This story begins in 1998. I traveled far, from the Americas to Japan. I was going to the Comic City Osaka convention; a convention for dōjinshi manga which I am heavily interested in. It was a wonderful convention, and I bought a lot of souvenirs. I also met a girl. This encounter quickly developed into a very special relationship. I speak fluent Japanese, so the culture shock was non-existent and I suppose she had a thing for American guys. Her name was Bao Bao, and she was beautiful. Her parents were Chinese, but she lived in Japan and had a strong interest in many of the same things I enjoyed. It was almost like a match made in heaven, if such a place existed. Surely the flowers of romance were in full bloom that day.
After the convention we decided to take a ferry to one of the Amami-Oshima beaches. I forget the exact name of the beach at this time, it was a long time ago after all. We brought towels, food, and drink for the night. We planned on spending the night there. It was my last day in Japan, and we wanted to make it special. Everything started wonderfully. We arrived while the sun was setting. We swam in the warm sea and played in the sand. When night fell we embraced. With each embrace the seas would rumble and waves of passion would erupt into the sky. The water sprinkling on our bodies as we made love in the sand. It was the best night of my life, and one I often dream of. After much wine, Bao Bao and I drifted into slumber whilst holding each other like it was the final days of Earth before the bomb.
I woke up. It was still dark. I could distinctly hear birds chirping in the distance, and then a loud rumble from the sea that was followed by utter silence. I was groggy from the wine. I turned over on my side to gaze at Bao Bao... but she was gone. I quickly rubbed my eyes and got to my knees. Sadness swelled within me. A sadness so strong that it brought me face down in the sand. Holding back a cry, I heard another rumble. I raised my head from the sand and there it was... a magnificent armored creature; a turtle. At the time I thought it was an alligator snapping turtle, because it was quite large and had a very spiky shell. Then I remembered that species is only found in the southeastern United States... and I certainly was not in the United States. I then heard a whisper, as if it was on the wind. It was a Japanese whisper on the wind. It told me, "Do not be sad old friend. Do not be sad".
I quickly got to my feet and looked around everywhere. I was trying to discern where this voice was coming from, but I could not find the source. Panic overcame me. I thought I was going insane. I was worried about Bao Bao, and the voice just added to my stress. I fell to my knees again and sobbed. It was at this time that the turtle slowly crawled up the beach and towards me. It stopped about an inch away from my pathetic display of human emotion. I heard the voice again, "Bao Bao is with us now. Do not be sad."
It was then that I realized... this voice was in my mind. It was coming from the turtle. I slowly turned my gaze from the sand below me to the turtle before me. I looked it deep in the eyes, and something overcame me. I had a vision. I saw the flat Earth in all its majesty. I saw the aether blowing from the depths, pushing everything toward the heavens. I then saw Bao Bao. She was riding the same type of turtle that was in front of me now, but this one was much larger. She road this turtle through pitch dark with a smile on her face. Eventually her turtle congregated into a much larger group of turtles swimming through the void. Like a family...
I heard the voice again: "Do not be sad. Her joy lets her return". At this point something clicked. I nodded to the turtle. My tears stopped, and the turtle slowly turned his back toward me. He made his way back toward the sea. His crawl slow yet peaceful as he vanished into the water. Moments later I saw his shell poking out from the seas, and then another shell popped up from the waves. This shell was much larger. A head rose from inside the shell and a large rumble shook the sands. "Thank you, old friend" was the last thing I heard.