Ocean Eyes

by Fairy Friend

This is a story about how Jack experiences the loss of a loved one. Rated PG for violence and gore.

Ocean Eyes

By: Fairy Friend

Have you ever felt like you couldn't accomplish something in your life that you wanted? Will you ever think back later on in your future and think of how life would be if you had actually accomplished what you wanted? Did you ever think that maybe sometimes you needed to break out of your shell? Has there ever been a time when you lost someone so dear to you?

Did you try to rescue someone you loved by injuring yourself physically, but failing to save them?

It was my first year on the farm after my poor grandfather passed away from a serious heart attack. I was forced to work on what was left of that dump of a farm after six months of his funeral. It was a terrible job; picking up all of those weeds and chopping up the remains of the trees that had been cut down, due to severe hurricanes. I hated it all, the work, the exhaustion, everything. My only hobby was fishing.

I loved to fish. It ran in my grandfather's side of the family, and since I was part of his family, I was officially dubbed. I would walk to the beach every day just to listen to the soothing sound of the water lapping against the cold, hard surface and to throw my rod into the water, waiting for a bite. I would eat the small fish and sell the large fish, or vice versa. This was my schedule every minute of every day.

That was, until she came.

It was the second day of summer after the swimming festival as I sat down on the pier as usual. To my surprise, I heard a pair of footsteps headed toward me. I turned around. A young girl stood behind me, smiling. Her blonde hair was plaited into two long, silky braids and the lime green tank top and blue jeans she wore contrasted sharply with her pale skin. I failed to notice anything about her hair or outfit though, as I looked into her ocean blue eyes and smiled, although I knew I had to learn about the girl first, so I pretended not to care.

"Hey," I mumbled.

"Hello, I'm Jill Smith," the girl said, extending her hand. Her palm was warm and the sweet smell of lilac sunscreen wafted from her skin. "What are you doing?"

"I'm fishing."

"Oh, really? Well, would you care if I joined in too? I brought my own fishing rod with me." Jill removed a clump of wet sand from the ground with her toe as she then took off her backpack and pulled out her fishing rod. "I love to fish too."

I felt suddenly superior to this young, pretty girl. "Go ahead, it's a free country." Without lifting my eyes from my rod, I added, "I'm Jack Harvest, by the way."

Jill seemed unfazed by my snotty attitude. "Would you like to go swimming in the forest tomorrow, Jack? I heard the warm there."

"I don't know," I shrugged, afraid to tell her that I couldn't swim. "I like fishing here. It's the only place I'll stay." Lifting my eyes from my rod, I shielded them from the sun. I then dunked my feet into the cold salty water as if she had said nothing.

"Maybe we can go tomorrow?" Jill suggested. "It'll be fun, Jack."

I pulled my fishing rod out of the ocean. "I guess one trip to the forest won't be so bad."

Jill studied my face for a moment and waved to a girl emerging from the water with a surfboard under her arm. I then noticed that it was Ann. She waved to me too as she passed Jill and me.

"I have to leave, Jack. I'll meet you at the forest tomorrow at noon, okay? Make sure to bring your swimsuit," Jill said.

I started to make an excuse, but Jill was already running down the beach toward Ann. My good friend, Cliff, who I hadn't realized had been there the whole time, headed toward me as he draped his towel over his shoulders. Beads of water flew onto my face as I wiped them off with my arm.

"Hey, Jack, who was that?" Cliff asked me.

"I don't really know," I answered softly, "I guess she's a friend."

~*~*~

By the next day, I was thinking of excuses not to go fishing in the forest. Cliff planned a surprise birthday party. My dad told me I had to move back to the city. I just found out I have an allergic reaction to lilac sunscreen and can't come near you. I knew the last excuse was rather rude, but it would take anything just to get me away from going swimming.

By the time I met Jill at noon, I was so nervous, I had forgotten all of my excuses. "I really don't know if I want to go swimming today, Jill," was all I could say. "I feel like I'm going to puke."

"Oh, it's probably just the sun," Jill replied. "You'll feel better once you get used to it." Jill touched my shoulder. "Don't worry."

I waded in as far as my knees. I burrowed my toes in the rocks and stayed rooted like a tree.

"Are you okay?" Jill asked.

"Yeah, the water's just a little cold. I'll get used to it."

