A/N: A short story. Idea taken from Spirit of the Deep by Mageret Beames.Please R&R and have mercy.thanks!
All that could be heard was the hooting of a lone owl in the midnight sky and the sound made when a wave of water comes into contact with a solid. The sky was clear, not a single cloud had blocked the brightness of the stars. The moon was simply a thin crescent however it shone brighter than any of the stars.
Water gently caressed my bare feet each time it flowed in. The night orchestra was now joined by the crickets. It was a beautiful night. However, I could not sleep and thus, I found myself strolling at the beach, near my apartment. I looked up at the sky, mesmerized. Thinking back at the reason of my insomnia, I shivered. It was a horrible nightmare, no, a nightmare of the past.
That particular night was a beautiful night as well. However, that was the precious time when my dearest brother was still here, beside me, protecting me. We were swimming together at the very same beach. It was deserted as usual as it was already very late at night. We both loved and enjoyed night swimming. Although it was extremely dangerous because of the change of currents or the tides, still, my brother would always be there to save me. However, that fateful night, something occurred. Something that I would have never expected had happened. Nevertheless, the fact still remains that I was unable to save my brother, my closest kin, whom was always there for me.
He swam too fast, too far, a careless mistake, miscalculated error. Before you even knew it, he had gotten trapped in the change of current. Waves splashed over his head, his body bobbing up and down, as if the sea itself was trying to eat a resisting prey. I tried to help him, swimming hard towards him but the tide kept pushing me backwards. I watched my brother, sinking, drowning. When I could stand it no longer, I began to swim back towards shore at the fastest speed my gangly legs and skinny arms could, drinking sea water as a result of lack of control. Once I reached the quiet, deserted beach, I ran towards a telephone booth to call for an ambulance. Halfway during the call, I felt my legs go numb and collapsed on my knees before falling flat on my face. The last thing I saw, before blacking out into an abyss of unconsciousness, was my brother's hand thrashing wildly in the water.
When I regained consciousness, a group of paramedics surrounded me. They informed me that they had found my brother, however it was too late. He had already left this world and the reason why I had fainted was because of the lack of energy. However, I was not listening to whatever they had to say afterwards. My brain could not function at all. The only thing that kept repeating in my mind was that my brother was dead. My only relative after our parents passed away. My best friend.
That nightmare replayed in my mind again and again. I began to walk back to the apartment. Water hesitantly touched my feet as if afraid. Dawn was about to break, hoping a new day would keep the nightmares at bay. As I walked, the footprints I left amongst the moist sand was washed away by the tide as it came rushing inwards to the beach. It was as if the sea had wished to erase the past, the memories, so that nobody would follow in my footsteps.
As if knowing that I would be unable to see, a hand from far out in the sea waved towards my back as I walked past.