Seen

Waves of cool, salty water lapped at the edge of my bare toes, then my legs, then my torso as I sprinted into the ocean, following... something. I could see it but I couldn't, the iridescent shimmer sparkling beneath the surface of the water just in front of me, close enough to touch but too far away when I tried. I was up to my neck now, still following the thing in front of me, but I couldn't stop. I had to know what it was, part of the curse of being human. The undiscovered depths of the water below intrigued and terrified me at the same time as I followed the flash of light under the surface that was luring me out into the ocean. "What are you?" I whispered quietly, swimming after it.

A wave crashed over my head, making me sputter for breath. I had never been this far out by myself, and fear swelled up through my blood, causing me to move faster. My brain warred with itself, debating if I should flee back to shore or capture the shimmer trailing in front of me.

Another wave leaped from the surface of the water, seeming to be a few meters in front of me. But it grew in size, cresendoing until it was as large as anything I had ever seen. And it was coming straight for me. The wall of water smashed into my frail human body, sending me spinning and tumbling down into the deep water below. I held my breath and tried to swim back up as it battered into me again and again, relentless in it's attempts to remove the intruder from its body. Fire raged in my lungs, burning and burning until I gasped for air - but met only water. The salty taste made me cough, taking in only more water until I felt myself starting to lose consiousness, blacking out. A featherlight touch on my hand was the last thing I remembered.

And then I woke up. I opened my aching eyes warily to see the blue sky above... and below me. Surely this must be a dream, surely this must be heaven. "Hello?" I whispered, and reached my hand up to feel the misty clouds above.

"Hello, Rosinda," a strong, clear voice replied, sounding like a chiming bell. I started, and looked around to see where the voice was coming from. It echoed from a figure underneath me, a light body that shimmered almost like something I remembered seeing once but couldn't quite place. As I stared at the figure, it started taking shape, forming wings and a bright aura that shrouded the rest of it.

"What are you?" I asked, awe filling my voice. "Why did you lead me here? Am I alive?"

The voice chuckled with a sound akin to the beautiful plucking of a harp. I'm a spirit. And you're here because you could see me."

I gasped. "A spirit?"