Lost At Sea

My skin burns, heating  my body with waves of familiar scorching pain that tugs at my heart. Oh God—I’ve missed this. Heat blaring down from the perfect stretch of pale baby blue over my head and somehow like the kind of magic you see in Disney films, it brings the surrounding palm trees to life.

The sea that reflects the sky like its own personal mood ring is a vibrant light blue, rushing in and out, wind against water. Oh God—It’s beautiful. There’s not a cloud in sight.

Muscles in my cheeks lift, lips pulling in a bitter smile and I step closer to the water. Everything in me, those instincts that fight and bash around in my gut, tugs toward it. I need to get closer. No, in fact, I have to.

Its calling for me in the exact same way a sirens’ song lures a fisherman and I’m already under the sea’s spell.

I shouldn’t. I definitely shouldn’t. But I need to, I have to. I haven’t been here since… well the incident and now that I am here. Feet under a thick blanket of warm grainy sand, the sun caressing my skin with its furious touches and salt filling up the air and climbing up my nostrils. I’ve never been more alive, more at home.

I move closer, and closer; until my toes are digging into dirty, soggy wet sand and gentle refreshing waves are greeting my ankles.

My eyes burn for the first time in what seems like years and it frees the pressures from my chest, releasing my chest from its dangerous prison. Little droplets escape the corner of my eyes and drip down my sore peeling cheeks onto my done up white shirt. Oh God—she would have hated this shirt but at the time I didn’t want to upset her mother further so the shirt it was.

Reaching up, I rip the shirt from my torso and fling it away as if it’s some kind of disease.

"Emma…” A soft, warm voice fills the air. Its so soft that it’s almost like I imagined it, a whisper mixing within the wailing wind and echoing across the beach. She’s here. Oh God—How can this be?

My lungs constrict, seizing up with this bitter intensity as my gaze locks with her stormy blue eyes. Every fiber burns, heat firing up my veins with this suffocating passion. It fills me up and drowns me, then it releases with the same feeling of heavy weight getting lifted off my shoulders. Freeing, yet so unhealthily obsessed. Oh God—loving her is like loving smoke.

"Aria,” I say. My voice wobbles.

"Hey, Emma,” Aria says, slightly breathless. She seems to glow. Eyes gleaming, lit like powerful torches within the night. Hair dark as brown oak, covering her bare pale shoulders in a blanket of a wild mane and light brown freckles display over her cheeks.

"What are you doing here?” I ask, letting my feet pull me towards her. Oh God—She is like a siren, a siren of the sea and I’m her fisherman… well fisherwoman.

"I just couldn’t stay away,” Aria admits, a small smile breaking across her face. “This is our place, you know”.

" That’s right, I remember,” I say, a giggle leaving my lips. Images flow across my mind, of her, of us. Together. When we first met at the beach party, dancing under the decoration of sparkling diamonds that was engraved into the night sky. Laughter and freedom that had graced the air that night. “This was where we first met”.

"Best day of my life,” Aria says, stepping closer. Her aroma fills my senses, warm with hints of fresh wood and  sea salt. Although, that may just be the ocean.

She looks down at our feet, then towards the ocean with a intense look. “You helped me realize  who I am”.

"You… you helped me to,” I say, voice shaking. Hands trembling with hesitation, a lump growing up in my throat, I brush my fingers against her cheek. A breath leaves me. “Why did you leave me?”