. You found something even I didn't know about."
Rouge was quiet for a moment, then looked up like she'd thought of something.
"Wait a sec."
"Huh?"
Rouge left the study.
'What's that about?'
Astera tilted his head and kept packing. About five minutes later, Rouge came back with something in her hand.
"Take this too."
What Rouge held out was another compass.
But it was different from the one he'd just seen. The needle wasn't pointing to Ohara, but in a different direction.
"This is..."
"It was behind the shelf in Dad's study. I just found it."
Astera took the compass. The direction the needle was pointing.
Here.
It was pointing to this island.
"It's a compass back home."
Rouge said.
"I don't know why Dad had this, but... since he had one to go to Ohara, I guess he had one to come back too."
"..."
"You take it. Use it when you come back."
Rouge wrapped her hands around her brother's. They were warm.
"So you don't get lost. Look at this and make sure you come back."
Astera gripped the compass tight.
"Thanks, sis."
"Don't mention it."
Rouge smiled. But her eyes were red.
"Pack up. I'll go prepare food."
* * *
Rouge put bread, dried meat, and fruit into a bundle in the kitchen.
Her hands kept shaking.
'I said I'd let him go.'
Tears came.
She held them back. She couldn't cry in front of her brother.
The sun set.
Rouge prepared more food than usual. Grilled fish, vegetable soup, bread, fruit.
"Eat a lot. Starting tomorrow, you'll have to eat on the ship."
"I can't eat this much."
Astera's eyes went round as he spoke. Rouge firmly shook her head.
"Eat anyway."
Astera reluctantly picked up his chopsticks.
The meal was quiet. There wasn't the usual conversation.
Rouge kept watching her brother eat.
'When did he get so big?'
He'd been so small at six. Now he was almost up to her shoulder.
"I'm done."
Astera set down his utensils. His bowl was almost empty.
"Good. You ate well."
"You eat too, sis."
"Okay."
Rouge answered, but the food wouldn't go down her throat.
* * *
Astera lay in his room trying to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come.
'Tomorrow I leave.'
For the first time, he'd leave this island. Go to Ohara. To find the answers his father had been searching for.
His heart was pounding. At the same time, his fingertips trembled slightly. He didn't know what the sea would be like, or if there would really be answers at Ohara.
'But I have to go.'
If he didn't go, he'd wonder his whole life.
Footsteps in the hallway.
It was Rouge.
She hesitated in front of her brother's door, then the sound of her going back to her own room.
Astera pulled the blanket over his head.
'I'll definitely come back, sis.'
* * *
Before dawn broke, the two of them left the house.
It took about thirty minutes to walk to the port. Astera walked ahead carrying his bag, and Rouge followed behind.
"You didn't forget anything, right?"
Rouge asked. Astera turned around and answered.
"No."
"Money?"
"Got it."
Astera patted his pocket. Rouge nodded and asked again.
"The compass?"
"In my bag. Both of them."
The port came into view. Ships were lined up in a row. Merchant ships, fishing boats, and some old ships too.
"There."
Rouge pointed to a ship. A medium-sized merchant vessel.
"That merchant ship is going to the West Blue. I already talked to the captain."
"Okay."
The two of them approached the ship. The captain came down and greeted them. A middle-aged man with a bushy beard.
"This is the boy?"
"Yes. Please take care of him."
Rouge bowed. The captain looked Astera up and down, then laughed heartily.
"Don't worry. I'll get him there safely."
Astera got on the ship. He looked down at Rouge from the deck.
Rouge started waving.
"Make sure you write letters!"
"Okay!"
Astera waved back and answered. Rouge's voice got louder.
"Eat your meals properly!"
"I will!"
"Don't do anything dangerous!"
"I won't!"
The ship started preparing to depart. Ropes were untied, sails went up.
"And..."
Rouge's voice shook. Her eyes were red.
"Come back for sure. You promised, right?"
"I promised!"
Astera shouted as loud as he could.
The ship slowly started moving. Rouge's figure got smaller and smaller.
But she was still waving. Astera waved too. Until Rouge completely disappeared from view.
* * *
The ship completely left the island.
The vast ocean.
It was his first time seeing this. The endlessly stretching sea sparkled in the sunlight.
Astera took the compass out of his bag. The one pointing to Ohara. The needle pointed in one direction.
"Let's go."
He murmured and gripped the compass tight.
Wind blew. Waves rocked the ship.
But he wasn't scared. His heart was pounding instead.
'This is a new beginning.'
* * *
Rouge stayed alone at the port for a long time. Until the ship completely disappeared from view.
Then she slowly turned around.
The way back. Rouge looked up at the sky. It was clear weather.
'I hope Astera gets there safely.'
And then she suddenly thought.
What should she do now?
She'd been busy raising her brother for six years, and now she was alone.
Rouge shook her head. She'd think about that later. For now, she had to go home, clean up her brother's room, and wait for letters to come.
There'd be a letter in a month. She just had to wait until then.
Rouge headed home.
* * *
When the sun set, Rouge stopped by a tavern near the port.
Not to drink alone. She just wanted to hear people's voices. The house was too quiet.
She opened the tavern door and went in.
It was loud.
People laughing, chatting, drinking. Rouge sat in a corner seat and ordered water.
That's when it happened.
A conversation came from the next table.
"Did you hear? About Gol D. Roger."
"The Pirate King? What about him?"
"I heard he's going to get caught soon. By the Navy."
Rouge's hand stopped.
Gol D. Roger.
D.
Someone with the same name as her brother.