Touch of the Ocean

The day was as black as night as the clouds blocked out the sun. I cursed a bit as the wind blew against my face, making it difficult to breathe. I fought against the wind and rain as the ship below me rocked and swooned above the bumpy sea. I'd stayed out a bit later than normal during this night on the cruise. But I had not been aware that our ship was going to be hitting some very rough weather. Had I known that, I would have tucked in early. But because I had decided to stay out later, do a little drinking, play some games with other passengers, I found myself battling near-hurricane force winds and torrential rain. I'm surprised I had not been stopped on my way out. There wasn't a guard to tell me it was unsafe or anything. Perhaps he had not yet gotten to his station or whatnot. I was starting to really regret setting foot out here, because it was absolutely deserted. It was dark, and it was wet.

The rain cascaded off my hair like a waterfall, despite the hood of my hoodie being up, but little help that did as my clothes were thoroughly soaked, and so was I. My glasses were useless, and dotted with rain droplets. I was worried about my phone, and headphones which were wrapped around my neck, but I had an idea that at least the phone would be okay as it was marketed for being water resistant. The headphones however...probably not so much. Even the backpack I held probably did little to protect my belongings as I battled the rain. I cursed as I battled the rain and winds, as the lightning flashed and thunder roared. I don't know why I had come out here. There was likely some other way of getting to my room that didn't involve me going outside, but it was quicker this way, and I guess my head was bigger than my thinking mind at the moment. Now I was asking myself why I had come out here in the first place.

The ship rocked, and it got harder to keep balance as waves battered the ship left and right. The ship, being state of the art, likely was in no real danger of sinking. The passengers might have an uncomfortable rest, or something, but they would be safe. Me on the other hand, well, the waves were washing over my feet, crashing against my knees, and I was already saying it was time to turn back and go the long way. It was stupid of me to come out here, and it was stupid to think that I could take on this weather.

I turned around, but as that happened, a large wave washed over the side crashing into my waist, knocking me down. The ship lurched to the side as it felt the wave, and I rolled along with it, no longer on my feet. I tried grasping for anything that could keep me from just rolling free all over the deck, but if there was anything loose, it had long been washed away, and the secured furniture was already beyond reach. I felt my back hit the guard railing, and I felt myself turn to get back on my feet. The lightning flashed however, and illuminated the sea. There was another big wave just inches from me, and as it washed over the side, I lost my grip. The ship protested a bit at the amount of water now on the deck, but corrected itself as she straightened out. The water however carried me to the other side. I was struggling to breathe, and I didn't realize that I was now being washed over the guard rail, into the clutches of the merciless sea below.

I hit the rough and churning seas below, and immediately moved to surface. The water was freezing, and I could barely think as I moved to surface. As I surfaced, I was given a little relief in sight as the droplets on my glasses were washed away by the ocean, but I had to act fast. I immediately began to shout for help. I already knew that was in vain. I was the only one crazy enough to have gone out here. And even if there was somebody, there was wind, rain, thunder and just the ocean that would easily drown out my calls for help. The ship sailed on without one person on deck glancing in my direction. I continued to kick and stay afloat, while waving my arms, calling for help, but no one heard me.

I felt the waves wash over me, the salty water forcing its way into my mouth. I continued to shout despite knowing no one heard me, before I just began to tread the water to the best of my ability. I wasn't a bad swimmer, but I knew there was no way out of this. My clothes were heavy and saturated with the water, and my shoes weren't easy to kick off. They were actually boots, and I would have had to untie them to get them off. The only thing I could do to lessen my burden, was reluctantly let my backpack sink into the depths. I did my best to stay above the water, though the waves would wash over me constantly.

I looked around, there were no lights of other ships in sight, and the ship I had been on was already out of sight. I wondered how they would react when they would eventually realize they had lost someone. I wouldn't know. There was no way I was going to survive this. Fear began to take hold of my body. I was in open water, getting tired, there was no touchable bottom, no land, nothing at all to grab hold of. And the weather was horrible. I could already begin to feel weak to the cold waters, and my movements began to cease. I felt my body begin to slowly sink beneath the water. I didn't even bother to take in much of a breath as my head submerged followed shortly, by my hands that were still clawing the surface, trying to keep me afloat.

