Raindrops
Quicksilvre
First, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story. It's really been encouraging to see people liking it enough to say so. And, again, sorry for going so long without sitting down and finally getting to the final chapter. But, here it is.
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The wind picked up quickly, billowing the Summer Breeze's sail out as far as it would go. It felt like a giant, powerful, heavenly hand pushing Summer out to sea. The currents were also cooperating, helping the boat go as fast as it could. The bright morning sun beat down on her and on the sea, illuminating the waters brilliantly. All around her Summer could see huge schools of colorful fish and vast reefs of bright coral. The speed at which the boat moved was incredible; within just fifteen minutes the isle she had slept the night before was nothing more than a tiny speck on the horizon. A few minutes more and it was gone.
There was no telling which way she was going. Summer was positive that she had brought a compass with her when she left the Tongau Flats, but a through search of the ship came up with nothing. The rising sun disoriented her when she tried to use that as a reference point. She realized that, no matter what direction she was headed, it hardly mattered; the current and wind was too strong for her to steer the boat anywhere but the one it was heading.
Without anything to protect her from it, the sun baked Summer slowly. As it climbed closer to the top of the sky it slowly addled her into drowsiness. After trying for a little while to stay awake, she decided it was no use. Setting her towel up into a little tent, Summer crawled into the shade, made sure everything in the boat was okay, and let herself drift off into a dreamless sleep.
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The sun continued to move across the sky, moving past its peak into the western sky. As it went on its path it slid by Summer's towel and began to warm her dark hair. As her head got hotter, she began t stir. It took her a few moments to take account of her surroundings, as she had to wonder for a minute where her beach went. When she finally came to, she slid back out and took account of everything. She was still out in the middle of nowhere; nothing was visible but water and sky. At first glance, nothing had changed. However, when she looked into the water near her boat, she noticed something moving along next to her.
They were gray, finned, and torpedo shaped. She recoiled, at first thinking they were more sharks. However, once she got a good look, she realized that she was being followed by dolphins. They ringed her boat, six of them in a perfect circle with her at the center. After watching them for a minute–one or two leaped out of the water, squeaking and barking–she sensed that something was missing. Looking at the sail, she realized that all of the wind had completely died down. The sail hung limply from its fastenings. However, it seemed as though she was still moving as fast as ever. Summer looked in the water for any ropes or strings that might attach her boat to the dolphins, but found nothing. She dropped the sail, secured everything down, and held on for the ride, no matter how she was moving or where.
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Hours seemed to pass. The sun went from being overhead to back near the horizon. The dolphins continued to push forward at top speed, without a break, and so did the Summer Breeze. Trying her best to stay out of the sun, Summer could do little more than stare out into the water and think. Without anything to compare herself to there was no where to tell where she was or how far she had gone, other than that she was an awfully long way from land.
As the sun continued to go down, and day passed into twilight, the dolphins seemed to slow down, but only a little. The light melted away into the west, and the stars began to peek into view. Without any light anywhere, the view was spectacular. Thousands of stars were visible, and the Milky Way, always invisible under the cover of streetlights and flood lamps back in Orange County, spiraled from one side of the sky to the other. In the months since her death, Summer had seen this sky dozens of times, but this was the first time she compared it to what it was like back in California. In Newport Beach, one could see maybe fifty stars, or a hundred. The sky there was an inky sea, broken up only by the Big Dipper, the moon, and dimly glowing stars randomly spread here and there. Now, the whole sky seemed to be aglow, with almost as much light as dark. Instead of the dim pinpricks, one could see brilliant pearls, most white, some blue or red. There was no moon tonight, but so many stars were out that its presence was betrayed by a black disc, hanging low in the sky.
She still missed her father, and Marissa, and Seth, and everyone back home. Still, Summer realized that her new existence was the best thing that ever happened to her. As much as she cried and resisted at first, every minute of it had been enriching. She was stronger than ever, and she was being rewarded with nature's beauty. And she knew that she wouldn't have to be away from everyone forever. Eventually they would all come along this path–her parents, the Cohens, Ryan, Seth, even Marissa someday. No one had to tell her; she knew.
The dolphins were continuing on their path, in the dark. Summer was alone on the boat, but she was secure in the knowledge that she wouldn't be alone for long. She turned in, curling up on the deck under her towel. She quickly drifted off to sleep, imagining that she was curled up with Seth back home, looking up at the thousands of impossibly beautiful stars.
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Summer awoke to a slight bump. The morning sun was the first thing that caught her eye, followed by the boat and the dolphins, now grouped together and off to one side. Curious to see what had made them break formation, Summer turned around. Her jaw instantly dropped.
As far as she could see, the water had been replaced with granite. While one side of her remained water, the other was dominated by a featureless plain of grayish-brown rock, going out forever. The waves on the ocean gently lapped at the edge and bounced back out, creating standing waves that bobbed the boat gently.
She had reached the edge of the world. The edge of this world, at least.
One of the dolphins swam up next to the boat and began squeaking at her. It was obviously very excited about something, as it bobbed its head, swum back and forth, and continued going on as if it was Flipper. Its calls puzzled Summer, until it was practically jumping onto the Summer Breeze trying to get to her.
"Oh!" A light turned on in her head. "You want me to hop on."
It squeaked eagerly and bounced around in reply. Backing away from the boat a few feet, the dolphin inhaled deeply, let it all out, inhaled again, blew it out again, over and over five or six times before calling out to Summer again. "I have to store up my breath?" More eager squeaks. "Okay. Give me a few minutes to get ready."
