The Call Of Thalassa

“There is an ocean of silence between us

and I am drowning in it.”

-Ranata Suzuki

The rain was pouring down hard on the windows of the house, making a drumming sound along the way. Her emerald eyes watched as the pearly raindrops decorated the blurry windows for a few moments before they slowly slipped down the glassy surface and disappeared from sight. Sitting comfortably on her favorite armchair with a book laying carelessly in her lap, she sighed as she realized the storm wouldn’t stop until the afternoon.

The weather had dramatically changed as the colorful autumn gave its place to the harsh winter, demanding of her to remain in the safety of her home rather than the coldness of the outside world. That meant that she wouldn’t be able to meet her merman later this day, no matter how much she wanted to. The thought made her unexpectedly sad as a heavyweight settled in her chest. She couldn’t help but wonder at her reaction towards the mere thought of him.

Had he really began to mean so much to her that she couldn’t stay away from him even for a single day?

Had his presence truly become so important to her?

Had she unknowingly began to form deeper feelings for that beast of a man?

She let a smile bloom on her face, already knowing the answer.

“You seem happy.”

The familiar voice drew her attention away from her thoughts and towards the person that leaned against the door frame. Aide’s chocolate eyes observed her friend curiously, taking in her relaxed form sitting in her favorite armchair. Two steaming cups of tea were held in her arms as she carefully made her way to her. Putting them down on the wooden table, she sat comfortably on the couch that was across from her.

“Genuinely happy”, she decided as Aileen’s cheeks burned red.

Clearing her throat, the redhead reached for the one cup of warm liquid. Feeling its fruity taste filling her senses, she held her cup warming her hands in the process.

“Is that a bad thing?“, she asked nervously.

The other girl shook her head negatively, letting a smile appear on her face.

“Of course not! It was about time you found your cheery self again”, Aide tucked a dark strand behind her ear, “However, I can’t help but wonder...what caused this?”

A flash of blue glowing eyes appeared instantly in her mind along with a splashing silver-blue tail in the shallow waters of the ocean. She bit her lower lip, feeling her face becoming even redder than before. She wanted so desperately to share everything with her best friend and listen to her advice, but she wasn’t sure it was the right time yet.

She didn’t want to freak her out or make her worry for her sanity by telling her stories of mermaids and lost underwater kingdoms. Although, lying to her wasn’t a choice either –she felt distanced from her because of it and she didn’t like it one bit. She could only hope that Aide would understand her struggle and wouldn’t get mad at her.

“I-I cannot tell you yet”, she finally said with a heavy sigh, “I want to tell you, Aide...I truly do, but the time is not right yet.”

Chocolate orbs looked deep into emerald ones, trying to figure out what was going on. Aileen was pleading her with her eyes –for what, she wasn’t completely sure. Aide was quite protective of her friend and constantly worried about her well-being and she had a very good reason to be so.

Knowing her from a young age, she was very aware that Aileen had been through a lot in her short life and although the girl was a fighter, there are always moments we need the strength of someone else. She just wanted for her to be safe and happy, away from criticizing eyes and the phantoms of her past. However, pressuring her wouldn’t do her any good either and she would never force her into telling her something she didn’t want to. She just wasn’t this kind of person.

“You can tell me whenever you are ready, sweetie. I just want you to know that I am here for you, okay? If you need me at any moment, you just have to tell me”, she smiled at her friend, wanting to calm her down.

Feeling like a weight was lifted from her shoulders, Aileen couldn’t help but let a sigh of relief escape her. Aide couldn’t possibly understand her fully, but she was respecting her boundaries and didn’t pressure for answers. She couldn’t help but stand up and give her friend an unexpected hug, making both of them fall further into the old couch.

“Thank you”, she whispered giving her a last squeeze.

Patting her hand, Aide smiled at her friend.

“Always”, she said, side hugging her briefly.

“Now”, the dark-haired girl stood up, “if you’ll excuse me, but I have to leave.”

Aileen furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at her friend’s words. Her gaze drifted towards the warm cup of tea that was placed right next of her own before returning to Aide once again.

