Long ago, on the eastern coast, there stood a magnificent house overlooking a crystal, blue ocean. This home stood two stories high with vines growing up and around it, cloaking it with vibrant shades of green that bounced off the light yellow walls.

The family that lived in the pleasant home, were unquestionably tight- knit. They always carried out fun activities, such as riding their bikes down the beach side, feeding animals in the yard, and going on family outings. They were close, except for one of them.

Young, Victoria the oldest child at the age of eighteen, often opted out of these family trips. She always thought doing things on her own was better since her parents and she never saw eye to eye, there was always a slight tension in the air when she was around. Victoria didn’t follow the same religion or morals as her family and this often times caused quarrels that resulted in further tensions lingering around them.

While her family was out one day, she decided to pack up a blue and white coloured beach bag and lay down on the sandy shore of the ocean. She made a neat little place for her towel and snacks, and stood on the toasty sand as she surveyed the water from her secluded spot.

Small waves tumbled elegantly over one another as a gentle mist floated up on the soothing breeze which engulfed Victoria where she stood. In awe of the sight, she let a smile arise on her face and began to ease her way down and into the refreshing water.

She repeatedly dove under the salty liquid, allowing her body to curl into the belly of the waves safely, then emerged a little further off shore. Victoria lay on her back in the water, sadly attempting to balance, trying to be further warmed by the sun light, but something made her feel a little uneasy.

There was a persistent thought in the back of her mind that told her something was not right, she proceeded to swim back to shore, but as she did so she noticed how hard it was to get to land, it was as if she were being pulled out to sea.

Victoria’s mind swelled with fear and she tried swimming parallel and diagonal to the coast, but nothing seemed to be getting her any closer to shore, she was only drifting more to sea with each struggling stroke. Finally out of breath, she floated atop the water, wishing to feel the warmth and softness of the sand between her toes, but as soon as that thought occurred it disappeared for she was being pulled under and out to sea.

With her arms and legs struggling now more than ever to keep herself above water, she glanced over her shoulder and saw that she was being pulled out into the ocean by a giant vortex of water. Victoria quickly adverted her eyes as if it would make her terror disperse, but the sounds of whooshing water lingered and her panic began to set in.

“Help! Help me!” she cried out as water tried to submerge her, “HELP!” and with her final words uttered she was brought to the edge of the vortex and quickly plummeted to its bottom.

Eyes closed tight, gasping for air, Victoria wished the water would take her already instead of playing off of her fears, but it was then that she was enveloped by a warm, tingling sensation that made her feel as light as a feather. Air was upon her and she opened her eyes to see the faint glow of pink around her, but this was indeed no ray of light from the sun, such as the beauty of a sunset, but merely the glowing hue of a giant bubble that encompassed her whole and allowed her leeway to move around a bit.

Breathing in the sweetness of the air she sat gently on the bottom of the bubble, then she saw in the distance a large dark shadow getting closer, and as it inched towards her the shadow split into four, and finally she saw eye to eye with what it was.

Four sea people it seemed, who where all so behemoth in size that the bubble in which young Victoria stood, was merely the size of their palms. One dark haired creature picked up the bubble and focused it’s green-blue eyes on the girl and dropped in a bottle of glowing blue seaweed.

With a voice that sounded like crashing waves, the sea person boomed, “Eat.” and so Victoria did just that. She twisted the cork out of the bottle he let in and eyed the glowing seaweed, then ate it. As soon as she finished the last piece, she felt all the hunger, thirst, and weariness leave her body.

Another sea creature spoke to Victoria saying for her to go back to land and thus the bubble which incased her popped and Victoria appeared on the same shore where she was last bathing in the sun.

Victoria looked around, noticing her stuff was gone and rushed home down the beach. It wasn’t until she was halfway down the beach when she looked around at her surroundings and saw buildings towering up as far as the eye could see. There was no more wildlife along the shore, only building after building towering into the clouds above.

“Oh my…” Victoria muttered as she looked up in awe and worry. She ran faster to where her home was , fearing something awful had happened to it.

To her surprise it was still there, but in ruins. The little patch of wilderness left consumed the house, and the once perfect paint was torn to shreds, and windows were busted out leaving nothing but darkness to peer into. Young Victoria’s heart sank and questions about what had occurred grew in her mind.

Victoria turned away from the sight and glanced down the beach and saw a person not too far from where she was and ran down to him.

“Excuse me Sir? My name is Victoria, uhm, do you know what happened to the over grown house down there?” Her voice was shaky for fear of his response, and the older man turned and glanced at her with curiosity.

“Sure I do, quite a bit back ,20 or so years I think, that family lost their little girl. They found some of her belongs by the shore down a little ways, but they never found her.”

Victoria’s heart fell out and eyes began to water.

“That family lived there for a very long time, thinking maybe one day the ocean would just spit her out I guess, but it never happened. Eventually, they all died out from heart disease and one of them died in a hurricane I believe…not quite sure though. Only what I heard”

With sadness inching in and coldness surrounding her body she asked, “And what of the buildings? Why are they here?”

The older man both in shock and disbelief replied, “For housing of course! The elite have the top of the building ‘cause they think the closer to the heavens, the more godly they are, the poorest ones live at the bottom.”

Victoria turned and walked away from the man, not knowing what to do she sat down in the sand with her home behind her. She tossed sand on her feet and stared off at the ocean, which had no been littered with pipe lines that she could only assume contained wastes of sorts.

Her world had been completely changed, it seemed so unreal, some how she’d have to come to terms with it, but it was too much at once. All she could do for the time being was sit and gaze at the beauty that forever changed her life and listen to the sounds of crashing waves and recall what had happened.