Sea Spell

Chapter Five

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Salty water, stinging like acid, tumbled over the rocks into the cave. The tropical sunrise had faded dramatically into an unclear horizon. Debris travelled in brown waves of air, and trees fell to the ground.
A painful white light pierced Lanakila's vision. All around her, Guadeloupe was in chaos. The entire gulf hung perched on a cliff of anxiety. She, however, felt eerily calm, her sore muscles almost floating as if they were nonexistent. Blinking her eyes open and shut repeatedly, she took in the storm around her. Her mind began to panic, her heartbeat racing in her chest. She couldn't move.

She couldn't move.

A jumbled mess of thoughts ran through her head as her back began to twist in pain. Lana's heavy breaths became shallow, her throat felt tight, like she had swallowed too much air.
Pellets of rain shattered her skin. Struggling to sit up, she passed out against the screaming of the wind and the world became black and silent.
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A small girl sat at the window of an apartment, staring at the ocean. She snapped her neck to attention at the click-clack of high heels on the pavement below.
A gust of wind threw the marred curtains back in her face. Goosebumps ran up her spine, and the promise of sleep seemed irresistible. She needed to stay awake, though.
The door creaked open and a worn looking woman stumbled inside. Her eyes flared wildly about the room, landing on the girl. The woman leapt up, staggering backwards before releasing and letting out a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding.

" Cariño, ¿por qué estás tan tarde ? "

The girl replied sheepishly, " Lo sentimos , mamá , yo sólo quería quedarse para que yo pudiera verte " .

The woman sighed and scooped the girl up. "Lana , tengo que salir pronto . Vamos a meter en la cama , cariño. "

Yawning, the young girl smiled to herself as she was tucked into bed. The moonlight flooded in, lighting up the woman's face. She was beautiful.

" Te quiero , mamá . "

Through the darkness, the whisper came.

"Yo también te quiero."
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The decibels of pain that ripped the 14 year olds body in half was unimaginable.
Lanakila gripped the cave rocks with her fingers, watching as her flesh was torn from her hands. Her legs were clasped neatly together, hardened and refusing to move.
Water now rose throughout the cave, lapping at her nostrils. White knuckles gripped the rock. She couldn't let go. She couldn't sacrifice herself to the sea.

Lana thought of the people she loved. Of her sister, Anadia, trying to race with the other children but having to stay behind in the shade. Anadia would never be normal again since her diagnosis.
She thought of all the sleepovers with Jennifer, when she'd let her best friend paint her fingernails a pastel green. If she focused her vision, she could admire them now.
She thought of her grandmother, and coming home to jumbilia cooking with shrimp on the gumbo pot. Of Mimi reading her palms, making her herbal tea, and telling her tales of mermaids and sirens.
The mermaid stories had started when Lanakila was seven years old, about the time her mother disappeared. Mimi would talk of humans turning into mermaids, and fables of sirens luring unlucky sailors into the ocean. Of course, Lanakila was old enough to know that sea folk were only imaginary, like the fairies and princesses she'd read about at the library.
Mostly, though, Lanakila thought about her mother, and the father she'd never truly known, only heard about. In her memory, instead of a loving father with a smile on his face, all she saw was a blur, and memories of confusion and sadness.
He had left shortly after Anadia was born, sweeping off into the night on a stolen speedboat, never to be seen again.
Throughout her childhood, she had came to the painful conclusion that when you lose a parent, you also lose a part of yourself. An innocent, childish part of your heart, the part that knows there's people looking out for you. Lanakila had grown up too soon, had been forced into caring for her family. She felt not like a teenaged girl, not like Jennifer or Marci, but like an adult. It was for that reason Lana didn't care for looks or swoon over boys like the other girls. She had far more important tasks at hand.
In the darkness of the sea caves, Lanakila squeezed her eyes, blocking out bits of glass that were gushing in. The hurricane seemed to be at it's most intense peak. Winds whipped across Guadeloupe like ravenous wolves, destroying everything in their wake. Waves roared up over the Cliffs, plummeting down and sending a continuos supply of water to the caves.
As her ears rung persistently, she chanted to herself, I just need to hold on. Then everything will be okay.
Her hands, covered in layers of sweat, began to slip off the rock. Lanakila tried hoisting herself up over the rocks, but it was too late. The tide was already sucking her out to sea, claiming its next victim.
She let go.
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hey lovely readers:
About the Spanish dialogue in this chapter, I wanted it that way because it makes the story a tad more mysterious. Translating the dialogue online will spoil the plot for you later on, so hang in there if you're clueless right now.
Feedback is very important, [hint hint].
xoxo
payton.