They're Like Ocean Waves

Melanie stood at the beach, the orange sun slowly withdrawing into the ocean. Her eyes were foggy with tears. She let herself get sucked into the nostalgic air that swarmed around the beach along with the setting sun. She wanted to try her best to enjoy the beautiful scenery, but she couldn't. She couldn't because she was filled with hate.

Melanie hated the ocean. She hated the beach. She hated the salty sea breeze that would hit her nose and last all day in her hair and on her skin. The worst part was that she hated the memories, and she hated the boy that brought the memories.

His name was Sergio, and his name left a bad taste in her mouth. What was once sweet and rolled off her tongue like a knife through war butter now hesitated to be uttered and choked her like the salt in the ocean, in the sea. In complete honesty, the name itself was so foreign, but his eyes, those eyes that promised her empty lies, his eyes were so darned familiar that Melanie couldn't help but to remember them.

As an author, Melanie was cooped inside the house frequently, yet the times she decided to go out into the world, she saw him. She always had to see him, and when she would see him, she would run back home and write pages and pages of the same feelings she thought she drowned in the salty ocean, and like the author she is, she kept the pages because she knew. She knew that one day, they would come to her benefit, and she knew that she would be grateful for keeping them.

Although she hated the beach, she managed to force herself to enjoy it. Why? She needed to head back to the beach just one more time to develop the setting for her story. Melanie pulled herself out of her thoughts as she realized where she was— the beach. She stood with her toes buried in the sand and her arms crossed over her chest. The warm ocean breeze swept through her long, dark, wavy hair. Orange lights filled Melanie's vision as she thought back to the first time she met him, the first time she ever set foot on the beach.

"What brought you to sit along on a beach like this?" he had asked her that evening once upon a time.

"I'm simply enjoying the view," she had answered; she didn't bother to look in his direction for two reasons: one, she did not care for men trying to hit on her; two, the view was astounding, and he could ruin it for her.

"Mind if I join you, then?" he had asked.

At that moment, Melanie turned and looked to her right to see a breathtaking man in a breathtaking view. His bare, golden, sun-kissed skin glimmered in the setting sun, and his eyes sparkled like the glimmering sand. His hair was wet with ocean water and swept back, little beads of ocean water dotting his neck, shoulders, and chest. He shot her this marvelous smile that reminded her of finding a pearl in the depths of the dark seas, and she was simply amazed. She nodded, and he sat down on the sand next to her.

Originally, Melanie had her legs crossed and her back slightly hunched over, but she was suddenly self-conscious around this breathtaking man that had sat next to her, so she hugged her knees to her chest and leaned back ever so slightly so that her hair was barely touching her back. She couldn't help but glance to her right every so often to catch the side profile of the boy, and he would glance back, causing her to look away abruptly. They sat on the beach together, the sound of the ocean waves crashing talking for them.

Melanie hadn't actually talked to the breathtaking man that day, nor did she in the days following. They would sit on the beach every single day, just watching the setting sun together, then leave when the sky got dark and it was time for them to leave. They actually hadn't spoken to each other until Melanie finally decided to interrupt the crashing waves a week after they had met.

"I don't believe I've introduced myself," she had said as she turned to him. She stuck her hand out and had said, "Hi, my name is Melanie."

Melanie didn't know what took her aback the most: his gorgeous smile, his warm, inviting hand, or his eyes— his wonderful, sparkling eyes. He took her hand and held it lightly as he said, "Sergio."

That was all he said. He had only said his name that day.

As the suns kept setting, and as the days rolled by, Melanie found herself more and more enthralled with the ethereal being before her. They talked just a little more day by day, and day by day, Melanie had learned more and more about Sergio. Not only had she learned more and more about Sergio, but she also got closer and closer to Sergio as well.

First, their shoulders brushed. Next, they were bumping shoulders. Their fingers touched and laced with each other, her head leaned onto his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her, and they gazed fondly into each others eyes. At that time, everything seemed so simple for Melanie. She had gone to the beach to enjoy the orange glow of the sunset, but she ended up enjoying Sergio's sparkling, hopeful eyes.

