HEXELLA

Chapter 4

It was a brightly illuminated night. The moon was shining in its full glory. The endless stretch of the ocean, was gleaming like tarnished silver as moonlight fell upon it's floor. The ocean was calm and the waves were mild. Ella sat alone near the ocean shore savouring the breathtaking view infront of her- it felt so unreal, so dreamy. The wind felt warm and soothing across her body. She looked towards the sky to gaze at the full moon - it was so large that it seemed like a super moon. She could sit there all night gazing at the moon and the ocean.

Ella walked closer to the shore so that the waves could touch her feet, the sand felt smooth beneath her feet. A small wave rose and reached the shore. She shivered a little as the cold water touched her skin. Ella moved further towards the ocean until the water reached two inches above her ankle. She raised her head to look at the full sized moon which was shining beautifully in the sky- it looked so heavenly. But when she looked back down, she saw the ocean suddenly becoming dark, the bright light of the moon was slowly descending away from the ocean surface. She looked up at the sky, the moon that was full and bright a moment ago was turning dark as eclipse shadowed over it. The surrounding was slowly becoming pitch black and Ella suddenly felt ice cold.

She turned around to run but her legs felt super heavy. She tried hard but she couldn't move an inch. Her legs were glued to the sand and a moment later she felt someone drawing her back into the ocean. She tried to scream but her voice didn't come out. A strong unseen force was dragging her into the depth of the ocean. Ella felt lighter than a feather infront of it. She felt weak, miserable and defeated as that unseen power pulled her into the depth of the pitch black darkness. Her suffocation surged as she went deeper and deeper into the lap of the eternal darkness.....

Ella woke up gasping for air. She was sweating and trembling profusely. Her heart was beating so fast, her body felt weak and wasted as if the nightmare had happened in real. It did feel so real, so vivid. She massaged her head, trying to sooth the heaviness- the terrible feeling of experiencing death made her feel sick. It was the worst nightmare Ella had ever had, it was worse than the ones she used to have back home. She looked around the room, she was all alone. Daylight crept out from the windows filling the room was brightness, she felt as if she was seeing daylight after a very long time. It took her a long time to calm herself down and get out of the bed.

She went to the bathroom and observed herself in the full length mirror. She looked terrible! The deep dark circles under her eyes had deepened and she looked absolutely pale and worn out. She looked just the way she felt from inside - drained and lifeless. But Ella couldn't care less about her looks. It mattered the least to her. She stood under the shower allowing the warm water to relax her muscles and ease her headache. After spending a good 15 minutes in shower she got dressed and went downstairs. The disturbing events from last night and vivid images of that nightmare were still stuck in her mind.

She was now aware that Maria and everyone else in the house knew about the curse but she wasn't sure if they believed in it or not. Of course, Betty had said that they don't, but still Ella needed to talk it out with her aunt. She also had to tell Maria about what happened last night with Betty and her. Maria was not in the apartment so Ella immediately went to look for her in the café. She found her in the café's kitchen, busy in work.

"Good morning auntie." Ella greeted.

"Good morning sweetheart. Did you sleep well last night?" She asked, putting a tray inside the oven.

She seemed normal. It meant that Betty had not yet told her anything about last night. Ella wanted to talk to her about it but she couldn't bring herself to ruin Maria's good mood in the beginning of the day. She figured it would be better if Betty told her about it.

"I did" She lied going near the oven to help Maria put the tray inside.

"I'm glad", "and thanks for the help Ella." Maria smiled at her.