Lara Stood frozen in the clearing her body still tinging with the after shocks of the mermaid's touch.The fog around her head thickened, Wrapping everything in a dense,heavy silence.Her mind was racing,trying to make sense of what had just happened.She felt different —changed in a way she couldn't fully understand.
Eira's finally caught up to her,breaking heavily,his eyes wid with a mix of concern and disbelief."What....What was that?" as voice was shaking,like he wasn't sure whether to be terrified or awestruck.
" I don't know", Lara whispered,her eyes unfocused as she tried to piece together the fragments of the mermaid had shown her.Thr vision. had been overwhelming,a flood of images and emotions that left her feeling both awed and fearful.The sea—Its ancient power,It's depth,it's secret had become a part of her.She could feel it now,a pulsing rhythm in her chest that matched the break of her heart.
"You don't know?" Elias pressed, grabbing her by the shoulder,trying to bring her back to the present "Lara, you're scaring me.You — what happened to you?"
Lara's gaze met his ,her eyes wide with a mixture of wonder and confusion."I don't know what happened,Elias.But I—" she paused,he breath catching in her throat "I felt it.The sea it's calling to me. And I can't ignore of anymore".
Elias faced paled,his grip tightened on her arms.
"this isn't just some dream,Lara.this is real what ever you've just gotten involved in it's dangerous the myth—they weren't just stories".
Lara's pulse quickened as eh yri d to make sense of his words.the Myth.The mermaid's the ancient creatures that once ruled the seas out the curs.haf been place flac r on their village long ago.The had always been dismissed as supernatural just stories to scare children. But now, standing in the lingering energy of the mermaid's touch Lara realized that those stories were for morethan fiction.
"I have to go back",She said suddenly shaking off his hands."there's something I need to find.Something I need to understand"
"No", Elias said sharply his voice filled with urgency."You can't go back.Yiu don't know what you're dealing with".
"I have to,Elias", Lara insisted,her voice steady despite the storm of the emotions raging inside her "I can't feel it.Ite inside me now.Whatever this is,I can't walk away from it".
Elias open his mouth to protect,but then his expression softened.He could see it in her eyes—thr determination,the pull of something for beyond their understanding.Anf despite his fear,he knew that there was no stopping her now.
"fine", he said quietly,his voice resigned
"But you are not going alone".
Lara shook her head,graceful for his surpport but knowing that yh path she had to walk was one dh would have to face alone,at least for now."You can't come with me.I don't know we're this will lead.Buy I promise I'll come back".
Eira's looked at her,torn.He wanted to keep her safe,to protect her from whatever danger this new found power might bring.But deep down,her knee that Lara was no longer the same person who had walked into these woods hours ago.The sea had marked her,and now there was no running back.
With a heavy heart,he nodded...."I'll be waiting for you,Lara. Don't forget that"
Lara smiled faintly, a bitter sweet smile that didn't teach her eyes.Sh turned and walked away,her steps sure and purposeful,her heart beating in time with the rhythm of the sea that called to her.
As she made her way back towards the village,the mist slowly began to lift, revealing the path ahead.Yhr pull was stronger now guiding her toward something she couldn't
Yet comprehend.Yhr sea was a vast and my sternal place ,it'd depth full of secrets and dangers.But hana wasn't afraid.Noy anymore
The village lay just beyond the forest,it's warm light flickering in the distance.
But as she reached the edge of the woods,hana stopped. The village was no longer where. She belonged. the life she had know,the people she had grown up with it was all fading away.The ocean,the creature that called it home,and the power that now
Thrummed through her veins were her future there was no escaping it
she looked back one last time at the village,at the home she had always known,and then turned towards the sea
The sea was waiting.