Charming Waves

     Waves crashed over the girl's body as she dove towards the bottom of the sea. Pushing at the water with her hands, she darted through the water as if she herself were a fish born to swim through the ocean. She admired her surroundings as she swam, looking for all the world as if she had never seen the glorious world under the water. In fact, this particular young lady might as well have lived underwater, for she visited as often as she could and loved every minute of her visits. She enjoyed nothing more than swimming endlessly under the water, often pretending that she was a mermaid able to live with all the sea creatures and even rule over them. It made her swimming much more enjoyable.

     Unfortunately, this visit was short-lived, for her mother grew increasingly worried about her lengthy stays below the surface. With a mental sigh she headed back for the surface world, already missing the submerged universe she was leaving behind. As her head came above the waves, however, she was startled to see a boy sitting on the shore, staring out at the horizon. She cautiously swam towards the beach, trying to avoid contact. But before she could quietly escape across the sand, she tripped over an unusually large shell and face planted into the sand, alerting the boy of her presence. As she lifted her head and spat out the sand that had found its way into her mouth, the boy giggled before pushing himself to his feet and making his way over to her.

     "Hello there, Miss Grace," he teased, still chuckling at her less-than-gracious fall. She stopped only to glare at him before attempting to wipe her tongue clean. "I am sorry; I did not think I would meet anyone else out here, especially at this time." He nodded at the now setting sun. "Are you alright there?"

     She only nodded her head and stood up, twisting as she brushed herself off as best she could. He stared at her expectantly before trying again.

     "I do not believe I have seen you around before. I am called Eric. I would much like to hear your name, if I may?" He seemed so sincere as he waited for her response. For the first time she really looked at him, disbelief and sadness filling her eyes. The most popular boy in her entire school was asking for her name, no doubt about it. She had not recognized him at first, but there was no mistaking it now. Eric, the charming, handsome boy who spoke so eloquently and stood so proudly, he had earned the nickname "The Prince" from his peers and numerous fan girls. The Prince did not seem to know who she was, so she simply looked down and pushed sand around with her foot. Eric's expression changed from expectancy to puzzled as he continued to watch her.

     "Excuse me, but it seems I am confused. Why will you not answer me? Do I have something on my face?" He quickly ran his hands over his face and brushed himself down, hoping to make himself look more presentable. Realizing what she had done, the girl quickly looked up and frantically waved her hands, trying to get him to stop. When she finally had his attention, she extended her neck and moved her hand to the base of her throat. She tapped her hand lightly as realization slowly struck the boy and his face changed to a more serious expression.

     "Oh, I see. You have no voice," he whispered, his eyes sadly looking into her own. She nodded slowly and dropped her hand. "Please accept my apology, I did not mean to be so rude." He bowed slightly and offered an arm out to her. "Would you care for a companion on your walk out? I would feel bad if I watched a girl leave on her own, especially since it is getting quite late."

     She hesitated at first, wary of his intentions, before taking the proffered arm and setting off for her house. He smiled and once again tried to strike up a conversation.

     "Well, since I really would like to know your name, would you mind if I tried guessing? It could be fun for both of us," he suggested. She looked at him with a curious expression before smirking her approval. He grinned back at her.

     "Alright then. Does it begin with a vowel?"

     She shook her head.

     "A consonant, eh? Well then, how about a T?"

     The game continued, until he finally discovered her name: Lailah. After his success, he started asking other questions, about her life, her grades, wondering why he had never seen her before, and anything else he could think of. After a while, street lights overhead turned on and their conversation died down. They walked on in silence, until finally the Prince spoke once more.

     "If I might be so bold as to ask, were you born mute?"

     Lailah shook her head sadly. One of her favorite things to do before her voice had left was sing, and she dearly missed it. She had loved it almost as much as swimming, and other people would love it just as much. She used to sing for her family and neighbors at least once a week at neighborhood get-togethers, and she had always been praised. Now, though, her voice was gone, possibly forever, and all she had left was the comfort of the ocean.

     "I see," was all Eric could manage to say. He dropped the conversation and the mood surrounding them suddenly grew very awkward. Before long, Eric cleared his throat and tried again.

     "I saw you while you were swimming. It seems you are a natural. You really do enjoy it, do you not?" He paused temporarily and waited for a nod in approval before continuing. "A few years back, I accidentally swam out too far, thinking I could manage it. I fell beneath the surface and could not make it back up. When I really thought it was the end, a girl came out of nowhere to grab me and pull me back to the surface world. I passed out soon after, so I do not remember many details, but…" He trailed off and turned to face Lailah. His eyes searched hers deeply, looking for answers, and she blushed lightly from the sudden attention.

     Suddenly she looked around and realized they had finally reached her house. Her face grew sad to match her current mood, knowing they'd have to part and he could claim later to have never seen her before. She really had enjoyed their time together. Eric then started speaking, cutting off any other thoughts she had.

     "A beautiful girl saved me, but I never heard who it was, only that she sacrificed something in order to save me. I have never loved anyone so much as she, but have yet to find her," he continued, placing a hand under her chin and lifting her face up to meet his own.

     "It was you who saved me, wasn't it?"