The Sea

VI

The girl has been asleep for a very long time. Even as the sun came down and darkness replaced the light, her soft breathing is heard throughout the night. Now, it is daytime. The sea breeze is a bit cold. The sun is slowly rising in the horizon. The world is waking up, and so is her. Light rays shine on the sea. It illuminates her body. She wakes up from the prickling heat. Her eyes open, and she takes a seat. She sits up on her bed, slowly regaining herself. She takes a deep breath, yawning in the process. The girl stands up. She opens the curtains. The sun is now up. She bathes in the morning warmth.

As she exposes herself to the surface, she swims back to the shore. In an isolated island, it has been her home. She had never intended to swim in the sea. But one day she got possessed by her curiosity. She tested the waters without knowing how to swim. She got on a boat that she made to see what lies beyond the waves. However, she went too far. When she realized, there was no way to turn back. She was in dangerous waters. Her boat began to sink. She desperately tried to swim. Yet she drowned and sank to the bottom of the sea, held by kelp and seaweed.

She had been under the water for a very long time. She was in a place where it was too deep to see any light. In that part of the sea is where she felt truly alone. It's unimaginable. How she survived, she doesn't know.

As she steps foot on the island, the familiar scent of trees greets her nose. This is the place she feels the safest, her comfort zone. The girl goes to her reading nook, a space just for her. It's a place where the sun doesn't shine too hot, just enough to keep her warm. Her books are on the side and little trinkets she sometimes finds. She looks out the window and closes her eyes.

A new day unfolds as the sun rise. A new daymeans a new light, a new hope. What lies beyond the horizon is unknown, but shealready passed the dangerous waters. She learned how to swim and discovered aparadise of a reef. Along the way she faced a lot of grief. She faced a storm.She felt the guilt. She acknowledges that she is wrong, she accepts it. Shemended past bonds and relationships. Now, she's in the process of healing.Risks are the cost for testing the waters. But there has never been a thingsuch as a free lunch in this world.