“Oh! This wasn’t for me!“, she let a nervous laugh escape her, “I just wanted to check up on you –make sure you were okay...We hadn’t talked in a while and I was...well...worried”, she shrugged her shoulders absentmindedly.

Aileen couldn’t help but appreciate her even more. Because that’s what true friendship is; caring for one another. Even if you don’t speak or see each other on a daily basis, you have such a strong connection with them that not many words are needed to understand them. You accept them for who they truly are and you are there for them through thick and thin. And Aide was there for her, even if she didn’t know the whole truth and even though Aileen refused to tell her everything right now.

She was there and that’s all that mattered.

“Is Petra coming over?“, the girl wondered as she watched her friend bottom up her coat.

“I believe to be a better company than she is.”

The unexpected voice made them both turn around quickly, their hearts beating a mile a minute. Nana Alexandra sure knew how to make an entrance and give them a heart attack at the same time. Sitting comfortably in the armchair previously occupied by Aileen, her chocolate eyes were pinned on the girls in front of her. Cocking her head to the side as Aide began to swear with a hand above her racing heart, she narrowed her eyes at her granddaughter’s choice of words.

“Aide Marina Clayton!“, her voice boomed around the house, “I have raised you better than that!”

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes, continuing her colorful choice of vocabulary in the process.

“Then don’t scare me like that, nana!“, she finally screamed at her grandmother, before storming towards the empty hall.

Giving a quick apologizing smile to nana Alexandra, who had already begun to drink her tea not minding her fuming granddaughter, Aileen followed her friend. Reaching the front door, she watched as Aide put her hood on and took hold of her white umbrella.

“Aide...“, she began slowly, “...I wanted to ask you something.”

The other girl hummed an answer as she tried to style her warm scarf around her neck.

“Have you...have you talked to Petra these last few days? Or at least seen her?“, Aileen played with her hands nervously.

Aide froze momentarily, before letting a heavy breath escape her. Stopping whatever she was doing, she looked into Aileen’s emerald eyes. So many questions swirled inside of them, confusion and worry more evident than anything else. She knew for a fact that Aileen had no clue what was going on with Petra, but Aide wasn’t sure if it would be best to elaborate on her.

What was better? To leave someone in the worry of ignorance or to grace him with the sadness of knowledge?

“Who does she think she is?”

Aide flinched as the words appeared in her mind, the memory still clear in her head. A blonde girl furiously pacing back and forth in her grandmother’s living room, letting curses fall from her lips in angry screams. Her eyes were filled with angry tears and her face flushed from fury, not hearing anyone who tried to reason with her.

“Your tantrum is meaningless, you understand this, yes?“, nana rolled her eyes as she watched the girl pacing in her house with a tint of annoyance.

“It’s not fair!“, she yelled at the old lady with all her might making nana widen her eyes at her audacity, “It’s just not fair!”

Loud sobs escaped her throat along with her curses, making her appear as a complete mess. Aide was too shocked to see Petra in such a crazed state to tell her anything, not believing what her own eyes were watching. What happened to her best friend? How could such words escape her mouth? How could she speak so ill about their closest friend? About the person that got her back through all these years? About a girl who just wanted a normal life, but instead got one full of pain and tragedy?

How could she let so many years of friendship go to waste for the sake of a man?

“Why!? Why must she be always the one?“, she sobbed desperately in her hands, “People love her so...so effortlessly! Why must she have it all -the looks, the intelligence, the character!?”

Nana and Aide could only stare at her in utter shock -not quite believing the words falling from her lips.

“Why is she so...perfect?“, she laughed humorlessly through her tears, “Poor, orphan Aileen is such a sweet and kind soul, right? Such a sweetheart -everyone wants to be her! She never makes mistakes! She is just a pure soul that luck didn’t do her justice. I am so sick of it!”

She found Aide’s widened eyes through the river of her tears.

“I’m done! I won’t tolerate this any longer!“, she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, “I’m better! She doesn’t even care about what’s happening around her -she doesn’t as much as spare a second glance to the people around her! I’ve tried so hard to be good -to earn the respect of others, to make them notice me, and accept me! And yet, they will never give me half the love they offer to her!”

