Dark Ocean

Part 14

Juliana looks down for a second before raising her eyes to Valentina. She sucks in a shaky breath as if gathering her courage. "Force people to do things they don't really want to. Stay under the water for an hour or more.. without ever having to breathe."

Her voice is so breathless and terrified that for a dizzying moment, all Valentina can do is stare at her. Standing like a statue, her eyes wide, her mouth gaping open. Juliana's words seem to echo on, hanging in the salty air around them and slowly, very slowly, sinking into her mind. Her response is so unexpected, so shocking, that Valentina wonders if she actually heard her right.

"W-What?" she chokes out dumbfounded, blinking away the stinging sensation in her eyes. She takes a step back reflexively and stares at Juliana, hoping to see a twinkle of amusement in her brown eyes, but Valentina can tell by her expression that she's deadly serious.

"Juls.." She staggers back another step, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Her throat suddenly feels too tight and itching, and though she swallows to try to soothe it, the ache persists. She shakes her head, trying to clear her confusion and make some sense of Juliana's words, trying to fit them into a puzzle that have no other parts.

Force people to do things. Stay under the water without having to breathe. That sounds an awful lot like.. No. Surely Juliana isn't.. No. It's just not possible, her common sense whispers, cutting through the fog in her brain. Human beings cannot breathe underwater. Human beings cannot force someone to act a certain way against their will. None of this can possibly be real; they're not living in a fairy tale.

But then Juliana's earlier words come rushing back in a torrent of realization. 'Do you ever wonder what it would be like if fairy tales were true? Who's to say they don't exist? Just look at us. We look normal. It's hard for people to accept something they don't understand. They won't accept that everything can't be explained, and it scares them.'

Her gaze flickers back up to Juliana's face as if she's trying to see her- really see her- for the first time. But despite her now-terrified expression, Juliana still looks exactly the same. She's still the same extremely beautiful girl Valentina fell in love with, the same girl who made her feel things she'd only ever fantasized about.

Juliana can't be any of the things that keep flashing through her mind, she can't possibly be some kind of magical creature out of a storybook. It's such a crazy thought that Valentina has to shake it out of her head, can't process it yet. Her fists clench so hard she's sure her nails are going to draw blood against the skin of her palms and her chest starts to ache. She forces her fingers to spread back out, takes a deep steadying breath.

There has to be another explanation. Maybe it's a test? A test for what she doesn't know, but it must be. Or some kind of joke, which is unfunny and has no punchline that would ever make it funny. Any minute now Juliana's going to laugh, she's going to tell her not to take everything so seriously and that it was all just a joke. Not funny.

"You're kidding, right?" Valentina whispers, struggling to keep her composure, and she tries to ignore the perceptible flinch Juliana gives at that. "Please tell me you're kidding." She hates how unsure she sounds. If this is really just a test, she knows she's failing miserably.

Juliana closes her eyes and her face drains of what little color is left in it. She takes a deep breath, shoulders heaving, and silence creeps in on them until it feels like it is digging at Valentina's flesh. When Juliana finally opens her eyes again, they are wide and glossed. Breathtaking. "No, I'm not.."

Valentina blinks rapidly and turns away from Juliana, away from the emotional black hole she's tumbling into, her hand coming up to push a strand of hair behind her ear. She lets out an humorless laugh and it tastes bitter in her mouth. She's torn inside, so many emotions running through her and all of them conflicting. It's a vulnerable and terrifying feeling.