Written for the Under the Sea Writing Contest in August 2015

I am not happy with this story at all, the ending is super rushed. But hope you'll enjoy nonetheless.

Creature of the sea

I had once read in a human book, that the ocean seemed blue to the eyes because of the sky reflecting itself in it.
But nobody had told me how different the sky's blue looked from the deep indigo and sapphire currents that I called home.
It was a light, delicate, airy blue. Just like a pillow.

As I sat there, I looked out at the sea, the birds chirping in the tree crowns above and the waves soughing beneath my rock, lapping against the stony structure. The scent of hibiscus flowers was heavy in the air and I could see them peeking through the greenery in their red, pink and orange hues.

"Hey, there you are." I heard a familiar voice. I turned around and couldn't hold back the smile that spread across my lips.

"Hi, Jonathan," I said as he approached me and sat down next to me. He was wearing his usual attire of shorts and a t-shirt and I couldn't help but notice how the fabric stretched around the toned muscle of his chest and upper arms.

I felt something flutter in my stomach and for a moment, I thought I was going to be sick and right in front of Jonathan of all people!

Then I realised, it didn't come from sickness, I was being nervous, a giddy human feeling.
I reached up and smoothed down my hair, pulling it over my shoulder to one side and exposing my neck.

"This seems to be your favourite spot," he said with a smile, looking out at the ocean ahead. "Every time I see you, you're sitting here. It's like you're rooted to this rock or something," he joked.

I smiled and put my comb aside.
"Maybe I just like the view," I said, looking ahead again at the water that was glittering in the sunlight and not mentioning that indeed my favourite 'view' from here was him, shirtless on his surfboard.

He turned his head and looked at me, catching my gaze with these unique turquoise eyes of his and I swear to Poseidon, there was a tiny little glint in them, almost as if he had read my mind.

They lingered on my face and then swept over my neck and hair.
"I never noticed your hair colour," he finally said. "I mean, I never noticed how it has that bluish hue to it. It suits you very well."

I felt a sudden heat rise to my cheeks. A blush, another human peculiarity. It seemed I was experiencing a lot of these lately.

I bowed my head a little, letting my hair fall in front of my face like a curtain, not wanting him to see how flustered he was making me. Me!
I should be the one complimenting and flattering him with my charms.

Suddenly I felt his hand lifting away a strand of my hair as a little breeze hit my face.
He was so close now that I could smell his after shave. I inhaled his scent, sweet yet tart, along with the salty air and it was a combination that was making my heart roar like a motorboat.

Slowly, hesitantly I lifted my face up again as he ran his fingers along the strand of my hair. My heart was thumping in my ears as I looked up at him through my lashes and butterflies were going crazy in my stomach as I found him looking back at me.

There he was, only inches away from me, engulfing me in his bright turquoise eyes that were neither blue nor green, but a magical mixture of both.

He looked at me intently and it was as if the time was coming to a stop, I felt no wind on my face, no ache in my feet and no call from the ocean.
All there was in this moment was him and his enticing eyes.
I felt like diving into them and seeing into his soul, his mind, like being pulled into their depths.
And in this tiny moment, I never wanted to surface again.

I snapped back to reality as his fingers caressed my cheek, ever so lightly as if I were a dear and he feared to disturb me.
Goosebumps erupted across my skin as his warm fingertips touched me and sent currents down my spine.

Cautiously, I inched a little closer, leaning into his soft touch. He rested his palm against my cheek and leaned closer, breathing me in. And then his lips were on mine, warm and soft, just like his caress.

My breath hitched in my throat and my eyelids fluttered shut as he kissed me so gently, so tenderly, that I thought my knees might give away hadn't I been already sitting.

A tiny sigh escaped my lips and I felt myself surrendering to his touch, his scent, his very presence.
Slowly I lifted my arms and put them around his neck, letting my fingers slip into the thick hair on his neck.

Just as I was beginning to kiss him back, he suddenly broke the kiss.

"This is wrong," he whispered between small breaths. "I have a girlfriend." His voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper, yet it managed to make my heart stop, not from his proximity this time, but because he was starting to pull away.

Isabel. I had completely forgotten about her.

But I wouldn't let him go so easily.
"I don't see anyone," I whispered back and bit his lower lip lightly, silently begging him to kiss me again.

