It started in the corner of her eye, then the colors began to spread across her face. The trickling sound of the river made Serena’s toes twinge. First it was quiet, then it became increasingly rapid.
“Serena!” her mom called, “It’s time to come inside!”
When Serena didn’t answer, her mom knew she had gone further down to the river bank to stand in its murky water.
Tension sieged Serena’s spine and shoulders as she found herself in a predicament: she could either answer her mother’s calls or explore the river with many colors. Pinks and oranges saturated the sky: then came the blues, the greens, the purples and before she knew it, Serena couldn’t hear her mother at all.
Without another moment’s hesitation, Serena took off in a sprint towards the river. The taste of blood sat in the back of her throat as she jumped over roots and ducked under branches.
The once rapid river, now sat still and waited. Vibrant colors, of all of the colors, spilled onto the bank, wrapped around the trees and glowed through the leaves.
The colorful glass reflected in her eyes and Serena became fixated, lost even. In its broken symmetry were all the things that make a life: love, rage, peace.
Sirena found herself walking right into the river fascinated by its wonders. She even thought she could see people down there, friends even. So she walked and walked, deeper and deeper into the river. She was almost submerged and the colors tugged on her chest pulling her, still.
Finally her mother found her standing, in the river, deeper than she had ever found her before. She screamed for Serena to come out; that this ‘game’ wasn’t a funny one. But Serena stood there looking into black, murky water hypnotized.
Serena’s mother flung her shoes off her feet and went in after her daughter.
The colors were painfully bright now and Serena found herself sinking into the river bed like quicksand. When her mother reached out to grabbed her, her fingertips swiped right through her flesh, as if she was never really standing there at all.
Sirena’s mother was mortified. How could this happen, again? She slowly backed out of the murky water that was now blooming in colors she had seen before. She sat on the river bank and cried over another love lost. Filled with rage, she watched her daughter sink into its glorious depths. Then she thought maybe river would be gracious enough and save a spot for her, too.
