So I recently came with this story inspired by prompt #196 Guilt. No matter where you are, you might have listened to this kind of situations where some lives could have been different if vices were not around.
Perhaps I was about to make my tuna sandwiches—I can't quite remember now—when in the distance I could make out the sound of the waves against the cliff, followed by hurried footsteps splashing in the puddles of Sandiefar.
As fast as I could, I grabbed my shotgun and under the taciturn sky of the village, I walked shirtless out of my little house—furious—to disappear any thief.
“Mr. Mill, it's a young lady from the village, she's drowning beyond the Shell Ground lighthouse,” shouted an unknown teen whose face, almost hidden by golden curls, barely kept from blowing away in the gloom wind.
I almost had a heart attack. Another Sandiefar girl drowning. My daughter had already drowned a year ago. A terrible drunkenness prevented me from saving her when a storm hit the shore.
"You came to the wrong place, miss. I couldn't save my daughter, let alone anyone else," I replied as I tried to shoo her away.
"But Mr. Mill, it's a life in danger, and you're an experienced sailor. Besides, she was screaming the name Dhiei like crazy," the girl retorted in great distress.
I could hardly believe my ears. I felt like it was another one of those hyper-realistic nightmares I used to have since Dhiei died. It was all so overwhelming, I couldn't hold the conversation any longer and ran away to my little beach house.
An unfathomable sadness burned in my chest, slowly burning my existence from head to toe. I could barely be conscious of what I was doing. From staggering and tumbling all around me, I began to crawl to get one last sip to save me.
Yes, it was there, untouched. It was the bottle of Great Old Rum and its sweet aroma of cinnamon cedar. My spirit lifted, and I drank vehemently what was left in the bottle.
I prayed to God that this drink would be the last in my life. Instead, it became the first of a new one.
"Mr. Cedric Mill, it's the Sandiefar police. Open the door at once!" I heard several times behind the front door.
I think I managed to sit up then, but I couldn't move forward and open the door. That's why I saw how it fell in front of me and several uniformed men got into.
"I'm already in jail. I know I took two policemen from the village in the past out of revenge, but the storm and the useless coast guards took my beloved daughter Dhiei from me," I preempted any police claims.
"Mr. Mill, you will be released from house arrest if you help us save a life," said the biggest among them.
“My daughter already died, I don't care,” I replied dryly.
Suddenly, among the police officers, a woman came out. Her face was familiar to me: dry cheeks, short and sharp nose, as well as a forehead as wide as the sea itself. At first, I wondered who she was.
"Cedric, Dhiei would not have wanted a friend of hers to die as she did. Have some of our daughter's heart and save a life," she surprised me by speaking so firmly, confirming to me that it was my former partner, Valery.
I couldn't believe it or understand it. What Valery was doing being a cop. My actions had not been the right ones, but her becoming a Sandiefar officer was another disgrace added to the recent long list, further discrediting our daughter's death.
In any case, I was destined to do what was asked of me. Perhaps it was the drops of sweet rum that served as the engine to reach the shore, perhaps Dhiei's vivid memory to rescue her friend.
The sea seemed to swallow itself beyond the shore. The agitation of the water was matched only by that of the people who did not know what to do to save the girl who was fighting for her life already under the first rays of sunlight.
The young girl's head was barely sticking out. It was evident that her strength was dwindling to approach the sand and avoid the torrential sea fury that longed to swallow another victim.
Then, still stumbling, I plucked up my courage and with a medium-sized fishing net that was lying around, I jumped into the water. I swam as fast as I could. However, with each stroke I didn't seem to move much. The supposedly life-saving net was hindering me.
So, I left it behind and dove in, trying not to lose sight of the girl. Her restless legs were the sign of life.
I went and reached her, making of my last energies the great lifesaver to leave her as close to the shore as possible, even if I died in the attempt. This young woman's face of pain resembled Dhiei's, and I felt great guilt. My daughter was dying that time, and I was drunk. I thought maybe this girl would have a good memory of me.
After violent comings and goings on the beach, I was finally able to get her closer, to a level where the water was not so angry and high, so that the police could finish the rescue.
I couldn't take it anymore. I kind of lost my senses, and the sea, brave as it was, took its revenge by sucking me downstream. But, against all despair, I felt a sudden tug on my arm that pulled me out of that whirlpool, and I could breathe again. My back was being poked by the shells of the fishing net, and my face lightly slapped by several people.
Moments later, just as I landed on the gray sand of the shore, I saw a girl's presence shining beyond the crowd. It was the young girl with golden curls from earlier. Or so I thought.
When I saw her in more detail after she cleared her hair, I realized that she was, no more and no less, my beloved Dhiei.
A faint smile completed that beautiful scene and she waved goodbye waving her right hand before watching as the hovering mist seemed to envelop her more and more, and make her tender image, finally, a faint transparent gust of wind that joined the vast nature of the place.
I no longer cared whether I lived or died. The fact that I had seen her happy once again gave me the greatest peace in the world. This feeling and the beautiful rebound of the sun on the horizon, cleared any guilt from my soul forever.
I said goodbye to them with big hugs. I was really happy about what happened. My mood was brimming with joy, until I saw Valery.
"I only dealt with cops once. You're not welcome in my house anymore," I said turning my back to her.
“I know you look at me like a backstabber, but it's less shady than it looks,” she replied with complete calm.
I paused to listen to her excuse.
“After your revengeful outbursts against the police, I joined them, not only to try to settle your debt, but also to take care of any other teen dying in Sandiefar for whatever reason,” Valery explained in a serene voice.
I turned and looked at her remorseful face from which tears were flowing unceasingly.
“We were estranged so as not to kill each other in guilt—she continued—now we must be together to live again in love,” she finished saying before rushing towards me and joining her lips with mine.
That was a kiss that stopped time and made me believe that, even in the afterlife, Dhiei still had a positive influence on every aspect of our lives, just as when she was alive, probably smiling now to see her parents together again.
