Chapter Text
The water swirls around my bare feet, rippling and splashing with each step I take along the sand. I don’t care that the fringe of my robes are soaked, they’ll dry. Drops of water fly high and land on my face, making me giggle, I love the water it’s always brought me a comfort unimaginable and tomorrow I’ll be surrounded by it on a boat. It’s been my dream to travel since I was young.
“Qingxuan! Come back, you will need to rest for tomorrow!” My brother calls after me, he’s always cared for me and was the one who taught me about sea, the creatures that live in it, legends of it, to respect it. I turn to the direction of his voice and call in response, “I will have plenty of time to rest when I get back! Let me say goodbye!”
Ge is the captain of his own ship, to be a part of his crew is an honour people dream of in our town, the call him ‘The Water Master’ since he can make it through any storm and any waters without fail. I found out today that he finally decided to allow me to travel with him on his ship, after many years of begging he finally gave in.
“Alright then, don’t be too long!”
I watch his silhouette fade away then turn to face the ocean again, further down the coast is the docks and I can see my brothers ship looming above the water which is practically glittering from the light of the moon. I take in the air calmly before jumping and kicking up the water in victory, knowing that tomorrow I will be seeing what’s beyond the waters that I’m so familiar which feels so surreal to me.
“Qingxuan!”
“Qingxuan!!!”
“QINGXUAN!!!!”
Suddenly everything hits me at once, Ge in front of me, the cold air, the sloshing of waves.
“Qingxuan what happened!?”
“Ge? I uh.. I’m not too sure myself..”
I mean it, what did happen? There was a fish and.. the fish!!! That poisonous fucker! i look at my finger, a tiny scab remained over where I was bitten.
Something else moves in the water and I stop, and I look over my shoulder one way. Then the other. Nothing. Nothing but water, sand and the large rocks that litter the coast. Then I look in front of me to just see the stillness of the night. I hear the sound of moving water again, it’s coming from further out, step forward and I keep going until the surrounding water is over my knees and swaying back and forth with the tide. I feel compelled to go further but I don’t.
Something nips at my finger, I hiss and pull back my hand and there is a fish made of bones hanging loose from it. I blink for a moment then panic.
“What the fuck!?”
I flail my arm around and the weird thing goes flying back into the depths, thank heavens. But, before I can thank the heavens out loud I feel my vision blur, the blood on my finger has a purplish hue, was the fish poisonous!? I try to pull against the pull of the ocean to get closer to the land, but I feel my body go weak and my knees go numb beneath me.
Before I know it I am engulfed by the liquid around me and dry sand is further from where it was before. Light rays blend with the hues of black and blue until they outline a figure, i reach for it and I can barely feel what I’m touching. Then black. Only black. The faint feeling of something wrapping around my finger. Then nothing.