We walked out a little farther. Jill dove under the water. "You have to dive right in, Jack," she said, surfacing. "It's the only way to get over how cold it is."

I smiled weakly. "I know, it's just that my stomach feels a little funny."

"C'mon, Jack. It's just like a pool, only it's deeper and wider."

Shivering now, I blurted out, "I can't dive in, Jill. I can't swim at all." I looked down into the cold, blue water, thinking of Jill's ocean eyes gleaming with disappointment. My stomach hurt. Jill would never be my friend now that I'd shown myself to be such a coward.

"No problem." Jill said as she pulled a squirming fish from one blonde braid. "Let's just hang out on the beach, then." We then started on our trip to the beach.

Jill and I walked to the shore in silence. She hates me, I thought. She'll make some excuse about having to leave me here all by my lonesome.

Jill asking, "Do you want to go to the Snack Shack?" startled me. She tossed a braid over each shoulder and added, "They have the best onion rings on the beach." I nodded my head as she happily then took my hand and we were both running to the shack.

We ordered two boxes of onion rings and two glasses of Coke. We sat down to eat at a wooden picnic table scarred with initials. Jill ran her finger over one of the initials and sighed.

"What's up?" I asked, concerned. "Why in such a down mood?"

"I'm in love with your friend, you know, that dude with the five bangs and the ponytail, oh... what's his name?" Jill said, slapping her head.

"Cliff?" I asked, awestruck.

"Yeah, him. He's so cute." Jill dipped an onion ring into a pool of ketchup. "He's seventeen. I'm only a year younger than him, but he treats me like I'm this silly little kid."

I confessed I'd never had a girlfriend. "In the city, girls found me to be unattractive." I rested my head on my hand.

"You're a cute guy, Jack," Jill said.

"You're the first person to ever say that," I said back.

"No, I'm not," Jill replied, dipping her last onion ring into the pile of ketchup that she had made. "Ann seems to think the same thing that I do."

My eyes widened. "Really?" I said dumbfounded.

"Yup," Jill said, getting up from her chair. I got up too. "It's true." She fed the rest of my onion rings to the seagulls as we walked farther down the beach, on the lookout for shells and fish for me to sell. When the sun started to fall, Jill walked me home, our bare feet burning on the brick road.

Jill loved visiting my little farm. Each morning that summer, while I planted new crops on my farm, Jill would help me out by watering the seeds. One morning, as Jill was about to jump into the cold beach ocean, she said, "I really wish you'd learn to swim, Jack. Surfing would be so much more fun if you could come out in the water with me."

I blushed. I felt like I was the only person at the village who couldn't swim. Well, of course, Cliff couldn't either, but he said he hadn't taken swimming lessons before, unlike for me.

"Lessons start next week at the Goddess Pond. Ann recommends her because the Goddess lives in water. I'll even take beginner's class with you so you don't have to be alone."

"Oh, fine," I relented. After all, if Jill would be there with me, how bad could it be?

~*~*~

"Jack Harvest!" The Harvest Goddess shrieked, leaning over the side of the pool. "You're flopping around like a fish out of water!" The Harvest Goddess asked to be addressed as "The Goddess," but Jill had secretly christened her "The Water Hag."

Despite Jill's opinion of her, The Harvest Goddess had taken an immediate liking to her star pupil. She praised Jill's natural grace in the water. By the second day of swimming lessons, she'd transferred Jill to the advanced level.

The Harvest Goddess's swim class was one of my worst fears come true. Not only was I the worst swimmer in my class, two girls who had also taken her class, Popuri and Karen, made fun of my frumpy bathing suit. They whispered to each other when I dog-paddled across the pool because I couldn't master the breaststroke. The more The Water Hag barked at me to gracefully turn my head and breathe as I swam, the more I gagged and choked on the fresh, clean water.

If it weren't for Jill, waiting for me in my farm each afternoon, I would've quit The Water Hag's class after the first day. Jill did her best to cheer me up. That day, she told me about how many fish she'd caught yesterday after swim class. "Yesterday, I caught ten large fish, twelve medium sized ones, and six small fish. I think I'm getting better, thanks to you."

Even talking about her beloved crush on Cliff couldn't take my mind off the weekly nightmare of the Harvest Goddess's class. "I just don't know what the point is, Jill," I moaned. "Even if I pass the class, are you sure I'm ready to swim in the ocean?"

