Contests and Short Stories

Blue

Marina looked out at the rippling sparkling waves of blue. It was an image she had become so accustomed to that she usually took it for granted. However, today there was something different about the beautiful ocean scene. She leaned her hip against the railing of the balcony and let the cool salty air embrace her until her cheeks became pink and her eyes started to water. It was windy today and the sun was smack in the middle of the sky shining down in all its glory.

Although she loved to stare at the breath taking view that was just outside her bedroom door Marina held high respect for the ocean and its many untold secrets. Sometimes she was even convinced that it had a personality with various emotions. In fact it was just the other day when the waters had been thick and grey and had spent hours beating against the shoreline with no remorse as though they were enraged for some unknown reason.

Then there was the mystery of the figure on the rocks. It only ever appeared when marina decided to peer out her window during a storm. She never understood it. Why a little girl would insist on standing on the shore in the middle of the raging winds and rain every single time a storm swept through the coast. When she asked some of the neighbors about it no one seemed to know what she was talking about, but Marina knew what she saw. After several inquiries she decided it was just another mystery that would never be solved, something like the mysteries held in the depths of the ocean itself.

Marina stood out on her balcony marveling at the sea and looking out over to the small town just to the right of it. She always loved to observe the people bustling around like ants from the hilltop lighthouse that her family called home. It made her feel like she could see everything and that gave her a strange kind of comfort.

She was about to go back inside to look for something to eat when her eyes caught a glimpse of something small but bright red. If she wasn't a very observant person she would have missed it and when she turned around she was grateful she was. There standing in her usual spot atop the charcoal grey rocks of the shoreline was the little girl. From where Marina stood it seemed she was wearing a greyish blue dress and the bright red she had seen was from a red band wrapped across its waist.

It would be an understatement to say that Marina was surprised. She was stunned actually. She knew from years of experience that the girl only ever stood on there during a storm and judging by the clarity of the sky and heat of the sunshine there was no storm today or coming anytime soon. As the realization finally set in it was replaced by a new feeling. She could feel it swelling in her chest and soon she could feel the butterflies skittering around in her belly from her excitement. She longed to just run down to the beach to approach the mysterious person once and for all and get all the questions that had been plaguing her mind for years answered.

She's probably a ghost, Marina thought with a smile as she raced out of her room and down the spiraled stairs.

"Mom! Dad! It's a beautiful day I'm going for a walk. I'll be back for dinner!" She yelled through the house as she pranced around the living room trying to put on her shoes.

The walk to the beach was a very short one, as their house was just on the hill right above it. She rushed down the old wooden staircase to the beach hoping that when she got there the girl would still be around. If it was a ghost she probably wouldn't be, Marina knew this, but she was willing to try her luck.

When her feet finally hit the sand she was panting and sweat had broken out on her forehead. Even so, Marina didn't stop. She didn't have the time to, so she just kept moving forward. She could not refrain the grin that took over her face when she looked up and she could see the girl still standing there, but she looked a little different. For starters she was in no way a little girl, but was a teenager maybe even slightly older than Marina herself.

She was still in the crisp blue dress with the red band. She was tall and slender and Marina perceived her to be eloquent and graceful judging from the way she stood. She looked almost majestic with her face turned away looking out into the blue expanse of the ocean and her hair being swept back by the salty breeze.

It was in that moment that Marina stopped, just a few feet away from the young woman. She let her hands rest on her knees as she caught her breath. When she finally looked up she couldn't bring herself to speak since she wasn't quite sure what to say. She had so many things to ask but she didn't know where to start. However she needed to say something, so she just let the first thing in her mind fly out of her mouth.

"Hello," Marina said. She wasn't sure she had said it loud enough until the girl's face slowly turned to face her. Then the girl did something Marina surely had not expected. She smiled.