Sea of Pearls

A Story by Mysterious_Pen

On a bright summer day at the beach, one soul feels lost in the world until his eye catches a glimmering object in the tide.

Sea of Pearls

It was a warm, bright summer afternoon on a crowded beach. The volume and intensity of the waves crashing against the shoreline were matched by the mass populous that engaged in seemingly endless activities. Brown skin sunbathers slept, as athletic youth gambled their pride in volleyball tournaments. Surfers sliced through the foamy waters with their intimidating boards, strategically maneuvering around the buoyant devices of laid back floaters. Lifeguards scanned the shores, picnickers swatted ants, hungry gulls called out for food and danced around beach balls propelling toward the sky. The air was thick with the smell of cotton candy, peanut butter and sea salt. Various feel-good artists sang in a distant quartet through old dusty radios. Golden sand ran for as far as the eye could see, miles of natural freeways running parallel to lapping waves.

Everything was in place, all characters on stage pursuing their roles with script in hand. It was almost a perfect painting of a perfect summer day, except there was one piece of the puzzle that didn't seem to belong. As if it had accidentally fallen out of another puzzle box, and belonged somewhere else entirely. A square amongst circles. This solitary pieces name, was Thomas.

While all engaged in fellowship and merriment, Thomas secluded himself to a remote section of the beach. Hugging his knees, he buried his feet deep into the burning sand as he sat and peered into the cloudless blue sky, wind tousling his long golden hair.

Thomas had just turned nineteen, and fresh out of high school he found himself completely lost with his life. Having no real goals, he frequently alienated himself from the world by resting by the shore and basking in the mesmerizing lullaby of the soft cooing waves. He would often relax by it, reflecting on his issues in a trance like state.

On this particular day, Thomas was in combat with his usual bouts of depression. He felt lonely, lost, confused, and hopeless. The sun beat rays of heat upon his long curly blonde hair, as the naive crowds paraded blissfully unaware of the blight he was conflicted with.

As he routinely pondered the familiar list of questions- Why am I here? What is the point? What are we doing?- something caught his eye, a floating object glimmered and flashed in the shallow of the warm light blue water. For the first time since 12'th grade science class, Thomas felt intrigued. It was a ways down the beach, an isolated area with a weak current, but he could see the reflected light jumping in random angles as the current carried the bobbing spectacle further down the beach.
Thomas decided to follow it.

He walked casually at first, almost hesitant. Filled with unsure negative under-thoughts telling him it was not worth it, it was probably just a piece of trash, he is wasting his time. But Thomas pushed these defeated thoughts out of his mind and continued walking. For a moment or two he thought he lost the object entirely as the waves thundered against it, submerging it under a wall of water for a brief moment of time before it floated back up and shot light so intense that Thomas was often reduced to squinting as he paced along. Soon, as the current got stronger, Thomas found himself uncontrollably breaking into a brisk jog. The sand clinging to his feet as the intense round ball of heat in the sky lay siege upon the weathered terrain. The sound of civilization becoming a faint echo, receding into nothingness as Thomas notices the looming rocks and cliffs protruding from the beach ahead, growing in his rapid approach.

Thomas begins sprinting.

The beam begins to swiftly float around a rocky bend and out of sight. Thomas starts to feel a jolt of panic as he is forced to stop his run in front of the rocks. His hair stuck to the sweat of his forehead, he waits and catches his breath. A sticky trickle runs down his face. The only sounds are the curious gulls and the shuffling ocean.

'Well, I have come this far' Thomas thought and began climbing the rocks, carefully placing his feet from boulder to boulder. The sharp coarse rocks hurt his feet, but Thomas was intrigued. Thomas was intrigued. Nothing could stop him from accomplishing his mission. He was determined.

Fleeting vapors of rainbows painted the sky as the waves slapped against the rocks, spraying a coat of salty foam that washed over the jagged stones, drenching Thomas in the crossfire. He didn't mind. He had spent his life by the ocean, and he was fully prepared to give it. After what felt like hours, Thomas reached the bend. His heart was skipping as he turned the corner to follow the path of the current. The stream was being swallowed by the deep mouth of a cavern. A faint light reflected off the water granting phantom ripples to caress the cold stony walls. An inviting warmth was emanating, beckoning Thomas to enter. He could see a stationary glow coming from within the cavern. His mind screamed ' That must be it!' as he stepped foot inside of the rocky dome.

