I've been sitting here for hours...One...Two...Three... and uh...can't remember when I got here, but it was around the time the sun rose. I've been watching the sky, as the colors kept blending into one another—a beautiful transition as the day began.
What have I done all these hours? I wonder... I've been... collecting memories. Lying on the sand. The beautiful seashells, washed ashore by the wilderness of the waves. I picked one—a dark, rich, vibrant blue, like the one I had on my necklace, the one I lost long ago.
The waves kept touching my bare feet as I walked. The tips of my white dress were wet. I sensed a sharp pain in my lungs as I inhaled. Must be a cold, I thought... Maybe my chest muscles and lungs were stiff from sitting in the same spot for hours, frozen and tense since last night.
Why, though? I can sense all those questions you're asking. Why here? Why am I here, sitting on the coastline of this beautiful view, lying on the sand like a dead fish drifted from the depths of the ocean...
Anyone seeing me like this would probably think I am some sort of mermaid, wearing this magical dress that I still don't understand—why would such a dress need such a sophisticated description, as if a non-fashionable person could understand?
I remember asking the ladies at the boutique for a simple, elegant, preferably modest white dress...
"Oh yes, madam! We have the perfect ones for you! You seem so fit, any dress here would just look perfect on you and your height! We've got...body con dresses, halter neck dresses, and—"
I looked utterly confused. She read my face—experienced in her field, while my clueless smile gave it all away...
"...but I think there's one that would fit you perfectly... The mermaid dress. It's one of our new collections. The price might be a bit steep, but the details are exquisite. The 'I' is similar to the 'H', but significantly deeper... If it flares from the middle of the shin, it's called a mermaid cut..."
I glanced. I tried it. I liked things simple, yet elegant. This was it. Just a beauty. I thought it would match my newly bought accessories—the ones I'd thrown away into the loud waves, as they suffocated me all night. Anyone finding them would probably think they'd hit the jackpot...
I kept watching the waves, as they hit my body. Facing the water. Couldn't feel my body anymore. My legs felt like stone. Impossible to move even an inch. Paralysed to death. Maybe this could be the end... Hypothermia.
"Now listen carefully," Mrs. Edson used to say during lectures, trying to fill our tired first-year faces with practical knowledge. "A patient going through hypothermia should be taken to a warmer area immediately, covered with clothing after ensuring no open injuries. But before acting, ensure your safety first—that's the golden rule!"
What to risk now? I am the one lying on the cold ground, my heartbeat slowing, blood barely flowing... my body shutting down. What use is all that if I can't even help myself?
A dog barked, echoing over the waves—a black dog. I could partially see it, blurry, as I lost all sense of space. Lost in space. Lost in time.
"She's right there!" a man shouted. Or was it? The dog sniffed around me, as other men approached. These weren't ordinary people—they were officers. One held my wrist, pressing fingers against my cold skin, checking for a pulse. Nothing at first.
"Anything? Should we call the medical team? Is it too late?" one asked. I doubted they even saw my half-open eyes... or maybe they assumed I was already gone.
The same officer pressed his index and middle fingers on my neck. Seconds passed. Then... a faint beat. A rhythm. A pulse.
Pulse...Pulsars...
Some bright stars that light up the darkness. They are called so because the oscillations cause their light to pulsate, emitting regular pulses of radiation. How beautiful is our night sky... if only we digged deeper instead of fighting pointless conflicts.
I was more than excited reading about these stars. The first exoplanets outside our solar system were discovered due to pulsars—scientists measured the durations and brightness of the light, noticed a repeating blockage, and deduced mysteries far beyond a pulsating star...
The discovery of exoplanets—the Nobel-winning revelation of 1992 that changed our perspective: We are not alone.
A pulse. And the miracles behind a pulse. Life. Existence.
"She has a pulse!" — indeed I exist. I am still here. How could I write this story if I weren't?