Nora~~
Tye sits beside me in the sand, waxing his board. The sun is just starting to set over the ocean. Last time I was out here, Radia was beside me.
"You sure you don't want to give it a try tonight?"
Digging my fingers into the sand, I frown. "I'm not exactly dressed for it."
"You could have been."
He's right of course. He had mentioned he could teach me how to surf tonight. He gave me enough warning that I could have worn my swimsuit here if I wanted.
But ever since that day Radia asked what's out there past the horizon, there's been a lingering feeling of dread left behind in me that rises whenever I think about the ocean. Maybe it makes me feel too small or too big, or maybe I fear I'll just keep on paddling toward a land I'll never reach.
"You're allowed to have fun, Nora."
I pull out my phone from my bag and bring up my texts with Ryann. "It's hard when I don't know what's happening to her right now." I type out a message to Ryann, asking if he wants to go to the Lion's Den tomorrow night. I can't shake the feeling that Ricky and Avery have answers I want.
"Maybe we need to face the idea that she left because she wanted to."
My head snaps toward him. "We saw her being taken."
He shrugs, storing his wax. "Sometimes that's what I recall. Other times I see her walking out of that building alone."
"But that's not what happened. I was there with you. We saw what happened—together." I knew he was giving up hope, but he's imagining things that didn't happen.
Like I imagined that woman planting the chrysanthemums and saw that girl sitting beside me on Radia's couch?
My phone vibrates. A text from Ryann saying he's in for tomorrow night.
Standing, Tye hefts his board into his arms, shading me from the sun.
"Do you want to get a drink tomorrow night with me and Ryann?"
The skin between his eyes pulls together. "Are you asking to have fun?"
"I met the owner of the club the other night and wanted to check it out."
"For fun?"
"For Radia."
His shoulders sag. "If she was taken, I don't think you should go, especially with what happened to you."
"If there's a chance that it can lead me to her, I have to take it."
"I can't go, just to get my hopes up."
"Tye . . ."
"I'm sorry," he says and makes his way into the water.
Happy Easter! Years ago I wrote a crossover short story with characters from my books having an egg hunt. Nora and Charlie were two of those characters. The others were from books I wrote before I started writing on Wattpad: a space fantasy story and a mermaid story.
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Asleep
Science Fiction(Free to read + a paid bonus chapter) In a time when kidnapping is a common occurrence, Nora is about to become her father's science experiment. Nora believes she's starting a new job, working alongside her father, but instead, she's trapped inside...
