Escape the Sea (COMPLETED)

Chapter 10: What a Night

Everything was silent. The sky was dark, the ocean was dark, everything, dark. The wind blew profusely. The waves crashing immensely one by one. The tears started streaming down Lydia's face. She couldn't believe she let this happen. "Josh, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! No wonder that book was banned!" She screamed in frustration. Then she held him tight and whispered "Josh, I, I L-" as Lydia was about to confess to him, she heard the best sound she could've ever heard in that moment. A big gasp came from Josh, breathing in the fresh salty air. "Josh!" She cried. "Lydia..." he said faintly. "Are you ok?!" He looked her in the eyes and said "You are amazing." She looked at him and smiled. She was SO happy he was ok! She held him tight as she swam to shore and laid him on the rocky but soft sand. They were both exhausted so they decided to stay on the beach for a bit to recuperate.

"How did you do that?!" He exclaimed. Slowly but surely he was coming back. "We mermaids learn these things, and we naturally have a lot of strength. We have to if we want to survive. The ocean is dangerous and beautiful at the same time." She answered vaguely. "Are you ok?" Josh worried. Lydia was still huffing even though it's been 30 minutes. "I guess I need to go swimming more often." She lied; she knew what was wrong with her. But she was hoping that's not what it was. She was hoping that she was just tired, oh how she prayed that was what it was. Josh was still looking at her with concern in his face. "Don't worry about me! I'm just still recuperating from the shock you gave me, I'm so glad that you're ok." She reassured. "Yeah, me too..." Josh said. He wasn't taking it. He was the king of all liars and he knew that there was something up, but he didn't want to say anything. "So... do you miss your home in the ocean?" Josh asked trying to close the awkward silence. Lydia looked out at the distant shore and said "Yes. I miss my friends, my home, the animals, and the water." "I'm sorry Lydia." Josh sympathized. "It's ok. It was my fault. I pushed it. I just wanted to know more than the coral I lived in. I was taught that humans hated us merfolk and wanted to eat our livers for dinner." "Wow, that's morbid." Josh's eyes widened. "Are we really that bad? We need to invest in commercializing the image of our kind." He thought to himself. "Yeah, you humans have a bad reputation in the ocean. But I never believed it. I have a past with humans..." She nervously admitted. "What?! You've met us before?" Now Josh was very intrigued. "Well, I've never met your "kind" until I met you but I saw from afar. You see, one day I was swimming near an island and thought it'd be a good idea to swim closer to the land. I heard laughing from above and I wanted to know what it was. So when I poked my head up I, saw something. A family. The mother was nurturing her baby; the father was sitting with his son on his knee. They looked so happy. But what really got me was when the husband and wife held each other in their arms and kissed. It wasn't out of lust or force. It was out of... love. It was like you could feel it!" Josh was touched. He smiled at the precious thought. "You've never seen a demonstration of love before?" She shook her head. "All our marriages are forced. According to the law, I should be married by now but since I got banned, that never happened. I thought that humans were gross looking, non-emotional beings. Obviously, you're not! You proved everything they taught me wrong! You are the kindest person I've ever met." Josh was taken aback. "Wow, um Lydia that's great that you see me that way but I'm not the person you are describing." He sighed, looking at the ground. "Yes you are! I know you are." She smiled.

Josh felt something inside him, something warm. This time, he decided to listen to it and gave Lydia a surprise hug, that obviously startled her. She just sat there awkwardly at first but he kept hugging, so she did the same. Then the two looked deeply into each other's eyes, Josh moved his head a little closer to hers. Lydia knew exactly what this was. She'd seen enough movies to know! 24 hours worth....

Their lips were a whisper away, they moved closer, and closer, and closer, then "JOSH! LYDIA!" Mrs.C cried, desperately trying to find the two in her pink bunny slippers and purple robe. They automatically separated from the hug, very embarrassed. "Um my mom is uh calling us..." Josh said, stuttering with every word. "Yeah. We should probably go!" She sounded way louder then she should've. Lydia looked down to find no tail and immediately got up. "Mrs.C!" "Mom we're here!" The two called. "Where were you?! It's 11:30 at night!" "Sorry mom, we were just... at the beach." Josh answered, hugging his mother. "Come on you two, let's go home. You've had enough fun for one night." She said. They made it home and everyone went straight to bed. After Lydia and Josh's little adventure, they were exhausted. Lydia ran to her room and shut the door right before she fell on the cold hardwood floors. She had barely enough energy to walk. She struggled to get up and just fell on top of her bed and looked up at the beige ceiling, as Josh was doing the same thing. Coincidentally, they both were thinking about tonight, the city, and... that hug. All Josh could say was "What a night."