MARINA's Point of View.
My name is Marina, as of the sea and I am a nymph. If you don't know what a nymph is, you should drop the books get yourself to the nearest ocean. We nymphs exist, you just don't see us everyday, but we are there you have to look closely. Each ripple from when you skip a stone is a nymph dancing along the surface with the stone. Every wave is a nymph somersaulting onto the beach. We are real.
I am a particularly special nymph, I guard all the surrounding rivers and lakes in your area. I am the purifying nymph, I keep the waters clean, although it is difficult these days. The water is full of pollutants and trash and its makes cleaning a real chore but I persevere to keep our world clean.
Just because I work hard doesn't mean I don't like to have fun. Surfing is big for me, along with water skiing, being pulled along by the nearest toad or a fish if I can find one. I like to be one with the tides and spend my time with the creatures of the deep. Dolphins are my favourite, we play catch and do flips in water rings. We enjoy each others company. To be honest, I prefer dolphins to humans. They're nice and all but animals don't harm the environment or don't believe in you. Not being believed in hurts a little bit.
I wake up in the morning and the sun is already high in the sky. I feel something against my face and its my pet dragonfly, Kaida licking my face.
"Okay...Okay, I'm up" I mutter pulling back my leaf blanket and stretching out. My water bed always needs to be clean before I even think about heading out. I touch the pool and it becomes clear. That's my power, my touch is extremely special. I can turn it on and off like a light when I need to. It's not very exciting but it keeps the rivers clean. To be honest, things are never really clean these days, humans like to take advantage of the water we have on Earth and use it for many things. That's okay but what returns is not pleasent. My power can barely put a dent in what swirls in oceans and rivers but I do my best. It's hard being taken for granted sometimes.
Kaida begins to get excited and she begins flying around the room in dizzying circles.
"Hey, hey, hey" I tell her. "Save that for outside, we need to do a lot of cleaning today."
Kaida nods but she's so full of energy. I know she really wants to race me along the water; which is part of our morning ritual before we head out. Sometimes I beat her, sometimes she beats me, we don't keep score but I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of her by a few races.
I gather the list of places we need to visit. Mother Earth gives them to be via the web. I know what you're thinking but it's not the web humans use. We do it the old fashioned way to save energy. Mother Earth's messengers are spiders and they carry the messages to which ever Guardian needs them. They post them on their spider webs outside our homes before we go to work. Messages to Old Man Winter and Jack Frost, telling them what places need snow. Or even to the Tooth Fairy about what kids loose their teeth. It's a good system and very efficient.
I look at my list. It's the same places that need cleaning everyday. The lake in Central Park, New York, the St. Lawrence River and so on. Every place is near a big city contains toxins and trash that makes the job difficult. Don't ask me how humans drink this water but I hear they have their own method of cleaning it. They don't want to rely on me to do it for free.
Kaida is buzzing around and getting impatient.
"Okay, Okay" I say, pulling on my new dress. It's the latest style in the Aqua collection. It's cheap and functional but very stylish, that's all I need. Just because I clean doesn't mean I can't look good while doing it. It's almost like a sunflower dress, spaghetti straps, aqua colour with white polka dots. It's sweet and sassy, hugging my curves but gives the essence of innocence.
"Alright" I tell Kaida. "On my mark"
We are on the edge of my doorstep.
"On your marks..." I say.
I position my feet down, ready to run along the surface.
"Get set..."
There's a pause.
"GO!"
With the wind in my face and hair, I go flying along the surface of the water. It's kind of like sliding, just no brakes. A huge smile is on my face as I run after Kaida. I soak up the sun on my way. My footsteps are like little droplets on the water. Kaida is ahead by a few meters but I can catch up easily. I pick my feet and decide to use the water to my advantage.
Slowly, the water begins to churn and follow my footsteps. Crystal rapids rise and fall around me and the wind flows through my hair. I hold my breath and make a huge jump in the air. I begin surfing the waves! One single wave carries me along and I hold my arms out to make me feel like I'm flying. I can see Kadia's wings getting closer and closer. She can take the high road, I'll take the better road.
Everything stops. The wave freezes in mid-air and drops. I do a full out belly flop on the surface. The icy cold water enters my lungs and I choak. Usually, I can breath under water but the shock from being dropped has me going for the surface. I try clawing upwards and kicking but I don't get anywhere. I'm losing air quickly and my bubbles can go to the surface but I can't. I feel suspended in the water. I can't see anything either, everything is...dark.
A pool of blackness forms around me. I do my best to push it away but it keeps coming back. It is alive and evil. I hear noises, whispers and laughing, in a sinister way. I can't think straight anymore as the darkness engulfs me. I see two eyes, silver and gold eyes emerge from the darkness. There is evil in these eyes and sinister meaning. A grey face merges with the eyes. His nose is long and pointed and his smile is crooked. He shows me his yellowing teeth as he lets out a deep and hearty laugh. I'm seeing nightmares, disorted images of evil like skulls, ravens, graves, claws and deadly weapons.
"There's nothing you can do" a voice whispers in one of my ears. "I will return and I will win."
"Stop!" I scream through the water as the darkness takes over. I look up desprately.
Everything is bright. I take in a huge gulp of air and turn over. I drain the water from my mouth and take a minute to breath. The sun is high in the sky but I know that this weather will no longer make me happy not after what I saw. I've seen evil and darkness. I know what this means.
Kaida is licking my face and whimpering, she saved my life.
"You saved me!" I gasp and smile at her. I reach up with a shakey hand and scratch her behind the antennae. I can tell she's concerned. "I can't thank you enough." Kaida cocks her head to one side and whimpers.
"I know." I tell her. "We need to go to the Guardians as soon as possible!"
Kaida nods and takes off. She hovers around the pond a few times.
"Just give me a second." I look back at the black hole that Kaida dragged me up from. It's small but it starts getting larger. It spreads like claws, creeping its way around, engulfing everything in its path. A few fish swim away in terror. The crystal blue water is now inky black. I start walking back wards. All I need is a few more seconds and clean water. I raise my arms and the water forms a bubble around me. I float upwards to join Kaida.
I watch, from a safe distance, as the pond, my pond become black and menacing.
"Let's go" I tell Kaida. "We need to warn the Guardians...
Pitch Black is back!"