The World Beneath

The world was so boring, what was there to gain by doing the same routine over and over again? Same school, same work, the same absence of his parents. Every day, he wishes for something out of the ordinary. Something to alleviate his boredom.

Something to make sure the world wasn't losing the color around him.

"Let’s go to the beach!" one of his friends exclaims. He doesn't care, he goes to the beach every year. Knowing the boring world around him, they'll probably say Kulakula Beach or-

"Let's go to Heartthrob Beach!"

What? That was new. When was a new beach open?

"Oh totally! I heard that if you're lucky, you can see a water spirit show! People have said it's one of the most amazing things in the world! Too bad they're all so shy...."

New beach? New information? Would this finally be a way to see the world in color again? To see something that can make him feel excited?

He takes the invite, hoping for something new.

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He feels sorely disappointed. Nothing is out of the ordinary. His friends playing volleyball, girls trying to flirt, everything here he's seen in all the past years.

He sighs, why did he think he could escape his boredom? He loved the beach, sure, but that was before he did everything one could do here to death. Sandcastles, surfing, jet gliding, water fights, bored by all of it.

He leaves the beach. There was a cave not too far from his spot. He started walking toward it. At least a cave can give him a new setting to be bored in.

He walks inside.

The cave, to his somewhat mild surprise, looked enchanting. Crystals of all colors and sizes were scattered everywhere. The water was a light teal within the cave, and it also seemed to be sparkling. A mystical type of feeling was in the air, but he dismissed it off. Despite his boredom, he could admit the cave was amazing, who wouldn't? He sat down between two crystals, closing his eyes to hopefully enjoy the calm sounds of the cave water.

Silence. More silence. A hum. His eyes shot up, humming didn't belong with silence. More humming, was it coming from the water? He crawled towards the water. It was still humming. Did curiosity take over his body for the first time in years? What was this sound? He needed to find out, just...

one...

touch...

A head popped up beneath his hand. He jerked it back. The human, whatever they were raised from the water.

' A water spirit.....' he thinks. 'They're real...." He leaned in a closer look at her. Long, periwinkle blue, ocean-like hair spilling across her pale blue skin and the jeweled, intricate outfit she wore. Pointed ears on the sides of her head and scales dotted around her arms. Her eyes sparkled curiosity and wonder through her azure hues.

She stretched out her hand with what looked to be a glyph in it. Was he meant to take it? She urged her hand forward. He hesitantly took it. The glyph glowed in his hand. The mysterious water spirit's other arm instantly surged toward his hand and pulled him into the water. Panic sieged his body. What was this girl, thing, doing?!

But he had questions too late, he was already submerged into the water, he tried to somewhat take a deep breath...and found out he didn't need one. He could breathe as if he was on land. The spirit was swimming even faster, her legs blurring against the currents. He could barely keep up with her. The duo kept swimming until a mesmerizing palace was in their sight. The water spirit immediately dragged him down. As they continued to swim, he saw several amazing sights. A restaurant with a line stretching across a market, water spirits selling oysters and many jewels he's never seen, and above all else, water spirits of all shapes and sizes running around the streets, playing games he's never heard of or had the time for.

The water spirit dragged him out of the village and into a secluded cave. This one was nowhere near as extravagant as the one he met her in, but it still felt nice, Homey, quaint, he would describe it. Several piles of seaweed piled up in random parts of the cave, fish of all different kinds swimming in and out as they pleased. Some kind of ivy-looking plant stretched across the rocky walls, and several shells were woven into it. The water spirit stopped swimming and dragging him around to usher him into a rock chair. (At least he thinks it's a chair made out of rocks).

He sat down hesitantly, his first action is opening his palm where he grabbed the glyph stone. But, it wasn't there, instead, the glyph that was on the stone had been etched into his skin. How he never realized that something made out of stone sunk into his skin is beyond his understanding. But right now, more than anything, he needed answers.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he inquired.

The water spirit fumbled with her hands for a while until she murmured, "My name is Coral...."

"Well, Coral, "he said in a slightly accusing tone, "Why did you bring me here? This is kidnapping. I-"

"I could sense the sadness in your heart." she cut off.

He immediately halted his accusation to quietly ask, "Sadness in my heart?"

"Yes, I could feel sadness emanating from your heart," Coral explained. "I figured, if I show you my home, you wouldn't be sad anymore..."

"How does that make any sense?"

She started fumbling with her hands again. "It was a lot better in my head..."

"Well, you got the feeling wrong. I'm not sad, just bored. Everything I do is boring. Boring school, boring work, boring classmates, boring everything. I came to Heartthrob Beach to try and not be bored, but I couldn't stop it at all. Then I went to the cave to get some peace of mind, and well..." he trailed off, expecting her to finish the story on her own.

"Boredom? Is that what's in your heart?" Coral said with a confused look.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure."

"Then why not just find something new?"

"I've tried that, and I wore it all down to boredom. What fun is doing something over and over again?"

The water spirit pondered for a bit, then replied, "Can I ask a question?"

"Go for it," he said.

"How many of those things did you do of your own will?"

He started to answer, then paused. He thought it over before admitting, "None of them. They were all things my classmates forced me into."

Coral gave a small smile. "I bet some of those things could be more fun if you tried them yourself."

Before he could nod, the water spirit also added, "Oh! And if that doesn't work, you're welcome to come to talk to me about stuff, if you want. Just go to the cave, draw a circle around the glyph, and I'll come straight to you."

For the first time in years, he smiled. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

The water spirit smiled as well. She outstretched her hand again. “Come on, I’ll take you back.”

 He took Coral’s hand. And again, she dragged him out of her cave, and back into the cave they first met. The water spirit gave a little wave before swimming off into the oceanic world again.

 “Hey! Are you alright?” One of his friends said. “You were gone for an hour!”

 He looked to the pool, then his friends, “I’m alright, just had a change of heart.”

Fin.