Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Fifty-Three

There was an unfamiliar feeling coming from within me. I couldn't describe it, or even feel exactly what it was. I was there, only there, with nothing to connect with. It was like floating, maybe. I couldn't explain it.

It was like I had been in that state for years. Countless years.

But somewhere in that lost time, a bright light had shown itself. Once I got close enough to the light, or well, it came close to me, I saw something. My eyes slowly opening, but before I could see where I was, I heard the sound of waves right beside me.

I could feel my body pressed against the sand beneath me. As I ran my hands through it, I started to wonder where I was exactly and how this happened.

Once my eyes were fully adjusted, I was staring at the bright blue sky. I brought one hand over my head to shade them from the rays of the sun. But they were so strong, my hands weren't enough to block it. I tried to sit up, so I could get up and go inside. But I didn't have the strength to push my body off the sand.

Everything started to hurt. Even moving my hand through the sand became a pain. My body felt different. It was almost like the day I was getting consumed in dark magic. My body tingled with that magic. What was happening to me?

Why was I here?

"And that is what I call nearly complete," I heard someone say. It sounded like it was right under my ear, but there wasn't a soul around. Then a thud came from beside me, but once again, there was nothing there that could make that sound.

"Lara!" A voice full of panic shouted. I was starting to get worried. What was going on?

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. This was designed only for the eyes of a Guardian. They are the ones that teach this story over and over to new Guardians." The original voice said, calming the other one down. Well, trying to.

"Hello?" I said, trying to see if these strange voices could hear me. There was no reply.

I stayed there for who knew how long until I closed my eyes and went off into a dreamless sleep. Well, that was what I thought happened.

"Lara!" I opened my eyes, catching the sight of Noah's face. His was holding me up and watching me carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," I mumbled in response.

"What happened?" He asked, still not letting go of me.

"I don't know. I...I saw someone and I wasn't here anymore."

"That, my love, was a memory of Amara. Aren't you glad it was one of the less painful ones?" Luka said from where he sat at the dining table. He was playing with the pages of the journal.

"Who is Amara?"

"Ah, see, if I tell you that, I'll die. Condemned to burst into flames. And we don't want to lose me or Asher, now do we?" Luka seemed grumpy about that. Was he really cursed not to speak a word of who that was, or was it that he didn't want to tell us?

"Is Asher even real?" I asked, remembering the days when I knew a boy named, Asher. And if those moments were ever truly real.

"He's very much real, yes. I don't have a body of my own," he shrugged.

"Then where's Asher?"

"Here," Luka replied, patting his chest. "Before you say anything, he should be thanking me. He owes me." I just gave him a disapproving look. "If you found the newspaper of the day Clara burned from her own magic, you'd know." Luka started digging around in his pockets. "Ah, ha. Here it is. Two years old and still readable."