A white bird is flying in the clear sky. The clouds are thin like faint strokes of a paintbrush. Vee closes her eyes while her floating body blindly catches the bubbly waves. Her heartbeat is muffled but strong under the water.
Every Saturday for three months now, she goes to the beach 30 minutes away from her apartment and just floats for another 30 minutes until sunset. This has become Vee’s thing. She was suggested to find a place that brings her peace, and she chose the ocean. She opens up to this mysterious kingdom and trusts that her burdens unload and sink to the bottom. She’s happy she took the advice. Her boyfriend, Kent, drives her but never accompanies her on the liquid couch.
The sound of a bottle cap awakens Vee from her half-asleep state. Kent is gulping down beer, sitting on a foldable chair. The hazy sun is visible from his square sunglasses.
"Whoa! Straight to the soul!", Kent exclaims checking how much he has drunk in a single breath. "Want some?"
Vee motions her hand upward and then shakes twice.
"OK. So um… when’s the interview coming?", Kent asks, putting down the now empty bottle. His voice is loud so he could be heard the first time.
Vee is quiet for a while, but a wave splashes on her face and she’s forced to stand. The water’s up to her neck.
"They haven’t reached out to me yet," Vee answers, brushing her hair away from her face.
"Oh. Well, maybe they will soon do now that you haven’t been there for a month".
"Yeah. Maybe", Vee replies, trying so hard to see her feet in the cloud of sand. She wants to float again but the water grew unwelcoming. She walks a little closer to the shore until the water is below her chest.
"You know, Vee, that’s the thing about these companies. They want the perfect people. They want you smart, good, and stable… in here," Kent points to his head.
"I think I am," Vee says before submerging her whole body for a couple of seconds. She catches herself thinking. What if she’d disintegrate into thousand bubbles or rise back up and be transported elsewhere?
"I know, baby. Of course, you are. But these people don’t see the difference between being crazy and just… talking. The people in this place, you know... they judge immediately if they hear about it", Kent explains with a bottle opener in his hand. He is ready to grab his second beer.
"It felt good though. I just needed someone to listen and... not judge. It’s not that I’m going crazy. I was just trying to make sense of things," Vee responds, trying so hard so her body isn’t pushed by the constant attacks of the water.
"I didn’t say you are going crazy. I’m just telling you those guys won’t give you a chance when they already decided you are a burden", Kent says. His eyes are now away from her and fixed on the black bird passing by.
The word stings the moment it went to Vee's ears and the aftershock pierces even more when she sees a black screen with just a word at the center--- B-U-R-D-E-N. Echoes are racing their way from the deepest of her memories. She drifts in time. She touches her forehead. It almost burned her tiny palm. A smack is heard and the radio stops talking. Footsteps are approaching. Vee opens the door to her room to see who’s coming. She sees her mom with a bag halfway closed.
"You stay here, Veronica."
A tear drops from her eye, forever lost in the vast ocean. Her surroundings start to seep back to her senses.
"D-do you think I’m a... burden?", Vee asks, hiding the cracks in her voice. She can't look straight at Kent. Her sight goes down to Kent's tank top. It is new. Orange. I hate orange.
"No...no, of course not, Vee. Why would I be here if that’s what I think?" Kent defends, now looking at her. His body leans back on the chair. "I’m just here. I’ve always been here. If you need someone to talk to, you know I got you. We could even hit Ivan's place or Nina's and drink some beer, and have fun, like normal happy adults, yeah?"
Vee doesn’t answer. Her body is tired from grounding her feet in the sand. She seizes to fight. Eventually, she lets her body freely sway. She’s brought again to where the water is a little deeper. Her arms relax and her head lays back in the flowing cradle. The pounding of her heart dies down into a solitary rhythm. She closes her eyes and the water goes over her gently like her favorite blanket.
Kent stands up and folds the chair.
"It’s time, Vee."
She slowly opens her eyes. She gazes at the serene glow of tangerine under the spying night sky.
"You go ahead. I’ll stay a little longer."
The sky isn’t burning today. At the back of her mind, she caught a glimpse of an off-white calling card in the pocket of her jacket. Dr. Galvan.