"I'm positive," Jill assured me. "You know how to swim, Jack. You're just nervous. Besides, I'll be with you."

Three weeks later, when The Water Hag handed me my certificate, which was a stupid Power Berry, Jill and I celebrated by going shopping at the Supermarket. Although it wasn't much of a celebration for me, I was glad I could be with Jill. Jill purchased a bottle of green nail polish, a jar of beauty mask, and a bag of chocolate. We sat on my bed and she spread out her loot on it.

"Do you think Cliff'll like this color?" Jill asked, wiggling just-dried toes in the air.

"I don't know, Jill," I said, "it's sort of... well, pink."

"C'mon," Jill slid her feet carefully into her sandals. "Let's go see if Cliff's at the beach today."

Jill and I raced down to the beach. We rushed up to the towel that Cliff was lying on, Jill laughing and stumbling through the sand. Cliff was lying down, listening to the radio and running his finger through the wet sand. Once he noticed Jill and me, he turned down his radio. "Oh, hey, Jack," he said.

"Hi, Cliff," I said breathlessly. Jill raised her foot and dangled her toes in front of him.

"What do you think of my friend's toenails, Cliff?" I asked as I stifled a laugh. Cliff shot me a look.

"They're okay, but a little girly," Cliff grimaced. I laughed, but Jill was disgusted.

"You ought to be more polite," Jill said. "For all you know, I could be suffering from a rare toenail fungus."

"Yeah, Cliff," I added, "for all you know, she might have gangrene."

Cliff turned up his radio. "Whatever."

Jill looked at me. She cracked up as I shot a grin at her.

Jill grabbed my hand. "Bye, Cliff!" she screeched as we ran laughing into the surf. When the water reached our waists, we stopped running and started swimming. We swam with our heads above water, looking back at Cliff and laughing. I heard The Water Hag's voice: "You flop around like a fish, Jack Harvest." I closed my eyes and dove into the water.

A chill ran through my spine at first, but then the water closed around me, and it didn't feel cold anymore. I opened my eyes. The water was murky, but I could see the milky soles of Jill's feet ahead of me, kicking up swirls of white water as she swam. I raced up behind her and grabbed her leg. Jill whirled around, her eyes wide. We surfaced together, taking big breaths of air through our mouths.

"The Water Hag was right. You do flop like a fish," Jill joked.

Swimming in the ocean wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined. I loved swimming underwater, parting the ocean with my arms. Sometimes it felt as if I was trying to find my way along a hallway in the dark. Other times the sun sent shafts of light through the surface, illuminating tiny fish that rushed along the ocean bottom.

~*~*~

No colored leaves marked the change of seasons in Mineral Village like they did in the city. But in late autumn, the mornings air felt colder and the scent of eucalyptus trees more pungent.

"Let's go bodysurfing, Jack," Jill suggested on one of the last days of summer. "The swells aren't going to be too big today. Besides, the water will be way too cold soon to go again."

The early morning mist obscured familiar landmarks on the beach. The Snack Shack looked lonely and abandoned. Jill wore her favorite necklace that her other friend, Gray, had given her. I carried my rucksack, which was full of fish. I left it in a cool, dry spot near the Snack Shack. We walked out to the sea.

"The trick is to let the water carry you," Jill instructed. "But try not to catch the wave too early or you'll get thrashed. Just watch me. I'll take this one, and then you can try the next."

Jill lay flat, waiting for the wave, but it broke too early. The sea lifted Jill up and then gently back down.

Jill and I waited. Another set formed.

"Okay, Jack, watch this. I'm just going to let it take me."

Jill turned and paddled toward shore. I watched the wave build behind her. At first I thought the dark shadow that hovered inside the green swell was a mass of seaweed. The sun streamed through the crest of the wave, illuminating the shark floating in the wall of water as if behind glass in an aquarium.

I tried to scream, but my mouth was too dry and tasted like metal. The great white's snout pierced the curve of the water. Just before the wave sent me spinning through a swirling mass of water, I heard Jill screaming.

Drowning seemed a blessing compared with being attacked by a shark. Still, I surfaced in the foamy aftermath. As fast as I could, I swam to where I'd last seen Jill, but my arms and legs felt heavy, the way they did when I tried to run in a dream. I was terrified of seeing the shark again, but even worse was not knowing where it was. I imagined the open mouth, lined with blood, hurtling up from the deep and ripping off my leg.

