In the afternoon sun, I took my new friend for a ride. I soared over the ocean and peered down on the water.
"Will, look!" I heard Maddie yell, and she pointed down.
Beneath us, a pod of dolphins appeared. One at a time, they leaped out of the ocean.
"Aren't those dolphins beautiful?" Maddie asked me.
They sure are, Maddie. The ocean, overall, is a beautiful place.
Pumping my wings, I next took her into the sky. Maddie and I had so much fun that afternoon. For once, I actually was glad I wasn't alone.
We couldn't stay out there forever, though. Eventually, I had to get Maddie back to the Carnival Ecstasy. Eventually, we had to part ways. That was really hard for me to do.
Maddie and I returned to the Ecstasy, scented with sea breeze and our eyes glowing.
Gently flapping my wings, I landed on the overlook in front of the mini golf course and slipped her off my back.
She landed on the deck and smiled up at me. "The legends are wrong, Will. You are nowhere near how the Beast of the Bermuda Triangle is portrayed. I still can't understand how you changed your form, though."
My eyes rolled down to my necklace. I nudged it with my beak-like mouth.
Maddie glanced at it. "Your necklace? Is your necklace the source behind your metamorphosis?"
It sure is, Maddie. Check this out.
I grabbed my necklace pendant and transformed back into a boy.
"Wow," Maddie squeaked. "Will, I knew there was something special about you the second I laid eyes on you."
Thank you, Maddie. That is honestly the nicest thing any human has ever said to me, even though you're really the only human I know.
Maddie shrugged and hooked her fingers together. "So, um, I guess it's time we said goodbye?"
Goodbye? What are you talking about, Maddie? I don't want to leave you!
She understood what I was thinking by merely looking into my eyes. "Will, I see it in your eyes. In this short amount of time we've been together, I've gotten to know you very well. I know you don't want to leave me, but the thing is, we belong in two different places."
Maddie wrapped her arm around my shoulders and led me to a bench on the other side of the overlook. She sat me down and gently picked up my hands. "Will, you have amazing powers that need to be protected. If you come back with me to Charleston, I'm afraid you'll put yourself in danger. I don't want you to end up in a laboratory because you're the Beast of the Bermuda Triangle. You need to be free, not held in captivity like this. I hope you understand."
I did. Maddie's words pierced my heart, but in a good way. She knew I belonged in the Bermuda Triangle.
The Atlantic Ocean paid another visit to us. It snuck onto the ship and appeared next to my head.
Maddie rolled her eyes over to look at it and chortled. "You see, Will? Even the ocean is telling you it is time to go home. Right, ocean?"
The water gestured yes and rubbed up against her cheek. It grabbed her hat and pulled it off her head.
Maddie and I watched as it set it down on its own head and struck a pose.
She again chuckled and asked, "Aw, how cute is that?" edging closer to the water. "Will, please, do me a favor." Maddie reached up and took the hat off my friend's head, offering it to me. "Take this hat for me. I mean, so that you won't ever forget me. I'm sure you can take much better care of it than I did."
Se-Seriously? No, Maddie, I can't accept this gift.
"Please, Will," she begged, holding the hat up to my face. "Think of the hat as a remembrance of our friendship."
Maddie. Well, if you insist.
I finally accepted the hat. The water and I examined it.
"Thank you, Will," softly said Maddie. "Well"—I heard her sniff—"you should get going. The ocean is calling you."
As soon as she said that, I heard the ocean.
"Will, Will, come home."
Maddie escorted me to another overlook one deck below. That one was a lot more open than the mini golf course's.
We stood in the sunset, watching the calm ocean.
Since Maddie gave me a gift, it only made sense that I should give her one, too. I gave her the orange conch shell I found on my island the day before. It meant a lot to me, but I knew I could trust Maddie with it. I set the shell down in her palm and feebly smiled.
She quietly gasped. "It-It's beautiful, Will. Thank you. You're a true friend."
I turned my head and smiled at the water hovering next to me.
"Oh, Will," Maddie choked out. She threw herself into my arms and gave me a long hug.
It took me a little bit to understand exactly what was going on, but when I did, I returned the hug. The warm feeling in the pit of my stomach grew the entire time we hugged.
Once we let go, it was time for the water and me to return to our natural habitats.
Powerful wind massaged our scalps. The water, who again wore the hat, had to protect it from blowing off.
We turned and came within reach of the Carnival Ecstasy's edge. Glancing down at the gentle ocean, the water and I nodded at each other.
The water was the first one to dive. It patted my shoulder and leaped off the edge of the ship, landing with a splash in the Atlantic.
I sighed and pressed the palm of my hand up against my necklace pendant.
Maddie hugged my conch shell to her chest and watched as I took my leave.
I commanded another whirlpool to surround me. When it did, I leaped off the Ecstasy and dove into the ocean after my friend.
It moved out of my way and watched as my wings came back.
I dove deep into the ocean before ordering my whirlpool to take me back to the surface. As a beast, I popped out of the ocean and appeared in front of Maddie.
We met eyes one last time.
She laughed and approached me.
We closed our eyes and leaned our heads close to each other.
Our foreheads bumped, and I heard Maddie whisper, "Goodbye, Will. You are not a beast. You are a guardian, and the ocean knows this. You need to take care of each other. I hope we will meet again one day. Thank you, Guardian of the Seas."
"Will," I whispered back. "Will, Maddie." Her name was the last thing I learned during my exciting time on the Carnival Ecstasy.
We pulled our foreheads apart and went our separate ways. Maddie waved from the Ecstasy's bow, and I waved, too.
My other friend, the water wearing her hat, tapped my shoulder and pointed toward the Bermuda Triangle. We raced back to my island–the island my parents dumped me on all those years back. The entire way home, I sang my song. It was the song of the Beast of the Bermuda Triangle.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTnILrnBKy
Final Word Count: 7,971
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