I gazed out the smudged window. My family and I have been driving to the beach since about seven in the morning and I was still pretty drowsy and a bit listless.
"Ally! Ally! I'm bored. Are you bored? I'm bored," said my little sister, Alegra. "So am I!" said May, her twin.
Who in this car isn't? I thought. I adjusted my mp3's volume to drown out their annoyingly perky chatter. I yawned in a sort of bored, tired way, and leaned back and closed my eyes. But as indifferent as I seemed on the outside, I really was looking forward to spending one day swimming beneath the turbulent waves. I just have to wake up first.
Soon the sparkling of the wide, open seas reflected on our van's ceiling. Fresh, salty air wafted through the windows. Everyone, Mom, Dad, and sisters piled out. My fatigue was gone by now, and I sprang happily out. Together we eagerly marched from the parking lot to the beach. I kicked off my rubbery, red flip-flops and wiggled my toes into the warm, gritty sand. It feels so good. I ran to the water.
A while later, everyone had gotten so tired that we were all just laying under the rainbow-colored umbrella relaxing. Just lying there got boring though, so I got up and plodded slowly through the beach, feeling the gentle wind caress my face. Ocean spray flew through the air, leaving the taste of salt on my tongue. In the distance, I couldn't make out the horizon through the silver fog. The sky was storm-gray with swirling clouds of a gruesome purple color. I sighed. We would have to leave soon.
So there I was, simply relaxing to the roar of the waves, getting annoyed at the curly locks of black hair that blew across my face, and I feel a sharp throb on the sole of my foot. I sprang back in surprise. There, pressed down into the sand by the weight of my body, was a glass bottle. Kneeling down, I saw that it seemed to have lacquered patterns as thin as gossamer, the color of gleaming deep blue water. It was worn by the weather, hinting that it had been in the water for a long time, and it made the would-have-been-sharp edge that had injured my foot a blunt contour of the bottle. Pain forgotten, I picked up the glass. A lightning bolt of electricity seared from my fingers down my spine, down to the ends of my feet. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I felt an odd feeling, like a sixth sense. Something wasn't right here.
There was a sheet of something that didn't quite seem to be paper inside. Poking my fingers curiously through the circular opening, I pried it gently out. The material was as delicate as the skin of an onion, and as smooth as silk. It had a greenish sheen. But I didn't notice this. All I saw were three words. My heart was thudding like is it wanted to jump out of my chest.
I'll be watching.
Rain had begun to fall. I shivered, but not with the sudden cold. My legs were frozen to the spot. What's happening?
"Ally! Come on we gotta go!" yelled May. Woken from my stunned trance, I shoved the note back in the bottle and ran to the car. Enormous drops of water fell into my eyes. Clearing them, I saw people all around the beach scrambling around for their belongings. Torrents of rain came down upon the shore as I watched. Why had the rain come so suddenly? I thought. It wasn't… normal. My mind was racing as we left.
Once we were home, I tried to forget the note. I had stuck the bottle down my drawer. After a quick shower and dinner I retreated to my room. I couldn't get the words out of my mind. I'll be watching…The words were like a horror movie waiting to happen. Thinking back, I realized that I hadn't seen the bottle as I had walked down the beach. How had I found it? Who was the mysterious person who had given it to me?
Slowly and deliberately, I made my way across the wooden floor of the room to the drawers. I pulled on the silver handle and picked up that mysterious bottle. Tipping it over, the note fell out. Examining the bottle for a second, it seemed to gleam with a strange radiance, as if the glass itself was luminous. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to ignore that fact. Picking up the note again, I realized that the message had changed.
I'll be waiting.
I had a revelation. Running and stumbling down the stairs in my haste, I went to the living room where my parents were sitting on the beige leather couches watching the news. Ignoring the protests from May and Alegra (as they had been playing Scrabble and I had trodden on the board) I asked, " Can we go to the beach again tomorrow?" My father looked puzzled. Glancing over to my mother for support, she nodded, just as bemused as he was. "Well…sure honey, if you really want to go," he said.
"Thanks Dad," I said. "Since we didn't get to stay all day yesterday, I thought that it would be fun to go again." My parents looked appeased at the explanation for my sudden question.
Smiling vacantly, I was satisfied. Tomorrow… I know what I must do.
I must find the one who gave me this letter.
