Magic Within the Waves

Chapter Five - Mysterious Hero

Chapter Five

Mysterious Hero

***

The sun burned hot against my back on the usual route home from the school bus stop. It was hot enough to radiate through my white polo shirt and scald my skin. Usually, I would complain about it. But this time my mind was distracted. For a change in my routine, I was heading home to prepare for my first night out with Carmen and Ruth since Mum’s death. Our plans were… a night at the movies, watching one of the new action comedies Carmen had been longing to see, followed by dinner at Hound Hunter Pizzeria. Ruth had visited the place with her parents a few weeks ago. She swore by their meat lovers’ pizzas. And I was willing to give it a try.

With my backpack weighing me down, I sauntered by the car park overlooking the beach, the cool ocean breeze soothing against my stinging skin. The crystal clear waves lured me towards the safety rails around the hanging rock formation I had visited with Mum on my first day here. The rails had to be new, but chips of yellow paint had begun to flake away. The only problem with living near the ocean was how quickly salt in the air faded the paint away.

‘There is more magic in the waves than anywhere else. It is where all magic begins.’

Slinging my school backpack on the corner of the rail, I climbed over and took a few steps forward. ‘Wow, this looks so beautiful…’

There was a sense of calm in the breeze, something that washed away all sorrows and doubts. I kicked off my shoes and stepped closer to the edge, allowing the grainy rocks to massage my feet. Closing my eyes, I stood in the same place Mum had, with my arms out, the ocean air whipping my hair around my face. For the time I stood there I was free, and Mum’s spirit was right beside me. Inhaling the salty sea air, I opened my eyes and peered down at the frothy white waves sweeping against the sandy shore.

Mum’s sweet voice filled my ears. ‘When the sun is at its highest point and the warm autumn breeze whistles through the treetops, all the tree-dwelling creatures scurry to the ground and take refuge in the manes and tails of the friendly unicorns or helpful daydreums, or they hide under rocks and fallen leaves. Such creatures are the velvetini and the scallywagin, not to forget the jackbackroo and the hogginsmith.’

‘Ah, a hogginsmith,’ I laughed aloud. ‘Mum, sometimes I wonder if these names are just made up.’

Again, she was in my mind, defending her beliefs like she always did. ‘The hogginsmith was discovered by Harold Smith over fifty years before I was born. It’s an almost translucent ant-like creature whose body is a form of silk. Similar to silkworms they spin silk. They are found where unicorns roam. I have never seen one, but it was my dream to own one and watch it weave a silk nest.’

‘Oh, how I miss you, Mum,’ I whispered, my voice trailing into the wind, hoping it would fall upon her ears wherever she was right now.

I took in one last deep breath and turned around. Something skimmed through the water behind me, capturing the corner of my eye. Spinning back around, I caught the tip of a grey fin and what could be best described as a human leg skimming through the water, before vanishing beneath. Was I seeing things or was it a mermaid?

‘It can’t be a mermaid, can it?’

My heart spun joyous cartwheels through my chest as I stepped on the crumbling ledge of the hanging rock formation. Heights never bothered me, so cupping my hand over my eyes, I scooted far enough for my toes to hang off the edge. I had seen something, but I was unsure what. If it was a mermaid or even a twicorn, I had to glimpse it again.

‘Nothing.’ I stepped back and my heart paused in its playfulness, dropping to the bottom of my stomach. ‘What was I thinking? It must have been a dolphin or something. Oh Mum, will I ever be as open-minded as you?’

With another step back, I turned and a searing pain shot through my foot. Fire erupted under my skin, penetrating deep into my veins. ‘Ouch ...! What on earth ...?’

Gritting my teeth, I knelt down and examined the heel of my foot. There was a bright red lump forming on the surface and no sign of the creature or thing that had caused it. Something was hidden in the rock and had likely gone into defence and bitten my foot. I wriggled my toes and winced as the pain coursed through every muscle and travelled up my leg.

‘Ow.’ I stumbled to my feet and limped towards the railing with my hands stretched out to grasp it.

Just inches from where my shoes lay, the rock formation shuddered as my clumsy footsteps knocked shards into the waves below.

‘Shoot,’ I gasped, reaching my fingers for the safety rails. My throbbing foot crippled my attempt, dropping me to my knees. ‘Ouch, oh far out ... Help!’

The formation shook again, an earthquake that rattled through me. Bit by bit, rocks broke away, growing faster and bigger, toppling with a rhythmic beat of loud splashes into the water. Trembling, I clung to the biggest rock within reach. It was too late. There was nowhere to go. I was trapped. The entire formation collapsed under me, pulling me with furious speed into the violently churning water below.

‘Help ... help me!’ I screamed. ‘Argh ... help me.’

My sweaty hands missed the ledges on the way down. Fear engulfed my entire body, seizing up all my muscles. My throat tightened, blocking off the air I desperately needed. The pounding of my heart was so fast and so painful inside my chest that I saw my life flash before my eyes. I saw Mum’s green eyes and felt her embrace. There was Dad, his always handsome face smiling at me. It was over. I was going to die.

