At the Bottom Of the Sea

Sienna took a seat at the back of the bus as she usually did after work. The raindrops that had clung to her coat were quick to abandon her for the blue patterned fabric that lined the chair. Then, as usual, she set her bag on the seat right beside her keeping one of the straps looped around her arm. Once Sienna was settled, she looked out of a window that seemed to vibrate as the bus started on route forty-seven. She had made a promise to herself to be more present and found that looking at the sky helped her appreciate that she had experienced another day - no matter how routine and monotonous.

The band of clouds that lined the sky graciously started to let sun rays pierce through them. The light orange and blue colors that began to take over the grey tones reminded Sienna of the days she spent at the beach with her family. She had not seen or spoken to them in a while and so the memory brought warmth and sadness that she could feel in her belly and at the back of her throat.

“Hi, excuse me. Could I take this seat?” a deep voice called in Sienna's direction. When she turned to find where the voice had come from, she saw a tall figure gesturing toward the seat her bag was on.

“Sure!” Sienna replied as she moved her bag onto her lap.

“Thank you.” said the man in a polite tone as he sat down.

Sienna had not seen the man before but when she looked into his hazel blue eyes, she felt a sort of familiarity. She noticed that the skin on the bridge of his nose and his forehead seemed weathered as if he had been out in the sun for a while. She also noticed that the man had nothing else with him besides a little black book that looked just like the one her father wrote in when she was a child. Sienna wondered if she knew the man from somewhere but decided to let the feeling go and turned her gaze back toward the scene outside of the window. The rays of light had begun to set the clouds on fire with bright orange and purple hues.

“How has your day been?” asked the man.

“It’s been okay I guess.” replied Sienna. She hesitated for a moment. “Sorry, but do I know you from somewhere? You seem quite familiar.” she questioned.

“Yes. You know me. You could say that I am an acquaintance of sorts." the man answered. "I just came to see you because I wanted to give you this.” he continued as he held the little black book out to Sienna.

“Sorry, but you must have me confused for someone else.” Sienna said as she pushed the book away. She looked straight at the man. His eyes reflected gratitude and sorrow that she couldn't quite understand.

“No, this book is for you, Sienna. Again the time has come for me to pay my debt.” the man explained as he held the book out once more.

Sienna put her hands on the book and was confused by the sense of calm she felt in such a strange situation. She pulled the book toward her and thanked the stranger. The man smiled wistfully as if he had lived the moment before a long time ago. As if he had always known he would meet Sienna on the bus to give her the little black book.

“Goodbye.” said the man almost abruptly before heading toward one of the doors to exit the bus.

“Bye.” replied Sienna in a whisper as she watched him walk away. It did not feel strange that he left so suddenly. It almost felt as if it was always meant to be that way.

Sienna placed her bag on the seat next to her once again before putting the little black book on her lap. Starting at the edge closest to the spine of the book, she ran her fingers in a straight horizontal line over the leather cover. She did this quite slowly as if to give her fingers time to feel every vein. Her breath became shallow and her heart started beating faster as her fingers approached the fore-edge of the book. She paused for a moment in an effort to ready herself for the wealth of important information she was sure she would find inside. Sienna breathed in one deep breath then opened the cover quickly as she exhaled. The first page was blank. She turned to the second page. Blank. She then turned to the third page, and then the fourth, and then fanned through all the pages of the book. She felt a little disappointed. All of the pages were blank. Sienna sat with a perplexed look on her face. Her brow wrinkled and a confused smile set in place of the anxious expression she wore as she conducted her search.

But just as Sienna started to dismiss all of the events that took place on the bus as an amusing fortuitousness, she turned the book over to examine the back cover. On the bottom right corner, in small lettering, was a sort of instruction: play with me in the sun.

Sienna’s eyes darted toward the window. The sun was setting. But there was time. She pulled the yellow cord that was secured along the windows of the bus to request a stop. Sienna stepped off of the bus with her bag hanging off of her shoulder and her little black book in her hands. She looked around to examine the area. The bus had stopped in a place she did not quite know, in front of a park she had not remembered seeing on this route before.

She walked toward the greenery that was littered with the usual springtime daisies. The sun was now disappearing quickly and harsh shadows had been created on the ground. Sienna sat on her knees in a random spot that was not too far from the sidewalk. She spread the book open and placed it on the ground in a shaded area. The water droplets from the previous rainfall that stood proudly on the blades of grass surrounding the book had now begun tilting toward the pages in an effort of inquiry. Sienna tucked her dark brown hair behind her right ear and then placed both hands on the book. She slowly pushed the book out of the shaded area into the sun. Almost immediately the silky pages began to glisten and appeared to crumble then drift off like wisps of paper that had been thrown into a fire.

Sienna watched in astonishment as the pages of the little black book dissolved into a string of golden pearls that she would later find to be worth twenty thousand dollars. She sat there in the shadows of a setting sun remembering the myths her grandfather had told her about an ancient sea deity that was indebted to her family.

Sienna cradled the pearls in her hand before placing them carefully into her bag. She then got onto the next bus so that she could continue her journey home. The sun had set by the time she arrived. That night, as she looked out of her bedroom window gazing at the sky as she usually did, she couldn't help but feel as if she was looking at the bottom of the sea.