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I dreamed of Serena last night for the first time in three years. I thought it was over, but I woke up dripping wet, calling her name just like I used to do. I wish I could forget. I almost wish I had never known her. Serena and I worked together at Rutledge Oil Company. We were also roommates. We didn't have the problems most people have when they room together and I always had privacy when I had a date. I say "I" because Serena didn't date. It was crazy! I mean, I'm average-looking and I had dates, but Serena was beautiful and she never had dates. It wasn't that she was never asked; she just wouldn't go. She was tall and slim with long raven-colored hair and eyes like big chocolate chips -- the kind that shine when they begin to melt. Guys asked her out all the time, but she just wouldn't go. She was quiet, but not shy. She enjoyed everything a person her age enjoyed -- music, books, and sports, especially swimming. Lord, did she love swimming. It was almost as if she came to life when she got in the water. Her entire personality changed. She was daring; there was no dive she wouldn't try or any distance too great for her to swim from shore. And she would laugh and giggle like a child who has just been given everything he/she asked for at Christmas. To watch her, you would think she was out there with someone else; but she would be alone, having the time of her life. Naturally, being young and single, Serena and I would head for the Coast whenever we had vacation time or a long weekend. I would pack eye-catching bikinis; Serena would pack whatever came to hand first. She didn't care what kind of bathing suit she had on just as long as she could get in the water. When she dived into the water, it was -- you can laugh if you want to -- as if the water welcomed her. Crazy, huh? I could stand in the water's edge when strong waves came in and they would knock me down -- I mean right down on my behind. Not Serena. The waves would roll in; but when they reached Serena, they seemed almost to stop and rub against her like a cat does when it wants to be petted. I'm serious! I watched it happen time after time when we were at the beach. It was a little spooky. Then, in the summer of 1982, it happened. We had scrimped and saved to go to the islands for our vacation. Needless to say, I bought clothes accordingly. Serena? She just bought a new bathing suit. She wasn't going to impress anyone; she was going to enjoy swimming in the ocean. Usually, I was the one who was excited when it came time to leave. But that time, Serena was like the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof, nervous to the point she couldn't be still -- very unusual for her. I mean, I was excited; but all she could talk about was the water and how good it would feel and how she was going to stay in it "forever." As soon as we were settled in our room, Serena put on her swimsuit and headed out the door. All I wanted to do was sleep, but not Serena. And I let her talk me into going with her. The water was cold and a little rough so I only stayed in a few minutes. Serena never even looked back as I returned to the beach and stretched out on my towel to get some sun. Other people were all around, including a couple of really great-looking guys who seem to be unattached so I lay on my stomach and watched the scenery. Serena, meanwhile, was thoroughly enjoying herself, alone, in the water. She would float for a while, dive under, and when she surfaced, it looked as if the water was lifting her into the air and then setting her down ever so gently. I fell asleep and must have slept for about an hour. When I woke up, I had quite a shock. Serena was out in the water with a man! I couldn't tell much about the guy; but, hey, if Serena was interested in him, he had to be something special. I remember thinking how the sun reflected off their hair and bodies so that I couldn't tell where they stopped and the water began. Oh God, if I had only known. From that day on, Serena spent even more time in the water, only now she was not alone. Every time she went swimming, he was there. I tried to get her to invite him to dinner, but she would just shrug and say, "Not yet." I teased her about letting me meet him; she would just smile. So I figured if she wanted to keep him a secret, that was her business. I was just glad she had finally met someone. Oh God, if I had only known! We had only one day of our vacation left when she came into my bedroom and announced that she was not returning home with me. She was going to stay there on the beach. "You mean near him?" I asked. "It's the same thing." she said, laughing. Then she asked me to go swimming with her one last time. When we got to the water's edge, she turned to me and said, "Good-bye." Puzzled, I asked, "What do you mean?" "I'm going to him," she replied, pointing out over the water. I looked in the direction she was pointing and, at first, I didn't see anything. Then -- I swear I'm not crazy -- the wave rushing toward us transformed into the shape of a man! As Serena began to move toward him, I caught her by the arm. I tried to tell her he wasn't real, that the sun in our faces had created an illusion. Then I looked at her again and my blood froze. Her face had the radiant glow of a woman in love who has seen her beloved coming for her. She moved farther out into the water. I started crying; my hands were shaking as I reached out for her, begging her not to go. But she just smiled at me and walked on out into the water. That 's when I really started doubting my sanity. As the waves licked Serena's body, she seemed to be dissolving. The "man-wave" reached her and I saw what touched her outstretched hands were merely extensions of the water, not really hands and arms. I watched in horror as they both melted into the water. I don't remember getting back to the beach. I must have passed out because the next thing I knew, one of the lifeguards was holding me and trying to calm me. He told me that I had come back to shore screaming for help, that something had happened to my friend. Others were in the water, diving for her body; but I knew they were not going to find her. After what seemed like hours, they came back to shore and told me that her body had evidently washed out to sea. I began to laugh and cry at the same time as I tried to tell them what happened. They thought I was hysterical and didn't believe me. A woman in the crowd helped me back to my hotel and tried to tell me that I had watched my friend drown and that was all that had happened. I really wish that were true. I could live with that, but I know that isn't what happened. The next morning, I went for a walk along the beach before leaving to catch my plane for home. I don't know why I went. Maybe I hoped that I had been the victim of a cruel joke and, by returning to the scene, I would find everything normal and Serena and her friend would be there laughing at me. As I walked along crying and trying to make some sense of what had happened, I heard someone calling my name. I looked around but saw no one. Then as I turned and glanced back over the water, I literally became rooted to the spot! There they were, coming toward me! Serena called to me, telling me not to be afraid. I was paralyzed; I couldn't speak and I couldn't move. She asked me to come to them; they couldn't come to me. In a daze, I walked out into the water to meet them. I reached out to touch Serena, but there was only water! Serena spoke. "It's only natural," she said, sensing my confusion and, yes, even terror. "Natural to whom," was all I could think of to say. My voice must have betrayed my terror because she continued in her soothing tone. "I'm not lonely anymore, now I have a mate." "What kind of mate, though?" I asked. She laughed, ""Can't you just be happy for me, knowing that I have found someone to love and to spend my life with? I am happy, you know." I begged her again to come home with me. " How can you be have a life with something that isn't human? He is not real, can't you understand? I don't even know if you are real anymore." I cried. She laughed again. "I'm as real as I was before, even more so now that I am in love." she said softly. Then they were gone. Once again, they had merged with the water before my eyes. Slowly, I walked back to the hotel, numb. I went back to my hotel, caught my plane, and came home, still in a state of terror and shock, knowing that it was true, but unwilling to face the horrible reality of the entire ordeal. I felt like someone who had been drugged. I hated to go to sleep at night, knowing I was going to dream and see Serena in the water with that "thing." I would wake up screaming and crying. Even sleeping pills didn't help. I have not been to the beach anywhere since that time. I can't bring myself to look at a large body of water. My heart pounds and my palms sweat just to think of having to go near the beach. What if I went back and they came to me again, just as before? What would I do? The thought of seeing them again terrifies me. I don't think my sanity would survive it a second time. Sometimes I'm not sure it has survived this time. Maybe someday I will get up the courage to go back. I had thought the dreams were over. Until last night -- I dreamed of Serena again. ---------------- © Lavelle Cannon ---------------- email Ms. Cannon at holstein@b2k.net ### |