A bright full moon filled the night sky. Thomas stared up at the sky, looking at all the stars. The ship beneath him cut through the water with ease, creating wakes. He seemed alone in the middle of the sea, but there was someone else. She was standing next to him. Her golden blonde hair flowing down her shoulders. Her deep red dress coming down just below the knee, and delicate lips that were always smiling. Aurora's bright green eyes sparkled as she gazed up at the stars. As Thomas looked at her, he looked down at what he was wearing. Black slacks with a blue button up shirt. Messy brown hair that almost reached his hazel eyes. As he stared at Aurora, he let out a sigh.
"What's wrong Thomas," Aurora asked.
"Huh," Thomas said startled.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. I was just noticing how nice you look tonight."
Aurora blushed and her smile broadened. Thomas looked down at sea. He saw the stars reflecting off of the water, but there was something he noticed that bothered him.
"Aurora. What's that," Thomas said and he pointed out across the sea.
She followed his finger and saw dark clouds. She shrugged, "It's probably just some rain clouds, nothing to worry about." A gust of wind blew and she shivered.
"You cold," Thomas asked.
"A little, I think I'm going to go inside." She stretched and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night Thomas."
"Night Aurora." He placed his hand on his cheek and smiles. He could still feel her lips on his cheek. Suddenly he felt something hit his hand. He held out his hand. It was just rain. Soon he felt more drops, then it started to pour. He was about to head inside the ships cabin until he heard something that made his heart drop. He looked up at the sky and saw lightning. Then he heard the thunder again. He knew that sea storms could be bad, really bad. He ducked inside the cabin and looked for the captain.
"Captain Surge! Captain Surge!"
A gruff voice came from behind one of the doors. "In here, boy!" Thomas pushed open the door.
"Sir, there's a storm out there, a bad one."
"I know, we have to keep everyone inside. But first, you and me need to grab some other men to go out there and tie down the sails." Surge marched out the door, Thomas followed close behind him. They gathered up five men and went back on the deck. The wind blew hard and the rain came down in buckets.
"Thomas!," Surge yelled, "Me and you are taking care of the main mast! The rest of you, take down those sails!"
"Yes Captain!" Thomas and Surge grabbed some ropes, tied them to themselves, and climbed up the mast. When Thomas reached the top he helped Surge up. Thomas reached out his hand and just before Surge could grab it he lost his footing and slipped.
"Captain," Thomas yelled. He flung himself over the railing and grabbed Surge's arm. He hoisted him up with all his strength and pulled him to safety. Surge fell into the small compartment. Thomas sat down and panted heavily.
"Thanks lad."
"Don't mention it."
"We need to take down the main sail!" Thomas nodded his head and followed Surge's instructions. "You use that beam to get across to the other side. When you reach the other side, pull up the sail and tie it down." Thomas nodded and stood up on the railing. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the beam. He reached down and wrapped his arm around the beam and dropped to his knees. He slowly started to crawl to the other side, having to stop every other inch as the ship rocked beneath him. He told himself not to look down, but the ship shook violently, forcing his eyes open. His stomach churned when he saw the vicious waves and the reflection of lightning in the water. He swallowed and continued to crawl over. Relief washed over him when he saw the other railing. He grabbed the edge and pulled himself over. He pulled the sail up and went as fast as he could. Lightning struck the water and shook the boat, and it almost threw Thomas overboard. He knew that he didn't have much time left so he pulled the rest of the sail up, tied it, and started to work his way back. When he got back to Surge, he collapsed. Surge looked at him oddly.
"You okay kid," Surge asked. Thomas looked up at him and nodded. "We should head back inside," Surge yelled over the wind. He bent down and helped Thomas up. They swung their legs over the railing and climbed down. They reached the deck and Surge patted him on the shoulder. "We better head inside, make sure everyones safe," Surge said. Thomas agreed and followed him inside.
"What do you think he'll say when I tell him," Aurora asked. Aurora sat in her quarters in front of a mirror and brushed her hair. In the room with her was her cat Sky and her good friend Isabel.
"How should I know? But I wouldn't worry about it too much." Aurora turned towards her surprised.
"What do you mean not worry about it? This is a very special moment for me. I've been waiting so long to tell him and tonight just feels right." Sky meowed softly and Isabel picked him up.
"I just want you to be happy, Aurora." Aurora smiled brightly and turned back to the mirror.
"I will be. I am going to walk up to him and say "I love you Thomas." Sky jumped from Isabel's arms and into Aurora's lap. She scratched his head and he purred deeply. She went back to brushing her hair when she heard a knock on the door. "Yes." A man stepped into the room. He took off his hat.
