Holly

The Devils

This feeling is one of few things that keep me feeling alive these days. The sun on my skin, the gentle ocean breeze, the smell of sunblock, and sticky salt water on my skin.

The best part is how my heart races and jumps into my throat when my feet leave the edge of the cliff. The wind shoves my hair straight up and my legs flail as I drop towards the water.

A smile slides onto my face, one mixed with fear and joy. The fall is far, too far. That's the best kind of cliff.

After jumping for the fifth time, I climb up the steep hill and back onto the top of the cliff to join Ira and the others. It has been a while since I hung out with everyone.

"I hope you don't mind; I invited a friend I met at community college to join us", Ira says, twisting the water from her hair.

"Who?" A boy named Michael asks. He is on the shorter side but the wildest one in our small group.

"You guys will remember her from high school. Remember when she went missing for like a week at sea?"

"Oh, yeah. I didn't really know her too well."

I know who they are talking about. I never spoke to Kaia in high school, but Ira sat next to her in AP psychology.

Michael jumps off the edge of the cliff again and his twin sister Megan follows. Michael and Megan were my neighbors growing up before they moved closer to town.

I stand up, readying myself for another jump when I see the outline of a ship sailing into the cove we are jumping in.

"There she is!" Ira yells excitedly. Without hesitating, she runs and jumps over the edge of the cliff and swims out to Kaia's boat.

I remain on the rock alone and allow myself a few moments of peace. The only thing I have been thinking about the last few days was that man. It is driving me crazy and the desire to find him again is building inside me. I should be avoiding that area of the beach. That man could be crazy, I have no idea who he is and why he is in the water so much.

Yet, a part of me seems to be anticipating something big that will change my life and it all has to do with that man.

My mind keeps wandering to those tales Ira's Aunt Jane used to tell her. About things beyond mankind's understanding.

"We have been jumping from here." Ira's voice gradually becomes louder as she huffs and puffs her way to the rock. "You don't have to jump."

Ira joins me on the rock with Kaia behind her. She is a petite blonde wearing a green dress. I glance down the side of the cliff to see her boat resting gently on the shore.

"Kaia, this is Holly. She is my best friend."

"Hi", I give her my biggest smile and she returns one to me. "Weren't you in Mrs. Blevins's class senior year?"

"Yeah, I remember you. She didn't like you."

"No one liked Mrs. Blevins", I reply.

"You've always picked fights with the teachers, Holly", Ira says as she sits down on the blanket, and we follow her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was afraid of you, to be honest. Remember that time you blew up the science lab because of something stupid she said?"

I laugh. "I can't even remember what she did. I just remember being mad."

Ira leans back on her elbows and sighs. "Aunt Jane makes me tell her that story all the time. She loved watching the videos you took of every school fight ever. How the hell did you manage to be at every one all four years?"

I shrug. "Anyway, how did you and Kaia meet?"

"Oh, it was in Accounting 101 freshman year."

"Have you always been able to sail that boat, Kaia?" Michael asks.

"Yeah, I learned to do it with my dad and brother."

I feel a tinge of pain in my chest. It lasts for only a second but her relationship with her dad reminds me of how my dad taught me to surf.

"Does he still sail with you?" I ask.

"No, he died two years ago. It is his boat and my brother, and I still sail together occasionally. He has been busy running his business."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

There is an awkward silence for much longer than I would have preferred. Ira sighs, breaking the pause.

"Aunt Jane wants us to come visit her, Holly."

Aunt Jane has been living across the country closer to her daughter after she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. She moved away four years ago.

My mind jumps back to those stories she used to tell us. The tales of monsters and drowned sailors.

"Remember the stories she told us?"

"The ones she never stopped talking about all our lives? Yeah, of course I do." Ira perks up at the topic. We both loved making Aunt Jane tell us the stories. At one point, we believed it was real and used to play a gorier version of mermaid when we went swimming.

"What are you talking about?" Megan asks, perplexed.

"She used to tell us about 'the wild ones'. They were predatory monsters, half fish, and half human. They eat sailors and cannibalize each other for the fun of it."

"What the hell was your aunt smoking?" Michael laughs.

"You wouldn't know these stories. Only residents born in this town have been told the stories before." Ira chides.

"I think that was just your crazy Aunt, Ira. I don't remember being told these fake stories." Kaia says.

"My favorite part was the stories about the 'devils' as she called them. The ones that were human before being cursed by the ocean," Ira continues "They are left to roam the world in their monstrous state."

"Do you remember why they were turned into that?" I ask.

"I can't remember. Luckily, if they are real, they are stuck in the ocean so we will be fine so long as we stay on land."

"That is a bunch of BS. Humanity would have discovered this other species if they were real."

"Michael, I'm going to feed you to the damn fish. Aunt Jane never lies!" Ira playfully shoves him towards the cliff, and he mocks her.

I guess he didn't think she would do it because his face was priceless when she shoved him over the edge.

Of course, he was fine. He just screamed curses up at Ira before swimming back around and climbing the hill.

"Go die in a hole!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the idiots. As they continue to shove each other off the cliff, I notice how quiet Kaia is now. I take a glance back at her before jumping off the cliff myself.

She looks sad as she stares out at the sea. As I fall, I can't help but feel a similar feeling but for a reason I cannot fathom.