┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ 。˚ ✧

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ 。˚ ✧

I said I didn't feel nothing baby, but I lied. I almost cut a piece of myself for your life. Guess I was just another pit stop 'til you made up your mind. You just wasted my time. You're on top—I put you on top. I claimed you so proud and openly, babe. — TheWeeknd, "Call Out Your Name" (2018)

—

The flight to Kona, Hawai'i was quick. Meredith had stayed quite throughout the whole flight though. Mark was worried. After they got their luggage, she followed Mark and Hyelin through the airport. They wanted to get a cab to get to their hotel.

While Hyelin was organizing a cab, Mark nudged Merediths shoulder. The Aquarius looked up. "Hm?", she asked her best friend. Mark smiled weakly. Meredith was smelling like frangipane.

"How'd you sleep?", he asked. He didn't wanted to confess that he had watched her on the beach. "I don't know" Meredith chuckled, "a seagull woke me." Mark chuckled. "I think getting a wake up call from a seagull is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience." He chuckled and Meredith rolled her eyes.

"You excited for the Mantas?", Mark then asked and Meredith nodded. "I've never been snorkeling with Mantas. I am seriously so excited. I watched so many YouTube videos on it... I'm so excited!" She giggled and Mark chuckled.

"Makes sense. They're your favorite animals after all."

The two of them looked at each other and Mark was happy that Meredith was at least smiling. She had been frowning the whole flight. He couldn't imagine what she was going through. He had never, in his whole life, been body shamed. And getting body shamed from the person you loved... this was probably something incredibly hurtful.

Hyelin waved the two 99-liners. "Guys, I got us a cab!", she called. The two best friends went to Hyelin and all three climbed into the cab. The drive to their hotel was fast and once they were in their three-bedroom room, Hyelin laid down on the bed.

"We have free time until five-thirty" she said, "what do you want to do?", she asked and Meredith pursed her lips. "I'd love to go through the city, to check everything out. Mark, do you want to join me?" Mark nodded.

"Great!" Hyelin grinned, "I'll try to get a bit of sleep. Yesterday night was tough on all of us."

Meredith knew Hyelin didn't say it to make her feel guilty, but the Aquarius couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. She looked down and sighed. "I'm sorry about yesterday" she said and looked at Hyelin. "I didn't mean to ruin the mood like this."

Hyelin gasped. "Oh my! Mer! I didn't mean it like that! I promise!" But Meredith shook her head. "I was acting so childish. Running out like a pre-teen in a cheesy eighties rom-com." She shook her head. "I just couldn't stay with Seokjin."

"Meredith, you don't need to apologize. Everyone would've reacted that way" Hyelin promised and jumped out of the bed. "It's alright. I didn't mean to make you feel guilty about it. I promise!"

Meredith nodded and looked up. "I'm still sorry" she said and Mark threw his arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, Mer. We were just worried about you, right Hyelin?" Hyelin nodded. "Exactly!"

A smile crept onto Meredith's lips and she nodded. "Mark and I will head out now, Hyelin" Meredith said and Hyelin nodded. "I'll see you later." She waved the two young adults and laid back down.

Meredith and Mark left their hotel and started to walk through the neighborhood.

"Even though we've been to Hawai'i a lot, I never went to Kona" Meredith said, as she took out her phone and took some pictures here and there. "My mum always said the Big Island is too crowded" she chuckled and looked at Mark. Mark was eyeing her carefully.

"Are you listening?", she asked and Mark nodded. "I feel your mum though" he answered, "a lot of tourists come to the Big Island instead of the small ones." The two strolled through the city. Mark looked at his best friend from time to time.

Meredith was chatting with a local—a owner of a jewelry store. The woman sold simply necklaces made of beads with different pendents on them. Meredith way eyeing one with dark green stone beads and a manta pendant.

Meredith was giving the local a sunshine smile, and the woman gently touched Meredith's cheeks. Mark felt his insides turn warm. How could someone ever be rude to Meredith Seo? Meredith was the definition of a ray of sunshine.

She was almost glowing under the sun.

Her honey blonde curls were in a messy bun on top of her head and she had a simple drawn eyeliner on. Her eyeshadow was glittery and gold and her cheeks were naturally blushed. Mark sighed. Meredith was beautiful. Even though she had dark rings under her eyes.

