lifeline; meg

She dances ever so swiftly, her gentle currents tempting those who catch sight of her. Ribbons of silky liquid caress those who dare to enter - those who dare to be seduced and encompassed by her rich nectar. A game of tug war, the mortal vs the immortal. Home to millions of creatures, her contents feed and nourish even more millions. A gift by the gods - and maybe even a god herself. Dance with her - lose your burdens in her cold embrace. Lose yourself in her care.

Lorraine awoke with a sudden gasp, and - to her own horror - found herself drowning in the salty water. Drops of the ocean engulfed her emerald eyes, and she cried out to herself when her vision was blurred. Expecting even more of the deadly venom to enter her mouth when she screamed, she was surprised to discover her lips dry. With a trembling hand, she touched her face, and only parts of her skin were stained with tears.

Tears.

It was a dream. None of it was real. It takes Lorraine more than a minute to realize this, and that the water that soaked her clothes and bed was from the broken glass she had knocked down in her sleep. It was a dream.

But what was the use of waking up when reality became a nightmare?

She sighed and slowly sat up in her bed, the mattress creaking with her all of her careful movements. The view of the Sun outside, or rather, the lack of it, told the redhead that it was too early to be waking up. Even the seagulls were probably asleep. But sleeping was certainly out of the question - sleeping now meant to drown in her own petty sorrows. She rose from her bed and changed it's sheets and her own wet clothes, the only noise being the ruffle of fabric and her bare feet shuffling across the floor.

In mere minutes the sixteen year old was out of the house, walking down the road with goosebumps covering her bare arms. It wouldn't matter if she was with or without a jacket, though. In only an hour or two the Sun would be out and so would every citizen of District Four.

The beach was the only place she could think of going - the only place that held solace for her, but, all the same, it was also the place that held her in a tormented state.

The sand was cold, not yet heated in the Sun's rays. But, she buried herself in it nonetheless - a blanket that screened her from the rest of the world. Soon, the rest of the world would awake. Soon, she would have to hide her vulnerability with an artificial smile.

Maybe Lorraine was being too sensitive. Maybe it was time that she get on with her life. Maybe she should finally accept the fact that Rachel was dead.

But at my hands?

She shuddered. No, no her sister did not die because of her. Right? Was it her fault that Rachel was sucked in to an irreversible fate condemned by the ocean herself? The ocean - once a second home to Lorraine. The ocean - Lorraine's childhood lover. The sea was a beautiful creation in which every wave and current and movement synchronized with Lorraine's every glide, stroke, and dive. The ocean - a mother to Lorraine when her own had failed to support her. The ocean - a murderer who stole Rachel from the world.

She wanted to tear her hair out. She wanted to pull the sweet water piece by piece, to kill the ocean just as it had killed Rachel. She wanted to thrust sharp sticks and stones at the sea, watch it break apart from her wrath. But, the ocean is an immortal being. Every attempt at tearing it apart, every attempt at throwing petty rocks at it - it'd simply fall back together again, escaping without harm.