Thalassophile

1. Daze

Ava's eyes flickered as streaks of sunlight penetrated the window. Her mind numbed and she was baffled by the voices downstairs. She did not feel right. She moved like her limbs didn't really belong to her, and each step was a negotiation rather than an order. Everything hurt by then. Every damn thing.

"Elisa, wake up! You're going to be late!!!"

Wasn't it Sunday? Bewildered, Ava gazed at the surrounding. On the back wall was a mural - a tree with every colour of fall leaf imaginable and a few more besides. On the soft, luxurious bed was a hand embroidered pale blue cover. There was a photograph of another teenage girl as a child with her mother, her father and her brother on the snow-white wall. The bed was much more spacious then hers.

The most rational, sensible and logical reason she could think of was that she had been unconscious at her friend's party and was brought to Elisa's house temporarily (whoever Elisa was).

It was strange to be here, but perhaps it was a place to recover, to find her feet again and this was just the bedroom for it.

"Can you wake up and dress up at once?" The woman hollered again.

The voice was unlike her own mum. Perhaps her mum had a sore throat today, and she was here to fetch her.

Ava winced to cross the floor and headed to the bathroom. The glass that Ava stared into was encircled by a frame of thread-like strands of silver, interlaced together in a mock-liana arrangement. But her reflection shocked her. No, it was someone else's reflection.

It was as if the impact had knocked every wisp of air from her lungs and she just stood there struggling to inhale, to exhale. She tried to remember how to breathe but still was totally stunned as the image bounced inside her skull.

In the mirror, there were no mercury-red hair or brown eyes. It was a girl without a pale, pale face. A girl without freckles and a mole beside her lips. The girl staring straight at her was blue-eyed and tanned. She had a comely figure which was stem-thin. She ran through the nougat-brown hair with the Venus-red fingernails. The girl in the mirror did the same.

With trembling fingers, she messily tied her hair and cleaned up. She didn't dare to look into the mirror again. Maybe it is only a dream or just a coincidence or I am just... just too drunk. She thought, trying to reassure herself.

"Elisa! What's taking you so long today? " The woman with a very posh accent grabbed a cereal bowl for Ava hastily, once Ava stumbled out of the bedroom and into the living room.

You are not my mum! She shouted helplessly in her mind.

Ava turned around, not willing to let the strangers see the mist forming underneath her eyes.

I am Ava Jones! Not Elisa!

"Are you alright?" A boy much taller then her raised his eyebrows dispassionately, scooping up spoons of cheerios into his mouth.

Flushing, Ava snapped out of it and stammered, " what's...what's going on? "

The boy gawked at her, with eyebrows raising a notch.

"Stop that at once and finish your breakfast! I don't have time for you two to start bickering again!" In her haste to reach the pack of cereal, Elisa's mum knocked over a cup.

"But I..."

"What's wrong with you today? Dress up!" The woman started screeching again.

"I am not..."

"Oh no! It's half past eight!" Picking up the cup and wiping the floor swiftly, she then ushered Ava to her bedroom. Elisa's bedroom.

Ava rummaged through the closet and saw the neatly ironed school uniform. The blouse was striped red, white and blue and had long sleeves, a revers collar and buttons down the front. A navy-blue skirt, a cardigan and a warm blazer. They were nothing like her own uniform from Hillview School.

Ava spotted Elisa's phone, she had been confused by the fact that she had to go to school on Sunday. But once she turned it on, the date shown on the screen was not 3 July.

It was 3 December.

She couldn't bear it anymore - ageing 5 months overnight. She hoped she was in her own bed or swimming in the summer morning or even just doing schoolwork. But hardly were these happening. She bit down on her lip trying not to burst into tears. This was not going to help, it was not going to change anything. She knew anyone would laugh at it if she told them her real identity, thinking that she was insane.

Outside in the street, she shouldered Elisa's schoolbag and wandered mindlessly.

Elisa's brother had already gone out for his soccer training, so Ava expected no help to get to school or to call her mom. She pressed her back against the cold tiles and hands shivering along the lined edges of the cracked bricks of a wall and fragments of hope.

Until she heard a humming from the ocean.  Mysterious but lukewarm. From deep inside her chest, through every cell of her body, the warmth of the sea welcomed her like an old friend. 

I haven't been on wattpad for a long time 🙈🙈, I know there must be a tremendous amount of grammatical mistakes and sorry for my poor writing technique. I wrote it in such a rush, there must be an array of flaws. 

Thanks for clicking into this story anyway >~<