Unknown Object

Song: "Lugia's Song Orchestra"

I think I slept too much today. I cannot fall asleep! Not to mention that Mr. Carter is snoring up a storm over there.

Maddie and her parents were kind enough to give me the second bed in the cabin. Mr. Carter wasn't comfortable with having Maddie sleep next to me, so she has a floor bed. Why? I may never know.

I shuffle under the covers, trying to find a comfortable sleeping position, but to no avail. I face the dresser, and my eyes land on the clock. Ugh, it's going to be a long night. I lie there and think about Inside Out, as well as the light Maddie and I saw in the hallway. A sudden voice interrupts my thoughts:

"Come outside, Will."

I jump. Now what? Don't I have enough going on right now? But hold on, the voice sounds familiar. Mom? Are you here? The same bright light from the hallway is on the balcony, stalking me.

Curious, I roll out of bed and rise to my feet. My eyes land on the unexpected visitor, and I enter a trance-like state. Hands at my chest, I nervously whisper, "Mom?" in dragon language.

"Come outside, Will," she repeats.

I follow the light, swift and quiet on my feet, and step over Maddie. She's resting on her side and has a teddy bear under her arm. What a sight to behold. I have an urge to move her bangs off her face. I want to lose myself to her shiny, tan skin, but I stop myself. Why am I such a creep? You're following the voice; there's no time for distractions.

I pull open the door to the balcony and step outside to the warm, summer night, closing the door behind me. The light's directly in front of me. It changes its form into a woman-like being. Is it really my mother? I don't think so, but she does show an interest in me.

She flies over to the railing and points down to the Ocean. "You don't belong here. You need to return to the Triangle," she says.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

But I don't want to return to the Triangle. I can't leave Maddie. I rest my hand over my necklace pendant and look over the railing to the gentle waves slapping the ship's hull. There are a few more cyan lights in them, and they give the Ocean a bioluminescent appearance.

What's down there? Should I check it out? But what about Maddie? Is this a trap? Aw, heck. Why not? I think it will be okay if I leave the Ecstasy for a bit. My brain is overflowing with questions, but perhaps I'll find answers in the luminary.

That settles it. I nod and squeeze each side of my necklace pendant. My body glows up, and I grow my wings, tail, and scales. I'm a dragon again. It actually feels quite nice.

The light dives into the Ocean with the bioluminescent waves, and I fly after her. I open my wings, give them a quick flap, and lift into the sky. My scales shimmer from the lights of billions of stars above shining down on them. I drop gently into the Ocean, right in the heart of the waves, and swim about fifty feet down. The light that urged me to return to it closes in on my tail, as well as the waves. It's not long until she's next to me, and she points forward.

My jaw drops.

A herd of water dragons are swimming in the sea–my clan, or are they? Their tails sway back and forth with the rocking of the waves, and their wings flap gracefully behind them. Like me, their slender bodies have different shades of blue. Just seeing them, I can't help but ask two short questions:

Mom? Dad?

I wait for the herd to stop and Mom and Dad to greet me, but they never do. I am a pea compared to these dragons. Nobody accepts me, even though I'm just like them. They merely close their eyes and point their beaks toward the surface. Mom and Dad are definitely not with them. They would never turn me down, right? I don't recognize any dragons in this herd, which leads me to believe I'm wasting my time. I want to be back with Maddie.

The luminary and waves urge me to join the herd, but I refuse. The Bermuda Triangle is no longer my home. I belong on the Ecstasy in Maddie's world. I shake my head and slowly back away from my friends.

The dragons keep swimming. They're not paying me any attention. How rude. They disappear into the depths of the sea and leave me all alone, with just magic to guide me.

I'm sad. Mom and Dad abandoned me for a reason. They never accepted me into the clan. Everything they told me about the Guardian of the Seas is one fat lie. What did I do to deserve such a betrayal, such an insult, and such an underappreciation? I need Maddie more than I think. She's going to help me start my life over.

The light and waves try to stop me, but I ignore them and head back to the surface. Tears well up at the backs of my eyes. I blink them away, for I can't look weak. Not this dragon.

I return to Maddie's balcony and take on my boy form. My arms dangle over the railing.

Please, Ocean, just tell me what I did wrong!

I feel the tears, but I can't fight them this time. They roll down my cheeks–warm droplets that provide the Ocean with much-needed water. I'm never going to forgive myself. You were smart to leave me on that godforsaken island, Mom and Dad. It now makes sense why you did.

I'm sorry I'm such a failure.