I spotted Jill clawing her way to the surface, coughing and moaning. Her blonde hair hung in her face like a curtain of seaweed.

"Don't worry, Jill," I called. "I'm coming."

"It's too late, Jack."

A triangular fin and sickle-shaped tail rose from behind Jill and fell beneath the waves again.

"Jill!" I rushed toward my friend. Before Jill could answer, her head was jerked violently back into the water. Blood shot out of her mouth as she was yanked beneath the waves. The water turned red. Jill bobbed to the surface again.

The shark let her go, I thought, terrified. Now it's going to kill me, tear my body into ribbons. Still, I stayed by Jill. I touched her shoulder. The skin was gouged and tattered. A hunk of flesh came off in my hand. Jill's arm was bitten off at the elbow. A broken bone gleamed in the water.

Jill's head flopped forward on my chest as she groaned. I hooked my arm under Jill's ribs. I was glad I couldn't see beneath the dark water. Jill's legs were probably gouged and bleeding. Maybe there was nothing left of them at all. I swam holding Jill's body close as tears welled in my eyes, knowing that I would never see those beautiful ocean eyes of hers again.

I never saw the shark again. I only felt a sharp tug accompanied by a rush of water as Jill slipped out from under my arms and into the sea. I felt most afraid once Jill was gone. My head pounded. Still, I kept my eyes focused on the shore. You'll make it, I told myself, as long as you don't look back.

A boat sped toward me, skimming and jumping on the top of the waves. A man leaned out and yelled something to me, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of the outboard motor. It was Kai, the man who worked at the Snack Shack along with Gray. Gray's face was ashen. I remembered the necklace that Jill had worn around her neck. Kai leaped into the water and swam toward me. Gray leaned over the side of the boat.

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" Kai asked me. I realized he didn't even know my name.

"I'm okay," I managed.

"Is Jill..." Gray's voice trailed off.

"She's gone," I whispered.

Kai and I climbed onboard the boat. I couldn't stop shaking. Kai handed me a towel to wrap myself in. No one spoke.

I looked back at the ocean, expecting to see a dorsal fin cutting through the waves or Jill waving frantically, Come back, Jack. I'm here. But I saw nothing but water. It was as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. The ocean had healed itself, like a wound.

~*~*~

I was awarded a special medal of bravery by the mayor of Mineral Village "for my courageous effort to rescue Jill Smith."

"Do you realize how incredible this is?" My father, who had come to visit me after he had found out what had happened, said. "You should be very proud of yourself, Jack."

It wasn't incredible, I thought. The correct word was ironic, very ironic.

I had become a celebrity overnight. I was invited to dinner at the mayor's house. Everyone talked about how excited I must feel about all the attention. The truth was that I didn't feel anything. It was as if I was out of my body, watching it happen to somebody else.

"I know you're sad, Jack," my mother said as I prepared for a television interview with the Fishing Channel. "But don't you think Jill would be proud of you?"

I shrugged. The hair stylist redid my hair and took off my cap. I felt stupid standing there holding a framed certificate of bravery I'd been awarded by the mayor's wife.

Justa Hasbin, the Fishing Channel anchorwoman and host, shook my hand. "I'm standing here with Jack Harvest, a local hero who risked his life to save his best friend from the jaws of a killer shark."

The anchorwoman smoothed her helmet of dark black hair. "According to the Harvest Goddess, Jack barely knew how to swim, let alone attempt a rescue maneuver."

Good old Water Hag, I thought.

Justa put her hand on my shoulder as if we were old friends. "I think that makes this story all the more incredible. Would you like to tell our viewers how you became so courageous, Jack?" the newscaster asked.

"I'm not brave," I replied. My mother rolled her eyes. She'd begged me not to give flippant answers on television. A clip of my speech was going to appear on the Fishing Channel. Everyone in Mineral Village, even Cliff, who thought I was even shyer than him, would realize how "brave" I really was.

"Now is not the time for false modesty, Jack," Justa Hasbin smiled.

I imagined Jill and me sitting on my bed in my little farm. It had only been two weeks since we'd treated ourselves to presents from the drugstore, yet that afternoon felt like another lifetime ago.

"Jill was the brave one." I paused. "She was my best friend. When I was with her I was never afraid."