"Beloved of Land & Sea" {Ocean Turmoil: Book 1} (Publishing June 3rd, 2025)

Beloved of Land & Sea: Chapter 1 (Rough Draft)

(This was originally written in 2014. It's been ten years, but I feel like it's time to have it be reborn. The published version will be available on June 3rd, 2025. I will post up the preorder link once it goes live. This is the rough draft version written in 2014.) 

CHAPTER 1

        "Come with us, it'll be fun?" My best friend Tasha was trying to get me to go to the beach, which is something I'd never do in a million years. "I don't know Tash. It's not really my kind of scene or crowd." I told her into the receiver, twirling the cord around my fingers. Three things I was never allowed to use or do.

Number One: No cell phones. Use house phone only. That one seriously sucked because all my friends had one and we had dial-up internet and a house phone that was going out of date, I swear it was true. Number Two: No dating. Hey, as if I were ever going to find an attractive guy around here in the middle of nowhere.

        And the most important rule of all, Number Three: No going into the ocean, ever! If you can imagine, I know what I am. It's not a mistaken identity crisis or going through a stage of puberty. Yes, I asked around and no, no one else that I know of went through a drastic change as much as I did. Though for God's sake I wouldn't tell a single soul.

Only my parents know what i am. Both are human, which is a puzzlement beyond the top of my five-foot-two head. Not that I'm considered short, but yeah. Those three rules were a big no-no. "Please? I'd never ask you again." I sighed heavily. "Tasha, you know I don't swim." I used the one lame attempt excuse on my best friend.

        Okay so the no swimming was a lie. I could swim well, very well to the point I could breathe underwater. Not allowed to tell a soul was killing me, especially because I've grown up with Tasha and she never once pressured me. She just knew I didn't like water and she knew I couldn't swim. But as far as she knew, I had a secret that she was in no hurry to find out about. Like a great friend, she remained humble as ever. One of the absolute things I loved about her.

"I know, I know. You hate the water. But you don't even have to get your toes wet. Just come out and enjoy the sun! You and I both know you could use a tan to your pale complexion." I rolled my eyes. She was right about that, I stayed indoors most of the time since I was born here in Honolulu, Hawaii.

        I thought for a second, glancing up out the window seeing how close my beach house was from the ocean view. I'd always dreamed about one day swimming the oceand and it was just a breath away. Letting out a sigh I heard Tasha say over the phone, "C'mon Gaia. You know you can't spend the rest of your life stuck in a beach house."

Groaning softly, I grumbled lightly before saying, "Fine. I'll go." I pulled the phone away from my ear hearing her squeal and hang up on me. Chuckling, I turned around and placed the phone back on the cradle and heard my mom come down the stairs from the second floor. "Did I hear a pig squealing?"

        I shook my head and smiled, "I highly doubt that Tasha would like to be called a pig." Mom rolled her eyes and chuckled heading around the island bar to grab what was left of some of the pizza in a box on the stove. I watched her as she moved about the kitchen. She had dark brown hair that was trimmed to her neck in a wavy fashion. Her blue eyes always sparkled whenever she laughed and she was never without a smile on her face.

She turned around and eyed me. "What did she want?" I bit my lower lip. I hated lying and I wasn't one for much of that, but I had to come up with something. It was one of their rules, number three to be precise. "Tasha wants me to go over to her place and do some weird pedicures." I made a face. Mom knew how much I didn't like the idea.of someone touching up my nails or even my toes for that matter.

        Mom pursed her lips into a thin line, thinking. I could tell by the way her eyebrows creased together in the center of her forehead showing thin wrinkle lines. My dad came down the stairs a few seconds later, while I briefed the same subject to him he glanced over at mom. "Do you think it's a good idea?" He asked her.

Mom shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know Gaia. The last time you went over to her house you almost showed off something rather special." She said, avoiding talking about what I would turn into if I touched water. I almost stifled the urge to roll my eyes. My parents didn't really like talking about what I am, because apparently my mom's side of the generation had the whole process happen every other generation, so it skipped my mom and happened to me.

        Not that she blames my family for that poor misjudgment she just didn't realize what I would've become otherwise she never would've had children. Poor subject to talk about it still hurts because she didn't want a daughter who she had to keep away from water. It sucked because I knew she loved me but sometimes it seemed like maybe one day running away would be a better option then to cause her to stress out about everything.

She calls what I turn into, 'special' as if I didn't need a constant reminder about my daily life problems. Most people stand up in the shower while I just sit in a tub, bouncing half of my body that dripples water constantly on the floor and takes me hours to dry completely to the point that by that time, I get all dirty again.

        "I'll be careful mom, I promise." I whisper. Mom meets dad's gaze before both reluntantly agreeing that everything would be okay. I just had to check back every hour to make sure that things were fine. But I had to use Tasha's phone because my parents forbade me to have a cell phone, rule number one remember?

Twenty minutes later, I was standing outside with an overnight bag in front of Tasha's house. She came barreling outside nearly running me over in the process squealing in delight about how happy she was that I was being able to finally come out of the prison cell, meaning my home no doubt. "I can't believe your parents are being reallly chill about this." She turned and I followed after her into her beach house. She practically lived right down the street from me, another reason why it didn't take me nearly as halfway a long time to walk.

        I watched her black flowing hair bounce up and down as I followed her through her house and down the hallway to the left. Avoiding the living room and kitchen in the process, almost stepping on her ferret's tail. He squealed in protest and darted away. "Sorry Buddy!" I shouted over my shoulder, Tasha sighed heavily as we walked into her bedroom and I set my bag near the door.

"Did you have to step on my poor baby's tail?" I shrugged my shoulders. "You know it was an accident."

        "But you do it every time your over. I'm starting to think you don't like Buddy." She giggled and I rolled my eyes. "Dude, the rat steals my money, my watch, my..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the gist of it." She waves a tan colored hand in my face and then sits down on the bed across from the door. I lean against the wall, noticing that for once her window is wide open and there's a slight breeze driifting into the small bedroom. "When are we going to the beach?" I asked her, propping up against the wall.

        Her brown eyes thought for a second before she quirked her lips up into one of those evil smiles that she gives to certain people when they are doomed. "Why are you giving me the joker face for?" She giggled again, twice in one day, oh great, I almost crapped my pants just thinking about what torture device awaited me.

"There's a beach party later on tonight. You and I are gonna go and your going in a swimsuit." I raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think that's a little too risky and racy? I don't wear swim suits." I stated desperately, folding my arms across my chest. It was rather true. I mainly stuck to wearing t-shirts, jeans and converse. While Tasha here only wore tank-tops and shorts and flip-flops.

        You could tell how well the two of us got along, sometimes we both wondered what made our friendship bond so special. It was just the beginning of the summer but we could hardly tell the difference because the weather never really changed around here in Hawaii. Mostly sun, hardly any rain and sometimes if we got unlucky full blown out typoons. "Your wearing a swim suit and that's final." I sighed heavily, knowing it was no use to argue with her.

Guess I would just have to suck it up for the night. It couldn't be that bad of a night, could've it been?