"Sorry to bother you miss. I was instructed to tell you that you must stay in doors. There is a terrible storm going on out there." Aurora stopped brushing her hair.
"Is everyone inside," she asked.
"No miss. There are some men out there on deck tying down the sails." Aurora sprang up from her chair.
"I have to go. Thomas might be out there." She rushed over and grabbed her coat. She put it on ad headed towards the door but the man stopped her.
"I'm very sorry miss, but you must stay inside. I was given orders to make sure everyone stayed inside."
Tears started to form in Aurora's eyes. "But I must tell him something, and I don't want to miss my chance. He could get killed!" The man just stood there, unmoving.
"I'm very sorry miss." Aurora made a break for the door but the man blocked and restrained her. She pounded on his chest with her fist, then buried her face in his chest.
"Please, please you must let me look for him. Im begging you!" The man looked away unable to look her in the eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I can't." Aurora pushed herself off of him, ran to her bed, fell on to it and cried.
"Storm's getting rough out there," Surge said, water still spilled from his jacket. Thomas nodded and brushed his sleeve in a failed attempt to dry himself. "Everyone should be headed in soon so if I were you I would put some dry clothes on. The last thing you want to do out here is catch a cold."
"Yes sir." Thomas went to his room and put on some dry clothes. The dryness and warmth of them against his skin made him yawn. He collapsed on his bed exhausted. Soon, he was fast asleep.
"Aurora. Aurora please, stop crying. Look the man is gone." Aurora picked her head up and looked over towards the door. She wiped off her face and picked herself up from the bed. She looked at Isabel and smiled.
"I'm going out there and I'm going to find him."
"Are you crazy? You could get yourself killed. Please Aurora, don't do this.
She glanced at the door again. "I have to. I must find him and tell him that I love him." She placed her hand on the door and paused. "Never speak of this to anyone. Don't tell him anything. Promise me, Bell." Isabel bit her lip. "Promise me," Aurora said more forcefully.
Isabel nodded. "Okay I promise I will never tell."
"Good," she turned the knob and looked back, "I'll see you when I get back." She closed the door softly behind her.
"If you come back," Isabel muttered.
Aurora crept through the cabin until she found the door leading to the deck. The door creaked loudly when she opened it. Her heart beat quickened, but she quickly slipped out of the cabin and out onto the deck.
"Thomas! Thomas," she screamed over the wind. There was no answer only the clash of thunder and the pouring rain. She stepped out onto the deck. "Thomas!" A bolt of lighting hit the water next to the boat, she screamed.
Thomas opened his eyes, the thunder had woke him from his sleep. He didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep. He sat on the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He jerked his head up from his hands. "Aurora! I hope she's okay." Thomas ran to the door and down the hallway towards Aurora's room. He flung the door open without knocking.
"Aurora, I just..." He stopped suddenly. Isabel lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Thomas? What are you doing here? I thought you were on deck."
"I was but we came back inside. Isabel, where's Aurora?"
Isabel burst into tears and sobbed hysterically. Thomas grabbed her by the shoulders. "Bell, tell me now! Where is she?"
Hiccuping she said, "She thought that you were up on deck, out in the storm. She's out there looking for. Thomas she's out there all alone, she could die. And if she doesn't find you soon, she's going to think your dead! " Horror spread across Thomas's face.
"Oh my God!" He ran out of the room and left Isabel crying on the bed. When he got onto the deck he started to shout. "Aurora! Aurora! AURORA!" He yelled as loud as he could but couldn't be heard over the wind and thunder. He walked further on the deck. "Aurora! Aurora!" He walked closer to the edge of the boat and saw a small shape standing up. "Aurora?" The shape didn't answer but it did step onto the railing. It shook vigorously and had long stringy hair in it's face. He couldn't see any features on the shape until a large bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and it's face lit up. It was Aurora.
"Aurora, please don't!" He ran towards her but was thrown off his feet as another bolt of lightning hit the side of the ship. He looked up and saw her staring at him for a brief moment, then she was tossed over board. "Aurora," Thomas screamed. He got to his feet and ran to the side of the boat. He leaned down over the railing. She was no where in sight. He searched frantically for her, but saw nothing. Just the violent churning sea beneath him. He banged his fists on the railing, fell to his knees and cried. "It's all my fault." He pounded the deck. Tired and heartbroken, Thomas collapsed on the deck and passed out. The rain still pouring onto him, he laid there as the sea began to calm.
A warm and bright light broke through the clouds and let the morning sun shine over the ship. Feeling the warmth on his back, Thomas opened his eyes. He squinted in the bright light and forced himself to stand up.
"Thomas!" He turned around and saw Isabel running towards him. She embraced him and held him for a long time. He wrapped his arms around her timidly. "I thought you were dead," she said tears streaming down her face. "Is Aurora okay?"
