There is No Happily Ever After

14th Jan, 2021

I’m so excited! Today was the day that me and my friend went to find the treasure! Well not today, TOMORROW. It is five pm now and the sunset outside is beautiful! You wouldn’t believe it, but I think that looking at it from a plane makes it better. Hang on, Anakin is calling me to drink some of those sloppy orange juice they give out on the plane. I don’t know why he likes them so much. ~Esma

Esma sighed and ran her hand through her curly brown hair. She stood up and strode over to Anakin, bumping into people clumsily, (Sorry, sir, excuse me madam!) his tall posture easy to spot among the crowd. She went over and accepted the cup of orange juice with disdain. 

“You don’t like it?” Anakin asked, blinking his bright blue eyes. 

Esma grinned. “It's fine, but I like coffee better.”

“They don’t have coffee in here.” Anakin grumbled running his hands through his blonde hair trying to smooth it down.

“You look like you just woke up,” Esma observed.

“Of course. While you were writing in that diary of you-”

“Journal,” Esma corrected.

“Journal, whatever, I was trying to sleep. But a tiny chair doesn’t do good to me,” Anakin concluded staring at the small seats.

“Let's go back, I have to finish writing it.” 

“Sure.”

As I was saying before Anakin interrupted, we are going to dive into the waves of Australia to find the Emerald. Legend says that it controls the sea and if we find it, we could be famous! Although I doubt that we will find it, there is NO happily ever after all. Well hopefully we could find it….. - :)~ Love, Esma

Esma finished writing and closed her gray eyes, leaning into the arms of the chair. The plane hummed and droned on, sailing through the wispy pink clouds and into a unforgettable adventure

We’re here! OMG I can’t believe it! I’m so excited for what tomorrow brings! It’s so beautiful here, with the large gold and diamond chandelier. I think it's made out of diamonds. Anakin says that it's plastic. I don’t think it's plastic. It would be strange to see that cheap and harmful stuff in a five star hotel.

Esma gazed at the lobby in wonder. The golden pillars reached high to the glass ceiling. The night sky was dotted with twinkling stars and Esma SWORE that she saw a shooting star although Anakin didn’t believe her. The marble floor clicked and clacked as they walked towards the metal lifts. They entered and rose up to level five. They exited the lift and gazed at the corridors, paintings hung from several walls and plants were below them. They stepped onto the red carpeted floor and sank several centimeters.

“Wow,” Anakin stared at his Nike shoe.

Esma pulled at his arm and pointed to room 507, “That’s ours.”

They pushed open the door and entered. There were two beds, both laden with blankets and pillows. The room was large with a balcony. The lights above them glittered and danced. The bathroom was gigantic and there were two bath tubs. TWO, Hear me? TWO.

Anakin is currently in the bathroom, I don’t know what was taking him so long, but I think I heard singing. The bedroom was beautiful, the carpet was so thick that it sunk like three centimeters when Anakin stepped on it! Not judging by the fact that he is quite heavy. He let me have the window side bed and I opened the window. The air outside had the scent of oceans and jasmines! My favourite flower. Oops. Anakin is coming out now so I have to stop writing so I can tease him about his singing. It was quite good, but I’m not gonna tell him that. Write later! ~Love, Esma

“Did I hear singing?” Esma questioned smirking.

Anakin blushed. “No-no, I-I don’t sing.” He stammered.

Esma tapped her chin. “You sure? I was certain that I heard SOMEONE singing in there.”

Anakin chucked a pillow at her. “I don’t sing.”

Esma ducked and threw the pillow back at him, knocking him onto the bed. “Save it for later you great lunk!” Esma giggled

Anakin grumbled with a smile and slid under the covers. “Sleep, tomorrow is the day we rise, my friend.”

“Look at you, all serious and stuff, we don’t even know if we can find it.”

And with that they bid each other bad nights and nightmares and dreamt of finding the emerald.

“Wake up, sleepy head!” 

Esma woke up with a start. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. Anakin’s strong stature was standing near the balcony, pulling open the curtains. Esma wondered why she never noticed how handsome he was…. She shook her head, there was something wrong with her today. She couldn’t possibly -

Anakin tossed her a wet suit. 

“What’s up with you today? You look like you’re still not awake yet!”

Esma muttered something in reply and walked into the bathroom.

Anakin shrugged.

One hour later-

They stood at the edge of the diving area. 

“This one can only last four hours.” The man said pointing to one of the tanks. “This one can last for four hours and forty minutes.” He said again pointing to the heavier one. “We recommend that the male uses the heavy one, it's way too heavy for her to carry.” The man nodded towards a terribly offended Esma.

“Okay,” Esma said, pulling the tank with four hours of air over her head. They strapped to the back of her head and pulled it tight firmly. Her heart was beating so loud that she was sure Anakin could hear it. He looked at her and smiled encouragingly. They jumped.

The coldness of the water surprised them, they shivered. They took one last look at the sky then dived. Paddling furiously, working closer and closer to the place where the emerald was last detected. 

Three and a half hours later-

Finally. They saw something shimmering in a glass case, the glass case was decorated in thin swirls of gold. Colorful coral surrounded the case. Since they weren’t so deep into the ocean, a thin ray of light surrounded it. (They didn’t just dive DEEP, they searched for it.) Then- finally, the emerald came to view. It was breathtaking, they stretched out their hands and touched it. Nothing happened, they took it out of the case.

Wrong choice. The sea began to swirl around them furiously, thunder crashed and hail pelted. The waves pushed Esma deeper and deeper into the ocean. Anakin was swirled into a tornado. The spirit of the emerald pulsed in Esma’s hands. Her mind clouded with foggy thoughts, her life flashed before her eyes. She was running out of air. She paddled with all her might. No avail. Then finally the emerald broke open. The spirit came out. 

It took the form of a tiger. Esma closed her eyes. She prepared for the fatal bite, the smashing paw against her temple. But instead the tiger was pushing her up! After halfway, her air ran out. She couldn’t breathe. The tiger paddled more furiously than ever. They reached the glass case. The emerald came back together as the tiger touched it. The emerald floated back.

The winds stopped howling, the sky stopped trembling. Anakin swam out of the tornado. He looked at how much air was left in his tank. Forty three minutes. 

“ESMA!” he thought frantically.

He saw a lifeless form floating gracefully near the glass case. He swam towards it. It was Esma. He felt her heartbeat. A little fluttering, her mask strap was undone and the tank long floated away. He took hold of her hand and pulled up.

Back in the hotel.

Esma coughed, she opened her eyes. Was she dead? She didn’t know, but there was something wet on her forehead. She opened her eyes. Anakin was mopping her forehead with a wet towel. As she opened her eyes. Anakin’s mouth opened in surprise. His eyes widened with joy. He scooped her out of the bed and hugged her tightly. 

“I thought I lost you.” Anakin choked.

“Never.”

And under the last rays of the sun. They kissed. Esma smiled, her lips curving under his.

Maybe there was a happily ever after.