Ocean's Secret |on hold|

25 | Close Enough

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long!! I haven't fallen off the planet... well, maybe I have.... 😬
But I'm here with an update! ^^
I hope you enjoy, and there's an important author's note at the end too :)
~~~~~~

Dark has found a way
to call this place home
Though I can barely see
I know I need hope

Meredee stared out over the murky surface of the sea, her knees crouching in the sodden bracken at the edge. A quiet lapping sound broken only by a few squwarks from seagulls accompanied her halting melody.

Fingers of doubt come trailing
down my spine
I barely recognise
my own disguise
Shadows can only understand
this game
I hide behind the pain
and all the lies

The afternoon sun was setting, and with it was Meredee's determination also. She was just so tired. Tired of running, tired of hiding. Tired of the darkness. She'd searched this land for answers, but there was nothing for her here. All she'd gotten were more questions.

"What am I supposed to do?" She whispered quietly as she waded out into the water, knowing her daily transformation would soon take place. The water swirled around her ankles, darkening the hem of her dress, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.

She gasped as great creatures from the deep swam up to her, nudging her legs with their fierce-looking snouts. She'd seen them before, a few of them on her journey to this land across the sea. This land that was troubled and choppy like the water's surface not two hundreds yards out.

The creatures—three of them—swam around her, and she briefly wondered if she should be afraid of them. They were at least 20 feet long, with pearlescent teal scales and slender necks that stretched from a large body. Each had four flippers that guided them gracefully through the shallow water, and a mighty tail that flicked her hand as she bent down to touch one. Another paused in front of her, its large eyes ringed in silver and staring at her intently. Its head lifted from the water, and Meredee caught a glimpse of its razor sharp teeth as its mouth hung slightly open. It seemed as if it was trying to tell her something, and she wished she knew what it was saying.

"Can you help me?" she asked. "I have no idea what to do," she stroked its head carefully. Low rumbles vibrated in the cool water around them, and she knew it was answering in its own way.

The warm sun slid down her shoulders and threw its last light on the surface of the sea, sparkling a thousand secrets she would never know. As it disappeared, she felt the familiar heat clawing its way up from her stomach and radiating from her heart. Instead of closing her eyes, she watched with fascination at her reflection in the water. She changed from beautiful to hideous in a swirl of light that nearly blinded her.

As she stared at her glowing eyes, she actually saw them as somewhat beautiful.
It was a strange realisation. She could now be friends with the creatures around her. She rolled in the water with them, her shiny scales matching theirs. She swam alongside their graceful bodies, her talons stroking through the gentle waves, but not as elegantly as the majestic creatures. Their low voices wrapped around her, pulsating in the water that seeped into her ears and nostrils. She came up for breath and laughed along with them. They beckoned her out deeper, tumbling and rolling in the sea. She tried following but the water was too deep.

"What do I do now? Where can I go? This place....this place is so dark," her tears slipped down her nose.

There is darkness everywhere, in every land, they whispered in her ears. You must choose to see the light.

"How? Where do I look?"

One creature moved up beside her, swam under her, and pushed her face skyward.