Searching for the Loch Ness Monster

I - Meeting Kaya Harrison

I - Meeting Kaya Harrison

“Let me get this straight; you’re going to Scotland tomorrow and staying there for about one week just to search and perhaps capture the Loch Ness Monster?” Gerard asks, pacing in front of me.

I nod silently, pushing myself deeper into the couch, knowing that he’s going to yell at me. He used to be fine whenever I rambled on and on about the Loch Ness Monster when we were younger. As a matter of fact, he helped me discover more facts about the Loch Ness Monster, that is until we both reach puberty. Now, at the age of twenty-two and not to mention legally adults, I can barely recognize the Gerard I used to know.

He takes a deep breath before his face turn red. “Have you lost your bloody mind, Kaya?! Sea serpents don’t exist! You’re going to a foreign country just to search for something that does not exist! You can’t find the needle in the haystack because the needle was never in or even near the haystack!”

“But it does exist,” I mumble softly, fiddling with my thumbs.

“We’re in the 21st century, Kaya! Science and technology proves that it does not exist. Why are you so obsessed and determined to find a mythical creature?” Gerard asks once he stops pacing.

I look down at my shoes. I have been fascinated by the Loch Ness Monster since I was young. My mother too believed that Nessie exists. She was the reason why I want to fly to Scotland and prove its existence to the world. Maybe that was the also reason why my father left her.

Now my best friend is going to leave me for the same purpose.

“Gerard,” I whisper, wanting him to stop being angry at me.

“No, Kaya! You must face the facts!”

Gerard stares at me, wanting me to stay behind. He used to tell me of his plans after graduation; work part-time at our favorite café, volunteer at the hospital where my mum was treated before she died and even go scuba diving. However, all my research of Nessie over the years will go down the drain…

My eyes harden in anger as I jump to my feet. “No.”

Gerard seemed to be surprised at my answer but quickly regained his composure. “What do you mean by no?”

I take a steady step towards him. He instinctively takes a step back. “No means I’m going to Scotland and you’re not going to stop me.”

Gerard runs his fingers through his messy hair in frustration. “Kaya,” he says softly. “You’re insane, but I love that fact about you.”

He takes my hand and puts it on his cheek. A small tear leaks out of his eye.

“Please, don’t cry, Gerard,” I plead, unable to stand the guilt. “I just want to see with my own eyes what my mother was looking for before she passed on.”

“I love you, Kaya,” Gerard says desperately.

I swear I can feel my heart stop beating as I suck in a breath. His confession caught me off guard. A little piece of my heart reaches out for him. I used to have a crush on Gerard when we were teenagers. Well, that was until he started going out with other girls. Me, being a supportive best friend, encouraged him to follow his heart although it broke mine.

That feeling is long gone.

My head shakes automatically. “No, you don’t, Gerard. We’re best friends. Nothing more or less.”

“But I love you!”

“You’re just saying it so I can stay, don’t you?” I fire away. “You never loved me, Gerard. Whoever loves me will accept me as I am. Whoever loves me would realize that I love that person since we were fourteen!” I admit with anger coating in my voice.

Gerard stays silent.

“You’re not the person I used to have those feelings anymore. Besides, you have Ellen as your girlfriend,” I tell him while looking him straight in the eye. Does he actually forget at the very moment that he has a girlfriend? What kind of boyfriend is he?

Gerard drops my hand in surrender. “So does this mean goodbye?”

I take a shaky breath. We both know that it is the right thing to do.

“Yes.”

Gerard leans in and kisses me on my forehead just like when we were kids for the last time.

Why is he making my life so complicated? Why is he toying with my feelings?

“Goodbye, Kaya Harrison. I’ll be here when you return,” he murmurs.

No, you won’t. I’m never coming back here even if I actually do find the Loch Ness Monster.

“Goodbye, Gerard Ross.”

Scotland will be my new home.