After a few minutes -what felt like seconds- of walking, the cove reached a dead end and Thomas arrived at the source of the light. A brilliant bright white bottle with a cork in the top floated in a big pool at the end of the cave. The build and crash of the waves echoed down the walls of the narrow corridor, but Thomas paid little notice. The pool upon which the bottle rested in was crisp and clear, as though there were not a speck of dirt or sediment within the entire body. Looking upon it was like looking into the soul of the earth, clean and transparent of an otherworldly quality. Though the pool was sharp in quality, it was also deep. So deep that he could not see the bottom. This puzzled Thomas, as leading up to the pool the stream had been very shallow and rocky.

Putting the thought aside, Thomas reached in and plucked the bottle from the holy water. Immediately he noticed how little the bottle weighed, as if it was made of paper or didn't exist at all. It gave off a warm glow that tingled his soul the way that a smell or taste can trigger the golden memories of happy childhood days. This dazed him momentarily as the light gave off a blanketed his eyes with peace and wonder. A smile twitched at the corner of his lips, but only for a moment, like the passing wave of an old friend - here one moment and gone the next. The glass jingled. There was something inside of it, something hard. It rattled about like a rock or a marble. He could also see a scrolled up piece of paper,shielded from the water by the dry corroded cork on the neck of the bottle. Without a thought in his head he uncorked the bottle and read the note:

Dear traveler,

If you are reading this, then you have found my bottle and have entered my cove. There is still magic in this world, and with a little luck you have found some. Keep this bottle safe as it is the messenger between our dimensions. With it I have entrusted my signature, a tear from the ocean. Remember, all tears runs to the sea, and no matter where this pearl may travel it will always find its way home.

Yours, Sirene

Thomas was bemused. He didn't know what to think about the letter. But as he shook out the remaining contents of the bottle, a shiny round pearl fell into the palm of his hand. It was a creamy pink beauty that made his heart sink. The smooth texture felt easier on his skin than the finest fabrics he had ever felt.

Feeling he might never let the pearl leave his hand, he spent the next couple of hours looking back and forth between the heavenly pool and the empty bottle that was still giving off a spiritual radiance.

Finally, Thomas decided, it was time to go home.

He spent half the night without sleep, tossing and turning in a restless tango trying without success to remove his mind from the events of the day. Finally he had enough. He returned to the pool in the dead of night, using the glowing bottle as a lamp to guide him, and placed a new message in the bottle. Corking it, he cast it into the salty foam that swirled about the cavern. At first it just bobbed above the surface like it had before, but then slowly it began to sink. Soon it was completely underwater, it continued to descend until its glow was no longer in view, swallowed by the dark blue depths. Greatly relieved, Thomas's head was asleep before it hit the pillow.

The next day, though it was overcast, he skipped breakfast and immediately left his home to visit the cove. Moving as quick as his feet could carry him, he wasted no time. Standing in front of the cavern, he could see a faint glow from deep within. In minutes he was out of breath and standing at the gulf clenching the bottle in his cold wet hands. A familiar clink noise bounced off the glass walls of the jar, as the bottle gave off its usual light. Shivering from the head to foot, Thomas read the note inside. It was a reply, riddled with warmth and excitement. Thomas repeated the process and tossed the bottle back in later that night, and the next night, and the next night. Each time a message and a new shiny pearl. The dialogue continued back and forth and he could feel the sourness wringing from his heart like someone squeezing a sponge filled with vinegar.

Thomas was falling in love.

Every morning all he could think about was going to the beach, and every night writing his letter. This happened for many days, he would wait in the cold of winter or the rainy spring.

But one day, in his haste, he became over eager and fell while he was traveling. His heart froze as he heard the shattering sound of his magic bottle dashing against the rocks. Instantly its illuminating light vanished and it became just ordinary worthless glass. He could feel his heart skip a beat as he fought off an almost overwhelming urge to panic. He gathered the pieces and for a second the deranged thought entered his head that he would be able to glue it back together, then he thought about just weighing the note down and throwing it in but then he remembered that the paper was not magic, only the bottle.

The rush back to his house was a blur, he didn't even recall grabbing a bottle from the cupboard and bolting back to the beach. Next thing he knew he was standing at the precipice trying desperately to get his note to sink but to no avail. After he tied a rock to it he threw it in, but he waited days and got no response.

A week later, Thomas stood at the mouth of the pool. In his last desperate idea, he had hundreds of pearls strapped to his body. Satchels and bags wrapped around his legs, his shoes and pockets filled with the round pink jewels that were weighing him down.

The words echoed in his mind "tears of the sea"

He looked down into the depths.

"Remember, all water runs to the sea, and no matter where this pearl may travel it will always find its way home."

"Home" he said. "I'm coming Sirene".

Thomas jumped.

Sea of Pearls