Time seemed to slow at that moment. I guess what they say is true, that before you die, your life just reflects before you. I looked back on the good times, and the people who were close in my life...the people I would never see again. I think I even smiled at a few humorous memories that drifted past my mind. Here I was, about to drown and be forgotten in life, and I was smiling at an old school memory. Smiling at some old prank my friends played on me. Just smiling at the good times. Life got hard, and right now it couldn't be harder. Didn't mean that there wasn't something to smile at.

My lungs kicked my air out, and as I floated there, slowly sinking, lost in the moment, I just instinctively breathed in, and felt my body convulse a bit, bringing me back to reality. The frigid salty water rushed into my lungs, and it felt awful. The salt stung my lungs and throat, and burned my nose. I barely paid much attention to it. My mind was acting so slow that I almost completely forgot that I was in the midst of drowning. I was drowning, and just not piecing together that this was it. I coughed a few times, as my body tried to get some sort of oxygen to my body, but there was nothing. It was just me, coughing up bubbles, and sinking a bit faster as the water filled my body.

I coughed a couple more times as the last air bubbles left me, just leaving my body to try and take weak and desperate watery gasps, and I felt myself sinking lower and lower. The surface of the water was barely visible to the occasional flash of lightning up above. Despite everything, I clung to consciousness for as long as I could, my feelings and senses already beginning to fade as I sank in the cold water...just trying to get that last thought across my mind. What I thought of life, how I felt I lived it, who I would miss, but each thought was harder and harder, to the point where all I could think about was how peaceful it was down here. There was no commotion, no noise...I truly was alone.

Or so it seemed. I didn't know who this was, but above me, I could make out the outline of some female figure. I didn't know who it was, and as it was, I couldn't really see in the darkness of the water anyway, but I didn't think too hard on it. Maybe it was a figment of my imagination, or some spirit here to guide me to the afterlife? I really didn't know what to say. But she got close as I felt the darkness finally starting to take hold of my body. She got close, and kissed me. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever felt...and it was something I was thankful to experience before I drifted into total unconsciousness...

...

I don't know how much time had passed, but I felt so strange right there. I'd never felt so strange before. Breathing was difficult, a bit, and I felt pleasantly warm. I was laying on my back, and the ground beneath me was very soft. I was feeling a little weak, yet could feel my strength slowly returning. I was still sleeping, but was starting to piece together what had happened. I remembered going out on deck of the ship. I remembered the rough seas, the wind, the rain, and I remembered being washed overboard. Wait...I had drowned! I felt the need to open my eyes, because I still felt wet. I felt like I was submerged. Did I still have some life in my body? Was there a chance I could survive? Was there a chance that I was already being rescued? I opened my eyes slowly.

No way...

I couldn't exactly see, because my glasses were gone, but with my eyes opening and my senses returning, I confirmed something...I was underwater. And I was breathing. No way! How could it be possible? There was nowhere near enough oxygen to keep a human alive in water. I lifted my arm slowly, and saw that I was still clothed. Fully. I felt my jeans and boots still on beneath my torso. I had my t-shirt on, my grey hoodie over the top was still on, even my blue plaid jacket which was unbuttoned was on me still. However I then realized, that my watch had gone missing. So along with my glasses, my watch was gone. I also noticed my headphones were gone, as was my phone, wallet, and keys. I finally had to figure out what was going on. I slowly sat up to get a glimpse of my surroundings. The water was dark, but there were a few orbs or something providing a little illumination and light.

I felt the soft sand beneath me and began to push up, when who would show up and grab my hand, but the female that I thought I had seen not so long ago. She was naked, to my vision, and though she looked blurred, the outline was just too familiar. She put a hand against my head as if to tell me to remain resting. I heard a divine sounding "Shhhh..." coming from her lips as she slowly pushed me back down. There was no way this was real. I was dead, and this was some weird experience I had of it all, as it happened. There was no way two people were underwater, breathing comfortably, and suffering no ill effect...I was pushed gently back down, accepting this reality, before she kissed my forehead, and I fell back asleep...

