Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete]

To Kiss Without Killing

Content Warning:
Another scene of the more steamy nature. If you don't like to read that kind of thing, skip until the ~ ~ ~  Otherwise, enjoy :)
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It seemed to her as if a voice called out her name.

The sound was faint, barely a whisper over the rustling of the waves in the distance, fleeting and light like the caress of the sea breeze that tickled her nose with its salty scent. Under the starlit sky, the air was cold, but she didn't mind. Those nights were perfect for stargazing, when the air was crisp and clear, all the way to the horizon where the sky met the sea, like two dark bodies touching in a boundless embrace.

She stood at the edge of the water where the sand was wet and compacted by the last wave that had rolled in. There she waited for the next wave to come and tug at her feet, to draw the sand out from underneath her, and to get her to stumble. She liked to imagine that the ocean was alive, a breathing, conscious creature that enjoyed this little game just as much as she did.

But the next wave didn't come.

The ocean seemed to play a different game today. It receded further, as if to hide, and beckon her to come and seek. She stepped forward to follow the irresistible call of the dark water, but stopped as she spotted something in the sand just before her feet. As the wave drew back some of the sand, it revealed a silver ring, attached to a thin chain.

She hesitated for a moment, but then bent down and picked it up. It felt strangely warm to the touch, even after having been in the cold water. As she held on to the chain, the silver ring dangled before her eyes. There was something hypnotizing about its movement as it swayed back and forth, just like the waves rose and fell in the distance.

The next wave rolled in, and the water swirled around her feet, inviting her to dance along. She forced her gaze away from the ring and down along her body. She was wearing her white summer dress, but something was strange. She was barefoot, and in the corners of her eyes, she saw strands of her own hair framing her face. It was white on one side, and black on the other.

This is different from usual, she realized.

She had visited this place countless times, once not too long ago, and then in other dreams, and even in another life. But never like this.

And then she realized something else that was different, from both reality and her usual dreams. Lars was not there. She called out his name, in her mind and out loud, but there was no reply. She furrowed her brow in confusion, but she also realized that she did not feel that same sense of abandonment and emptiness that she had experienced when she had dreamed without him the last time. She concluded that he couldn't be far. Deciding to go look for him, she turned away from the ocean, but instantly froze in surprise. The silver chain slipped from her fingers, and the ring settled back in the sand. The next wave rolled back in and cast a swirl of sand over it, and the dark depths of the sea reclaimed that memory.

The water was no longer beckoning and pulling, rather the waves seemed to push at her feet, urging her to walk towards what she saw before her. Along the beach, expanding in every direction, the silver sand was almost entirely covered in a dense network of thick vines and dense foliage. Their color was so dark that it seemed to simply merge with the night sky in the distance. Amidst the leaves, white flowers blossomed, sparkling like crystal where the ocean breeze had cast a thin film of mist over them. It was as if they were trying to outdo the sparkling of the stars in the sky above.

That's impossible, she thought, I only left the seed here two weeks ago.

But of course it was entirely possible, she realized. This was an impossible place after all, and this was nothing but a dream. Lars still didn't reply to her thoughts, but up ahead in the distance, she now spotted a black-clad figure, sitting cross-legged on the ground amidst the vines, with his back to her.