This a short story I wrote my Senior year of high school. It's a little melodramatic, but I like it :) and I hope you do too!
Lily gazed across the clear blue sea that she had known for so long, her dark hair sailing in the wind. The ocean had been her only true friend. It would always calm her whenever she dared caress its course skin of sand with her feet. Lily could speak to the ocean without speaking, and it would always understand. It would always soothe her with its haunting chant. She would sometimes let it carry her far away so they could contemplate together even more privately. Other times Lily would simply let the ocean massage her tan skin as it lapped gently up and down her body. The ocean was the one thing Lily truly loved and the only thing that truly loved her back. The ocean would never complain, whine, or reject her.
A cold hand suddenly touched Lily’s shoulder and rudely awakened her from her meditation of solitude. Lily did not react or turn her head. “Lily,” her mother said, quietly. Lily did not move. “Lily, it’s time to go now,” her mother said more loudly. Lily didn’t budge. Her mother sighed. “Lily, I know this is hard, but we really need to leave now,” she said again. Lily slowly tilted her head to one side, still looking straight ahead, to indicate she had heard. She heard her mother’s feet stride easily away through the sand.
Then, she heard a crunch of a shell and felt another presence behind her. This time she turned around. “Hi,” she said unemotionally to her childhood friend, Bobby. Bobby sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. Bobby looked into Lily’s face and dark brown eyes. All the sadness in the world resided in those eyes. Lily turned away. She couldn’t bear to look at Bobby like that, especially at a time like this. Bobby admired the ocean, their home, with Lily a few minutes before speaking. “New York can’t be that bad. I mean, you’ll meet a lot of cool city kids and get to see some of the tallest buildings in the world. Of course, the other kids won’t be as cool as me, but what can I say?” Bobby chided. Lily scoffed and nudged Bobby in the ribs. “Ow! How can you hurt me like that?” Bobby said sarcastically. “I’m gonna miss her,” Lily choked. “Yeah, we had some great times on that boat of ours didn’t we?” Bobby replied quietly. “Remember how long it took us to build her?” Bobby asked. “Mmhm. I remember. Three months, two weeks, one day, four hours, and 32 minutes,” Lily said chuckling. “I still can’t believe you timed us,” Bobby smiled.
Lily had always liked Bobby’s smile. He had the most perfect teeth, and they went great with his green eyes. His eyes always reminded Lily of the ocean after that big hurricane when they were both three. So deep a green, it was the most beautiful thing Lily thought she had ever seen or would ever see. His hair was bleached by the sun, and his face was always a little pink from forgetting to put on more sunscreen after surfing for five hours. Yes, she always thought, he has to be related to the mermaids. Now as she looked at him, she was absolutely positive he had mermaid blood coursing through his veins. Little Mermaid had always been her and Bobby’s favorite movie. She had always wanted to be Ariel, but knew she looked more like Prince Eric. Yes, she was definitely human, and Bobby was definitely merman material.
“It’s just not fair,” she said. “I know,” Bobby replied. Lily laughed, glad that Bobby could not read her thoughts. “What?” Bobby asked confused. “Nothing that concerns you,” Lily said grinning. Bobby sighed and rolled his eyes and took his arm from around her. Lily shot back once again to reality; this was the end. This wasn’t just another day on the beach with Bobby; this was goodbye. “I can’t do it, Bobby,” Lily whispered. “I can’t leave here. Everything I knew and grew up with is here. This is my heart and soul right here, Bobby,” Lily said trying desperately to restrain her tears. “I can’t…” Lily trailed off. Bobby looked at her. “I can’t leave you,” Lily blurted. Bobby looked at the ground and said something Lily would never forget, “Take The Tear with you...and never forget me.” “No, Bobby, I couldn’t do that to you,” she said finding it harder to stop the tears from flowing. “Where could I sail her? Where could I set her free?” she asked desperately. “You’ll be in Manhattan, you know. She’ll be able to see Lady Liberty,” Bobby replied.
The Tear, the one drop that remained afloat in the millions of tears of the ocean. Lily and Bobby had been pretty darn proud of themselves inventing that name for their creation, their pride, their joy. Many times it had safely and faithfully carried them to their secret isle about four miles off the coast. She had held together rather nicely and sailed faster than Bobby and Lily had thought she would. “Wow, we’re actually going two knots with this thing,” Lily had said stopping the measuring rope with her fingers after Bobby hit the stopwatch. “It’s because I’m manning the sails,” Bobby had said jokingly. The Tear was…home.
“No, Bobby,” Lily said, “You need her as much as I do.” Bobby remained silent. Lily knew he wouldn’t keep her. She heard the start of her family van somewhere behind her and the clunking of the pick up truck as it connected with The Tear. Lily realized Bobby had already made the decision a long time ago to let the ship go. Lily looked into Bobby’s face, a single tear running down her cheek. “Please don’t do that,” Bobby whispered. He reached up to wipe the tear from her face, but the tear ran quickly down her skin and into his open palm. Lily gasped mournfully and Bobby looked at his hand. Lilly got up and walked briskly away, leaving Bobby and the ocean behind her. Bobby got up and watched her figure walk determinedly away, his hand still wet with her tear.