...

More time passed and I once more woke up...nothing had changed. I was still in this underwater habitat. I was still breathing, I still couldn't see too clearly as my glasses were still missing, but I felt stronger. Earlier when I had first woken up, I had noticed that the act of pushing water in and out of my lungs was hard, as the liquid was heavy. Breathing underwater wasn't the same as breathing air. Air was light and empty. Water was heavy, and took effort to push in and out when I first realized I was breathing the stuff. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. I was unsure how long I had been out, how long I had been sleeping, if I was still alive or whatnot. On cue once more, the female figure appeared above me, her eyes gazing into mine. She was still naked to my vision, but I could see her a bit better.

Her skin looked a little paler than a normal human...almost light blue, but not quite. Her eyes were a deep blue and her hair seemed to be like a white star color, with highlights of light blue. Her exposed breasts were petite, and she looked like an angel to me. She gazed into my eyes for a moment, before her voice, a voice so sweet and innocent asked me, "Are you okay?"

I wasn't sure exactly how to answer her, and she likely knew that, but I rubbed my eyes again, finding it strange that this salt water, which I could taste, wasn't bugging my eyes, burning my lungs, or even cold to the touch anymore. In fact, I didn't know if I was deep underwater or not, but when I had fallen, the water was freezing. Now...it was perfect to me. It wasn't warm, or cold...it just felt perfect, like I had jumped into a pool of cool water on a hot summer day. I opened my mouth, watching a tiny air bubble escape my mouth toward the ceiling of...wherever we were. The water was still dark, but the same orb-like things were providing light. I tried to speak and ask for my glasses, but I quickly realized, that I wasn't exactly going to get the art of speaking underwater right off the bat. I sounded a little muffled and gargled.

I rubbed my throat as if trying to warm up the vocal chords which were probably wondering how the heck to work in this environment and she got closer to me, and put her hands on the hand on my throat. "I know...this must be very strange to you, just try to relax..."

I looked to her once more and opened my mouth. "Wh...where...where are my glasses?" I managed to speak. I had to put some effort into it, but I finally managed to get a sentence out. It felt strange, but she helped me as I sat up.

She frowned at the word though. "What...what are glasses?" she asked.

I frowned a bit. She didn't know what glasses were? I pointed at my eyes, and said slowly, "They...they were on my face..."

"Oh...you mean these things?" she asked vanishing from my sight for a moment. I looked around as she vanished, but I just couldn't see properly. However after a moment, she came back and sure enough, she held my glasses. I slowly nodded and she put them on my face a bit awkward, but I didn't bother correcting it now...strangely...I could see better. I mean I knew glasses were made to see better, but being underwater, I was skeptical they would have worked at all. But I was seeing pretty clearly. I had to say this was strange.

That was when it came to mind again. "How...how am I breathing...?" I asked looking to her. But I couldn't exactly finish, because I was finally able to get a good glimpse of this person...who wasn't so much a person as I'd thought. Her hands were webbed, and her forearms had a couple fins on her side. The sides of her chest had gill slits, and beneath her torso...oh my God. She was a mermaid! My eyes widened a bit at the shock. A real live mermaid!

She saw my shock, and came closer, laying one of those webbed hands against my face. "Please don't be afraid..." she said softly. "I just saw you in the water and..."

"You...you saved me?" I asked. This was literally The Little Mermaid all over to me. I was thrown off a ship in a storm, nearly drowned, and was saved by a mermaid. Only I was still underwater, and not on the beach, with her singing to me.

She gave a small smile and nodded. "I can save someone from drowning with a kiss."

I blushed a bit at that statement. So that kiss I had felt, it wasn't some out of body experience, or near death thing. It was an actual kiss from a mermaid. It had saved me. I looked at her tail. Her tail was a beautiful blend of color, that almost went with her torso skin color. It was primarily a blue color, but against the light, it could show a greenish hue and whatnot. On the tail where her hips would be were a couple more similar fins to what she had on her arms. All of these fins shared the light blue color of her skin, as did the flukes at the tail-end of her tail. As nonhuman as she was...she was very beautiful. An underwater goddess. An angel by all means.

