I AM BACK!! Sorry it took so long, but I had to force myself to sit and type this up. It's hard to find time to type when you have to get ready for school, ya know? Anyway, here's the new chapter. Once again: Reviews are BEGGED for. Thanks. The next chapter should be up a soon as I have it typed.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Demitri waved good-bye to Adella.

"I still can't believe you are going to go through with this."

"Adella, stop whining. I wouldn't change my mind before and I won't now. Just relax. Nothing is going to happen." He swam towards the surface before she could answer.

Demitri peeked above the water line and saw Kyle sitting alone on the beach. Her long brown hair was blowing freely around her face. She had her bare feet resting in the surf. From where he was floating he could see that see was wearing the

He rode the tide in and came to a stop at her feet. Kyle looked up at him and smiled.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi."

Her smile got bigger. "So… you were going to tell me a long story."

"It's only long because it has plenty of holes," he admitted.

"I could probably fill those with what I remember."

"Could you do that first?"

She stared at him for a moment. "Okay, sure.

"I remember the first time I ever saw that ring." She lifted her hand to stare at it. "I was six. My parents and I were on vacation. Nothing big, a small cruise -- to nowhere as it turns out.

"A few days in, I had gotten into my mother's jewelry box. Everything was everywhere."

"Were you at least wearing some of it?" Demitri asked, smiling.

"Yes. I had a fistful of rings, a bunch of necklaces I couldn't have cared less about, and… and a bracelet. It was the one my mother wore the most. The charms always had a special way of sparkling in the light and each of them had a special meaning. But I can't remember what they are.

"Anyway, she caught me. Told me never to go in the box ever again. I think I started to cry as she took everything off and put in back in the box. She started to take the ring, but she changed her mind and gave it back. Instead, she said 'Why don't you keep this? It's too small for me now anyway.' I waited until she had finished putting everything away to slip it back on my finger. It was a little too big then."

"What happened next?" Demitri pressed.

"Well, the rest of the day went by normally. The next thing I remember clearly is my father waking me up in the middle of the night. He told me to get dressed quickly and follow him. So I did, and I grabbed the ring from my nightstand before I left the room. My father led me to the lifeboats and lifted me into the nearest one. He told me to stay put while he went to get mom."

"Where was she?" Demitri asked quietly.

"I don't know," Kyle answered just as quiet. "She wasn't in the room when we left. But I knew that he would find her, somehow. Just not in time."

"What do you mean?"

"The boat I was in was lowered into the water before they came back."

"Oh."

"I-I felt so numb when we rowed away from the ship. I was so scared. I didn't … didn't know what was going on, so I started yelling," she said fighting to control her breathing. A few tell-tale tears slipped out onto her cheeks. Demitri immediately reached over and wiped them away.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I didn't mean to make you cry," he said concerned. "You don't have to keep going."

"No, I need to finish," she told him, gently pushing away his hands. "No one's ever heard the whole thing."

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

With a deep breath, she resumed her story: "In my boat, there was this old spinster lady who got mad at me for yelling so she started yelling too. Which wasn't really helpful at all. She told me to grow up, that I didn't need my parents anymore. But that only made me cry harder. And that only made her frustrated. She stood up and tried to hit me, but other people in the boat stood to stop her. With all the commotion in the boat, it tipped over.

"We all fell into the water. I couldn't swim then, so I couldn't reach the surface. Somehow, I managed to open my eyes. I saw the other people from my boat bobbing on the surface, but it was very blurry. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was …well, I guess it was you." She smiled at him. "And now I can finally thank you. Cause the next thing I remember is waking up on this beach. I figure you did that."

"Well, you're welcome," he said.

"Now it's your turn," she told him while wiping away a few more tears that had escaped her eyes.