Kai and Mei descended the hill, their steps slow but steady, as if guided by the pull of the mournful song that seeped from the colossal beast.
"I like it…" Kai whispered under his breath, his voice faint, almost reverent. His eyes, empty. For once, his pain, his broken arm, even the exhaustion etched into his body — all of it seemed far away, drowned out by the haunting sound.
It took them a moment to reach the Sad Whale, but they managed. They arrived at the empty lake. In that waterless crater, fish flopped around, dying from the lack of water.
All that remained were small puddles.
Kai and Mei jumped into the empty crater, then began walking toward the whale, descending lower and lower. The melody drew them in like a magnet.
When they finally reached it, they sat beside it, in the mud, listening to its music, staring at it with their empty eyes.