The local said something in her native language to Meredith and Mark watched her face fall. Meredith shook her head, when the local asked Meredith to sit down on a stool. Meredith looked at Mark with a helpless expression on her face as the local tied the manta necklace around her neck. The pendant was hanging 1.9 inches from her collarbones.

Meredith grabbed the pendent and rubbed her thumb and index finger over it. Meredith looked at the woman and sighed. "Mahalo nut loa" Meredith thanked the woman in Hawaiian and the local only stroked her cheek gently and spoke in broken English, "be happy like Manta."

Once Meredith stood up from the stool, she went over to Mark and linked her arm with the one of her best friend. Mark smiled at her. "She gave it to you for free?", he asked and Meredith nodded. "She told me that a pretty girl like me shouldn't look this sad." Meredith looked at Mark and suddenly a stone fell from her chest.

"Mark... do you think I should break up with Seokjin?"

The question hit Mark like a truck. He watched her fumble with the Manta pendent between her fingers. "I'm in no position to answer that" he said sternly but Meredith shook her head. "I'm not asking to put you in an uncomfortable decision, Mark, but do you think... do you think Seokjin and I aren't a good match?"

"He treats you like shit."

Meredith chuckled. "I knew you'd say this." She wanted to continue when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. "Hm?", she asked herself and looked at the lockscreen. A notification from one of her classmates from university was glowing on the display.

"Gimme a second" Meredith told Mark and unlocked the phone and pressing on the message.

Jaxx from Auto IT: Hey, soz for overstepping or sum but did ye and Seok split up?

Meredith stared at the message in utter confusion. Jaxx was a really nice guy with round Harry Potter glasses from one of her IT classes. He was really good in installing everything IT related into cars and usually wore anime t-shirts in class.

Mer: hi jaxx... no we didn't. why're you asking?

Jaxx from Auto IT: He posted something on his snap and that definitely wasn't yer leg.

Meredith furrowed her brows. Mark was looking at her. "Are you alright?", he asked and she nodded. "Go on, I'll catch up to you by the bakery" Meredith said and Mark nodded. He gave her one last look before strolling down the road. Meredith's finger moved over the keyboard of her phone in the speed of light.

Mer: he has snapchat?

Jaxx from Auto IT: ye didn't know? Wait, I'll send you the screenshot I made. [1 picture attached]

Meredith opened the picture her uni mate send her and immediately recognized the background. It was her bedroom in the Kahului house. On the picture were two naked, intertwined legs and intertwined hands. The bedsheet was messily draped over their bodies and the words 'her ❤️' were standing over the pic.

Meredith bit her lip. Why was there a red heart? Jaxx was right. This wasn't her leg. She had a scar on her left knee and the knee on the picture was scar free and ivory white instead of honey beige like her skin was.

Meredith felt her bottom lip shake. She felt sick to the stomach. She quickly thanked Jaxx for the screenshot and locked the phone. She stuffed it into her pocket and walked up to Mark, who was waiting in front of the bakery.

Mark sensed the change in Meredith's demeanor and looked at her. "You okay?", he asked and Meredith nodded. "I think I just got the answer to my question." Mark looked at her confused but didn't ask further.

He didn't want to upset Meredith any more.

— ❤️‍🩹 —

It was six p.m. when Meredith, Mark and Hyelin went to the harbor to board their boat that would take them to the Manta Ray experience. When Meredith told Hyelin about the encounter with the lovely local who gave her the manta ray necklace. Hyelin almost fawned at that lovely story and was now super excited to see mantas with her own two eyes.

Meredith had charged the battery of her GoPro and Mark had put his phone in a waterproof case so he could take pictures of the majestically animals under water.

They were currently sitting on the boat. The captain was explaining how this whole experience would work. Meredith was all ears.

"Manta Rays are filter feeders" the captain started, but Meredith already knew that, "and eat one of the smallest creatures in the animal kingdom. Does anyone here know what they eat?" Merediths hand shot in the air. The captain pointed at her. "They eat Plankton, sir."

"Exactly!" The captain gave her a thumbs up and Meredith felt heat creep into her cheeks. She felt like she was back in elementary school and just won a pop quiz.

"For us it's more importantly that plankton are attracted to light, just like moths to a flame!", he chucked and continued  to explain, "when the plankton gather it makes it an easy meal for the manta rays! I'll be going to lower a floating platform into the water. It has handles and two battery lights on it. The handles are for you to hold on to and the battery lights give a bright white light into the ocean."

