From Land to Sea

The sun was setting behind the clouds and the streams of brilliant pink and pale golden light seemed to beckon Aria into movement. She stood up and took a deep breath and, on her exhale, she began her journey. One foot in front of the other. The bottoms of her feet felt heavy as they stepped onto the cool grass and when she reached the boardwalk her pace quickened and the rough wooden planks surged her along. By the time she reached the sand she was running. It was as if she was running toward something and maybe she was. She honestly didn’t know and the feeling of the ocean air and spray of the salty water with each crashing wave was calling her to go faster. So, she did. Aria didn’t stop – fully clothed she ran right in. Diving under the first wave and then swam until she couldn’t anymore.

“Now what?” she thought to herself. Another wave making its way to shore lifted her high into the air and gently back down. She stayed in place treading water. Her strong legs moving back and forth and her feet gently following suit. Her arms and hands gliding through the surface of the water. Looking back toward the shore line – there was no one in sight. The beach was empty. She had lived in this small town for most of her life and now at the ripe age of twenty-one it felt like it was the first time she was really seeing it. It was beautiful. The light from the setting sun was dancing off the homes on the hill and off the windows of the stores in town. It sparkled. She saw birds flying and gently landing in the wet sand and could see their little legs move quickly to nab a sand crab and get out of the way of the white water. They moved without effort. Everything that was happening in this moment felt effortless. It was the first time in a long time she felt this way.

The last six months had changed Aria’s life dramatically and she had no idea what to do next. After a hard fight with cancer Aria’s mother had passed away.

When she was growing up her father would travel for work and after one of his business trips he just didn’t come home. Leaving a young Aria with a feeling of great responsibility to always be there for her mom. And she was. They were very close and only grew closer when it was just the two of them.

The sunset lingered a little longer than what felt “normal” and while she floated in the ocean - held by the water Aria felt the sense of calm that she needed. Tears filled her eyes and her heart grew heavy. Another wave lifted her high into the air and back down again. She dove under and swam towards shallower water. Once in a place that she could touch the sandy ocean floor she turns toward the horizon and could see the last bit of glowing sun peaking at her.

Her eyes, tired and wet and, in her grief, she catches ‘something’ but brushes it off and ducks under a wave. And another. And another. Winded and feeling a great sense of relief she dives in again avoiding a certain sandy wave tossed fate and as she feels the wave pass above, she presses firmly on the ocean floor propelling her powerfully to the surface of the water.

The sun has now dipped under the horizon and in the darker light Aria squints to see a strange movement which is now very close to her. She immediately begins backing out of the waist deep water and with each step the movement in front of her is breaching the surface – first a little and then quickly getting larger and moving faster. It was a moment that she felt oddly drawn towards the shark rapidly approaching and torn between getting away. She falls over herself landing on her back in the thick white wash which was now pulling her back in. The shark was still coming and now she could see just how big it was – the large fin on its back was fully exposed and it was in full charge.

It all happened in seconds but for Aria it was in slow motion. She held her breath as another wave crumbled over her throwing her around. She couldn’t find her feet – so she rolled and was tossed by the crashing waves. In the midst of her tumble, she opened her eyes – the shark was inches from her face and she could see into its deep black eye which for just a moment - a fraction of a second, she saw her mother’s face before she darted out of the way. The shark circled back and she swam faster and harder than ever. Now fully in the water and swimming she marveled at how she felt like she was flying through the water with ease. She moved her hips differently than before and her legs felt strong. The shark tried one last time to investigate what was potentially dinner and Aria swam straight for it. Her strong body moving with an unhuman like power through the water. Her arms gliding behind her and just before the two collide she sent her body high into the air - up and over the shark.

It was Invigorating and unbelievable! “How?” she thought as she made her way back towards the shore. When she reached the sand, her feet couldn’t find the ground so she let herself be carried onto the sand by the waves. When the water pulled back – she sat there in astonishment.

Since the time she was a small child, her mother would tell her that they came from the ocean and that there was mermaid blood running through their veins. But Aria never actually believed her. Her mother would tell her bedtime stories about mermaids and the ocean and that when she was ready, she would find herself, her mermaid self in the water. As her large tail glistened under the twilight sky Aria felt as if her mother was with her and decided to take herself for another spin and made her way back into the water.

She swam all through the night and as the sun rose, she found herself back on the same beach that she had started. As she rested in the wet sand her body began to dry her tail began to separate. As the bright sun made its rise so did Aria. She stood up and took a deep breath. Feeling very different than she did only a few hours before. She walked back to her car and started up the engine. In the passenger side was a small suitcase with her mother’s belongings from the hospital and with a new found strength and invigorated love for life she put her hand on the bag and made her way home.