Thomas pressed her close to him and sobbed. "No, Isabel. She's gone. The storm tossed her off the ship. I looked for her but I couldn't see her body." They held each other, stood there, and cried.
"Did she ever tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Nothing. It's nothing."
"Please Bell, tell me."
"I can't, I promised. Right before she came out looking for you she told me never to tell you. I guess now you could consider it her dying wish."
Thomas shook his head. "I don't believe it."
"What do you mean?"
Thomas looked at her straight in the eye. He could see the fear and sadness in her eyes. "I don't believe she is dead. And I'm not stopping till I find her. I always dreamed that one day we could be together, hoping one day she would feel love for me. And I'm not giving up, I will never give up." Thomas pulled himself away from her and marched back to the cabin, determination flaming in his eyes.
Thomas burst through the doors to the captains cabin.
"Thomas, it's a miracle, your alive," Captain Surge exclaimed. He looked behind Thomas, noticing Bell on her knees, sobbing on the deck. He turned back to Thomas, a look of confusion appeared on his face. "What's wrong with Isabel?" Thomas just stood there in silence. Then the captain noticed something was missing. "Thomas, where's Aurora?" Thomas looked away but didn't say anything. Surge walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, lad." Thomas jerked away from him, never looking him in the eyes.
"She's still out there, I know she is. And I'm not giving up till I find her. We have to turn the ship around and look for her." Surge looked at the ragged looking man standing before him, and pitied him. He was hurt and wanted to help, but also knew there was nothing he could do.
"Tom, it's impossible. No one could've survived that storm with those waves. Odds are she's resting at the bottom off the ocean. I'm sorry but you have to accept the fact that she's dead." Thomas grabbed Surge by the collar of his shirt and brought him close to his face, their noses almost touching.
"Don't you ever say that! She's not dead and we are going to find her!" He stormed to the door and flung it open, "Even if it's by myself." And he slammed the door behind him.
"Leon! Leon! Get over here, hurry!" A young man came running over to the man who called for him.
"What is it Ben," Leon asked.
"Look at this," Ben said. Leon walked closer to where Ben's burly finger was pointing and gasped. Lying face down on the beach was a woman. A young women close to his age laid there unmoving on the beach. She was in terrible shape, and possibly dead. Her clothes were ripped to shreds and her entire body was soaking wet.
"Ben you go get help. I'll see if I can wake her up." Ben nodded, his dark curly hair falling in front of his eyes, and left to find someone who could help. Leon slowly walked over to the girl. He bent down next to her and rolled her over so that she was facing up. He brushed the sand and strands of hair out of her face. "You poor thing," he whispered, "Must've been from that awful storm last night." He leaned down next to her ear and spoke softly. "Hey, wake up." No response. He tried again, this time louder. "Wake up. Wake up!" Still nothing. He placed his ear next to her mouth, trying to see if he could hear her breathing. He could not. Then he listened for her heart beat. It was very faint, but it meant she was alive, for now. He started to shake her. "C'mon wake up. Breathe, breathe." He pinched her nose and breathed into her mouth, then he'd push on her chest, repeating the process again and again. He kept trying and felt like he wasn't going to be able to save her, till he heard a soft cough. He pushed on her chest one last time and she finally took a deep breath. She slowly opened her eyes. She saw a young blonde man kneeling over her. When she tried to sit up, his deep blue eyes filled with concern.
"Easy now. Take it slow." He helped her sit up and before she could say anything she turned her head and vomited sea water. When she was done retching and coughing she turned towards him. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Where am I," she asked in a quiet and hoarse voice.
"Your in Talibeth miss. Ebony beach to be exact."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Leon. I live here and was on my way to go fishing when my friend Ben found you here. He went to get you some help. Towns not far from here and until your feeling better you can stay with me if you want."
"Thank you, but I don't want to be any trouble. "
"Your no trouble at all. I can't just leave you here. We need to get you some new clothes, cleaned up and looked after." She looked up and smiled at him. She tried to stand up but stumbled and almost fell. "Careful," he said as he caught her.
"Thank you, again" she said smiling.
"Your welcome...? I'm sorry I never got you name."
"My name?"
"Yes. What's your name?"
"I don't know. Oh my God, I don't know. I can't remember me name! I don't know who I am!" She fell into Leon's arms sobbing.
"It's okay, it's okay. Calm down, it's going to be alright," he said holding her. She wiped her face and stared up at him. "All better?" She smiled and nodded. He helped her up and brushed the sand off of her and himself. "Now lets get you to town and checked out." She nodded and walked forward but stumbled again. He caught her. "Here let me help you."