I felt the tingle of magic in my fingertips as I stroked the back of his head soothingly.
"Please," I breathed against his lips, inching impossibly closer to him until my chest was pressed up against his and I felt his rapid heartbeat through his shirt.
"Just one more time," I whispered again, placing little kisses all over his cheek.

I heard the rushing of the water beneath us, like a soft sigh in my ears. It was making the little hairs on my arms stand as its magic slowly spread up my arm.

"She will never know," I said in my siren voice and let my hands slide down his strong arms. My lips found his and I kissed him lightly, like a feather. After a while he kissed back, slowly at first, but soon his kisses became harder and more demanding.

I let him push me back until I was lying on my back, I paused for a moment and looked up at him as he was hovering over me. His beautiful blue-green eyes were looking down at me, I tried to decipher the look in them, to find out what he was feeling right now but failed at it, it seemed his look was empty.

He lowered his face to mine and I slowly closed my eyes again, shivering a little in anticipation. His mouth found its way to my neck and he kissed me slowly and softly, making tingles run all over my body.
As his lips moved up my neck to the spot behind my ear, I let my hands slip under his shirt. I ran my hands over his warm skin and firm muscle, feeling myself slipping away, caught up in this moment of passion.

The magic in my blood now sparked between us like a waterfall, making me forget everything around me.
I let out a little breathy moan as he too began to move his hands over me. His fingers dipped under the seam of my short dress and he began to move them up my leg, leaving a trail of gooseflesh behind.

Suddenly he froze and I felt his body grow cold.
"What's wrong?" I whispered confused and a little out of breath, running ny fingers up and down his chest, aching for him to continue.

But instead he let me go and pulled away. I felt the magic spell slipping slowly, chipping away like old paint. Jonathan was slipping out of my reach.

He sat up and looked at me, a confused expression on his face but the spark in his eyes was slowly coming back as the spell was wearing of.

"What did just happen?" He asked in a hoarse voice that was making me tingly all over again.

"You kissed me," I whispered back, putting my fingers to my lips that were a little bruised now from his own.

"No, I didn't," he replied. "I didn't want to." He looked at me frowning, like he was trying to remember something important. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed ot again, shaking his head.

"Jonathan," I began, letting my true voice take over. "You kissed me and I kissed you back," I said, wrapping him up in my words, singing to his soul and weaving my net of magic again. I reached out and touched his arm lightly, stroked him and beckoned him closer.

He looked at me again and his eyes seemed to glaze over, he moved a little nearer, locking his gaze on mine.
I leaned forward, expecting his kiss as the air between us sparked again, but it never came.
He looked into my eyes deeply and I felt something crumbling away, he was frowning again, concertating hardly on something.

And then I heard him mumble her name.

Isabel.

It was just a whisper beneath the rushing of the ocean but it managed to break my spell and Jonathan pulled out of my hands again.

"It was you!" He finally said in a firmer voice now, having put all the pieces together. "You made me do this."

All I could do, was look at him helplessly as he stood up from the rock.

"Jonathan," I tried again, latching onto his arm and trying to plead again.

But he shrugged me of easily and faced me instead.
"What did you just do?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes at me. "It felt like you were in my head, whispering to me and blocking my thoughts out. You were... were you hypnotizing me?"

I shook my head violently, unable to say anything, to explain or defend myself.

I felt him grow impatient, there was fury in his turquoise eyes now, but still, they were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

"Please," I said, finally finding my voice. "I'm sorry, Jonathan."

"I told you I had a girlfriend. What were you thinking?"

"I just wanted you to love me back," I said in a small voice, bearely audible.
I risked a quick look at him and I knew then and there, I had lost him.

"I don't want you! And I don't love you, I never will. I despise you. You're mad, out of your mind if you truly believe that this will make me fall for you."

With this last words he stomped off and left me.

His words echoed in my ear, a never ending symphony of torture.
How dare he refuse me. Me!
I'm the personification of mans' needs and desires. The ideal image of a woman, his dream come true.
But still he denied me, brushed me off like an insect and chose this girl over me, this waitress.

I hated her, hated her so much. From her obviously fake auburn hair, over her stupid huge mouthed grimace of a smile, down to her ridiculously ugly boots.

And yet I wanted to be her so badly.

I wanted to be the reason for his smile, for his dimples and for the spark in his eyes. But he dumped me, just like that and went over to her. Abandoning me on the sidewalk like an unwanted puppy.

