“……I see. It seems something significant happened. If you don’t mind… please stay at my home for a little while.”

“……?”

“It won’t be free, of course.”

The man smiled and pointed toward the lake.

“Managing this wide lake on my own is no small task, you see. That is, if you’d be willing to help out while you stay.”

“If that’s all it takes… I’d be glad to.”

For her, managing a lake was an easy thing. The man nodded in satisfaction as he looked at her, then let out a small groan.

“You haven’t told me your name either, so what should I call you…”

“Any name is fine.”

“Ha, well… I’m not much good at coming up with names, I’m afraid.”

The man stood with his arms crossed, thinking for a long while, then suddenly let out an exclamation.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself either. My name is Raker Bruce. As for age… well, it’s plain to see I’m older, so feel free to speak casually with me.”

“Then… may I call you Mr. Raker?”

“Heh heh, ‘Mr.’ feels a bit stiff. Just call me uncle. Though I’d be in an even better mood if you called me big brother!”

Raker gave a playful wink, set the matter of a name aside for later, and led Undine to his home. The house was not far from the lake, situated straight across the barren desert stretch, so there was no risk of getting lost. But the path lined with flowers blooming prettily along the lake and carefully tended trees gave the feeling of walking through a garden.

This village was a land laid to waste by severe desertification. The influence of high-pressure systems and the elevated terrain kept even clouds from crossing over, and rainfall had hit rock bottom. 

Over long years, the land had dried out, leaving nothing but barren earth. The one place that still breathed with life in the midst of it all was this small lake. Fed by groundwater, the lake was the heart of the village’s survival and its last remaining hope.

Raker’s home was an ordinary brick house. Beside it hung a wooden sign that read “Sweet Spring Water,” and the space also operated as a water shop. The two areas appeared separate from the outside, but on the inside they connected through a single door.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside, and a warm, cozy living room greeted her. An old kettle hung above the fireplace, and in front of it sat a worn green sofa.

Raker wiped the soles of his shoes on the dirt-caked mat and stepped inside, then tossed the towel she had brought back into the laundry bin and picked up a basket holding potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, along with a water jug.

“Miss, would you mind filling up this jug? I’ll make you a stew that’ll knock your socks off!”

“Yes, of course.”

She was not hungry, but something made it impossible to refuse, and she took the jug and stepped outside.

She opened the back door and stepped out to an entirely different scene. Unlike the bleak desert of the front yard, this place was full of life. Dense trees, wildflowers scattered across the fields, and tall blades of grass swayed together in a gentle breeze. To the left of the lake stretched a thick forest, and to the right, a low-lying forest and open fields blended together, with countless wild animals moving about energetically within that abundance.

A miracle of land, born from this one small lake. Undine stood at its center, slowly lifted the jug, and took a step forward.

“Haah…”

A calm that had risen from deep within her chest flowed out as a single breath. The quiet scenery seemed to clear her mind as well. Undine walked slowly toward the lake. The water was so clear that the bottom lay fully visible, and within the gentle swirls created by small aquatic creatures, the water cleansed itself. The breeze blew softly, wrapping around her hair and brushing against her skin. Undine carefully tilted the jug to fill it with water, then turned and headed back.

“Oh, you’re back. Here, pour some of that into this pot, would you?”

Once the water filled the pot of assorted vegetables, a bit of meat, and a generous helping of seasoning, Raker set it on the pot hook inside the fireplace. He lit the firewood with practiced hands and picked up a ladle, stirring the stew.

“Oh, right, about your name, miss. I gave it some thought.”

“Yes?”

“Your name, I mean. No matter how hard I racked my brain, nothing came to me. So I was thinking, why not just borrow the name of a fish that lives in our lake? Take a look inside that water jug by the window over there.”

Inside the transparent water where he pointed, a small fish swam along at an easy pace. Its tail split into five strands that curled gently around one another, and its entire body shimmered with a range of colors. 

A soft flow of white, violet-blue, yellow, and pale pink ran smoothly from head to tail, like a living rainbow breathing underwater. The fins, catching a faint reflection in the sunlit ripples, brought to mind a watercolor painting.

“What is this fish called?”

“‘Adalri.’ It’s a talking fish.”

“A talking… fish?”

“That’s right. It can’t speak in words, but it expresses its feelings through color. White means happiness, violet-blue means sorrow, yellow means unwavering friendship, and pale pink means pure love. And that’s not all. It can purify itself even in the filthiest water, so those who carry loneliness often keep this fish and find comfort in it.”

“…Why would you want to give me that name, of all things?”

She asked out of simple curiosity, and Raker smiled with a brief, sheepish look. But soon a deep longing settled into both his eyes.

“The truth is, Adalri was the fish my daughter loved most.”

“Oh…”

Undine looked at Raker carefully. His salt-and-pepper hair, his lined forehead, his warm yet somehow lonely smile brushed against something at the far edge of her memory. It came back to her. 

Her father, who had thrown himself entirely on the line to protect her. That warm man who never lost his love for his daughter even through suffering. The day he quietly drew his last breath before winter had fully passed, worn down by illness.

He had drawn in his final breaths and whispered softly into Undine’s ear.

‘Love the world. Return the hatred you receive with love…’

In that moment, Undine had nodded through her tears, but a fear she could not quite suppress had bloomed in one corner of her heart. Could she truly forgive those who had destroyed her, taken from her, and trampled her underfoot? Could she wrap all that hatred in love? 

But her desire to set her father’s heart at ease had been stronger, and she had nodded in the end, and her father had closed his eyes with a peaceful smile.

The pain that could not be erased, the warmth of that day, now layered itself over Raker’s gentle touch. Tears quietly gathered at the corners of Undine’s eyes. Raker seemed to read her expression, and he smiled softly as he carefully wrapped her hand in his.

“My daughter is no longer in this world, but if she had lived, she would have been just a little older than you by now. Would it be alright… if I thought of you as my daughter, at least for as long as you stay here?”

She would have refused without hesitation in the past. But she could not turn those words away now. She simply nodded and answered quietly.

“Of course, Uncle.”

At Undine’s answer, Raker broke into a wide smile and said, “Then I’m counting on you, Adalri.”

From that day on, Undine began her second life quietly in this unfamiliar world under a new name, Adalri. Or perhaps it was a world where she had been born anew.