A World Of Treason and Tides

Chapter 29: Air

Kia jumped out of the water—both of us taking in the fresh air—then she dove under the surface of water going ahead a few metres, and jumped out of the water for the second time. She again dove under the surface. She did it again. And again. And again.

"Sttopppp now!" The words mingled with my giggle, as I tried to balance myself.

I heard Ryan chuckle at my protest. Kia whistled. I patted Kia on the side telling her to go faster so that we could be beside Ryan. Kia obeyed and with a few clicks increased her speed. In no time we were beside Ryan. He was floating peacefully, taking in the surroundings and probably not noticing us.

I smacked him on the arm. "I have lost counts of how many times you chuckled at my suffering."

Ryan looked taken aback for a moment, but was swift to cloak his surprise. "I did not know you kept tabs," he said.

"I don't anymore," I declared. Then added, somewhat dramatically, "My hopes in you have been lost."

Ryan smirked and swam upwards. Kia followed him, and I gripped her as firmly as possible so as not to fall from her back. But at the same time, I welcomed the rush of energy propagating through me, and the trail of bubbles that was left in our wake. As we rose to the surface, the water became warmer and lighter and somehow it became saltier. Underwater, the feeling of saltiness was there, but much mild— here, at the surface, that feeling could not be dismissed. Maybe it was the salt in the air that struck on my skin.

Air— I welcomed it with an open heart and open arms. Literally. I released my grip on Kia and let my arms soar to my side. My head fell back and a soft laughter aroused from me as the winds crashed on my face. I took in the cool, salt-tinted sea-breeze and closed my eyes. In the highs and lows of the waves, I temporarily forgot the highs and lows of my life. I was glad Ryan had decided to bring us here and not to some beautiful but dingy place under the sea.

"Ryan?" I called him to ask the reason that had kept him occupied at the library, but my voice came out disrupted.

Ryan laughed. "It was only a wave, Spark."

"I was not bothered by the wave, Ryan." I was, however, caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the wave— a particularly large one—and my voice had sounded shaken. 

Ryan shook his head, smile still lingering on his face; then he dove underwater. He surfaced beside me and Kia before starting to swim again. "What had you wanted to ask me?"

"What were you—" I started but was cut off by my own interruption.

"Oh is that where we are going?" I turned to Ryan and pointed towards the shore, the yellow sand extending till infinity, sparkling in the sun. The shore resembled molten gold and looked like it was floating on the sea.

Ryan nodded and I urged Kia to go faster towards. The sand, the sunlight—everything seemed so inviting after spending so many days in the Kingdom of Water; and the radiance emanating from the reflecting sand did not fail to entice me either. Seeing the land, an overpowering feeling of tiredness engulfed me— all I wanted then, was to lie down on the beach and enjoy the warm rays of sun on my skin.

***

"So, this beach is not part of the Kingdom of Land?" I sat up and faced Ryan. I had been lying on the beach and looking at the vast stretch of sand while Ryan was telling me something. The only words I heard were, 'not Kingdom of Land'.

"No," he grinned. "Were you not listening?"

I stared at his grinning face. Ryan's sleeves were rolled up to his forearm—he looked like an angel in his white shirt. The sunrays highlighting his honey-brown hair made him look even more attractive. A corner of my mouth rose up slightly.