The Ocean of Promise

This is a prompt i had to write in my creative writing class, in my highschool. I like how it came out, so i thought i would post it ^^ this is about the ocean, and its promise to Catherine, a 18 year old girl.

 

The Ocean of Promise

 

                The ocean holds many secrets, both good and bad, and also promises. Secrets because the ocean is endless, holding animals that have not been seen by the human eye, and it also holds dark secrets. Pulling boats under to meet their watery grave. Promises, mostly to animals, saying that it won’t ever go away or dry up, it will always be there. The ocean made me a promise also. Let me bring you back to July 23^rd 1996.

                I was 18 years old, and I was standing on the edge of a cliff. No, I wasn’t trying to kill myself, far from it actually. Have you ever heard of cliff diving? Well, almost everyone in my town does it. We all go up to Dead Man’s Cliff and take turns jumping off, free-falling for what seems like forever, then splashing down into the dark water below. Yes, the name Dead Man’s Cliff might sound kind of contradicting, but they named it Dead Man’s cliff because back in the 1800’s a pirate ship suck right under the cliff, and everyone on the ship died. Thus the name Dead Man’s Cliff.

                Everyone in my town has been cliff diving at least once, except me. And now, I was about to jump. I looked out over the ocean, and into the setting sun. The waves made hollow crashing noises against the opening of the cave below. The wind was spraying the sticky, salty air into my face, whipping my light brown hair around in its mercy. I clasped the heart shaped pendant that was attached my silver chain. It had a fancy C carved into the metal that stood for my name, Catherine. My mother gave it to me on my 16^th birthday along with many different kinds of seashells. My mother loved the ocean; I’m surprised she hasn’t turned into a fish yet. I smiled down at my pendant and let it drop back into place on my pale skin. I looked back at the beautiful sunset that was lighting everything around me in a blaze of golden yellows and oranges. Summer sunsets were always beautiful in my small town of Newcomb.

I took a step closer to the edge of the cliff, so my toes were hanging over the edge. I fixed my pale green eyes on the crashing waves two miles below me.

I will have to fall that far down… I said to myself.

But the sound of the crashing waves and whipping winds drowned out the rest of my thoughts. I took a deep breath, stuck out my arms like Superman… and jumped.

                The feeling of free-falling is like nothing you have ever experienced before. It’s soundless. You’re rushing through the air so fast; it seems like your floating, so peaceful, serene. I wish tha- The feeling of hitting concrete shattered my peaceful thoughts. I was plunging into the freezing water. The impact was so strong, that it sent my body into shock, and I forgot to hold my breath. My breath whooshed out of my chest, and I coughed, sending little bubbles gliding toward the surface through the water. I opened my eyes. Everything around me was a dark blue. I looked around, I couldn’t find the surface. I panicked. I twirled around in the water numbly, twisting my body and whipping my head around in every direction, making my hair float around my face. I was trying to find the source of light that would be the surface. My breath was getting short, and my body was beginning to tingle. I turned my head weakly to the right and saw the light of the surface. I turned my body to face it, and I tried to swim toward it, but it was no use. I saw little bubbles escaping my mouth and gliding effortlessly toward the surface. Right then, I really wished I was a bubble. I reached up, like I was going to grab the sun, and it was going to pull me up.  But it too was fading. My thoughts started slurring, and my vision was getting blurry. My air supply was used up. I tried to move my legs and swim in one last desperate attempt to reach the surface. My body responded with a cough, sending more bubbles up to the surface. I swallowed water and choked. I knew that my time was over.

                I reached for my necklace and felt nothing, I looked behind me into the dark bottomless ocean and saw it gliding down through the water, and disappearing. I stared after it, watching it sink farther down into the never ending blackness. Then I heard something… a voice? No… the waves, the waves crashing on the surface. They were talking. I strained to hear with every last ounce of strength I had left.

                “I’ll protect you…” The waves seemed to say. “That’s a promise.”

                A promise? I thought foggily.

                “I’ll keep you safe.” The water added.

I closed my eyes. The ocean made a promise to me, and I believed in that promise. I went limp, letting the ocean drag me farther down into its dark abyss.