The ocean always fascinated me.
I don't know why, but something about the tides just… made sense.
The way they rose and fell, pulled back and returned.
It calmed my brain when nothing else did.
Sometimes, the waves even felt like they were answering me. Like they breathed when I breathed.
Living near Bondi Beach in Australia? Big bonus.
I ran along the shore every morning, letting the wind slap my face awake before boxing class. Salt in my hair, sand in my shoes — the waves became my routine. My background noise. My safe place.
Funny, isn't it?
The same ocean that made me feel alive would be the one to drag me under.
Hello. My name is Elara.
And this is the night everything in my life cracked open.
---
Classes ended late. I rolled my bike out of campus half-dead from lectures. My shoulders hurt from drills the day before—my coach had apparently decided that "rage potential" meant punching until my arms fell off.
I was halfway down the hill, imagining ice packs and leftover noodles, when someone called.
"Heyyy, boxing champ, whatcha doing tonight?"
Of course it was Mia.
Her voice always sounded rehearsed, like it lived inside a ring light.
Mia was the kind of girl who could post a photo with seaweed on her face and still go viral — blonde streaks, fake tan, lashes for days, always smelling like coconut body spray and expensive regret.
I didn't even have time to fake a smile. "Mia. Hey."
She practically bounced beside me in those blinding white sneakers, all high-energy and lip gloss.
"Guess what. We're going on a yacht tonight!"
I stared at her. "We?"
"Yeah! The girls. Me, Tanya, June, maybe Kassy if she stops pretending she has morals. And you, obviously."
"I have an assignment due tomorrow."
Mia rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You'll survive. It's just a chill party. No guys, no drama. Just us and the ocean breeze."
"I'm not really the party type."
"You don't have to be. Just show up. Wear something pretty. Let people realize you exist."
She laughed like she didn't realize she'd said something sharp.
"Seriously though, you've been ghosting all semester. Don't make me guilt-trip you."
I was already tired, already sore. I didn't have the energy to argue.
"What time?"
"Dock at six. Wear something flowy." She grinned. "No gym clothes, I swear to God."
"Fine."
"Yes!" She spun around dramatically. "You won't regret this!"
---
I got home after six and didn't have the strength to clean up my room, which looked like a battlefield. Boxing wraps on the chair. Half-dry laundry on the bedpost. Notes everywhere.
The only normal thing was the photo on my shelf.
Gran.
Holding tiny-me at the beach.
Me laughing like I'd never seen real pain.
Her looking like she could stare down storms and win.
"I'll be fine," I told the photo. "It's just a stupid boat party."
She didn't answer, of course.
But for a second, the room felt a little warmer.
A little less empty.
Like if she were still alive, she'd say, "You better come back in one piece."
---
I changed three times.
First dress: too much skin.
Second dress: too much anxiety.
Third outfit finally worked — black jeans, white crop top, and a jacket I could tie around my waist.
Casual.
Not trying too hard.
Not invisible either.
Lip gloss. Waterproof mascara. Done.
When I zipped my small pouch, a strange tightness crawled across my ribs.
A pressure like invisible fingers whispering, Are you sure?
I ignored it.
If I listened every time my gut twisted, I'd never leave the house.
---
The taxi ride was silent, but the closer we got to the water, the heavier the world felt.
City noise faded.
Streetlights thinned.
The air cooled — not just sea-breeze cold.
Something deeper.
Like the ocean wasn't just there.
It was waiting.
When I stepped out of the car, the yacht glowed with string lights. Music thumped faintly. The sky above was a fading mix of pink and deep blue.
A warmth brushed over my skin.
Soft. Intentional.
Like a touch I couldn't see.
I shivered and convinced myself it was just the temperature.
---
"ELARA!"
Mia's voice could shatter glass.
She sprinted over, glitter dress bouncing like she was filming a vlog.
"You look so cute!" She hugged me one-armed. "Come on, the others are inside."
"I didn't realize there were 'others.'"
"You'll love them."
Her smile was too bright.
Too perfect.
I followed her anyway.
People I barely knew lounged on the deck, drinking, posing for photos, shouting over the music. Someone yelled "fighter girl??" and Mia introduced me like a circus act—this is Elara, she boxes, she's scary haha!
I slipped to the railing.
The sea stretched out — black, calm, endless.
The longer I stared, the stranger it felt.
Like the water was watching back.
A wave slapped the hull harder than the others. Water splashed my hand.
A gentle warmth bloomed across my chest.
Like someone whispered, You're not alone.
I gripped the rail and exhaled.
Hallucination.
Has to be.
---
Time blurred — lights, music, too much noise.
Then a smaller boat pulled up beside us.
Three silhouettes climbed up.
Zeke.
Ari.
Dani.
My lungs froze.
Mia's smile flickered, then snapped bright again.
"Oh! Look who showed up!"
I stared. "Why are they here?"
"Relax," she said. "Old friends reconnecting. Don't be weird."
Old friends.
Sure.
They were the reason I ate lunch in stairwells.
A sharp twist pulled beneath my ribs.
I looked at the water one more time.
The surface rippled — too sharp, too precise.
Something underneath shifted like a shadow turning its head.
Watching.
Waiting.
For what, I didn't know.
But I felt it.
In my bones.
In the warmth pressed against my ribs.
Tonight wasn't a party.
It was the beginning of something the world had been holding its breath for.
Something the ocean had been waiting for.
✧𓂃⋆༶⋆𓂃✧