Seth

She picked up a pebble and it felt as cold as the wind brushing her skin. Its icyness soothed her palms, sore from rowing. Sara had rowed to the center of the bay for the third day straight, but still had no courage to plunge in. It wasn’t the cold that scared her, but the pain of being completely wrapped up by the lion mane jellyfish and, ultimately, the fear that she might be losing her mind.

Sara placed the black pebble back on the sand. It had all started two weeks earlier. Her life felt stale and she missed the time when she believed in magic. One night, she prayed really hard to her guardian angel - the one practice she still tried to maintain after losing faith in almost everything. She prayed that he would show his face in her dreams and that they could talk. The thought of talking to him felt almost silly, as Sara did not know what she would ask him. Yet, she really wanted to see his face. In all of those years communicating with him - he had never shown up in her dreams, asleep or awake.

That night, she dreamt she was swimming in icy cold water, completely submerged. The water soothed her skin while she waited. Yes, Sara was clearly waiting for someone - or something, her heart beating fast as when one awaits a lover. 

The first thing she saw was the golden glow, approaching slowly but consistently. It moved gracefully, like a giant sunflower blowing in the spring. Sara tried to stay as still as possible as she anticipated the moment she had been expecting her entire life.

The pain was so intense not a single thought crossed her head. The energy in those tentacles reached every cell in her body, and her mind became completely clear. Sara’s consciousness seemed to be leaving a dark tunnel, buried deep into the ground, and getting closer and closer to the sun. When the pain became almost unbearable, she was pulled upward and began to float in a gelatinous, orange sky. And there he was, his wings half open, directly in front of Sara. Him, Seth, her guardian angel, staring straight into her eyes. She felt vulnerable and deeply loved, and when she opened her mouth to ask a question, she woke up.

Sara did not know what frustrated her more - having woken up so fast or forgetting the question she was so determined to ask. Sun rays were already sparkling through her window and her entire body tingled. Sara spent her day in a state of happiness, despite her frustration. She wrote the dream down in detail when she got home from work, as it was still surprisingly fresh in her mind.

That night the dream repeated itself, exactly the same. When she opened her mouth to speak, she woke up, and once again she did not recall what she was going to ask Seth. This happened for the next two nights, until Sara realized what she had to do. A little research revealed the name of the creature - Cyanea capillata - or lion’s mane jellyfish, two to three meters wide, with tentacles almost 40 meters long. Its nonlethal, powerful sting caused enough pain to go on for days. The best part: they could be found in waters a few hours from home.

Sara had not taken a vacation in a very long time. There was no place she felt like going to and no one to go along. She decided to take two weeks off to do what she had to do with the money she had available.

A train, a bus and a ferry ride later, Sara was in the Isle of Raasay, in northern Scotland. It was the beginning of autumn, and the chilly wind greeted her as she walked to the only hotel in the small island.

Early the next morning, Sara rented out a paddleboat. The dream continued to repeat itself at night, with one difference that first night on the island: she awoke right after saying the first word of her question to Seth: “Do…”

After that third day of rowing into the bay, Sara thought about the time lost and how she could have been talking to Seth already. However, she still did not know what to actually talk to him about when the courage to plunge in and wait for the jellyfish finally came. Once again, she asked herself if she was going crazy.

- You do seem concentrated for someone standing on the beach. Sara almost jumped into the water.

- Sorry to startle you. My name is Angelo. And you are…? - Sara stared at him, not because he had the most beautiful green eyes, but because of his name.

- Yeah, I know, my name always causes a bad impression. I was bullied a lot in school - Angelo laughed nervously.

- Sorry. It’s not that. Not exactly. Forget it. Sara. Nice to meet you - She stuck out her hand. Touching his skin gave her a similar sensation to being grasped by the jellyfish of her dreams, only without the pain. Angelo seemed startled. Sara pulled back her hand.

- Do you ever swim here?

Angelo seemed surprised by the question. - Of course. Why wouldn’t I?

- Well, the cold. And the jellyfish - Sara had seen plenty of jellyfish from the ferry. Which one of them was Seth’s?

- Oh, I forgot you tourists are afraid of the cold. But people don’t usually know about the jellyfish until they get here. Well, I got stung by one yesterday. Not a big deal. I am used to it. I have been diving here since I was a child.

- Doesn’t it hurt for days? That’s what I heard. 

- As I said, I am used to it. The first time was probably the worst, but it was a long, long time ago. I barely remember. Are you afraid of falling from your paddleboat?

- How do you know I am going to rent a paddleboat?

- Well, you have been doing that everyday.

- Have you been stalking me? - Sara had a half smile on her face.

- Not a lot to do around here. Especially when it’s not the tourist season - The wind began blowing colder. Sara shuddered - How about some coffee to heat up?

Angelo took Sara to the cutest little coffee shop, with only two tables and a few chairs. They talked for hours and spent the next days together. Sara never dreamt of the jellyfish again.