The chef chased us out of the kitchen soon after that, so we headed back to our cabin to talk. I did feel bad for leaving her hanging at the end of the lunch rush, but she assured me she could handle it. 

The cabin wasn’t all that fancy, but it was cozy, even though it didn’t amount to much more than a few beds crammed together. Nina and I were set down on one at the far end of the room, and Kei and Alec took a seat on the bed directly across from ours.

Kei was the first to break the silence. “Alright, so now that we’re in private...” she pointed to Nina with an accusatory glare. “You! Make up with your little sister before she starts crying again!”

“I told you, Kei, we didn’t have a fight!” Nina shot back.

“And I told you that I don’t believe you! You both have definitely been avoiding each other since yesterday. What’s gotten into you two?”

I raised my hand tentatively. “Uh, Kei? How many days have Alec and I been here?”

“Just about a week,” she said, not missing a beat. “What’s that got to do with the two of you?”

Nina looked at me with tired eyes. “Sylvia, please don’t,” she said softly. 

 I’ll admit I briefly entertained keeping my mouth shut, but a glance at Nina convinced me otherwise. She seemed so closed off, walled in by her own stubbornness to open up to us. What was the best way to break that shell?

I decided the way to go was to embrace the role of an annoying little sister. Raising the pitch of my voice for good measure, I innocently asked, “Don’t what? Talk about all our new memories?”

Nina groaned. “Ugh, you can be such a brat sometimes, you know that?”

My voice went even higher. “Hehe, Oopsies!”

Kei pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, you’re adorable Syl, but please drop the cutesy act. What new memories are you talking about?”

“Yesterday, when I was talking to Robin, I had this memory of the first time Nina cooked curry for me in Tanbomachi years ago. Nina remembers it too, even though I’ve only been here a week.”

With practically everything out in the open, Nina conceded. “Ugh, fine! Let’s just tell them everything then!” She fell backwards onto the mattress with a dramatic sigh. “They’re vivid memories too, not just random moments in time. Goddess, I remember her being born here!” She paused, taking another glance at me before she continued. “I’ve been avoiding Sylvia because I didn’t want to make things any worse. I don’t want anything to happen between us that might make her stay here.”

Alec smiled at me. “Told you,” he mouthed.

Kei frowned. “And you wanted to hide all this from me, why, exactly? You know I’d help you, even if your memories change.”

“Well, say I do forget,” Nina countered. “Why would I believe what you say to me!? If I do forget, I’d think you were crazy if you told me I haven’t been taking care of Sylvia for her entire life.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t,” Kei agreed. “But you’d at least listen to the concerns of your best friend, wouldn’t you?”

That caught Nina off guard. She sat up with her head tilted down. Her ears were dropping like a sad puppy. “Ah, right. Sorry.”

Kei moved to our bed, giving Nina a pat on the head. “Dummy, what am I gonna do with you?” She said softly, before turning her attention to Alec. “Well, that’s one down. You’re up, Alec.”

He smirked. “Actually, I already did that in the kitchen. She already cried and everything. Let’s move onto the part where we make Nina and Sylvia talk to each other.”

My cheeks reddened. “Alec!”

“Don’t worry, Sylvia. We knew that was going to happen anyways,” Nina teased. She sounded uncertain about taking that jab at me, but I did spot a faint smile on her lips. Was she trying to open up?

I decided to risk it. “So, what do you want to do… sis?”

She said nothing, staring me down with worried eyes. I began mentally going through each and every outcome, steeling myself for whatever came next. The world seemed to have stopped moving, save for us in this little ship cabin. Unspoken words and feelings flowed throughout the room, waiting for someone to give them purpose. There was a pause, and then:

I don’t want it to end like this.

That was it. A single statement cast into the void. I don’t know which one of us said it, but I honestly didn’t care either way. I tackled Nina and squeezed her as tight as I could. She returned the hug tenfold, laughing as I knocked her over. I never ever wanted to let her go. It didn’t matter how long I’d known her. We cared for each other, and that was enough for us.

“If we forget everything that happened, I’ll be sure to ground you if you listen to me,” Nina said, pushing me onto her lap so she could get back up.

I grinned as more new memories popped into my head. “I haven’t for the past twelve years, why would I start now?”

My sister laughed. “Jeez sis, when did you become such a little brat?”

I giggled, nestling myself further into Nina's lap. “Probably when I figured out it got me more attention from you.”

Kei chuckled quietly. “Mission accomplished, I guess.”

Alec reached over and gave me a pat on the head. “Good job, Sylvie. Now I don’t have to listen to you be depressed all day.”

I stuck my tongue out at him.

There was a knock on the cabin door before Robin came in, carrying a small wrapped package. “Ah, there you all are,” they said. Their eyes landed on me and my sister as the enby scanned the room. “I see the two of you have made up.”

I wrapped my arms around Nina in another hug. “Something like that.”

The captain smiled. “I was hoping you would. We’re nearly close enough to get you all onto shore. Meet me on deck in five. Oh, and take this.” They handed Kei the package they were holding. On the outside, it looked pretty plain; just a bit of brown wrapping tied up with a string.

“What’s that?” Alec asked.

“Think of it as a parting gift. Open it once you reach the city. Now, hurry up and get ready before you miss your chance.”