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I regainit pulse beneath my skin with the s at o To melt into the water and submit to the power of the ocean

Damien, I think, certain that I have found hirace and beauty, and the reason I cannot find hime to come to him

I relax and give in to his sensual lure, letting the water tug me down, down, down, until my entire body is below the crystalline surface I open my eyes and realize that I can see all the way to eternity The world here beneath the waves is vibrant and alive, an explosion of colors despite the darkness of night above I watch in awe as an orange and red coral reef rises above ements

I have forgotten to breathe, and I panic, then realize that breath is not required at all This is where I belong Here, in the nether land Here, where Damien surrounds me

Except …

Except it is not Damien I feel around me Not his comfort, nor his warmth On the contrary, I feel cold Lost

Most of all, I feel afraid

A little frantic, I search the ocean I want to cry out, but the water presses against me, and I cannot My heart pounds a fearful rhyth the sea to churn

I reach to steadyfor purchase and finding none I try to cry out, to beg for Damien to hold me, but no sound comes out

And then I see him, and my heart twists

He is standing nearabove the water while his feet are planted in the sand I watch from my odd perspective beneath the water as the waves buffet him He reaches out a hand At first I think it is to steady hi forward, my own hand extended I can almost touch him Just a little bit closer …

My fingers brush his, and I almost ith relief—and then he is pulled away, the current taking him, and I cry out in horror as I try to swim toward him, only to find the way blocked The reef, the wildlife, the tide Everything in this new universe is conspiring to keep us apart, and when they finallybut ocean as far as the eye can see

No! No, I can’t have lost him!

I open my mouth to screale, rising, and suck in air, s I a facedown in front of me

I do not hear the screa through the water, trying desperately to reach his side I do not kno, but my arms end up around him, and then we are on the beach and I aive hi him to please, please, please come back to me

But he doesn’t He just lays there, cold and wet, staring up at me with eyes that should twinkle like the stars but now are as flat as stone

“No!” The word is ripped out of ive up Not able to even conceive that he could be gone

I press ive hi to bring him back to o on without him

But there is nothing

Despite