The Ocean's Call: Part One | ✔

Part Four

Part Four

Nothing beats freshly caught fish. Lunch is absolutely delicious. We eat while the boys tell us about them catching the big tuna together. It was a two-man job pulling the big whopper in. the boys bounce off each other, finishing each other's sentences as they share the story.

I help nana clean up the BBQ while the boys go for a dip in the water. Once we're finished cleaning up nana asks if I'm going to join them but I'm still not ready to be anywhere near the water. She joins them and I sit on the beach watching them.

I find myself reaching for my drawing pad after some time. I flick to the page with the picture I drew of the guy on the way over. I erase the eyebrows, redrawing the ones I saw earlier today. I got a much better look at the neat eyebrows on his face when I swear, he was on the beach reaching for me. I flick my wrist, each little stroke of the pencil knitting his brows together before me. When I finish, I lift the pad up, gazing at the now complete picture.

Satisfied with my work I flip the page to start on another drawing. It's a little odd that this time when I saw the guy from my dreams, he had legs. Human legs. He wasn't a merman this time. I sketch him as if he were standing on the beach in front of me this very minute.

I roughly draw the background in, making small blobs where my family is swimming behind him the picture. I keep looking up to assess him as if any minute now my imagination is going to become reality and he'll walk towards me. Back and forth, my head goes up and down, my fingers moving the pencil across the page rapidly. My finger aches from the pressure of the pencil as I race to complete the picture for no apparent reason.

I look up in time to see Alex walk through the figment of my imagination and poof he's gone. The guy from my dreams no longer floating in front of me. I startle, looking down at the incomplete picturing. I've drawn everything except his face.

I stare at the faceless picture, unsure what to do with it now that it's gone from my head. "Whatcha drawing?" Alex plops down next to me dripping wet.

I tuck the pencil behind my ear and hand him the drawing pad. "Drawing the figments of my imagination."

"Deep." He comments, assessing the picture. "Where's his face? Who are you drawing?"

I grab the pad back from him, closing it. "Some guy I had a dream about."

"What kind of dream?" he narrows his eyes.

I roll my eyes. "Not that kind of dream."

"Better not be. My baby sister doesn't have those kinds of dreams."

I snort, elbowing him. "You're more of an idiot than I thought if you think I don't."

He gags, pretending to vomit in his lap. "I really don't want to know now."

"I gotta get my kicks somewhere." I continue taunting him. he shoves his fingers in his ears, squeezing his eyes shut.

"La la la la." He sings, shaking his head.

Jack and nana approach, looking at Alex oddly. "What's his problem?" Jack asks, reaching for a drink.

"He's being a child." I comment.

Alex stops moving, peeking through an eye to find his brother and nana looking at him funny. He removes his fingers from his ears. "I don't want to think of my sister thinking about those kinds of things." He grumbles.

"Then don't think about it. I'm human you know?"

Jack frowns, looking between us. "What did I miss?"

"You don't want to know." I say, pushing off the ground.