“Just because they love her, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you, stupid girl”, nana shook her head in annoyance, “Just because she is good at something, it doesn’t mean you aren’t good in something else. You two are entirely different people -you can’t compare distinct things.”

“Says the one who makes distinctions!“, Petra snorted, “You always treated us differently! You acted as if she was a doll made of glass, while you glared and insulted me! What do you have to say about that, huh?”

Nana raised an eyebrow as she started to fume in anger.

“Maybe if you focused on yourself and not on what others do, my behavior would be different”, the old lady said.

“No, it wouldn’t!“, Petra shouted at her, “You’d still treat her differently! Honestly, the whole orphan drama has to end at some point! Aren’t you pleased with all the pity she got? Does she really needs so much attention?”

Nana saw it coming before it happened, but she didn’t make it on time. Her hand didn’t reach Aide’s on time, giving her the chance to approach the maddening girl that was screaming kneeled in the middle of their living room.

A loud noise echoed through the room, quieting the uncontrollable sobs and furious screams of the paranoid girl. A red mark started to slowly appear on Petra’s right cheek as a burst of pain exploded from where Aide had slapped her. Shocked at her actions, Petra remained completely shocked looking at her with widened eyes.

“How dare you?“, the dark-haired whispered yelled with such hate that made Petra shiver, “How dare you betray your friend like that?”

Her voice was just louder than a whisper, but the poison in it would make anyone silent. Aide couldn’t help her feelings at her friend’s actions. They both knew Aileen didn’t have an easy life growing up with both her parents’ absence.

They both were well aware of the fact she was terribly teased and bullied for being different from the rest of them –in her appearance and unusual features, the way she was growing up, and her quiet personality.

They both knew that the villagers often commented on her, secretively blaming her for her family’s distraction and considering her a bringer of bad luck. And yet, here was Petra saying how she was jealous of her and the life she had. No one should go through the difficulties Aileen had. Aide expected from her fellow friend to understand this fact, knowing from first-hand everything that had happened.

“Get out.”

Petra’s eyes widened.

“I-”

“Get the hell out of my house!”

She immediately stood up at Aide’s scream, still holding on her throbbing cheek.

“Where am I supposed to go?“, she asked tremblingly.

Aide snorted.

“I don’t care”, she shrugged her shoulders, “Perhaps, to that whore of a man? The one you put above our friendship? God, I can’t believe you chose him out of everyone else, knowing everything he has done!“, she shook her head completely disappointed.

Petra let a tear escape her.

“Aide, I-”

“I don’t want to hear anything else! Get out of my house! I am sure he is still at the festival looking for a girl to spend the night. You could do the honors”, she said coldly, before quickly turning around and leaving the room without a second glance.

“Aide?”

Chocolate orbs met emerald ones.

“Petra has made her decisions”, she finally answered Aileen’s questions.

“What kind of decisions?“, the redhead couldn’t understand her words.

“Ones that passed the point of forgiveness.”

She quickly opened the front door without uttering another word. Aileen watched her walking in the rain for a few moments, before finally closing the door behind her. Furrowing her eyebrows, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with her friends. Had something serious happened while she wasn’t around? Did it have to do with her constant absence? She couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“Aileen?”

Her head snapped up realizing she had reached her living room. Nana watched her from her armchair curiously, feeling the change of her mood. The redhead sat on the couch, taking a sip from her tea to calm herself. What had happened with her friends?

“So”, nana clapped her hands drawing her attention to her, “Aren’t you excited to spend the afternoon with me?

Aileen tried to smile, but it must have come out as a grimace. Nana Alexandra’s smile fell slightly at the sight of it. Truth be told, she would rather be in the arms of her merman, but nana’s company could surely lighten her mood.

The old lady cleared her throat, getting successfully her attention once again.

“You should be ecstatic of my presence, my dear”, she stated matter of factly while rolling her eyes.

Aileen let a laugh escape her at the old lady’s antics.

“And why is that?“, the young girl asked.

A smug smile appeared on nana’s face.

“I thought you liked merman stories...”

Aileen sat upright on her sit in excitement.

“...And I have one you definitely want to hear.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 20!!

Follow & Comment & Vote

Until next time!!