The day that made Melanie's heart beat so fast that she wanted it to stop beating so that she could finally breathe was the day he had first kissed her. That one kiss led to another, which led to another, and another, and another, and to the point where Melanie was pressed against the ground and Sergio's hand cupped her cheek softly, carefully.

There was one day the two didn't go out and see the sunset by the ocean waves, and that was the day Melanie and Sergio went back to Melanie's place and spent the night loving passionately under the orange sunset's loving gaze. That was the day the sparkle in Sergio's eyes were the brightest they had ever been, that was the day Sergio had watched Melanie breathe peacefully in his arms, single strands of her hair covering her downcast eyes and her bare shoulders, the duvets whispering restless nights as they were tangled in between their legs. That was the day Melanie held her ear to Sergio's beating heart, and that was the day Melanie fell in love with him.

Melanie blinked. She looked in front of her at the sunset. The sunset was yellow and orange, and the waves were softly patting the large rocks She brushed her hair over her shoulder and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath and looked to her right, only to see him. Why was he there? Why did he never seem to leave her alone? Melanie wanted to run away, but she stood her ground in the posh sand. No, she would stay and watch the sunset. She would stay and watch the sun set even through her teary eyes.

"Melanie?" she heard the waves call— no, that wasn't the waves calling her; it was him calling her.

Melanie looked to the right again and saw him standing there. She blinked the tears away from her eyes and sniffed before saying with a trembling voice, "Sergio."

She looked at his eyes. They weren't sparkling anymore, but Melanie could still see the hope in his eyes. She also saw the apology in his eyes, although he had apologized over and over and over again. He could apologize all he wanted, but they both knew that it wasn't his fault after what happened— it wasn't anyone's fault.

"Melanie, I want to—" Sergio stopped himself; Melanie shook her head before he could even start.

"Please don't, Sergio," she whispered.

There was a warm ocean breeze that swept past their ankles and through their hair. Melanie looked back at the ocean, Sergio continuing to look at her. She wiped the lingering tears by her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, Sergio looking down at his bare feet in the sand. He looked up, the orange light bathing over him as he took hesitant steps towards her. Melanie could feel him approaching, but she didn't move. She let him come to her, and she let him hug her. He hugged her tightly and apologized over and over and over into her ears, Melanie starting to cry as he rested his chin on her forehead. She gripped at Sergio's shirt and cried in his arms. She hadn't cried after what had happened, and now that she was finally crying, the tears just refused to stop.

Melanie had avoided Sergio for two years. The incident happened two years ago, and Melanie was reminded of the incident every single time she saw him. What she wrote pages and pages of was not her pining for the boy she lost. No, she wrote pages and pages of the life they were supposed to live, the life that Melanie, Sergio, and their little girl were supposed to live.

Melanie and Sergio were supposed to get married. They were supposed to have a kid, too. However, Melanie had a miscarriage, and they hadn't talked about it. They drifted apart and let the ocean waves get in between them as the sunsets continued on and on. They had gotten so distant that Melanie moved to a new apartment and avoided Sergio at all costs. She felt as if the miscarriage was her fault, while Sergio just wanted to love Melanie again. The apologies he uttered to her were not his apologies to her, but her own apologies to herself. He thought maybe, just maybe, if he apologized enough, Melanie would forgive herself.

The stars were out as Melanie and Sergio laid on the beach entangled in each other's arms. Melanie's eyes were shut as Sergio stared at the lonely sky above them, soft ocean waves sounding all around then. Melanie had moved away from Sergio's chest slightly, and Sergio looked down at the exhausted girl in his arms. He smiled. Her eyes fluttered open. She could see his eyes again, and they sparkled just as brightly as the stars above them. They also sparkled like her eyes, her eyes. Melanie felt the tears well up in her eyes again, and Sergio wiped them away before they could get anywhere. He hushed her gently and held her close.

Melanie still hated the ocean. She still hated the beach. She still hated the salty sea breeze that would hit her nose and last all day in her hair and on her skin because she always had hated these things, but she welcomed the memories. She welcomed the memories, and she once again loved the boy that brought the memories.