What if Narnia's wardrobe was in a psych unit?
Agatha Stone is not the chosen one--she's the last one. She's thirteen, mentally ill, and whiny, but she's all that's left.
She's not what they were expecting, but she's all they have. Maybe with the...
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A change in the air draws me out of my stupor. The atmosphere feels heavier and has an odd odor to it that I can't identify. "What's that smell?" I ask Jonah, who's still holding my hand.
"The Usuóko Ocean," Dathid answers.
"The ocean!" For the first time, my heart is racing with anticipation, not fear. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever see the ocean. I mean, I've seen it on television but I never believed I'd see it in person. I strain to hear the waves, but it's silent with the exception of birds calling to each other.
We're still deep in the trees, so we must be pretty far away. The ground is changing, though. The deep carpet of pine needles is thinning, revealing sapphire sand underneath. My heart is pounding rapidly. I'm so eager to see the ocean that I want to run to it as fast as I can. Dathid and Jonah don't look that enthused, but I might actually explode with excitement.
When the trees finally thin out, a tall grass-like plant replaces them. It's dense, and so tall it's over Jonah's head. Dathid's in front of us, chopping the grass down with his sword. It's making traversing the grass easier but not by much because it's still thick and up to my knees. My desire to see the ocean is the only thing that's keeping me moving.
When Dathid steps out of the grassy forest, revealing the dark sky beyond, I try to run to the opening but trip. Fortunately, Jonah's reflexes are honed enough to catch me before I impale myself on the thick grassy stalks. I slowly walk the rest of the way out, but Jonah won't let go of my arm. I think he's afraid I may try to run again.
Thousands of stars sprinkled across the dark plum sky greet me as I step from the grass. It's like I just stepped off the space station. The planets are just rings of light, and the moons and sun are dim shadows of what they were in Manahata. There's no visible boundary where the sky ends and the ocean begins. The water is completely still, like a pool that's reflecting back the surrealistic painting above. Silver, mirror-like water stretches along the shore, marking where the ocean meets the sand.
A few tears drop from my eyes as the depth of being one of the few humans who will ever see such beauty reaches my soul. I'm so happy that I decided to come on this journey because I got to see this. It all seems worth it.
Lenox lands in front of me. We're on friendlier terms now, but he's still big and could hurt me by accident. He's waiting for me to do something. I reach up, pat his nose, and tell him he's a good boy. He runs off. Did I do the right thing or the wrong thing? Someone should tell me what to do with him.
I follow him to the edge of the shoreline. The silver water is so still it looks solid. There's an energy to it, like it's alive. I can't stop staring at it, almost as if it's calling to me.
Jonah and Dathid are talking about something, but I'm not paying attention as I stare out across the smooth water. It's silver, but as it goes out deeper, it darkens and reflects the evening sky. The silver just fades into an abyss. The end of the world. Everything and nothing.
