A large wave crashed against her head, a sudden pulse against the jagged silver stone sent her into the sea.
But she was still breathing. Better now that she was submerged. She inhaled the ocean and kissed the broken skin of her hands.
She could see the ship's stern from here. Her throat became tangled in screams. She swam forward with exceptional strength, to find none of the glass paneling would open. Her dark tangles enveloped her waist as she peered in through the pot hole. She could see the deep red velvet swiped couch, and water-logged bookshelf. The lantern was out, reflecting no light throughout the hollow room. Her eyes narrowed as she gripped the edge of the window, looking down in to the endless sea below. Darkness consumed her below. It would consume the brave men who ventured to this part of the sea. She rose her eyes to meet clouded, glassy eyes floating before her. His lips were pale and slightly parted, with high cheekbones and soaked brown hair. A scream filled her head, she flung back away from the window, holding her ever leaving sanity with each thump of her heart. The body drifted up into the ceiling, and she forced herself against the window with her entire strength. It broke inward, sending her tumbling into the room. As she looked up to where the body had drifted, his fitted body seemed to grab the wooden paneling above. But his other hand seemed to be outstretched to her. Her stomach twisted uneasily, and she moved her gaze away from the man. She swam to the large wooden dual doors across from the bookshelf, and looked both ways down the hallway. To her left was a stairway that most likely led to the top of the ship, whereas to her right there were numerous wooden doors. Her left. She swam quickly to the the top, only to find the ship wasn't completely submerged yet. She was struggling immensely to get onto the deck, until a flash of movement caught her eyes. There, lying on the bow, with blond damp hair plastered to his neck was the man. Water coated his body, and his loose white shirt was clinging to his chest. A rage filled inside her body. This ship was not meant to go down. This crew was not meant to suffer.
His eyelids fluttered for a moment, and his deep brown eyes met her own. And in that moment, she stopped struggling to get up. Her hands lay flat against the wood as she watched him helplessly. His pale pink lips moved ever so slightly, his eyes never leaving hers. She tried pulling herself up again, but his mouth formed a heartwarming smile. He lifted his hand from the thick level of water beginning to fill the top deck, and he coughed up the rain water that was filling his mouth. He turned onto his stomach abruptly, half of his face was in the water as he stared at her. His eyes fell to her neck, and he reached into his pocket. The girl's green eyes swept over the small silver charm that he now held. She could barely see the shape of it, but she knew what it was. It was a fishing hook. The same fishing hook. This time, as she wiped at her eyes she knew most of the water tapered to her face were from the tears she held from her chest. As the water level grew deeper, she tried pulling herself onto the deck. Her arms were weak, but with help from a crashing wave, she finally lay on the deck with him. His eyes widened curiously as she moved towards him. . Finally, once she was in reach of him, he pulled her tightly against her chest.
The rain pounded around
them, and another large wave crashed on top of them, but he gripped onto
her. He was giving her hope. They lay there, as the storm was raging, and
as the ship was sinking. The waves kept
crashing angrily against the ship, until with a final battle it crumbled a
part. His cry filled her ears as she was
knocked away from him. Her hand was cut
from the hook he was holding, but she felt nothing from it. She only felt the fear that was gnawing at
her mind. That was gnawing at her
thoughts.
The
light’s rays were bouncing off his hair as though he were an angel. And she stayed hidden there, watching this
odd man throwing a thin string into the water and pulling it back out. Curiosity eventually got the better of her,
and she swam towards him. But the thing
he was throwing out caught her and she was so surprised, that she yelped. His head swivelled towards her, but before he
could see her, she was pulling the thing down with her. In a safe location she pulled the metal spike
out of her, and swearing as the water around her became tinged with scarlet.
She rose back up to give the sharp-pointed hook back to him, but when she
breathed in the air, he was gone.
She saw his head floating
on the surface of the black water, and she pushed through the broken pieces of
wood to get to him. As she grew closer,
she saw a steady stream of blood falling from his skull.
She
waited there. For a while. She wanted to
return it. She didn’t want to steal it.
So she waited until the sun went down.
And then the next day. And the next.
She would sit on the rock he was casting from, and pretend to be doing
what he was doing. Bu she was using
stones. Throwing them against the flat
water, breaking it into a thousand cracks, and swimming in after it only to do
that again, and again.
She turned him over, his
lovely russet eyes blinking at her. A
choke rose in her throat as she collapsed into his chest. His hand fell to her back, steadying her.
Then
she heard a voice. It was a timid voice at first. Greeting her carefully. And when she turned, she was met with his
face. A slim face with a firm jaw. But it wasn’t fear or anger in his face. No,
it was amusement. He moved towards her
steadily, and he reached out to shake her hand.
Of course, she thought he was trying to grab her so she leaped into the
water, only to come up to the surface to see a plastered grin on his face as he
wiped off water from his neck. Then she
heard his chuckling.
She heard his chuckling
now, too. She could hear it through the
rain. And the waves. And her heartbeat.
