Natural Disaster

Chapter 12

12/21/13

Nadia POV

There was a time in my life where I was unloved. Unneeded, unimportant, and down right discarded. The only one who loved and cared for me was my mom. If I had a bad day I'd always come home and she'd be there to get me through it.

When I was in Elementary School, I didn't fit in with anyone. I didn't care about boys or clothes or any of that. What I really cared about was learning. Learning about the world around me. I remember there was one time when these girls stole this book from me. A wondrous book about a mermaid falling in love. It's kind of ironic when you think about it. They took the book and threw it in the toilet. It was completely ruined. After they destroyed it, they pushed me down and kicked me in the stomach. They told me I was worthless and that no one would ever care for me. And I believed them.

After that I sat in the bathroom stall, crying all day. I didn't go to class all day, I just stayed in the stall and cried. About half the day was gone when a teacher finally came in and found me. She took me to the nurse and I slept the whole rest of the day.

When my mom picked me up, I told her everything that happened. She took me home, tucked me in bed and made me tea. She crawled in bed with me and we talked for hours. She told me about when she was a kid and how she was just like me. She just hadn't fit in. She looked at me and said, "Nadia, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. All you have to do is say 'Watch me.'" I never thought I'd need that life lesson. But as I've grown older I realize I need it more than ever.

Whenever my mother mother wasn't around to make me feel better, I had water. I hadn't known it then but I just had this calling to water. Whenever it would rain I would sit outside in it. I loved to see how the rain just washed over everything it touched, making the leaves on the trees dance. After I would watch it, I would dance in it. I loved how the water felt sliding down my face, wetting my hair, and soaking my clothes. It just made me feel at home.

I remember when my mom first showed me the ocean. I just sat out for hours watching it. I watched it from sunrise to sunset and never got tired of it. It seemed endless. The sea always seemed to join up with the sky. I could never tell where the sky began and where the sea ended. I couldn't even describe it. "It's beautiful isn't it?" my mom had asked. "I don't even have to words to describe it," I had replied. "Majestic. It's majestic," she said.

I remember the first time I saw my mom cry. The water streaming down her face wasn't a happy thing. We had just come back from my Nana's funeral. She was the last family my mom had. I was only 7 so I didn't really understand why she was so upset. But I'd cry too if I lost my mom. And that's exactly what happened. We had just gotten back home from the funeral and my mom hadn't stopped crying since we left. The tears were just dripping from her face, her eyes red and puffy. I hadn't hated water so much then in that moment. I hated to think my mom was sad. I walked over to her and sat down next to her. I put my hands on her cheeks and wiped away her tears and said, "You're majestic."

~*~

The sun shining in the prison window woke me from my deep slumber. I felt awful. My tail was hanging off the poor excuse for a bed and my back was aching because of the rock hard mattress. Actually it was a rock. I sat up and stretched, my back cracking as I did.

"Ugh, I hate this," I said complaining to my empty cell. "Sooner or later I will rule this kingdom and no one will have to sleep on this-"

"Princess?" One of guards said interrupting the conversation I was having with myself.

"Um yes?" I replied. I wasn't expecting anyone to be in the jail with me. Although if I had common sense, I'd have realized there would be guards stationed around the jail. Especially if one of the princesses was inside.