Unforeseen, Uncomfortable & Unbridled

Chapter One (Part I)

  Hello. Yay, I've finished the first part of chapter one ;D I am super duper excited to share this with all of you. Thank you Jamie Hiddleton for her wonderful help on my story. You should check out hers as well :)

~Chapter One~

Short-Hair, SHell & StarfisH

~SHuSH~

Part I

Barbara's POV

Oh my tomatoes. Finally.

Whitish light in the distance, streaming into the dark, gradually illuminates my surroundings. I have finally arrived at the bottom of the ocean.

I blink my eyes rapidly until I get accustomed to the luminous light, until the coral reefs are no longer blurry in my sight. Vibrant yellowish blossoms with cotton-candy-like-pink dots embellish on top of the branches, casting shadows on the sandy ground. Rusty red plates are piled messily some way ahead. Sharp orchid fingers stick out between burgundy lace corals. Heliotrope pebbles with lumpy exteriors catch my attention. The rich variety of colours and the diversity of shapes in coral reefs sometimes creates extreme contrasts with one another, in other times is in accordance with one another harmoniously, piecing together a beautiful puzzle of the ocean. Dad was right. You've never lived a life before you've seen real coral reefs. Nah, the ones on TV or in the Internet or in a friend's cameras are not counted.

Examining the coral reefs in details, I almost forget how cold and exhausted I am feeling right now. Almost. My legs are quivering badly after stretching them out backward and thrusting them elliptically back to the initial position repeatedly for minutes. Although surprisingly my clothes are not wet, I am freezing cold, which also contributes to the fact that my legs are trembling.

Now I do realize how selfless Jack was when he gave over his place on the board to Rose, and why most people on Titanic died from cold, but not from drowning. Suffering in icy water is such a horrible sensation. Well, to be honest with you, the fact that my clothes remain dry is not so surprising anymore when you compare it with the ability that you can breathe under water, see things clearly without swimming goggles or talk comfortably without drinking salty water.

Ridiculous it is. Oh boy, I just cut my long hair for the first time in forever. And see what I am experiencing now. Everything was so normal in the morning (excluding the destruction of my bathroom door and the weird watch on Jamie's wrist). I still remember the details of everything that happened today...

*Flashback*

"Barbara, are you done yet? You have been in the bathroom for 57 minutes and 33 seconds. 34 now..." Jamie's high-pitched voice echoed in the corridor.

Oh boy, when would she stop hurrying me up? It was way too kind of her to stand outside the bathroom and count every second I spent in it.

"Give me one more minute. And you better get some water, Jamie. I don't want my friend to die of a disease named 'Too much nagging'."

Looking in the mirror, a whole new me was shown. My chocolate brown hair no longer beautifully lay on my shoulders. My fringe lingered at the right side of my forehead, which curled up a little naturally. It came out quite well, just that I didn't get used to it. It felt refreshing and that's exactly what I needed - a whole new starting point. Seven years now. The memories of my parents lying motionlessly on the hospital bed, heads covered with white blankets and pushed to the completely dark room on the other side were still so clearly visible in my brain. I had to throw them away, let them go in the same way I did my hair. Of course it wouldn't be as easy, but I would at least try. It is for the best.