Summer climbed out of the boat and onto the shelf of granite. She closed her eyes, cleared her mind of all thoughts, and slowly brought air in and out of her lungs. She hyperventilated herself as well as she could, expecting some sort of dive. After five minutes of filling her lungs, the dolphin swam up next to her and she tentatively slid onto his back. (Summer didn't know how to tell boy dolphins from girl dolphins, but she decided to think of it as a boy.) She had ridden a dolphin once before, in an amusement park back when she was six. That time, it was just a gentle ride in a pool; holding on was easy. This time, Summer knew to expect a rough time. She laid belly down on his back, wrapped one arm around his body, and used her free hand to plug her nose. Taking one last giant breath, she slapped the dolphin's side and braced herself.
In a burst of bubbles, the dolphin and Summer shot down into the deep. At first the pace wasn't overwhelming; they were swimming faster than Summer could do alone, but they weren't going at an overwhelming speed. However, as the light from above faded, Summer could feel their pace grow faster. She could feel the dolphin's tail flap madly as they accelerated and dove deeper into the water. Thirty seconds passed, then a minute, as they continued down. No longer were they getting light from above; Summer could feel the pressure around them building up in her ears.
A minute and a half now. Summer felt herself turning in the direction of the granite, leveling off in their dive. Feeling her back occasionally brush itself along something hard, she guessed that they were now moving through a tunner. The pressure and lack of oxygen were starting to pound gently on her forehead as she began to struggle with holding on to both the dolphin and her air. She was able to wrap her other arm around the dolphin for a stronger grip, no longer needing to pinch her nose.
Two minutes. She felt the ride begin to grow faster again. The pounding on her head was growing more severe. Summer began to wonder if it was possible to drown. She pressed her face into the dolphin's back hard enough to feel the blood pump through his veins. Every moment was beginning to feel like an eternity.
This is it. I guess I either make it to the other side or I die. She felt a pang of fear, but fear was quickly replaced by peace. Eh. It's okay either way. Everyone's made it worthwhile even if I don't make it.
Daddy? I love you. I wish I could've spent more time on earth with you. Same thing goes with you, Marissa. And I love you too, Cohen.
Summer couldn't tell how long she had been underwater. It felt like ten minutes, or fifteen, or even a half-hour, but she knew it couldn't have been more than three or four minutes. She felt herself exiting the tunnel and shooting back upwards again.
Oh, Seth. A familiar face floated though Summer's mind. It won't be the same without you. There's nothing out there than can even compare. I'll wait for you. I don't care if it's nine years or ninety years; I'll be watching and waiting for you to come back to me. And then, we can be in heaven together.
They were approaching shallow water. Light was beginning to filter through again.
We'll have a house on the water, full of kids and happy shouts and love, and we can stay there with each other until time ends. You and me.
The light was growing brighter and brighter, and they were seconds away from bursting through. It felt as if sledgehammers were pounding on Summer's head; she grit her teeth and dug her fingernails into the dolphin's skin.
I love you Seth Cohen. I'll be waiting.
The weight of all the water vanished from Summer's back as she felt the two of them rocket into the air. The spent air exploded out of her lungs and she desperately sucked in a fresh breath. Bracing herself for her headache to come back, pounding with a vengeance, she was surprised to find it completely gone.
Sitting upright on the dolphin's back, she looked around at her surroundings. They were in an idyllic landscape, sliding though the water of a lily-pad filled pond on a beautiful, grassy plain. In the distance, Summer could see the ocean and a beach. "There," she said to no-one. "Seth, that is where we will live."
The dolphin swam up to the shoreline to drop her off. She rubbed his head. "Thanks for the ride. Hope I didn't scratch you of anything."
No problem. It was my pleasure. A voice familiar to Summer rang through Summer's head. She hopped off his back, squatted in the thigh-deep water and looked into its face. Over the view of the goofily smiling dolphin, she could see the grinning face of a certain large Samoan gentleman.
"Oh, Jai." She ran her hand across the side of his face and snuggled her nose into the end of his snout.
Aw, kid, don't mention it. Jai pulled away after a second. I will be visiting every once in a while, but I've got another job to do. Anyway, there's someone up on the land who's looking for you. See you later, Summer. He swam out to the center of the pond, jumped into the air, and dove with a terrific splash. After the bubbles died down, there was no sign left of him. Summer looked on for another moment, then climbed up onto shore. After shaking as much water off herself as she could, she looked off into the distance and saw someone looking back at her.
They looked familiar. She couldn't see the face, but the figure was definitely feminine. "Marissa?" She began to run forward. As she got closer, Summer realized that it certainly wasn't Marissa. It took her a few more seconds of running forward before she realized who it was.
"Oh my God." Summer burst into a sprint as the other figure ran up to her. They met in a half-hug, half-collision; Summer pressed her face into the other woman's shoulder.
"Hey, baby." The other woman patted Summer's back as sobs began to wrack through Summer's body. Summer snuggled her face in tighter.
"Oh...Mommy..."
"Sssh, honey. Everything is all right now. You made it." Summer's mother held her daughter in tight as Summer melted into her arms.
END
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Once again...thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing, and thank you for putting up with all my procrastination. You've all been awesome, and I hope that you've enjoyed this.
Quicksilvre