Angelically, she stood. Calm, and statuesque, and invisible to the outside world. Her auburn, chestnut hair swept gently among the breeze. Dreamily, she stared at the water, as if it had the answer she was searching for. Everyday she’d come to the same spot, wondering what she would learn. A day without the waves was a lost day. For she gained nothing, on those days.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to her. She looked around, trying to find a source to the voice.

“The sea,” the voice stated.

“Who are you?” she asked, as she turned back towards the cerulean waters. “Show yourself,” she commanded, with a sense of uneasiness.

“You will see me. Sky, you’re only a few steps away,” the voice assured her. Sky couldn’t help but feel attracted to the deep, soothing, and familiar voice.

“How can I see you?” Sky asked, pondering who exactly she was talking to.

“Trust me,” the voice started, “and you can see me, again.” Sky knew the voice, but she couldn’t recognize the person.

After the unusual encounter, Sky made her way home. The house was like an ant hill with only one ant; unusually empty. It had been every night, for a while. Thoughts raced through her mind.

“I’m going crazy,” Sky muttered to herself. She then shook her head in denial.

“No, I heard that voice,” she assured herself.

Sky pulled at her chestnut, thick hair with her long fingers. It was difficult to comprehend the reality from the fiction.

Slowly, she stretched underneath the thin, cotton sheets of her bed. Her eyes wandered to the right side which remained untouched, the sheets perfectly straightened. As her eyelids gradually closed, Sky thought maybe she had changed since he had left.

The next morning, Sky awoke and glanced at the other side of the bed. It seemed she was searching for something that was not there. She knew it wouldn’t be there, but she hoped it would be. Without a second thought, she hurriedly flipped the sheets. After pulling on her saffron suit, she bounded into the next room. There, she tightly gripped the sleek, baby blue wave rider hidden in the corner.

Bare feet carried her to the waves, flicking up sand behind her path. Focused eyes, set on where she needed to go, filled with determination. She rode the waves, nostalgically. It felt the same as it had years ago. The sun was bright and cheery, radiating heat on her skin, as well as the cerulean waters. The breeze played between the strands of her hair.

Sky realized she had no intention of surfing that day. It was a sporadic thought. The infamous determination of meeting the sea. It was the cause of her abrupt actions. Lately, she’d pass up anything to get to the sea.

The phone sat on the marble counter, waiting for weeks to be answered. Shooing relatives and friends away was a daily ritual. Waves. Waves. Waves. That was all she cared about. Even the deep, dark circles under her eyes could tell you that.

The voice came to her, again, in an angered tone, “What are you doing?”

With her eyes wide open, Sky asked innocently, “What do you mean?”

“You don’t need to be here. You’ve replaced your responsibility with impulsiveness,” he informed. Sky was oblivious to the whole picture. She had been neglecting work and friends. Generally, her whole social life had been nonexistent.

“Look at the ring,” he instructed her, “Stop worrying. I’m fine.” Glancing down at the gold band, it all felt like a dream. She thought it couldn’t possibly be him.

Hesitantly, she stumbled, “...Blake?” as she stared at the sky. But, there was no response.

At that point, Sky started to question her own sanity. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t been doing much besides visiting the sea. She had no clue when she had talked to a friend last, or when she had gone to work. Was she only living for her love?

They both had met and parted at this spot. Her face enlightened with a warm smile, as she imagined their meeting. At first glance, he was around 6 feet. His head was covered with shaggy, dirty blonde hair, which gleamed under the sun. His skin resembled a tan and an olive color captured his eyes.

Sky had watched with many others, as he surfed. The crowd cheered while more and more surfers crashed into the waves.  While rooting for him, Sky had yelled his name. He glanced up. At that moment, his olive eyes met her baby blue eyes, and the right corner of his lip turned up to greet her. From that moment on, they developed a relationship.

It blossomed into a romance that lasted for three years. An unfortunate event occurred during the last year. Blake went out to surf, like he did every day. The weather reports had mentioned a dark storm that could last for a few hours, but Blake didn’t worry. He believed that he was a professional, in any weather.

Gloomy clouds rolled in while the waters became uneasy, crashing violently in all directions. Blake was still unbothered. He took it as a challenge, and drowned out Sky’s cries from ashore. Soon, he was upturned by the waves and engulfed by the rocky sea. Dumbfounded, Sky stood; her body stiff with anxiety. She waited for what seemed like hours, but Blake did not return to the surface. Tears filled her eyes, as her fear became reality. Surely, he was dead.

Sky snapped herself back to the present. She knew that must be why she was drawn here, every day. Her thoughts were all jumbled together. Sadness. Anger. Longing. She just wanted to be with him, again. A bolt of lightning struck across the way, as an idea popped into her head.

As she made her way back up to the cliffs, the clouds shifted and the sky became dark, just like it had on that dreadful day. Sky’s toes hung over the cliffs, as she stared down. Suddenly, she jumped, head first into the deep depths. The midnight black waters battled against each other, as her body dove into it. Then, she noticed a bright light in all the darkness.

Sky had bashed her head into a sharp, thick rock in that shallow area. She drew nearer to the inviting light, as she heard the voice guide her. She couldn’t make out what she was hearing. Not until she had reached the light, did she discover it.

“You’re here,” Blake said, with a smile.

Sky smiled as she was reunited with Blake. She went in for a hug, but their bodies felt so light that she couldn’t feel him.

“I told you that you’d see me again,” he boasted and chuckled.

Now, everything around her was blank and a pearl shade of white. She hadn’t noticed until that moment. The sea wasn’t visible. It was clear all around them.

“I’m dead,” Sky realized. Blake just nodded.

Written by: ariellenicolle