Can You Hear the Ocean?

PART 5: Ocean Sunset

"Write to me. I'll see you," Leila had said that warm, summer evening.

As Leila rode her bike into the distance, Mia turned and faced the sea. The waves pushed and pulled against the surf in a slow, methodical rhythm while the sun cast its golden hues of sunset out onto the azure water.

Mia knew her father would worry if she lingered long, but for now, she wanted to breathe in as much of the ocean air as she could. In her hand, she moved the seashell back and forth between her fingers, feeling the warm sand granules still clinging to it.

"We'll come back and visit often, right?" Mia had asked her father when he first shared they were moving to Missouri.

Her father had given her a weakened smile in response and assured her they'd make some time to visit again soon, but Mia could see through his façade. Nevertheless, she plastered a smile on her face as she helped him pack up her things, assuring him that she was excited to move to Missouri. After she'd seen his face light up the first time she said it, she hadn't been able to act saddened afterwards, not when she knew her father was clearly relieved to hear those words.

Now, Mia was faced with unescapable sadness as she watched the waves slowly hit the shore. Taking a seat on the sand, Mia stared out at the sea and began to sob. For so many months, she'd held her tears in, only finding time to weep quietly in the privacy of her bedroom. Now, she let her sobs take control of her and wrack her entire body. She sobbed for her mother whom she would never see again, she sobbed for her father, who clearly would never be the same, she sobbed for the home that was being taken away from her, and finally, she sobbed for Leila, whom Mia didn't want to be parted from.

Will I ever meet someone like Leila again? Mia wondered. She knew it was silly to think that she wouldn't, but deep down, she felt Leila was the only one who understood her. Though Mia had kept up her cheerful façade during the past few months, Mia was aware that Leila wasn't fooled by her peppy personality. Mia figured that Leila knew the best way to comfort her was to distract her this summer from the sadness infiltrating every corner of her life. For a long time, it had worked, but now, Leila was officially gone, and Mia was met with overwhelming solitude.

The sky grew dark, yet Mia still sat, holding the seashell in her palm. Though her cries had ceased, she didn't want to return home just yet, not when she knew her house would be full of boxes and her bed would be replaced by an air mattress.

The faintest of stars began to appear in the sky. Mia held up the seashell to the sky to reflect the moonlight. Slowly, she rose to her feet and wiped the sand from her legs. Once more, she walked down to the water to let the salty waves wash over her feet. As she stood there, breathing in deeply and wiping tears from her puffy eyes, she gripped the seashell tightly in her hand and made a promise to herself.

"I'll return," Mia said. "I don't care how long it takes. I'll come back one day. I'll see the ocean again. I'll be with Leila again. And I'll take care of Mom's grave."

With those words said aloud, she slipped the seashell into the pocket of her shorts and headed up to the beach to her bike. She glanced one last time at the ocean, admiring the way the moon lit up its waves. The view was breathtaking, and Mia mourned the fact that it would be a long time before she saw such a view again.

Unless Missouri has beaches, she thought, though she doubted it.

Climbing onto her bike, Mia headed back up the road, savoring the last few moments of time she had remaining in Maine.

...

Sitting on her bed, Leila held her knees to her chest and cried quietly, afraid her parents would hear her down the hall. She had assured them that she was fine, that she and Mia would write to each other, and that they would be able to keep up a long distance friendship. 

"I have no doubts about it," Leila had told her parents.

Now, alone in her room, Leila truly let herself feel sorrow. She thought to how she had been walking behind Mia on the beach, and suddenly she regretted it. She wished she'd been facing Mia as they walked, looking directly at her. She wanted to memorize the way that Mia's blue eyes reflected the sunlight and how the sea breeze tousled her hair and how she hung her head back as she laughed. None of that could be conveyed in photographs. Instead, all Leila had seen was Mia's slouch and slow steps as they walked along the shore.

What if she forgets about me? Leila thought sadly. She knew it couldn't be possible, not when they had been friends for so many years, but she worried that one day, as the years moved forward, the brief time they spent together as children would pale in comparison to new experiences. Mia would find new friends in Missouri, and one day...one day Mia would be in Missouri longer than she'd lived in Maine. Leila's stomach churned at the thought.

Leila reached for the tissue box on her nightstand and blew her nose. She couldn't cry like this much longer. Her mother had insisted she start going to bed earlier with school starting in a few days, and tomorrow, she'd be waking up bright and early to go back-to-school shopping with her father and brother.

Leila sighed and pulled the curtain back from her window. The moon was full tonight. Its pale rays cast onto the luscious, green trees of Leila's backyard. She wondered if Mia was biking back to her house, looking at the same moon.

I know what I said to my parents, but I really don't want Mia to leave. I want her to stay here with me forever. I want to be best friends forever. Leila felt selfish thinking it, but it was true. She wanted Mia to stay more than anything, but she'd never had the courage to tell her.

"Not like it would have mattered," Leila said, letting the curtain close.

She stared at her desk where some spare parchment and a pen were sitting. She'd gathered it earlier in the day, knowing that she'd be writing to Mia sooner rather than later.

Though she felt slightly better after crying, she expected it would take a while to fall asleep, especially knowing that the next day, Mia would be gone. After turning the lights off, she crawled in bed and stared at the ceiling. She watched her ceiling fan spin back and forth.

I'm going to make sure Mia and I stay friends no matter what, Leila decided. I don't care if the odds are against us. We'll write, and when we get older, we can visit each other.

With this promise in mind, Leila rolled over and became more drowsy.

Tomorrow. I'll start writing tomorrow, Leila decided.

With a smile on her face, she drifted off to sleep.