Hopeless Love

17-A Shift in Things

I had always had this sense of things changing. I could feel it when something big happened. A shift in the balance of nature, a shift in power between the races, things like that. So I felt it when this giant ripple of power ran through me.

I was swimming with Sebastian. The sky was high overhead and there were barely any clouds. A gentle breeze was blowing, bringing the crisp feel of the coming autumn. Sunflowers stood proudly in the distance, just barely beginning to droop. The water was cool, draining the heat collected by my dark fur.

Sebastian was making invisible figures in the water, causing little ripples occasionally when his fins breached the surface. Eventually he got tired and climbed out of the water, sitting on the edge of the pool to watch me swim around with a smile on his face. I swam in calm circles for a while, going around the edge and waving at mermaids I recognized.

I had started swimming back and forth between Sebastian and the other edge of the pool. I was on the way to the other side when a heard what sounded like an explosion followed by a scream. Something had died, and from the anguish and despair in the scream, that something had been the last of it's kind. Sadness overwhelmed me and the shockwave of the explosion arrived. It caused huge ripples on the water that turned into waves. They crashed over me and I was taken under. The water was being stirred by the intensity of the explosion's shockwave, but when I opened my eyes no one else was affected. Only me.

I couldn't move, trapped by the turbulent water that no one else was feeling. I felt strong hands grab me and I was pulled to the surface. I was still unable to move, paralyzed by shock now. I felt someone shaking me and felt air on the fur near my ears; someone was shouting in my ear and trying to get my attention. Everything snapped back into focus as the shockwave passed. I winced at the voice in my ear.

"-okay?! Jet! Jet are you okay? Please just be okay," shouted Sebastian. A tear came to my eye when I heard the despair in his voice.

"I'm okay," I croaked. My throat ached.

"Thank goodness. I was so worried. But...what happened. You just went under and stopped moving. You looked like you were trying to swim through a storm, but the water was completely calm," he told me.

"I'm...I'm not sure exactly what happened. But it was something big. Something changed in the way the world works. I don't know what though," I whispered. He looked confused, but that was quickly replaced with concern when he saw how exhausted I was. He picked me up and ran somewhere. He stopped for a few seconds and then moved more. He lay down hugged me close to his body. He was very warm and I purred weakly in satisfaction. I started to fall asleep, hardly registering the sniffling I heard from somewhere above me.