He contined to explain that the light will attract the plankton and the plankton will attract the manta rays. Mark nudged Meredith side. "Isn't it scary?", he asked and Meredith looked at him, her cheeks were glowing with excitement, "jumping into the ocean at night, knowing that LARGE AS FUCK animals are swimming around in it?"

Meredith pursed her lips and tightened the GoPro around her wrist. "Not really. I know how massive they can be... I'm just excited to see them up close." She grinned at her best friend.

The boat soon reached the spot where the experience would be at and the floating platform was lowered into the water. Everyone on their boat got ready. Meredith fixed her neoprene suit and walked up to the captain. "You're the first brave one?", he asked and Meredith nodded.

She put on her snorkeling gear, turned on her Go Pro and stepped onto the railing of the boat. "See you in a minute" she called to Mark and Hyelin and jumped.

The cold water completely emerged her and the first thing Meredith could hear were people screaming. Other groups were in the same spot as they were and Meredith didn't know if they were screaming out of fear or from excitement.

Meredith was swimming through the rather rough ocean over to the platform and held onto the handle. The captain had instructed them to relax. "The key is to get your legs up out from beneath you and just float on the surface." He looked at Meredith, "young lady, do you know why?"

Meredith had nodded and told the boat full of tourists that Manta Rays had a sixth sense and could feel the location of everything in the water, which meant they wouldn't come up if they sensed a bunch of kicking legs.

Soon after Meredith Mark and Hyelin jumped into the water and swam over to her. Meredith was already completely relaxed. Mark tried to calm down his racing mind, but it took him and the other tourist around twenty minutes for everyone to calm down and relax.

Meredith was staring down into the abyss of the ocean. She could see thousands of white spots, plankton. And after a while the ghostly shapes of humongous Manta Rays started to emerge from the deep.

Meredith felt a surge of emotions go through her body. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes as the Mantas came into her vision. It felt like pure magic. No words could describe what Meredith was feeling in this moment. She watched the mantas swim under her, turn on their back and eat the plankton with ease.

Meredith felt her chest vibrate with each Manta coming up to them. One came so close to Meredith it wing slightly touched her. Meredith felt her lip shake. She had no words. This was beautiful.

Mark was speechless. Never in his life had he imagined he'd be chilling in the ocean with real life Manta Rays. He looked over to Meredith. Merediths whole body was shaking. She was looking from one of the mantas to the other. This was probably too much for the twenty-three year old.

Her whole life had Meredith been in love with these animals. And now she finally had the chance to see them. Mark just hoped this was making her happy again. Being in the same place as her favorite animal must have been magical.

Once the experience was over and everyone was back on the boat, Mark threw an extra towel around Merediths shoulder. She was crying. She was wiping her cheeks and then started crying again.

Mark looked at Hyelin with a shocked expression on his face. The young woman gently stroked Meredith's back. "Are you okay?", she asked and Meredith looked up. She was crying, but had the biggest smile on her lips.

"Thank you so much" she told Mark and Hyelin, "for bringing me here. This was the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced in my whole life." Her whole body was shaking as she leaned into Mark for support. "They were so beautiful. I want to be a manta ray when I—" Meredith couldn't even finish her sentence.

She was crying the whole way back to the hotel. Their bus stopped and the three climbed off. That was when Meredith saw a tattoo studio opposite of their hotel. She looked at Mark and Hyelin.

"No" Mark said but Meredith shook her head. "Gimme a second" she cried and hushed into the tattoo studio. Mark and Hyelin looked at each other. "She knows what she's doing, Mark" Hyelin said and looked at the pictures of the Manta Rays that she took under water.

A few minutes later Meredith came out. "Mark, do you want to expand our stay on Kona for one more nigth? I have a tattoo appointment tomorrow morning" she grinned and Mark widened his eyes. "What?", he asked and Hyelin chuckled.

"Stay one more night. I'll try to exchange your plane tickets!"

And so Meredith and Mark stayed in Kona for one more night. The next morning Hyelin bid their goodbyes to them and drove to the airport, while Mark was sitting in the waiting area of a tattoo studio; patiently waiting for his best friend to get her tattoo.

— ❄︎ —

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠!

𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞.

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

—𝕤𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕠𝕡