figure any of this out. Was Dr. Campbell from Lorelei? Is that how she knew I needed to transfer here? And if I was descended from a sea goddess, where were my real parents?
Why did they abandon me in a world where I didn’t belong? All I had were questions and no answers.
I wanted someone to tell me what my abilities were. Explain why my eyes had changed colors. Why the ocean attacked me if I was supposed to have a special bond with it. And why I couldn’t get a certain blue eyed dark angel out of my head. Where was he? What was his name? Did he dream of me too?
Chapter 9
I woke up to distant thunder rolling in off the ocean and rain spattering against my bedroom window. It was almost dawn, so I threw on some sweatpants, snuck out to the living room and looked through the curtains. I had been terrified of storms when I was younger, but completely fascinated at the same time. I would hide in a blanket with only my eyes peeking out, as lightening lit up the world and thunder rumbled so loud my insides vibrated. As scared as I was, I had loved every second of it.
Now that I was older, I wished I could get even closer. I wanted to sit up in the clouds and look down as the rain dampened the earth and the strength of the wind moved trees. When the pure power of nature’s energy is channeled it can move mountains. Being so close to that intense energy would be exhilarating.
I gingerly opened the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony. Even on the third floor, I could see miles out to sea. The dark storm clouds were still building as they rained down on the ocean. The wall of water looked like a gray curtain strung from the billowing clouds. Lightning danced across the sky and I felt like I was witnessing a light show created just for me. I curled up on one of the lounge chairs and watched as the storm made its way towards land. I got that weird feeling of being watched again, so I glanced around to the neighboring balconies. No one was there, but I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling. Gazing out at the ocean, I let the rumbling thunder soothe my soul.
“If you didn’t like your bed, you could have just said something.” I opened my eyes to Carmen down grinning at me. I must have fallen asleep watching the storm. Good thing I don’t sleep walk. The new day was fifty shades of gray and pretty chilly. Goose bumps rose on my arms as I stood up, heading for the warmth of the living room.
After a unanimous vote, we decided today was going to be a movie day spent on the couch, eating as much snack food as our meal cards could buy. After the excitement of yesterday and classes starting tomorrow, I was really looking forward to doing something low-key like watching movies.
Willow and I began making pancakes for breakfast, while Phoebe and Carmen ran downstairs to the Red Box to rent movies and buy food. After a chick flick, a comedy and a movie about a girl who took on the entire Russian mafia (Carmen picked that one out), we started to get a little restless.
When Phoebe started flinging sand from her box at Carmen with one finger, I told them the idea that had been bouncing around in my head for several hours.
“You want to do what?” Carmen stared up at me as she playfully tried to smother Phoebe with a pillow.
“It’s the perfect time, you guys. Nobody’s outside to watch me humiliate myself and I have you guys to save my life.” I gave them my best puppy dog eyes.
“It’s kind of cold outside; don’t you think the water will be freezing?” Willow stood and looked out the window, doubtful.
Phoebe came to the rescue after finally pushing Carmen off of her. “Well, I do have an extra wet suit that might fit you?”
I ran over to her, “that’s perfect Phoebe! And if you have an
“Crap. I guess I walked right in to that one, didn’t I?” I could tell she was going to give in.
“I’ll go in with you on one condition”
“Name it.”
“If I can’t save your life, don’t come back and haunt me.”
I rubbed my chin, contemplating, and then smiled, “Deal!”
It took a good twenty minutes to zip me into Phoebe’s wet suit and I’d already started wondering how in creation I was going to get that thing off. If nothing else, a pair of scissors would do the trick. Carmen and Willow tagged along behind us on the beach wearing rain jackets and holding umbrellas. The rain had let up, but a strong mist had blown in, keeping everything damp.
“I cannot believe we are doing this right now,” complained Carmen, “My hair and rain do not get along. Frizz is the devil.”
“Stop complaining or I’ll throw you in the ocean along with them,” Willow threatened her, and then handed her a Twix.
“Yes, mother,” Carmen retorted. She grabbed the Twix and grinned like a kid in a candy store.
As we walked toward the surf, I started to get nervous again. This seemed like such a great idea in the comfort of our living room. Now I wasn’t so sure. But I wasn’t going to let anything get the best of me, especially not some water. If I really was a descendent of a sea goddess, being afraid of the ocean was not an option. Some sea nymph I was turning out to be.
Fighting past the breakers in a wet suit was much easier than I had expected, but being in the ocean without actually feeling it was an odd sensation. It was still chilly, but the wet suit kept my body heat in, warming me. As we made it past the waves, Phoebe stopped, waiting on my next move.
I moved past her and dove in head first. I swam as deep as I could and felt that same tingling sensation spread throughout my body. I steeled myself and opened my eyes. This time it didn’t burn at all, but what really shocked me was how well I could see. Not only could I see through the murky water for at least twenty meters, it was as if the whole world had suddenly turned to high definition and I’d been watching my life in analog all these years. The amount of detail I could see was overwhelming and everything had a certain surreal quality to it. Sea grass swayed in the current below, flashing at me in a million vibrant shades of green and brown. I had never imagined brown and green could be so beautiful. They also appeared translucent, allowing me to see not only the outside, but the inside of the grass as well. Very carefully, I sank down just close enough to skim my hand along the tops of their fronds. As I made contact, a jolt of energy shot up my arm. It could only be described as their life force flowing into me. I yanked my hand back in surprise and realized I was running out of air, so I quickly swam back up to the surface. At least they hadn’t attacked me this time.
Taking a big gulp of oxygen, I saw Phoebe a couple of meters away floating on her back. Good thing I didn’t need rescuing. I swam over to her, grabbed her ankles, and yanked them toward me.
She started flailing her arms and wiping water from her face, shrieking. I laughed at her and dove back underwater.
As I did, my stomach plunged to the ocean floor and my body froze. An enormous sea turtle had appeared out of nowhere. I’d never seen one up close, but this one was much bigger than I would have guessed they could get. He was watching me with big, black curious eyes. His head was light gray with brown scales, matching the larger ones on his shell. From his size and the scars riddling his body, I surmised he had to be very old. He looked almost regal, as he idled closer to me, nodding his head up and down. I got the feeling he was happy to see me, which was a plus, considering his beak looked particularly sharp and was the size of my fist. Not sure what to do, I stayed put and followed him with my eyes as he slowly swam laps around me. He nudged my side with his head and looked up at me, which reminded me of a dog happy to see his owner. He nodded his head one more time and swam away. As he faded into the darkness, I decided swimming may not be the best way to describe it. He resembled a majestic bird of prey flying through the air; graceful and serene. I looked around and found Phoebe a couple of feet away, her eyes wide with shock. I headed back up to the surface for air and she followed me up.
As soon as I broke the surface, I was immediately overcome with a deep aching in my heart to stay underwater. It was almost as if I was more alive down there. I felt more like myself. It was addictive.
“Oh my god, that was amazing! Did you see it? It was so cute! I can’t believe it was swimming around you like that!” I didn’t even attempt to get a word in. Instead, I took another breath and dove back under one more
