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OKEANÓS: (n.) ocean.
in greek mythology, he is the titan god of all the earth's seas.
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❝ For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
it's always ourselves we find in the sea. ❞
– E.E. CUMMINGS
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THE GIRL SLOWLY AWAKENS to the sound of the waves crashing against the seashore and the faint calls of seagulls flying above. Still half lingering in a state of sleep, she thinks nothing of it at first – only that the yacht she is on must be nearing port. She reaches out to embrace her lover and relish in the warmth of his skin, but instead of meeting the heat of another human body, her fingers only grasp a fistful of damp, frigid sand – and it is then when she realizes that she is, in fact, no longer on a boat.
She jolts upwards in a panic, blurred vision doing its best to adjust to the sudden harsh sunlight. The red string bracelet she treasures is still on her wrist. Eyes rapidly scrutinizing her surroundings, her mind registers that she has been lying on an empty beach for who-knows-how-long, and that her mode of transportation is nowhere to be found.
That could only mean one thing.
No. Impossible. He would never.
A breath hitches in her throat, the fear inside her quickly rising to drown her. She shuts her eyes tight, and hugs her knees close to her even tighter, chapped bottom lip trembling.
No. No, no, no, no. Please, God, no. Please let this be a dream. Please.
She opens her eyelids slowly. Nothing has changed. The boat is still gone. He is still gone. She is alone on the beach – like a piece from a seashell, washed up onto the sand; but unlike the ocean debris, the tide cannot sweep her back into the water.
Suddenly, it seems as if the world around her is spinning and she begins to breathe rapidly, stumbling towards the ocean with desperation coursing through her veins. She trips over her now-soaked dress multiple times, but that doesn't stop her.
"THESEUS!"
The girl shouts into the infinite expanse of cerulean sky, lungs about to burst, arms wrapped around herself to keep warm from the cruel breeze nipping at her skin.
"Please, please come back – please –"
He promised the future to her between soft kisses. He soothed her worries between silk sheets. He crafted plans with her in quiet whispers. He swore they would lead the revolution. She was to be the strategist, he the speaker.
He showered her with compliments, words slipping off his tongue like honey and she, ever the fool she was, believed him.
But he was a liar.
She finds herself falling to her knees, shivering intensely. She refuses to let the tears fall, but they do. Little droplets, glistening primly on her cheeks – the prettiest image of pain. She screams brokenly into the void, the waves drowning out the sound of her voice before she grasps the wet sand beneath her fingers and curls her hands into fists.
The betrayal stings like salt in a wound. Her heart is no longer beating like it should – it rests in shards inside her hollow chest; shattered glass, dangerous if dealt with. She cries out once more, rocking back and forth, sobs shaking her body.
