Oceanna stood at the top of the cliff looking out over the sea. Her hair, a stream of liquid gold flowed in the wind. The sea crashed against the rocks causing a spray of salt water to hit her face. The salt water slid down her cheeks mixing with the tears and fell to the ground unnoticed. She stared into the ocean, not hearing the waves, not seeing the blue....just thinking. All her life she had been deserted, first by her mother when she was a baby. After she had been moved from foster home to foster home, it felt like no one wanted her. The first one had been the worst, her foster father had hit her and abused her and raped her. The second one always wanted to touch her. The only time she felt happy was when she was swimming. She felt safe in the water and no one could hurt her. Her problems were left on dry land and she was free for awhile. Lately, it seemed like her problems were getting worse. She couldn't stand it anymore. The foster home she was in now, wasn't that bad. She just steered clear of her foster parents when they were drunk. She often wondered if it was fate that put her in all these bad foster homes.
She breathed in the salt air and thought about the dreams she had been having. They were always the same everytime. A voice would call to her, whispering her name. And when she opened her eyes to answer she found herself in the water. She tired to find the source of the voice, but everytime she came too close, she would wake up. Every night the dream came to her like a comforting friend, keeping her safe, holding her close, taking her away from her problems. She felt like the whole world was weighing her down. The cry of a sea gull brought her out of her thoughts and back to the cliff. She remembered the reason she was standing there in the first place was because her foster parents had been drinking. She moved closer to the edge of the cliff and stared down into the sea. She closed her eyes and breathed in the air.
"Oceanna..."
Her eyes flashed open and looked around. It was the same voice from her dream.
"Oceanna.." it called again.
"Where are you? Who are you?" she yelled into the wind. Deep in her heart she knew that the voice came from the ocean. Before she could think she leaped off the cliff and dived into the cold waters. The water stung her eyes and the cold pierced her body, but she swam deeper and deeper. Finally she was out of air and she started to panic. Oceanna fought to swim to the surface. But she could feel herself getting sleepy and then blacked out.
A soft touch woke her and she found herself in the arms of a man? She looked around her and saw that she was surrounded by water. Panic seized her and she clawed at her throat and then realized she was breathing normally. "Oceanna.." The voice that had been in her dreams was that of the man that was still holding her.
She looked at him and something seemed vaguely familiar. Something that had been part of her long ago.
"Welcome home." The memories flooded into Oceanna, and she cried, this time the tears were not of pain or hurt or from being scared. They were tears of joy, finally she was safe, she was home..