TO THE LIGHT

5 | EPIC

Italian translations are in the comments!

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| MAY |

It's been one month since the storm. One month since Lucia almost drowned. One month since she was saved.

A few seconds after seeing the golden glow cutting through the ocean towards her, everything went dark for Lucia. She saw light again in the form of sunshine when the water that she had swallowed being fiercely coughed up brought her back around, every part of her in complete agony as she allowed her weary eyes to peel open and stare up at the bright blue cloudless sky.

The storm had stopped. In fact, it looked like there hadn't been a storm at all, although the wreckage of Jackson's boat that floated in the waters of the cove would tell you otherwise.

After sitting up slowly with a pounding head and tired heart, Lucia saw the mess for herself from the rock — her rock — that she lay upon. She also saw Jackson standing by the water, his back to her and his entire body soaked from the sea. He looked out to it in all its sudden calmness with his hands on his hips; a stance like he was perplexed at what had just happened despite being warned about the storm.

She didn't want to alert him to the fact that she was awake, but it was too late. Jackson turned around only a second later and ran towards Lucia after seeing her conscious, launching into telling her all about how he dove into the water, swam through the stormy sea, and pulled her back out; essentially saving her life.

He wasn't believed for a second, although Lucia didn't voice that out loud. She knew what she saw before everything went black, therefore knew who it was that rescued her.

It was no dream this time, nor was it a figment of her imagination like she'd believed to be the case. It never had been.

Lucia saw Harry, her merman, and he saved her. He lay her gently on her rock — their rock. That was the truth.

She couldn't allow herself the time to process the fact that Harry denied everything that she believed him to be and made her feel a little bit insane for thinking such things, because she needed to go home to heal and get away from Jackson. His behaviour before the storm and bold-faced lies after it really made her never want to see or be near him ever again.

Given the seclusion of the cove, the only way that Jackson could leave was via Lucia's lighthouse. She was tempted to tell him to just swim to Port Marina Grande, but that felt cruel; even though it's something that the man deserves.

Regardless, Lucia wouldn't and couldn't stoop to that level. She pushed her exhausted and achy self to stand, shrugging off Jackson's touchy attempts to help her, and walked with him hot on her heels up to her home. She felt icky letting him inside of it, but it was the only way to get rid of him.

It took her around an hour to get Jackson to actually go, though. He was insistent on staying with her and making sure that she was okay, not realising that the only way Lucia would be was when he left. She kept it polite until he finally got the point and went.

Lucia hasn't seen him since, but not for a lack of trying on his part. For three out of the four weeks since the storm, Jackson had been to her home every single day; knocking on the door and pacing around the front of her lighthouse in a desperate bid to see her again.

Ignoring every knock and call of her name shouted, she hid out of view upstairs with a clear one of Jackson until he left. She would sigh knowing that he'd only be back the next day, but it's been a week without his persistence. It's been peaceful, but Lucia can't help but wonder for how long.