She
came up to him slowly, reaching out to give him the hook. But he shook his head and showed another one.
He said they were a pair, and that it was okay to lose one. She turned her
head, confused. Thinking if it was a
pair, they should always be together.
But at those words he smiled again, and crouched closer to the water.
Closer to her face. No, he said. If something is truly a pair, it doesn’t
matter where one of the two goes. If they’re paired, then they have a
connection that cannot be seen. It’s
like their secret.
He showed her the silver
hook again, trying to force it into her palm.
He was choking against the salt.
She
met him every evening. He would fish and
she would watch. They spoke about many things.
They spoke about nothing. And every time, before he left, he would turn
his head to her ever so slightly and the sun would catch his eyes, turning them
into flame. And he would grin. A stupid half-grin that never ceased to make
her smile too. It never stopped making
her feel warmth in her chest.
The moon’s light casted
into his eyes, making them a soft, clear brown.
And the corner of his mouth lifted. Ever so slightly.
He
spoke about how ships were his life- just as the sea were hers. He never probed
about her. He just knew. And every evening, he would walk away from the rocks
into the forest behind and disappear into the blackness. Just as she would disappear
into the ocean in front of them, becoming cloaked by the blue.
He opened his mouth,
having it fill with water. She pulled
him up onto a flat broken board, holding him up onto it. The sail broken off,
and the post screamed under its weight, crashing on to their bodies.
She
found a thin chain in the sand one day.
And she laced the hook through it.
She didn’t care when it nicked her skin, because it was his. She didn’t have to ask him about his, because
she always saw the outline of it in his pocket. She once reached for it. She wanted to compare them. But he grabbed
her wrist gently. And instead he brought his mouth to hers.
She was dizzy, tumbling
under the waves, and she saw his body sinking under.
She
asked him what it was.
Her head howled in pain
as she swam lethargically towards him.
“Love.”
Bubbled cries filled the
sea around her as she tried grabbing his arms.
She
asked what love was.
Tiny air bubbles left his
mouth as he was being consumed by the ocean.
“Love,
is when a pair can be on opposite sides of the Earth, but still have a tiny,
brilliant string that ties their souls together in a way that is almost impossible.”
Her arms flailed,
panicking to catch him.
Her
face lit up. She asked if that was why
the hooks could be separated.
His weight dragged her
deeper, an aura of scarlet coating around them.
“Yes,”
He kissed her, “And that’s why we can leave every day and come back again.
Because of love. We will always have that in us. It’ll be hidden sometimes.
Sometimes it’ll seem broken or lost, but know that it is always there.”
Darkness was surrounding
them.
He
jumped into the water and kicked around with her until the sun set. But he
stayed that night. They kept talking about love. She kept asking about love.
She felt as though something inside was swelling with such an intense joy, as
though such a strong flame could not be drowned by water.
She gripped his hand, and
looked at the top of the ocean. From below it seemed peaceful. Iron filled her
mouth, and she began choking. She clung
onto him tighter. Not wanting to let go.
She
looked at him. Truly looked at him. He pointed to the ship he would be on soon.
It was stunning. Shiny deep wooden oak that was finely cut. Large white sails
that were wrapped up tightly. And a stunning wooden sculpture of a woman with
long tousled hair and slender arms holding onto the bow. Her head turned up to
him, her face gleaming. He gripped her hand thoughtfully and brought each of
her fingers to his lips. She looked solemnly
to the giant rippling mirror before them.
She thrashed in the
water, trying to pull him up.
He
brought her close to his chest and brought his mouth her ear.
Her jaw clenched angrily
with her weakness.
“It’s
okay to let go.”
She stopped.
His
voice was hushed.
She stared at the man
before her. His once brown eyes were now
glossy and pale. She closed his eyes
gently. His body was lax in her grip. And his pale mouth was parted.
“I
know it’s scary.”
She brought her mouth to
his. Taking in the last bit of him she would ever have again.
“But
that’s because sometimes, something needs to be scary for you to do it.”
She looked at his
clenched hand, and brought her own to her chain.
“Because
then it gets easier.”
Her fingers began
relaxing.
“And
you get stronger.”
His body was falling.
“But I promise you, it gets better.”
“But I promise you, it gets better.”
She stayed floating
there. In the darkest part of the water, watching him disappear. She stayed there. For a while. And eventually
rose back up to the surface. Most of the ship was gone now, and the rain had
become a drizzle. She swam slowly. Away from the ship. Away from the wreckage. And
she waited as the sun came up. It took a long time for her to stop shaking, but
she never let go of the hook on her chain.
She didn’t take the hook
in his hand. She knew she didn’t have to.
She climbed up onto a
rock by the shore where he fished.
She stared in to a small
pool. And she saw her green eyes and dark hair. But she didn’t look at her
eyes. She looked at her mouth.
She inhaled deeply,
feeling the rhythm of her heart increasing.
“Love.”
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