| The Vision |
| Now Kevin worked at DisneyWorld before joining our quintet. He used to laugh and say mermaids existed for he saw them all the time at Disney. Now being the naive 13 year old I was when Kevin joined us, I believed this older man. He obviously knew what he was talking about. He was wise and experienced and apparently full of shit. I never saw a mermaid so I thought Kevin was jerking my chain. Until now. We were all on a private island in the Caribbean, each of us doing our own thing. Except me and Brian. Brian and I like to do things together whether it be lounging in the sun or playing basketball one-on-one. That day, however, we were tossing a football around on the beach. It was here where I saw her. Or at least thought I did. Brian ran down the beach and I threw a long pass which he caught with ease. Brian threw the ball back, but just as it left his hands, I thought I saw something...or was it someone....sitting on a rock in the middle of the ocean. "Heads up, Nick!" I heard Brian shout. But it was too late. I lifted my eyes just in time to see the ball...two inches from my face. It smacked me in the face before I had the chance to react. "Nice hands, Nick," Brian said as he ran toward me, a tiny smirk on his lips. "What was that all about?" he asked. "I saw someone, a woman, sitting out there on that rock," I answered, pointing to the lone rock. Nobody was there. "Um...yeah. Okay, Nick. Whatever you say," Brian replied. I could tell he didn't believe me. And to tell you the truth, I was beginning to doubt it myself. Brian and I turned to walk back to the car, but I couldn't resist checking the water one more time. There she was!! Poised on the small rock, looking back at me. Her long chestnut hair flowed behind her in the breeze, some strands whisking across her face. We stared at each other for only a moment more, but in that moment my eyes drank her in and etched her into my memory. Her shiny, beautiful hair. The silky slope of her neck to her shoulders. Her young, ample breasts rising and falling softly with every breath she took. Her ocean blue eyes intensely stared back at me as if she, too, were imprinting me into her own mind. "NICK!" Brian yelled from the top of the bluff where our rental Jeep was parked. In the second I looked away from the goddess who had captured my attention, she had vanished into thin air. Disappearing once again and leaving me to doubt her existance. But when I recalled her image from my memory, it was too vivid, too real, to ignore. I knew that even I couldn't have imagined this beauty from the sea. "Nick, if you wanted ot take a quick dip before we left, you could have told me before I walked up the damned bluff!" Brian said somewhat angrily as he approached me. That's when I realized that I was standing in the ocean. The cool, salty water soaking my jeans. The waves lapping at my knees. "Jeez, Nick! You weren't looking for that 'girl' again, were you?" Brian asked, making quote marks in the air with his fingertips. I didn't say anything. I just turned and began walking toward the Jeep. The last thing I needed right then was my best friend ridiculing me. 'She wasn't there! She wasn't!!' I tried to force the thought out of my head as Brian and I silently drove back to the secluded cabin area at which we were staying. After dinner we all sat outside on the patio facing the ocean, sipping ice tea or tropical coolers. No one spoke. Just enjoyed the cool evening breeze and the sound of the crashing surf. It had been a long day for everyone. Between recording and writing, working and playing, the life had basically been drained from our bodies. Except mine. I couldn't get the ocean girl out of my head. I so desperately wanted to see her again. "I'm going to hit the hay," Howie said, standing up from his chair and stretching his arms over his head. "That sounds like a fantastic idea, D," Brian said in return. He, too, rose to his feet and walked into the cabin to his room. AJ lit up a smoke and both Kevin and I shot him a somewhat dirty look. "Okay! I can take a hint!" AJ said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. He stood up and walked to the edge of grass, just where it hits the sand, and sat down to enjoy his cigarette. I sat next to Kevin nervously twisting the gold band around my right middle finger. I wanted to tell him about the beauty I'd seen earlier, but I didn't have the courage to bring it up. "Something bothering you, kid?" Kevin asked, looking over at me. I sighed. "Kev," I began. "Yeah?" Kevin asked, suggesting I continue. "Kev...I'm going for a walk. I'll talk to you later," I said after a brief moment of hesitation. I rose to my feet and hopped down the stairs toward the beach. I walked for what seemed like an eternity but what I realized was only a couple of miles. I spotted a dock in the distance and began jogging toward it. That's when I saw the little rowboat tied to the end. I knew it was wrong, but I had to see if she was real. So I stole the boat and headed out to sea. |