Dear Ocean Sky

Chapter 1 | Alex

Alex sat crying in her bed. She couldn't bring herself to want to stop the hot, salty steams raging down her cheeks.

After a few minutes, Alex balled up all her remaining tears into the back of her throat as she brushed her hands across her face, drying it. She inched herself over to where her phone was sitting on her nightstand. It was 4 A.M.

Four hours of sleep wasn't bad.

Alex knew there was no chance she was going to be sleeping again. She got herself up, her oversized pajamas, which belonged to her mom, tripping her as she clambered out of her small twin-sized bed. She froze mid-step not wanting to wake her mom or the people in the apartment below them. Once she was sure that her mom hadn't awoken, Alex quietly padded out of her bedroom.

***

By 6, Alex had showered and was sitting on the balcony of her apartment in a cute flowing white tank top with navy blue details embroidered upon it. She had on dark blue skinny jeans and her favorite necklace which was a silver dolphin with a heart etched onto the back of it. She clasped the necklace in her hand as she brought her knees up to her chest to rest her head on. She had a small leather-bound notebook and pencil sitting in her lap. She unwound the string that held the little book closed and began writing with a fine- point, black pen.

~

8/15/16
Dear Ocean,
It's Alex. I couldn't sleep again. I keep having nightmares. I'm so tired of this. I hate it.

At least I'll always have the Ocean. Like a constant friend to me, no matter how sad that sounds. I think it's beautiful. Everyone should have a friend like the Ocean. A friend who lets you stay with them and just wraps you up, never letting you go.

Hello Ocean
It's your friend
Writing to you from afar
You let me refuge when I'm at my worst
Let me cry into your waters so my tears blend with those that have come before them
I'm your mermaid-girl
What you have made me
What if I never broke the surface?
Can I stay here forever?
In this state-
Not fish
Not girl
Just something that lives and breathes
Wondering how I can keep going on like this
If I come up for air I'm afraid the sun will burn me
The bright rays will be too much
Down here it's quiet
And I never have to speak
I never have to worry
If I don't get too close
I can see the light up above
The silhouettes of people splashing in the waves
But I cannot join them
For if they saw a mermaid
They would all stare
And ask
The water could no longer hide my tears
But the scariest part
Is that the mermaid is the one who can save them from drowning
But I'm so quick to fail
If one of them starts flailing
Can I rescue them in time?
So I will never see the sky again
I can never soak in the sun
It will only burn me more than I've already been

~

Alex looked up to the sound of the screen door sliding open. "Morning Mamá."

"Buenas días, Mija." Ms. Cairney looked sympathetically at her daughter. "Couldn't sleep again?" Alex shrugged, closing her notebook, and started playing with a leaf. Ms. Cairney sat cross-legged on the floor next to her.

Ms. Cairney was a very pretty woman with an almost flawless complexion of beautiful brown skin. She and Alex shared the same chestnut eyes, however, Alex's skin was a bit lighter than her mother's and her stature was a few inches shorter than Ms. Cairney's 5' 5". Ms. Cairney's shoulder-length straight hair was such a dark brown that it was almost black, and she wore it in a messy bun. Alex's hair on the other hand cascaded all the way down her back, stopping a good few inches below the very bottom of her ribcage, in a striking strawberry blonde color.