The next time I awoke, the sun was beginning to rise over the sea and everything was calm and bright. I was half buried in sand and the scratchy crystals had made their way under my clothes, irritating the skin underneath until I longed to strip down to nothing and cleanse myself in the salty water that was sparkling so invitingly in front of me.
But no matter how tempting it was, I knew that I couldn’t do that. In the water that had so ruthlessly taken my parents the night before would be an even crueler fate waiting for me. I shivered despite the warmth and tried to shake the feeling that a million eyes were centered on me. Crawling toward the pier, I made my way underneath it instead of on top of it. Soon, the beach would be filling with people and I needed a place to get my feelings under control.
Sun filtered through the beams and I sat back against one of them, as far from the water as I could safely manage. I had lost my shoes sometime through the night and I pulled off my stiff muddy socks letting my toes dig into the softer sand, kept cool by the shade of the pier. My heart ached to scoot closer and let the water slide over my feet and legs, but I hugged my arms across my chest and resisted the urge.
It wasn’t until a little while later, when my nerves had finally settled and my mind was calm enough to begin formulating a plan, that I realized I wasn’t alone. He was quiet. If I was the person I pretended to be, I wouldn’t have heard him at all; or at least not until he opened his mouth.
“Why don’t you jump in? It’s a nice day.”
I looked up and had to shade my eyes with my hand to actually see him. “I hardly think that’s your business,” I told him.
To my utter disbelief, he plopped down in the sand next to me. “You’re probably right.”
We sat that way for a few minutes. My brain was trying to come up with ways to tell him to take a hike, but my curiosity was overruling my brain. I could smell the seaweed and the salt on his skin. I knew that he was one of us. What I didn’t know was why he was sitting in the sand next to me.
“Do you miss it?” He finally asked.
My head snapped in his direction. “Do I know you?” I asked coolly.
He smiled and I couldn’t deny that he was really cute. There was also something familiar about him; something in the way his dimple flashed that had my heart aching.
“Probably not,” he winked, “but I know you.” He stood up and held his hand out for me. “Come on, I can help you find your parents.”
I frowned. “My parents are dead.”
He shook his head, “nah, they just want you to think that they are. I can help you get them back.”
Ignoring his hand I hugged my knees into my chest. “If you know me, you know that I can’t go in there,” I said, gazing longingly at the water. A small glimmer of hope was beginning to form in my chest, though. Could he be right? Could my parents be alive?
He laughed. “Afraid? That’s not the Janie I remember.” Before I could comment on that he reached down and grabbed my hands. “No one can stop you from going home Jane. Not even them.”
I shuddered because I realized that I was being watched. Out in the distance I could just make out the shape of someone. Her eyes bored into mine even from that distance and after a few seconds with our gazes locked, she sunk beneath the surface.
Desire was spreading through my veins. Eager to submerge in the water of my home, my skin tingled for the change. “I am afraid,” I whispered.
The boy was already naked and walking toward the surf. He looked back sadly at me and shrugged. “Then you will never know.”
He dove into the water just as I yelled “wait!” and I was once again alone. My heart began hammering in my chest. My legs began to shake, ready, so very ready to feel the smooth water sliding against my skin. I began to whimper from my need; a need so severe that I felt like my entire body was on fire and the only relief would be to jump. Closing my eyes and stripping down to nothing I did what it was begging me to do. I dove in after him.