Growing up with the sea in hot February, the Australian Ocean had been the love of Cyril's life. His surfing career was at its peak at twenty, winning him the trophy of his life in March, but March also got him a huge heartache. He got ghosted by hi...
Skyler looked happy that morning. His skin was glowing and his smile would not go away. He walked through the willows, listening to the ocean waves, looking at the blue sky covered by yellow willow flowers. "I'll help you with your research," He repeated what Cyril in his mind over and over again. The waves seem to sound louder, the flowers seem to fall closer, everything that morning was just perfect.
As the ocean waves glistened in the noon under the bright sun, the sun reached high and Cyril reached higher on his surfboard. He and Tristian fell back into the ocean while Arthur practised his tricks, "We are all wrapped up for the second round tomorrow," Tristian said as he and Cyril stood on the beach, looking at Arthur. "Who are we against?" Cyril asked. "I think some Europeans, I'll check that out,"
"Oh, by the way, Skyler called us tonight," Cyril told Tristian. "I know. He told him he wants Arthur to scuba dive for him again. You are coming too?" Tristain asked. "I'm expected to," Cyril looked at the sea as the waves brushed against their feet. "I don't understand why he always asks us to come at night?" "Because we can distinguish that algae that he's looking for only at night in the dark since it glows. During the day, it looks like all other algae" "Ah, that makes sense,"
At night, once the sun was gone and the moon was in all its glory, Glizzly was driving through a field of sunflowers and lemongrass, the windmills rolling slowly and the moon shining bright. He turned his face towards the moon, its reflection shining brightly on his eyes. He stopped the car and got down holding his chest, struggling to breathe. "Shit! Did I overdose? My heart!" He fell on his keens, the sunflowers, the lemongrass the windmills, everything was flowing so peacefully in the warm, summer breeze until he disrupted nature's movement by running over those tiny beings, towards the windmills. He didn't know where he was going, he just had to run. He just had to run or his heart would collapse.
Arthur wore his diving cap while Tristian held the rope with him. Skyler looked at them with a glass jar in his hands. Cyril turned his face towards the moon, its reflection shining brightly on his eyes. The water moved gently, as waves calmed down to numbness. He looked down at the ocean while having a huge splash when Arthur jumped in and then everything was still again. Cyril got on his knees and touched the water. The whale over his skin blinked its eyes, his fingers trembled and he looked up at the moon again, it was set into an eclipse.
"We should pull Arthur up," He turned towards Tristian. "What? Why?" Tristian inquired. Skyler looked at him, "What is it, Cyril?" "I don't know, the ocean feels weird. Like it is...It's crying," Skyler began laughing, "What? You can hear the ocean crying?" "No, I just...feel it," He looked at the moon, which was half gobbled by the darkness by then.
"Arthur will be fine, Cyril. He has a torch with him, don't worry about the eclipse," Skyler said. "We should pull up if Cyril says so," Tristian said. "No, it's okay. Trust me," Skyler looked at Cyril, "I know the ocean more than you. I work on science, Cyril, not feelings," He sounded condescending. Cyril caught his tone and gave an ugly expression, but he accepted it since he believed himself incapable of describing what he was feeling.
The ocean was crying. Who in their right mind would believe that? He ought to put it differently. It was not crying, it just suddenly seemed to slow down. And it was not the tide growing larger that scared him, it was this state of sudden, transient death that overcame his skin. He had goosebumps all over his body and his fingers won't stop shaking, the water turned darker to a shade of black as the moon became fainter and fainter.
Arthur swam down and deep with a waterproof tape recorder in his pocket and a torch in his hands, he stopped at a rock containing that glowing alga. He pressed the torch between his teeth and began pulling it off of the rock, and once he pulled it out, he saw that there was something drawn over the rock. Some symbol, perhaps, a language he didn't understand. He removed the rest of the algae and discovered more of the writing, he could see the letters clearly, though they were a bit blurred out with the wither of water and time. But what he couldn't see, was the algae slowly growing on his arm. He freaked out and in panic, dropped the torch.
He pulled it out of his skin, but it wouldn't stop growing. He started swimming up towards the faint, fading twilight. And even that disappeared, dying out into the darkness. The algae reached his neck and began choking him. He pulled the rope, he pulled it aggressively.
"He's pulling," Skyler looked at the rope and Tristian pulled the rope with all his might, he's heavier, what the fuck! ARTHUR!" Cyril grabbed a mouthpiece and jumped into the water, "CYRIL!" Skyler yelled after him, "DON'T GO DOWN THERE!"
Cyril held his breath and he followed the rope down and looked at a little anglerfish, munching away a huge bush of algae. He swam towards it in hurry and looked at the bush, he could see Arthur's eyes through the bush of algae, "ARTHUR!" He began pulling the algae out of his body, blood came along with the roots and his veins burst open, "NO!" More and more anglerfish began surrounding him, munching away the algae along with Arthur's body. The more Cyril pulled, the more the algae grew.
He tried pulling him away from those savage fish, but he wouldn't move! The algae had grounded itself back on the rock, and it was stiff. Cyril moved down and tried pulling it out of the rock, but all to vain, "NO!" He swam back up to the surface, the ocean was darker than it had ever been so he had to feel his way up through the rope,
"UGH! I CAN'T PULL! I THINK HE'S STUCK!" Tristian yelled. "SKYLER!" Cyril came to the surface and Skyler ran towards him, "Cyril! Are you okay?" "ARTHUR! THEY'RE EATING HIM!" "What?" "COME! SKYLER COME WITH ME!"
"Me?" Skyler seemed scared as he looked at the dark ocean. He remembered his misadventure, he was still scared of it, he was scared of the nothingness inside the ocean, he was scared of its unperceivable depth, he was scared of the waves, and he was scared of the ocean.
"No, not me. Anyone but me!"
-To be continued
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