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The waters were vast and quiet, as far as the eye could see a deep blue stretched across the horizon and clear waves lapped against bare toes. Eyes took in the familiar scene and felt a tug in the heart. As always... once again... there was that persistent never-ending pull towards the mysterious depths. Even now chains seemed to tighten around the flesh of his neck.
"Professor Yi?" Turning eyes away from the sea, his eyes found the face of a woman looking at him. She was familiar and mostly quiet.
"Will you take me back to campus now? The views are beautiful but I do have to get studying." Tightening his jaw, he acquiesced and slid wet feet back into his nearby sandals.
"Forgive me. I've kept you all this time."
"No, it's okay...really. I...I wanted to come see. Get a chance to escape for a while." Nodding, he cleared his throat and began to lead her away from the tranquil waters. She had asked him about his knowledge of living things underneath the surface, her interest in that of marine biology. He'd told her that he was very familiar as he liked to 'swim' quire a lot. The young pupil of his had dared to ask the question of 'other' beings that were rumored and fabled to live alongside the crustaceans and reefs. To which he decided to tell her of its truth. She seemed bright, young and curious... non judgmental and open minded. Perhaps, she'd learn more than she bargained for. It would be his pleasure to give that knowledge to her. But also it would be his duty to warn her.
"Fei-hua, have you heard about the curse of the sea?" The girl looked up at him, interests piqued and shook her head. He licked his lips as they neared his car.
"Should you wish to continue down this path, it is imperative that you become aware."
"Oh?" Eyes grew intense as they left her face to gaze back outward towards the beckoning waves.
"Perhaps your interests would surely die off once you know. Perhaps it will be better. But then, the choice is always yours to make. That's the one thing no one can take from you."
***
It sickened him how the thrill of the swim always seemed to pulse through his veins. It disgusted him. And yet the deeper into the waves he grew, the more his entire body seemed to light up with an unexplainable energy. It wasn't until he surfaced that the reality of it all hit him like a train. When he surfaced, it was then that he was faced again with his solitude, pain and heartbreak. Coming to shore, his eyes drifted up above to the many stars that twinkled and shined above him. Nights like this made him want to end it all.
When the crisp cold air froze his bare wet skin and the breath came out as a barely-there mist, his tears too froze upon his cheeks. Should they talk, should they have voice they would scream. They would cry and anguish would run deep into the earth. If he could, he'd reach inside his chest and take out the heart so full of sadness and pain and cast it too into the sea. Just a bit longer. Just a bit more. Yet as he tried to reason with himself it always pained him more and more. To have had to live without her.
