Disclaimer: I wrote this and I thought maybe it's good so I decided to upload to get some feedback (hopefully .) It's just in the early stages of plotting but I hope to make it a fantasy/adventure. Feel free to critique as much as you want, reader.

Prologue

I was nearly 17 when I began to realize something. It was the saddest thing that had ever crossed my mind, but it hadn't been the first time. Now, there are times when I had wondered this before but it hadn't hit me as hard as it had on this particular day. It was a simple question, but it was lonely and even now, I didn't know what to feel. I woke up that morning in a cousin's home; she and I had a great girl's night out at the movies and even before until we got home close to 2 in the morning. The whole reason why the question even popped up was because I was waiting for her to come out of her room from getting ready and I came across a post on Facebook.

It was nothing much other than whom I considered to be my close friend and an old friend once again hanging out. To be honest, I've known for a long time that despite that my close friend supposedly hated the once old friend, they were always the closest. I've always been the third wheel, of course, but now it feels different, lonelier.

I began to count down all the people I had dared to call close friends. But the number was so little, and even worst was that maybe I considered them to be close friends when in reality maybe I'm just someone they happen to know. I don't have evidence to prove this trail of thought, but that particular day it sure felt that way. I didn't know why I felt that way. It sure hadn't been the first time that they had gone out without me. It surely hadn't bothered me before. I suppose, then, that everything had piled up and this was the particular problem that my mind had locked on and I became obsessed.

It was an empty feeling, something that wouldn't leave me at all. And I'm the type of person that hides behind smiles. I believe that if there is no need for anyone to know something, then why bring it up. So then I was stuck with my thoughts in my mind, with no idea how to deal with this loneliness.

I suppose I couldn't handle it anymore. Before I knew it I was walking out of my apartment and my feet guided me through the streets of the early night and into the open city of downtown. I hadn't realized when I got on the metro train, when I had paid, or even if I had paid. I just knew I took a seat beside the window, and the hot tears fell down my chubby cheeks. It was only when I recognized the end station that was Long Beach did I realize where I was. From then I knew where to go. Turning to cross the street, I headed towards the beach. It didn't matter on what side I was, where I was going or if people were there. I just wanted to get to the sea.

When I got there the loneliness was forgotten. It felt like there was a weight that had been lifted right off my shoulder. I slipped out of my flats and left them there, digging my feet into the dirty sand. I didn't know why I came here. I actually hate the beach, Long Beach in particular, it was dirty, it was chemically infested, and I was pretty sure I had once found a condom on this very beach. But at that moment, it felt right to be there. I continued to walk towards the beach, enjoying the sounds of the thundering waves as they battled it out to get to shore; the still existent smell of salt and water that seeped into my nostrils as inhaled. Everything was at peace. And I continued to walk towards the water ignoring completely the bitter cold water that bit onto my toes. I hadn't noticed until the water was up to my waist and then I froze.

What am I doing, I thought to myself. It kept on repeating itself in my mind. I stared out into the darkness of the ocean. I stared at the faraway lights of the city, of the boats that roamed the small waves that slightly pushed me back. It felt like the ocean didn't want me to be there. Like it knew what I was doing. The current was stronger each time, pushing and pushing back. Maybe my body was too weak, I hadn't eaten in days, I didn't care much about food, or anything at all anymore.

"So what am I doing?" I asked myself. I turned behind me to the empty parking lot and the empty shore. There was no one. Absolutely no one to care if I died. The one person who did care I had pushed away and now she was gone. The tears still fell, dropping into the oceans. I could hear the melody it created with the waves, I could see it then the small circles being formed as the drops hit the ocean. Of course I know what I'm doing. "I will just end it." A smile graced my chapped lips. I ignored it completely, the pain of dry skin being stretched. Instead I embraced the increasing coldness and the sea's insistent pushing. I continued walk letting my fingers grace the surface of the water, dipping my fingers and enjoying the tingling sensation of the cold water. I let my eyes closed and I once again let my sensations make a better picture for me. I was no longer in the dirty waters of Long Beach. I was in a sea so blue I could see my toes digging into the sand under me. I was no longer walking in from the city. I was walking out of the greenest of jungles where I could hear the distant calls of animals. I was far away as possible from reality. I was somewhere good, a place of peace, my paradise.

Then, I hadn't noticed the water lighting up under me. I didn't feel the warmness that circled my body, almost cradling me. It was the lightest of feelings as I slipped under the water, taking in one large breath as I did so. My eyes still cold but I felt the rush of waves, though then I hadn't noticed that around me the water circled me and caged me in a whirlpool. I only felt myself sink deeper and deeper, even though only seconds ago I had been standing. It was then I heard the soft whisper. A whisper so distant and so lonely I thought I was talking myself. But the words, I couldn't understand them, at least not at first. They were not any language I had ever come across. But they felt soothing, and comfortable.

"You're not alone," The words began to make sense. And despite what I would have normally thought, I was not afraid. It felt like everything was right. Maybe I was slipping away and heading to a better place. "You were never alone, Airee, you will never be alone." It was then I opened my eyes. It was then I saw it for the first time. I was floating in a big bubble that drifted slowly under the sea. I wasn't scared. Maybe my mind was still lost in loneliness, but I wasn't scared. Instead I looked up to see the distant reflection of the moon. It was where the light began to increase. It was like a soft glow and it grew like a planted seed blooming into a rose. It grew until it had surrounded the bubble I was in where it began to squeeze. At that moment I felt the pressure on my lungs and my body unconsciously began to struggle. But my mind was entranced with the glow of light. I was so hypnotized by it that it eased the realization that that light would be the last thing I'd ever see. Still I smiled because the light was better than the darkness I was enveloped in. Slowly, I felt the tug of darkness and my sight became blurry, but I didn't struggle. But then I felt a tug, not the tug of unconscious but a physical touch to my now numb hand. The last thing I remember was the faint figure of a body swimming towards me.