"Thank you Leon."
"No problem." She leaned against Leon, they both walked up towards the town, leaving the beach and the familiar sounds of the ocean behind.
Thomas paced back and forth in his cabin. He scratched his head furiously, looked at the maps and charts of the ocean and it's currents. He's memorized every route, every possibility and still couldn't think of anywhere to start looking for Aurora. He scanned the maps one more time, then grabbed the corner of the largest map and tore it down. He pulled all the charts down and ripped them to shreds.
"Nothing! No hints, no signs, no idea where to start," he yelled, ripping up the remains of the maps ad charts. He banged his fist on the table and dropped the scraps of paper from his hands. "Where could she be," he whispered. The was a soft knock on the door that made him jump. "Just a minute." He balled up the scraps of paper and tossed them in the corner of the room. He ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his shirt. "Come in." The door opened and Isabelle stepped in the room. "Bell. How... how are you?"
"I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about. No ones seen you since... Well since the storm," she said softly.
"I've been busy."
"Busy? Doing what? Running your self to death trying to find out where the storm could've have taken her. Thomas it's no use, I know how you felt about her but listen to reason. There's no way of guessing where she could've gone, and have you seen yourself lately? You look like death." He glanced at himself in the mirror and noticed how bad he truly looked. The shirts first two buttons at the top were undone. His hair was everywhere, and stubble poked through his pale skin.
"I guess I am do for a shave."
"And a shower and some fresh clothes and food. Now come with me Thomas, first we must get you out of this room." She tugged out his arm, but he wouldn't budge. "What's wrong?"
"I can't leave. Every inch of this boat reminds me of her. And I can't stop trying, there's got to be some way to find her."
Isabelle sighed. "Thomas, what if there's nothing to find?"
Thomas stared at her confused. "What are you trying to say?" Isabelle put her hand underneath his chin and tilted his head so that she's looking at him.
"I'm saying this because I care. You have to accept the fact that she could be dead. That she probably is dead." Thomas's eyes were filled with rage and he grabbed Isabelle by her shoulders.
"Now you listen to me, right now! She is not dead! She is alive, and I don't ever want you to say that ever again. Do you hear me?! Never say that." The last words are chocked off as he started to cry. Isabelle wrapped her arms around him and his head fell against her shoulder. "She can't be dead, she just can't be," he sobbed.
"It'll be okay. I'll help you in anyway I can."
"So, what's wrong with her," Leon asked. Leon was in a small room with a doctor. Leon had been waiting patiently for him to finish up with her. The doctor rubbed the back of his neck, not sure how to tell Leon what was wrong.
"Sir, she has amnesia."
"Amnesia?"
"Yes amnesia. It means she has no memory. Well most of it anyway, she still knows how to function and all her long-term memories are there, like how to speak and that she had a mother and father. But all her other memories, like her name, where she came from and most of the people in her life, she can not remember." Leon sat down and put his head in his hands.
"How do we fix her?"
"There really is no guarantee that she will be "fixed" fully. Normally things will start to jog her memory. Like certain activities may help her remember what she liked. Maybe a name of a place will help her remember where she's from. Sometimes when someone with amnesia hears their name it will be familiar to them and might make them remember everything. But sometimes, people with amnesia never recover."
Leon sighed. "What are we going to do?"
"Well she is very healthy, so we won't have to keep her here. What we should start with is getting her out there with normal people. We don't want to isolate her because of her condition but she needs to realize that she is different and that it's very important for her to try and live normally. Hopefully when she becomes exposed to some things it will slowly help her remember things of her life."
"Getting her out and the normal world won't be a problem. And she can stay with me because I have an extra room."
"Then it's settled. She will stay with you and you will be her teacher."
"Whoa, hold on there. What do you mean her teacher? I'm not trained to be a teacher."
"Her memory is completely shot. She may need help interacting with people and relearning what some things are. That is where you come in."
Leon ran this over in his head a dozen times and he already knew that the doctor was right. He had to do it, she only knew him and the doctor. Throwing her to someone else would be torture for her. "Alright, I'll do it."
"Good. Now there's just one thing left to do."
"What's that?"
"Until we figure out her really name, we will have to call her something."
"Do you mean we got to name her? Like a new dog?"
"Basically. You can keep just calling her girl or lady from the ocean."
Leon ran his fingers through his hair. "A name?" He tried to think of what his first thoughts were when he thought of the girl. Her lying there on the beach. Water from the ocean sparkling off her back. The ocean. "Nautia."
"Excuse me?"
"Nautia. It means from the sea."
"Alright. Nautia it is. Do you want to go in there and tell her?"
Leon stood up and nodded. He walked towards the room where she was.