“I must return to my other form. If only I could stay like this a little while longer. Hold me until I am no more.” small tears roll down her cheeks.
“Olivia,” I wrap my arms around her shimmering visage, “It doesn’t matter what form you end up taking. You’ll forever be you. I love you not your flesh. Stay close to me if you feel cold, put your trust in me, and look towards the future. Everything is unknown. I need you by my side until the very end.”
“Do you mean all that Rayne?” We both lean in for a kiss. The cold water feels warm for this moment of intimacy. I touch her warm lips, our tongues me between, and I find myself lost in the beauty that is Olivia. It’s moments like these that make life worth living. If only it could last forever.
“Uhm I. . .” a man coughs in the distance “Are we intruding sir? It seems you have something for wisps.” I abruptly stop to see Olivia’s wisp in front of my eyes. I blush out of embarrassment at them coming across this unfolding scene.
“You caught me. I saw the wisps on the Ocean and had to come out here for my guilty pleasure.”
The big man who spoke first scratches his head. A few of them talk about something in whispers and laughs. An affirming cough stops their gossip but the big man tosses one of them into the water.
“Do you see any other wisps out there Sean?”
“First off, what gives you the idea of throwing me into the ocean? Secondly, I see no wisps around here except one. Oh and Captain Aerion. . .” Aerion throws a tacklebox at him.
“Well Sir where did all the wisps go to? If in your pants I’m leaving you with my crew mate for a talk. Wisps don’t belong there!” Aerion tosses his hands in the air and walks in a half circle.
“I have no clue how the wisps disappeared. I fell into the water on the coast of Dragacia and this wisp led me here. They saw I was on the brink of death and dissolved into my skin. Have you ever heard of that before?”
Aerion scratches his chin as he looks me over. Silence fills the open air, another crew mate grabs a few bottles of beer out of a cooler, the one in the ocean swims back to the ship with the tackle box, and everyone sighs even Olivia’s wisp. They help me into the boat.
“Find yourself a seat. Anywhere is fine.” I move a fishing pole over to sit down on the side of the boat. “I often walked the streets as a young lad in my very early twenties. I didn’t know if I was after trouble or women but both were hazardous to my health. Neither wanted me although I kept going for those walks to talk with the sailors, soldiers, and anyone coming in from the port. One harsh Winter found two crews lost in the sea. I went onto the sea with a few soldiers to find the sailors but we found ourselves in the middle of a nasty storm.”
“How did you escape? Most times a rescue party can’t take a large ship. I’m sorry I love stories like this.”
“We had a ship that could barely hold the five of us on it. The boat nearly capsized what felt like eight times. Every wave we crossed felt like a life’s journey, A soldier shouted ‘I see the two crews in the distance!’ we followed the direction he told us to go. Everyone helped each other to tie ropes to the vessels. Somebody up in the Heavens abandoned us on those waters. A trial to see who would be fit to walk away from that tragedy. We cheered when the ropes were finally tied but only I saw the waters recede. A legendary tide rose above us like a beast straight out of Hell with teeth gnashing and spit flying. The amount of hearts that dropped made a sound so terrifying that every fiber of our beings were left asunder. Kid, I’m sorry give me a few minutes to honor the memory of those who died on that day.”
Each member of the crew places their drinks down. We sit there in silence watching the tides under the stars and moonlight. Thoughts of people sacrificing everything for others create an anchor holding the rest of us upon a thin plain known as reality. The pain of losing a good person for any reason can destroy anyone. Why do others have to hurt them? Why must we be afraid? A horror that reminds me that I’m finite.
Vasha'Lakar 