Sophia lay awake listening to the rise and fall of Robert’s breath. She had pretended to be a sleep when he came to bed. For hours she lay still, in this space of nothingness, doing her best to not think. Exhausted, sleep finally pulled her in and under. A peculiar light surrounded her. The air, no the water was warm and pale green. Lovely fish swam around her. She was breathing. She wasn’t afraid. Complete calm enveloped her. She began to swim toward lights beneath the surface of the sea. Not once did she allow herself to look at or ponder the presence of the darkness beyond. In the distance she saw the vague outline of a structure. It was then, that her fear came rushing back. No, she would not go there! A strange sound swirled around her and then she heard her mother’s voice say, “Its okay my girl. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

She shouted back, “Where are you?”

A light flashed from the structure. “I’m here, follow me, I want to show you my home.”

Sophia felt a soft suction take hold of her. Gently it began to pull her toward the lights. She screamed, “NO!” With a hard jerk, she changed directions and headed toward the surface of the water. She broke through and took in a jagged breath. Her chest hurt, he lungs hurt the ways they always did when she ripped herself out f the water. She was sobbing.

Someone drew her into their arms. It must not be her mother! She opened her eyes and looked up. It was Robert. He asked, “Are you okay?”

She crumbled against his chest. His heart was racing. She had frightened him along with herself. “I’m sorry. I had a night mare. My mother was trying to lure me into the sea castle.”

He didn’t say anything. His arms tightened around her. She could feel his fear. She knew his history. Against his chest she whispered, “I’m okay, really. It was just a dream.” Truth was, she didn’t know if she was okay, she only knew she needed to be.

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

Robert eased them down onto the mattress. He kept his arms around her. A slight tremor went through his body. Sophia knew some section of his brain was going back to that day when he found his mother dead in her bedroom.

A tune began to play in her head. It was something she had heard in a Korean drama. Vaguely, she remembered the English lyrics of “One Million Roses*”. It was a song about true love and the hardships of life.

The chorus kept playing over and over in her mind. It was about having a heart without hate in it, and giving love without holding back. If a person could do this they would return to their home star. This star was a place that was always longed for.

A memory came to mind. Sophia was thirteen. She and her mother were dancing in their old living room. It was one of Mama’s good and happy days. Now, Sophia suspected her mother might be bipolar, but at the time, it was just how Mama was. Had Mama longed for her home star? Had she decided the Sea Castle was her home and the Sea Lady was her true love? Sophia shut her eyes tightly. She did not want to cry, she did not want to wake Robert again. How had her mother passed the Sea Castle down to her? She didn’t want it, she didn’t need it. She had Daddy and Robert and Kate. They were solid and unshifting, and sometimes down right boring.

Mama had never been boring. Never. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, flashed with anger or shone with happiness. Her stories were always detailed and mind catching. Boring was never and could never be used as an adjective to describe her.

In the dream, why had Mama wanted her to join her in the Sea Castle? Why? Mama hadn’t been impatient, but she seemed so very eager to have her company in her under water world. If Mama wanted her so much, why had she disappeared?

The therapist had touched on some of her mommy issues during Sophia’s first session. Sitting on that couch, spilling her guts had made Sophia feel physically sick. Still she hadn’t thrown up and she hadn’t cried. In that rooom, she heard her voice string together words about her self, her life, her family, but she had felt so disconnected from herself. She felt disconnected from herself now.

During her session, though the blinds had been closed, the waters still flashed light through the slits. The water had called to her. She did her best to ignore it. The water was calling to her now, inviting her to sneak out and drive down to the shore.

*One Million Roses” song by Raimonds Pauls, lyrics by Leon Briedes