Touch

Chapter 28| Enlightenment

She waits for you beyond the tides...

Freelah's words rang through my mind as I stood before the sea, but how would I survive it? Before me was the violent push and pull of water that seemed to rise and crash with the sole purpose to engulf, to destroy.

Waves rose as tall as mountains, seeking to obliterate the skies, and yet as futile as its efforts were, the sea remained ever turbulent, relentless in its endeavor. I could only imagine what such fury would do to me.

Don't lose it, Little Sun, or you'll forever be lost to the tides...

I looked down to find the rock fisted in my hand. With Freelah's words reverberating through my mind, I steeled my spine, took a deep breath, and stepped away from the sand, trading its warmth for the frigid temperatures of the sea.

If I had known what awaited me, I don't think I ever would have left the shore. I hadn't the chance to register the cold that rocked my body, nor the darkness that pervaded my sight. Only one thought registered as I was tossed to and fro-to survive.

With each kick of my legs and each stroke of my arms, I fought to come to the surface, but it was as though each wave that came crashing back down to join the ever raging sea kept sending me further down.

Panic overtook me as my deprived lungs burned for air, yearning for oxygen's soothing touch. Absent of sustenance, my limbs grew weak, but my determination remained the same, I did not come this far to die.

Death could greet me anywhere else, but it would not be here in this depressing, engulfing darkness. I had a goddess to meet and truths to discover, so I mustered whatever strength I had left in me, determined to fight with the same vigor as the waves, but for every inch of progress, I was thrown back 3 inches more.

A lightness filled my chest, replacing the burn that once sought to eviscerate my lungs.
Futile, just like the waves, my fight was futile. This sea would consume me, I thought as its invisible tendrils drew me deep within its belly. 

My limbs fell slack as fatigue engulfed me, beckoning me to my eternal slumber, and I felt the rock slide its way out of loosened my grip.

Whatever you do Little Sun don't lose your...

Rock. Don't lose your rock, was the last thing I remembered before all went dark.

~~~~

I awoke to the softest of caresses against my cheek. Warmth danced along my skin, seeping through, pervading my life force and I sighed in bliss.

"Now that's enough, child. It's time you wake up," the stern voice said, but I ignored the voice, slumber calling to me once more.

Another sigh escaped from my lips as hands slid down my arms, kneading the tightened muscles, when suddenly the hands clasped onto my fisted hand, attempting to pry it open.

My rock! The thought slammed into me instantly as I jumped and scrambled away from the thief. I turned to face my assassin, to find a beautiful woman stood before me, mischief dancing in her eyes as she regarded me with a sly smile.

"Stubborn girl, just like your father. You always needed tough love."

"Who are you?"

"Why, isn't it obvious?"  She asked as she circled me, assessing me from head to toe.

Irises as white as the moon stared back at me awaiting my reply, but I had none. Foolish as I was, I had conjured in my mind what she would look like, but she had exceeded every expectation. Nothing about her was human, and everything about her was ethereal.