‘I can’t die!’ I cried. ‘My dad needs me.’

‘I’ll save you.’

A sweeping voice filled my mind as I hit the water with a violent force. The pressure pushed me deeper into the ocean until coldness nipped at me, swallowing me whole. Looking up, I could just make out the blurry sun through the rippled waves my entrance had created. All I could think of was Mum and how soon I would see her again. What would happen to Dad? How would he live without his Bright Eyes around anymore? The further I sank, the darker it grew… until nothing.

***

‘You will be alright,’ a male’s voice, as soothing and refreshing as an ocean breeze flowed clearly through my mind.

‘Am I dead?’ I asked, squeezing my eyelids tighter, afraid I would find myself looking down at my own body. ‘Am I?’

‘No, you are safe. I pulled you out just in time.’

Listening to my breathing and counting each heartbeat, I opened one eye and then the other, to see a fuzzy image of a man looking down at me, his light eyes breaking through the haze. ‘You – you saved me?’

‘I did.’

Now that I could see him clearly, I realised his eyes were a strange colour – one minute they were blue, not an average blue like Dad’s, more turquoise with a tint of deep green … and the next, they were as orange and as magical as the sunrise. He blinked and it would change colour again. ‘How did you? I mean ... y-you saved me?’

He nodded, shaking droplets of water off his midnight-black hair. I shivered as they trickled over me. ‘I had to. You seemed to be dying… and needed saving.’ His words once again echoed inside my head. His lips remained plastered in a tiny, unmoving smile.

I blinked a few times and peered back up at him. Was he a surfer? He looked like one. No, he was better looking than any guy I had ever seen … if such a thing was possible. His face was flawless. Beads of water streaked his chest and over his caramel-brown shoulders. I was instantly drawn to the rapid beat of his heart against mine and the way his chest, only inches from mine, rose and fell.

‘You were lucky to survive a fall like that. It is a long way down.’ His voice was another person inside my head. He glanced up at the broken rock ledge and then back to me. ‘Did you not see the warning sign?’

‘No, I didn’t…’ I squeaked. My voice hitched in the back of my throat. ‘’I don’t know how I can possibly thank you. I would be dead right now if it wasn’t for you!’

‘You would be dead…’ His eyes left mine for a brief moment and analysed my face… he studied the way I breathed, and how my eyelids and mouth moved. ‘You are very welcome. It’s not every day I get to save someone so beautiful.’

Heat rose in my cheeks. His expression changed, dimples framing the corners of his thick curved lips, revealing a set of straight white teeth. This urge to kiss– to feel my hero’s soft lips crept into my thoughts. I was looking at a mysterious stranger, one with a charming grin who had risked his life to save mine and I was instantly enraptured by him.

Don’t be silly, I scolded myself. You can’t just kiss a stranger. I sighed. Even if he is absolutely gorgeous!

My hero laughed like he had heard my thoughts. He tilted his head to the right slightly and again his eyes changed – grey and then green again. One side of his luscious lips was now angled higher than the other. He continued gazing into my face until his eyes stopped on my mouth. He focused intently on the air I sucked in.

‘A kiss ...?’

What was going on? Was I hearing his voice inside my head or was I imagining things? Before I could ask him, his lips brushed against mine, stealing my words from my mouth and thoughts from my head. I wanted to pull away at first… until his salty ocean taste sent an exhilarated thrill down my spine. Unable to control myself, I let my lips linger with the stranger’s… move with his. I reached up to touch his face, to feel his smooth skin, but he pulled away and sat back.

‘Who are you?’ I panted, rubbing my eyes. This had been some kind of wonderful dream!

When I moved my hand away, the stranger was gone. I was alone. I sat upright and glanced around, the damp sand clinging to my clothes. There was no one on the beach, no footprints in the sand and no one in the water. He had vanished like a ghost.

‘Try and keep away from cliff edges from now on,’ he chuckled. ‘No promises I will be there to save you again.’

‘Thank you, whoever you are. Thank you.’

There was no reply.

Shivering, I found my feet, expecting pain. Having hit the water with such force I had expected some degree of soreness, or at the least a throbbing in my foot. Yet, I was completely pain free.

The sun was setting behind the cliff in the distance, a sign it was getting late. How long had I been out? The time had gone in a flash. With wet clothes sticking to my skin, it made the trip up the sand-dusted cement stairs leading to the car park a hurdle on its own. I paused halfway and peered over my shoulder just in case I had missed my hero walking away. No one. The beach was completely deserted.

By the time I reached my bag and pulled on my shoes, I knew whoever he was… he had to be long gone.

I sucked in a trembling breath at the realisation – not much was left of the cliff, just fragments of shredded rock. And right there, flapping against the spiked edge of the rail was the warning sign – Danger, falling cliff face. I shook my head. Of course… How did I not see that?

My fragile life had been saved by a mere thread. And this mysterious hero was the one to thank. If only I knew where he had come from – who he was and if I would ever see him again.

‘I don’t think anyone will ever believe me.’ I laughed to myself.