CINCO
Ondine
Past
The sunlight had hidden behind the mountain, and the sky was dyed with a dark blue that peeked through the library's windows. Despite the falling darkness, the place remained warm from the lamps that embraced the furniture and books.
In the last aisle of the library, in that forgotten corner few dared to venture, where if one wasn't mindful of the closing time, they could become trapped in an eternal night, Christopher and the mysterious woman in the crimson beanie were sitting.
The place was narrow, with no exit at the other end, barely containing a sofa, a lamp resting against the wall, and a window through which the rain trickled, cooling the atmosphere.
Sitting on the floor, leaning against the bookshelves, the woman opened the notebook and read aloud the paragraph Christopher had written the day before.
"At the brink of my execution and amidst the sea, my journey through the cosmos begins..."
Present
Christopher arranges the branches with which he covers himself and, in the warmth of the sun, continues reading:
"...beyond logic, beyond time."
Past
Christopher handed her a pen, and she accepted it. After a brief pause, she wrote:
"While I relentlessly battled the sea until the depths turned into the surface..."
19th Century
The afternoon was advancing in La Ciudad del Sol in 1870. Christopher ran through the rain at full speed, heading towards the sea along the beach. Raindrops collided with his face and soaked his clothes made of cotton and cashmere, while his boots filled with clumps of wet sand. Behind him, unintelligible shouts ordered him to stop, but he didn't obey and continued entering the sea with giant strides. The water soon reached his waist, and he turned to check the movements of his pursuers.
Three civilian infantrymen hurriedly arrived on the sand; two were corporals, and one was a sergeant. The corporals formed a line and aimed their rifles.
"Fire!" ordered the Sergeant.
The guns erupted like thunder. Christopher submerged in the water just in time, avoiding the bullets that whizzed over his head and pierced the sea like fleeting torpedoes. He resurfaced and began to swim strenuously against the raging waves.
"I wanted to see what lay beyond on the other side." she continued in the notebook.
One wave rose higher than expected and struck Christopher, obscuring his vision.
“...to explore.”
He tried to regain his swimming position amidst the chaos that surrounded him, but the current was relentless and wouldn't let him reach the surface. Soon, he needed to breathe. The instinct of survival overcame him, overpowering his despair. He started swallowing large mouthfuls of water, struggling to stay afloat.
Suddenly, the sea granted him a momentary respite, and he managed to float long enough to catch a breath. But before he could do anything more, a treacherous and silent wave engulfed him with force, swallowing him down.
Meanwhile, the corporals kept firing and reloading their weapons under the orders of their superior, Sergeant Francisco, a man with a mustache and an unjoined beard. Observing with a firm and stern gaze, he waited for the fugitive's fate to be death or a severe wound if he emerged from the water. After a while, he raised his hand and ordered the firing to cease. He waited patiently for the lifeless body to surface while ignoring the rain that pelted his face.
Underwater, Christopher watched the marine surface desperately. The waves created orbs colliding, enveloped in effervescent bubbles, while the shock's force kept him submerged. Despite struggling and fighting, he ran out of strength, and his body succumbed to the current.
Sergeant Francisco decided he had waited long enough; no man would endure so long underwater, and he ordered the corporals to withdraw. The men mounted their horses and galloped away in search of shelter. The sergeant cast a final glance at the sea before mounting his own horse and riding away.
Meanwhile, Christopher sank into the sea like a falling sword. He was still conscious and had his eyes open, but he only had the energy left to close them, surrendering to the depths.
Suddenly, he managed to hear a faint melody that he thought came from beyond. It was like a divine chant resonating in every particle of his being. Could it be the sea's embrace towards the afterlife? He recognized a female voice; perhaps it was a water nymph or even an angel.
He made an effort and half-opened his eyes. His blurry vision distinguished the sun's rays penetrating the water with a gray-black gradient. He moved his eyes to find the source of the sound, which seemed to come from all directions.
He decided to take a random direction and attempted to make a move, then the sea pushed him. A current gave him a nudge, facilitating a weak and slow dive. The waters provided him with speed, forming a stream that started carrying him to the surface.
The silvery waves dragged him to the shore. He rolled and ended up on his back. His lungs felt the air and began to shudder. Water gushed from his mouth. His body convulsed, expelling all the liquid he had swallowed. He coughed and gasped for air on his knees until he regained his breath. His sight, which had been sprinkled with small black dots, began to recover, as did the natural rhythm of his heartbeats.
He could then observe that he was on a small sandy shore, surrounded by boulders at a short distance. The tide began to rise, and Christopher stepped back until his back hit a medium-sized rock. Clinging to ledges, cracks, and crevices, he began to climb, with the sea waters touching his heels.
He reached the top and rolled onto the surface before another wave hit the edge with fury. He pressed himself behind a stone, facing away from the sea, and took a breath while feeling the fatigue from all his effort. He let his back slide down until he was sitting. He looked towards the coastline that extended on both sides and felt relieved to be close to the shore.
As he regained his energy, something on the dark and small rock across from him caught his attention. Was it an arm? He moved to get a better angle of view, but the rock blocking his sight was thick and tall. He stood up and walked to the edge for a better look. He thought it might be someone who, like him, arrived thanks to the sea and needed help. When he managed to get a better angle, he identified that it was indeed an arm. The skin was delicate and lay against the rough surface.
Christopher cautiously descended the edge of the cliff, defying the merciless waves that lashed at him. He found a firmer position and secured his grip. Then, that arm led him to a delicate and fragile figure, whose long, silky hair waved with the tides. It was a woman, unconscious and at the mercy of the sea's fury.
Without hesitation, Christopher plunged into the water and began swimming towards her. Despite the waves dragging him in all directions, sometimes making it seem like he wouldn't reach her in time, the driving force within him was unstoppable.
He finally reached the continuous rock and, with a swift motion, climbed to the top, where he saw her again. There she was, trembling at the edge, about to fall into the depths of the sea.
A voracious wave sheltered the woman and carried her away to swallow her, but at that moment, Christopher arrived and caught her by the arm. He clung to her with all his strength as the tide continued pushing them towards the edge of the slope. The deafening sound of waves crashing against the rocks melded with the thunderous sky and Christopher's labored breath, all while the wind blew furiously and the waves raged.
He wasn't going to allow her to be lost at sea.
He made another effort and pulled her closer, but a massive, murderous wave formed in front of him, ready to separate them. Then, with a strength he didn't know he had, he clung to the woman and the rock, preparing for the impact. The wave struck them with all its violence, covering them completely, the impact felt like hundreds of metals tearing through them.
The wave lost its strength and retreated, leaving Christopher and the woman exhausted on the rock. He was still holding onto her while his body trembled from tension and effort.
Gently, Christopher took her in his arms and carried her out of danger, placing her on her back on a safe spot on the rock.
He knelt by her side and checked her vital signs. Fortunately, everything seemed fine, although the woman's naked body was covered in bruises. It was then that he noticed something strange, something that left him astonished: the fascinating figure of that woman, beyond her charming hips, had no legs but... a mermaid tail!
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