Species Unknown [Book 2: Pisces)

PROLOGUE

North Shore, Oahu
2030 Annual Surf Competition

I COULDN'T EVEN feel the cold.

But by the way my body shook uncontrollably with each gust of salty air, it must have been freezing. I refused to care about that though, my focus was set in front of me.

I watched in a mix of awe and fear as the monstrous swells in front of me rose, curled, and crashed. Mists of salty air lashed against my face as I watched on, my tired eyes glued to relentless cycle.

I could barely sleep last night. It didn't help that I was awoken in the dead of night by my father gently nudging my shoulder.

"C'mon Lani, it's time." He had whispered, using his nickname for me. It's one that I have come to adore, more than my own full name.

When I opened my eyes to sit up, he patted my head before leaving my bedroom to prepare breakfast. I could smell the steamed rice and jasmine tea by the time I entered the kitchen.

On the table was a bowl of fresh cut pineapple and lillikoi. My father was brewing tea and setting out the bowls for the rice.

I heard the front door swing open a few minutes later and my mother came in. Her wetsuit was rolled down to hang loosely at her hips as she made her way towards us. I noticed she was slightly out of breath as she tied her inky black hair up, taking a seat at the table as father served her.

"Mahalo ku'u aloha." My mother responded, leaning to kiss my father on the cheek as he set the bowl of rice and an egg in front of her. Her pearl necklace lifted off her chest towards my father as she kissed him, as if it was reaching out for him.

My father was an avid diver. He had a deep fondness of the ocean, and would take groups out to collect the trash that accumulated and tangled itself in coral reefs. One day, my father came across something small and shiny buried beneath a clump of sea-rotted nets. It was a beautiful pearl, about the size of a large pea, resting exposed on the ocean floor.

With such odd circumstances, my father took it as a sign of good fortune, and had it strung on a silver cord to use it to ask my mother out on a date. He said he had admired her for a while, and that finding the pearl was his sign that she was the one for him. My mother put on that necklace for the first time that night, and she had been wearing it ever since. My mother caught me watching her and I looked away.

My father then came around to offer me a bowl, which usually I would accept, but today I politely refused, instead opting for another slice of pineapple. My stomach was too full of nerves to eat anything else.

Once my father sat down with his own bowl, he looked at my mother across the table, "How was your warm-up?" He asked in-between chews.

My mother took a sip of her tea before responding, "Good, I stretched and ran for a while. I feel prepared, I think today's going to be a good day." She added cheerfully, flashing me a warm smile.

I returned the gesture and she went back to eating, letting the room fall back into a comfortable silence.

It was oddly peaceful. I felt a sudden wave of nostalgia wash over me as I recounted the numerous times we have done this before for previous competitions. Perhaps it was the way that my father's eyes would crinkle now with his aged smile, or the streaks of grey that now lined my mother's hair that made me savor moments like this.

I knew this couldn't last forever, but what I didn't know, was how soon it was all going to be over.

"Ready?" My mother said finally, finishing her food and helping father take our empty plates to the sink.