Thunder flashed across an island, veins of light stretching across the dark sky as everything began so suddenly. Screams echoed, followed by a heavy rumble coming from the sea, and then… silence. It all ended as quickly as it began, leaving behind only a quiet void.
A figure cloaked in black robes walked along the lonely beach. Their steps sank into the damp sand as they gazed at the restless sea, waves rolling in and breaking against the shore. The tides rose and fell in a steady rhythm, but their eyes soon caught something else… a wreckage scattered across the sand.
The figure pulled back their hood, revealing the young face of a woman with faint markings along her cheeks. Her dark hair clung to her skin from the mist of the sea breeze as she slowly approached the broken remains of a small boat. Planks of wood were splintered and washed up in pieces, seaweed tangled between them.
She froze.
Among the wreckage lay a boy. His clothes were torn and soaked, strands of seaweed clinging to his body. His skin was pale, lips blue from the cold. For a moment, she thought he was gone.
Her heart jumped. She ran forward, dropping to her knees. Covering her mouth in disbelief as she glanced around the empty beach as if hoping someone else might appear looking for him.
No one came. Slowly, she leaned close, searching for any sign of possible life even if it appeared hopeless...
There! His chest rose—faint, weak, but still moving!
Quickly, she turned him on his back and pressed her hands against his chest. Again and again, she pushed down, trying to force the water out the boy and restart his heart back to life. The boy's body jerked suddenly, his eyes squeezing shut as he coughed violently. He rolled to his side, retching seawater, his small frame trembling with each ragged breath.
Relief washed over her.
Without a word, the woman slipped off her cloak and wrapped it around him. The fabric hung loose on his thin body, but it shielded him from the cold. Carefully, she lifted him into her arms, cradling him. He seemed so fragile, as if he had been torn apart by the sea itself...
Looking up, she noticed the dark sky shifting. Clouds thickened, thunder rumbling again as flashes of light ripped through the heavens. A storm was coming fast.
Tightening her grip, she turned away from the wreckage and quickened her steps. The tides crashed harder, chasing her heels as she carried the boy away from the shore. She didn't look back, even with the wind tugging on their bodies.
The sea had delivered this child to her—and she knew, somehow, that her life would change because of him...