Akeno Tanaka is a cabin steward for the cruise ship The Legend, and does his best to ensure passengers’ cabins are in the best shape possible. Hailing from Indonesia, Akeno was one of the lucky 1,580 applicants to get a job as a crew member aboard the first sailing of the brand-new Legend Cruises ship. Under his care on the first sailing of The Legend are several cabins on Deck 4, including 4112, 4190, and 4114, the cabins belonging to the Walker, Clark, and Roberts families, respectively.

It was about noon on our third day at sea, and I was heading toward my cabin to change into a swimsuit when I bumped into an Asian man with dark hair and eyes.

“Oh, sorry. I was just going into my cabin,” I told him, confused and a bit creeped out by the fact that this guy had been heading straight for my room. I relaxed when I saw the cart behind him, which was filled with cleaning supplies.

“I was about to clean that room, unless you want the cleaning to be postponed,” the man said. I realized I recognized him somewhat; I’d seen him in passing on our deck. “Uh, could you just wait maybe ten minutes? Thanks.”

“Okay. I will be cleaning this cabin, then,” he said, gesturing to the door across from us. He advanced to the door and knocked.

I took out my room key, tapping it on the pad, and it flashed green. I entered, and as soon as I had changed and grabbed my towel, I opened the door to find the man closing the door across from me.

“I don’t think I caught your name,” I acknowledged.

“Akeno. And what is yours?” he asked politely.

“Sierra. Thanks, by the way. For cleaning everyone’s rooms, I mean. It really is nice to come back to a clean cabin after a long day.”

Akeno smiled and tapped his master key card on my door before entering.

– Dark Waters