Between the Land and the Sea

It wasn't recommended to go up the rocks since they were slippery, but that didn't stop her, still holding her flip-flops in one hand. And as she expected, the boy was subtly following her.

"Hey, you, little fish!"

He slowly approached her, looking around with a suspicious look on his face. There were some people nearby, who curiously watched, while others just ignored them and carried on with whatever they were doing.

"Little fish?"

"Well, of course! You never leave the water!" She put her hands on her waist, raising her voice to the fullest. "What is the matter with you? Why do you keep following me?"

The boy's voice was still low, like he wanted no one else but her to listen to him.

"You don't pollute the sea."

Iara had no reaction for a few moments.

"Yeah..." She shrugged. "And?"

"I don't understand. I thought everyone did that."

She was still confused, but ended up laughing.

"Are you out of your mind? Of course there are tons of people doing what they are not supposed to, but it's not like that! There are also people who are worried about the environment, alright?"

"Really? 'Cause it doesn't seem that way from where I'm standing."

"What?" She uninterestedly waved her hands. "You know what? You're very weird, little fish. Just do me a favor and leave me alone."

She turned around and took a few cautious steps back to the beach, on the path of rocks.

"Aldan."

Iara looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"My name is not little fish. It's Aldan."

"That's a weird name. You're not from around here, are you?" He shook his head. "Thought so."

He dove in again and weirdly didn't resurface nearby. So she resumed her walk.

The next few days were a little more complicated at work; the order of new clothes had arrived and the team had to reorganize the entire store. Therefore, Iara ended up not going to the beach for a while, but when she finally went, there he was, the weird boy, far away from everyone else, following her with his eyes. And that was when she decided she had had enough. The boy couldn't get a clue!

In the late afternoon of the following Sunday, she went to the beach, but this time she had her cousin with her for moral support. Both of them got to the beach and Iara soon saw the weird boy, showing Isabella his location without pointing at it. It was easy; he was the one who was further away from everybody else, so far away that only surfers would dare to go there.

The girls calmly walked down the beach, moving towards the rocks on which Iara had climbed the past week.

"Are you getting in the water? I don't think that's a good idea, he is probably a good swimmer since he never leaves the water." Isabella glanced up to where the lonely boy was swimming.

"I thought about the same thing, that's why I'm not going in there."

"Give me your phone, what if he pulls you in or something? If anything happens, I'll scream for help and call the police."

Iara nodded and handed her cousin her phone.

"I don't think it will be necessary, but maybe I'll have to threaten to involve the authorities."