This wasn't right.

Her racing heartbeat echoed in her ears as she shakily stood from her seat, having barely acknowledged the words from her interviewer that she had waited so long to hear.

"You've got the job, Miss Ellefsen."

But all she heard was the echo of her racing heart and a distant melodic hum as she gathered her things in a panic, and quickly blurted: "I… can't accept the offer." Much to the shock of Mr. Andersen, her interviewer, catching the tone in her voice alluding to a bout of uncertainty and disbelief.

"Miss Ellefsen! Wait!"

She rushed out of the office, down the hallway, and exited the building. The sky was gloomy and overcast, in contrast to the clear skies she'd woken up to that morning.

The moment she got in her car, she finally processed what she had done.

"Oh… god…" She whispered, her eyes welling up, realizing she had turned down the job offer she'd been anticipating and prepping for months. It aligned perfectly with her new Astronomy and Space Sciences degree from the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at The University of of Oslo. She had a deep passion and fascination for astronomy and had known from a young age what she wanted to be when she grew up.

She had been so sure of who she was, and who she wanted to be.

And now, all of a sudden, self-doubt ravaged her mind.

What could she do now? She could go home to her roommates and catch up on the breaking news her roommate and best friend told her about this morning, or she could go on a drive to clear her mind and collect herself.

Deciding on the latter, she left the parking lot and drove to the Bygdøy peninsula, intending to visit the Bygdøskogen National Park. She had many fond memories of going there with her family and playing on the rocks with her younger brother, despite the warnings from her parents. She could clear her mind there, and find some solace on the shoreline.

She parked her car and walked along the trails to the rocky shoreline, gazing out to the fjord, finally coming to a stop and taking a seat on a large rock, ignoring the chill of the weather, as it had begun to drizzle, slowly becoming a cold, steady rain. Exhaling deeply, she pulled her ponytail loose, allowing her hair to blow in the wind and rain, ignoring the sharp drops piercing her skin. She didn't care that her makeup might be ruined, she ruined her whole day!

"How could I do this to myself?" She quietly whined, rubbing her face.

Three tears flew from her cheeks into the wind and down to the crashing surf, gone entirely unnoticed. She leaned forward, rapping her nails against the stone, cold to the touch, numbing her fingertips. Her failure, if one could call it that, was utterly incomprehensible to her, in this instance at least. Failure was a part of learning, sure, but what could she learn from this? Nothing about her decision made sense, and it certainly wouldn't make sense to explain to her roommates why she wouldn't come home with good news. Alessia and Britt had been rooting for her, and while they would be supportive of whatever decision she'd make, she would live with the guilt of saying no.

Amidst her torrent of thoughts and the blowing of the wind in her hair, something caught her attention. She momentarily lifted her head, swiveling her head around, unsure of what she had heard initially. But then, there it was again. It was as if… there was a whirlpool ahead of her. The sound of churning water became louder and louder and tempted by curiosity, she craned her neck just slightly, eyes wide as she processed the sight before her.

As she stood to get a better look, a glowing swirl appeared just below the surface of the dark waves, just a couple meters away; its hue reminiscent of tropical shorelines. Its glow became brighter and brighter until the center of the swirl morphed, and to her utter astonishment, rose to meet her.

A sound caught in her throat as she took in the sight before her. The water… came alive? The ocean was alive?

Sage green eyes widened as the 'head' of the wave became eye level, cocking what would be a brow. Maja remained frozen in place, unsure of what to do. She blinked several times and rapidly shook her head, hoping to wake herself up. But opening her eyes again to the living wave in front of her was a stark reminder that this was the present moment, and it seemed to be waiting for her.

"Uh… h-hello…?" Her voice finally said, though stammering over her words. Not that the wave would respond! What was she doing?!

As if by instinct, she held out her arm to the wave, hand flat and outstretched, though unsure of what the wave would do. It shifted its gaze from her to her hand, then splashed water on her palm, the cold liquid leaving the same swirl shape in the center. The water immediately evaporated, but left the glowing imprint of the swirl before that, too faded away.

"What… what does that even mean?" The wave watched her once again, and then, further adding to her shock, grabbed a strand of her hair, pulling it up and swirling it about in a small vortex then dropping it back on her head.

She couldn't help but laugh in disbelief, still in quite the daze, unsure of what to do with herself.

In one last bizarre move, the wave came uncomfortably close, tapping the necklace she wore. It pulled away ever so slightly and gazed at her for a few moments more, before finally retreating over the rocks and dropping back into the churning surf with a thunderous splash.

She swallowed hard, feeling more tears burn her eyes as she processed what just happened. Her fingers began to tingle and twitch uncontrollably, and she felt a deep ache in her heart that she couldn't understand. She exhaled sharply, frantically scanning the water for a sign of the living wave. The wind began to pick up again, blowing her curls about wildly. But whatever… it was, was gone.

Wiping rain off her makeup-stained cheeks, which she knew would aggravate her Rosacea, she made her way back to her car, turning on the heat as she became aware of how chilled she was. She rapped her fingers on her steering wheel, her mind racing as she tried to cope how her day was going so far.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she decided it would be best to go home and take a nap or a bath.