I shivered as the unfamiliar feeling of boiling blood ran through my veins, along with an insecurity I had never felt before.
Jealousy, I realized. I had heard of it, read in books about it. So that's what it felt like.
I was ready to claw this girls eyes out.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself and my breathing. It was no use to think of her. It would get me nowhere to imagine how good it would feel to pull her under with me, to dig my nails into her arms, to see the air escape from her lungs and the life drain out of her body slowly, quietly. With silent screams that no one would hear six feet under water.

A shiver ran through me once again, not from anger this time, but from the images that were replaying in my head. Those of lifeless hazel eyes staring back at me.

I shook my head and tried to regain my composure, splashing some cold sea water onto my cheeks.

The beach was beautiful, just like what you would see on those pictures in the catalogues. White sand, clear deep blue sea, a gentle breeze creased the surface and produced small waves that lapped at my bare feet.The water was a clear turquoise colour, the perfect mixture between green and blue. Just like Jonathan's eyes.

I picked up a small white pebble from the ground and hurled it across the surface of the water. I hated this right now, hated everything. The stupid sea that reminded me of those damned turquoise eyes and my wicked life in general.

Why couldn't I just be normal?

A scream escaped my lips, desperate and strangled. I noticed the lump in my throat, but I wouldn't let the tears well up in my eyes. Not for him, not for her, not for anyone in the world would I cry. I screamed again, gathering all my rage and disappointment and laying it into my cry. I felt like a wild animal, a lioness.

As I sat there on the beach, raging and roaring, I felt the ocean calling my name, that familiar pull of the water, the sweet melody of the endless blue depths. I closed my eyes and for a moment, I let myself imagine what it would feel like to return to the water, to spread my arms into the cool clear liquid and feel my sorrow and pain slip away under the caress of the ocean.

I looked up and saw dark clouds rolling in in the distance. There was going to be a storm soon, a big one. The sea would be raging and roaring.

I had to go.

I pushed the straps of my dress down my shoulders and let it slip down my body, landing in a heap at my feet. I took off my bikini, too, tossed it to the ground next to the dress. Then I began to wade into the water slowly.

The sea was cold and comforting against my naked skin. It seemed to sense my unrest and tried to soothe me with its splashing, its cool and calming touch. It felt like a caress against my flushed skin. Again I closed my eyes, this time, basking in the last rays of sunshine on the horizon, in the golden glow of the setting sun. Where I was going now, I wouldn't be seeing much of it.

Inhaling deeply, the salty air filled my lungs and stirred the longing inside of me to be back again at my mother's sapphire palace. I walked further into the water, the warm salty liquid embracing me with each step, pulling me closer and closer to the seemingly groundless indigo depths.

As it lapped against my hips, I ran my hands through it, felt it slip through my fingers and drip from my fingertips like beads from a necklace. The ocean was calling to me to come back home, to dive into it, to float in its deep blue space and to forget all about Jonathan and his girlfriend. Offering me the oblivion I needed and the numbness I craved.

I shut my eyes firmly and took a last deep breath, tasting the salt on my lips. I inched deeper into the water, feeling the sea embracing me like a long lost child and in a way that's what I was. I was finally coming back home. The water was reaching my chest now, gooseflesh erupted across my skin from its coldness, making the hairs in my neck stand up. I felt the weight of the ocean against my body, its pressure against my chest. What humans perceived as suffocating, felt more like a cocoon to me.

With one last sigh, I sank into the water, eased my body underneath the surface and let it swallow me completely.

My long hair was floating around me like black tendrils, wrapping around my body like a cloak. I felt myself coming alive again and let out a long breath, emptying my lungs; little silvery bubbles burst out of my mouth, raising up to the surface.

I stretched out my arms and pushed through the aquamarine water, sinking deeper and deeper. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt a tickling sensation running up my legs, felt my feet disappearing and my thighs melting together as they were replaced by my fishtail.

I floated in the water and looked down at my lower body parts. Deep blue and purple scales began to push through my pale skin, covering my whole tail and glinting in the few rays of sunshine that still managed to break through the surface. I smiled and moved my fin a couple of times, creating little swirls.

I was finally me again. A creature of the sea.

And I began to wonder, why had I ever wanted to be someone else anyway?

My mother and my sisters were elated to have me back again and I was glad to be back home, away from the human world, from Jonathan.

Curiosity had brought me there and a broken heart had brought me back to where I belonged. Alas, I had taken the broken heart home with me.

[Word count: 2995]