Chapter 33: The sea
He woke to the sound of water crawling up and down a sandy shore. A mild, salty breeze blew against his face, gently tousling strands of his black hair.
Soft, warm sand shifted under his weight.
Opening his eyes, a vast expanse of dark blue water stretched before him. Grey, craggy rocks jutted out of its near shore and the sand around him.
He was at the beach.
’Again.’
Miles froze at that thought.
’I can think?’
A weird sense of lucidity settled into him, instinctively informing him that he was dreaming. Yet the world around him remained stable.
Bits and pieces of every time he’d had this dream surfaced in his memory. It had always been hazy.
Pushing himself off the sand, he found his body feeling completely fine. A sensation that struck him as odd.
He was meant to be hurt. He was always hurt.
Standing on his feet now, the slight warmth of the sand made his toes tingle as he looked properly at the world around him.
A grey sky lay overhead, shrouding the world in a drab blanket. Below it lay an endless sea, and, now that he’d observed properly, the rather small beachfront on which he stood.
It could’ve only been twenty meters wide at most, with only six or seven meters separating him from the sea.
Behind him was a sheer cliff, made of the same dark, craggy rocks that surrounded him. It spanned nearly the entire length of the beachfront, only curving at the very end where the beach also curved.
Both hid anything that lay beyond them.
The sky rumbled, making him turn to face the sea again.
Dark clouds gathered in the distance.
Looking down from the coming storm, he noticed a figure standing much further into the sea. A woman dressed in a white gown.
She somehow stood only knee-deep in an ocean that looked at least a hundred feet deep. Her dark hair whipped around in the sharper winds down there.
He couldn’t see her face. He knew she had one, but any attempt to identify her had the features blurring and slipping out of his vision.
The figure just stood there, doing nothing but staring at him from the water. He felt a strange pull towards her, a notion that only grew stronger the longer he stared at her.
He had to go see her. Who was she? What was she doing in an ocean that seemed so obviously cold? Was she alright?
She looked lonely out there.
Miles had already begun walking unconsciously. He reached the edge of the water quickly, moving to step into it. Yet...
"Miles!"
A woman’s voice called out before he could, knocking him out of his daze. He looked down to find the dark blue water mere inches from his feet, the cold from the droplets it sprayed on him enough to snap him to attention.
He shivered, retreating a few steps, before looking in the direction of the voice.
Standing on one of the dark craggy rocks around him was an equally dark crow. Its sliver eyes shining warmly at him.
"It’s been ages, hasn’t it, dear?"
Miles’s eyes widened. He ran towards it, arms outstretched.
"Miss Rose!"
It flew off before he reached it, escaping his grasp, then circled around him a little.
"Remember, Miles, no sudden touching."
Eventually landing on his shoulder, the bird nuzzled its head into his hair. Miles froze at the gesture, raising his hands towards her, before lowering them.
The bird chirped at the sight.
Finally, he was able to get the words out of his mouth.
"You... you’re real?"
She flew off his shoulder, landing on the rock before him. Twisting her head questioningly.
"Do I look fake to you?"
"I..."
Miles paused when he noticed her turning to face the ocean. Looking at the figure much further down there, the crow spoke in a wistful tone.
"I thought you’d forgotten about me."
"I would never."
He said resolutely. Miss Rose looked at him in surprise, before laughing, though it was more cawing in her case.
"Look at you, being so serious. You’re all grown up now. It’s fine, I’m here now."
She flew onto him again, this time nestling into his hair. Miles froze again, but relaxed soon after. He gently lowered himself onto the sand, looking into the sea much closer to him now.
Carefully, he raised his hand towards his hair and Miss Rose. She leaned her head into it, letting him pet her.
She cooed as he gently stroked her head, letting a comfortable silence settle between them. Only interrupted by the sound of small waves washing the shore.
They remained like that for a while. Eventually, Miss Rose spoke up.
"You know, you don’t have to pretend anymore. It’s all gone. That world."
Miles said nothing in response, merely stroking her head some more as he stared thoughtlessly into the sea. The crow shifted her head away from his hand, flying off his head and landing onto another rock in the distance.
His gaze followed her. The rock she perched on this time was much closer to the edge. Behind her was the point where both the beach and the cliff behind it curved out of sight.
Standing at that junction were three figures. Three he recognized very well.
Henry, Anna, and Jayce.
They all smiled at him from where they stood, each with the happiest, most welcoming faces he’d ever seen on them.
Anna waved.
"I won’t let anyone hurt you."
Miss Rose’s voice brought his gaze back to her. She stood on the rock, looking at the three coldly. She turned back to face Miles, a sad look in her eyes.
"They’ll only hurt you. They always do."
Miles remained silent. He turned away from all of them, looking back at the sea and the figure in the distance. Miss Rose settled in his hair again.
Finally, he spoke.
"What else am I supposed to do?"
Miss Rose fell quiet for a few moments before nuzzling her little head against his.
"We can figure something out."
A sudden, sharp scream shattered his dreamscape, and everything went dark.