I was so dumbfounded in the moment, that I heard myself repeat "...you saved me..."

She shushed me softly, and said, "You still need to rest..."

I was still shocked that I was in the company of an actual mermaid, and as she pushed me back against the sand, I felt just a thousand questions in my mind, but not one of them escaped my lips. She just leaned me back, and kissed my forehead again. I blushed heavily as she did so. Was that a common thing she did? Like a greeting? "Please...rest..."

After she said that, she swam off, and I watched her swim off gracefully. I wouldn't argue. I did after all narrowly escape death, and my body probably needed to get used to whatever it needed to get used to in this...aquatic environment. So after her flukes left my sight into the darkness of the cavern, I felt it relatively easy to shut my eyes and fall into another deep sleep.

A real mermaid...she was a real mermaid...

...

I once again lost all track of time as I slept in that underwater haven. I was out like a light, but there were times I could feel the mermaid, touching me. Nothing bad, I just felt her rubbing my chest, or picking up my arms or something. I guess she'd just be examining me or something. Making sure I wasn't hurt. I must say, that when she would rub, it felt wonderful...even if I was fully clothed. There were times she coaxed a pleasant moan and a smile out of me, despite being asleep. I didn't know how she would react to this, but occasionally, I'd feel that kiss on the forehead, as if she were kissing me goodnight. Those lips felt cool against my skin, and it was just...heavenly...

I don't know how long it was before I felt myself awaken again, and I pushed myself up. I don't know how long it had been since I'd fallen overboard. I wasn't doubting being dead or alive anymore, I was obviously alive, just in a stranger world now. There had been times she'd woken me to feed me some strange foods that tasted of fish and of other things, and despite what you might think, they weren't half bad. I wasn't fully awake when she would feed me at those times, but seeing her care for me was just...I don't even know how to explain it. Why was she doing this for me? It wasn't like we knew each other or anything.

I opened my eyes, and sat up. She wasn't in sight, so I decided to try and find her. I straightened out my glasses, for she had put them on a little awkward when she'd given them to me, and I'd not really bothered with them since, and began to slowly "swim-walk" I guess through the tunnels. It wasn't really much of either. I could kinda walk, but also had to use my arms to get myself moving. I moved through the dimly lit tunnels, and just thought about how strange this was. I could feel the water in my lungs, and it was strangely pleasant. The water carried echoes and sounds through the depths that I could hear from a distance. The pressure down here had to be unbelievable, yet I felt absolutely no discomfort from it. In fact, I felt beyond peaceful down here. Maybe that was one of the reasons it was so easy to relax down here...it was peaceful. Quiet.

I turned a corner around one of the rocky cavern walls, and came upon a "room" illuminated with the pinkish light that dotted the cavern. There she was, just floating above some rocky surface, looking at some items, which I quickly recognized as my belongings. I didn't care too much that she had it, it's not like it was worth anything anymore, or worth anything at all down here. My guess was that she was just naturally curious. I spread my arms out as I regained my balance and looked at her, as she picked up item after item with a look of wondering how each item worked. She held one item up, and I just said, "It doesn't work anymore."

My voice startled her into dropping the item, which was once my phone, onto the rock. "Oh...I didn't know you were awake...I would have checked on you." she said perhaps with a small bit of guilt. Maybe guilt that she had been caught with my things or, guilt that she hadn't been there for me waking up. Either way, I just gave her a small smile. "You're okay, I literally just got up...you've been more than kind to me in my time here..."

She returned the smile accepting the compliment before her eyes went back to my things. Her pale blue webbed hand picked up the phone, and she just held it up, wondering what on earth it was, and she looked to me. "You...your kind has the most peculiar items..." she said. "I've never seen anything like them."

"Well, sadly none of them probably work anymore, or would work down here..." I said, making my way over to her doing my awkward swim-walk movement. I chuckled a bit, saying "There's six hundred dollars to waste."