The Sea

XIX

The girl is sitting by the shore. She's back to the island, her safe enclosure. After three gruesome weeks of stress and anxiety, she can once again breathe comfortably. She closes her eyes as she proceeds to sleep. Her body and mind are drained of its energy. She's relishing in the feeling of the rough sand against her skin. The splashing of the waves is a lulling music.

A faint knock reverberates in the room. The girl jolts up from her half slumber. She turns to the door as her mother walks in. No smile, no greeting. She watches with cautious eyes as she slowly takes a seat. Silence, then her Mama says, "I know you can do it. I wouldn't push you if I didn't know you couldn't. Talk to me if you have a problem. I'm always here. Mama loves you a lot. Remember that."

Crystal drops form in her eyes. The girl dives in her Mama's warm arms. She bursts into tears as her mother's precious words repeats in her mind. Looking back at all those times, those harsh words that always mask themselves as parrot fish destroying her reefs, chopping away every confidence in her body... They do not mean harm. They only want her to learn and stand in her own two feet, to prove them wrong and say that "I did it." Failures are an inevitable part of life. One will not learn of true success without falling once or twice. Despite the pieces of herself that she has lost in the waters of the vast seas of the ocean, the remains of her corals created these magnificent islands. The sand at the shores of the beaches is a reminder of every memory that she has experienced. May it be good or bad, these are her riches. Yes, their words are knives that pierce her heart, but they are the realities that she needs to realize. They are what open her eyes to see in the perspective not only by her sight.

They stay like that for a very long time, justhugging each other and her Mama patting her back. The girl cries and criesuntil there are no more tears left to cry. She sniffles, and then says, "I'msorry. I love you both, Mama and Papa."