• Melee



    A Child of around 8 years old falls into the sea. She sinks deeper and deeper into the water, and as she looks up, reaches for the light until all is black. She reaches out and touches something. It’s warm, smooth. An indescribable feeling that can only be explained as the feeling of light itself. She opens her eyes and spots something glowing, far in the distance. She realizes that she isn’t breathing, doesn’t need to. This idea scares her at first, but she keeps swimming. As she swims further into the abyss, she notices how easily her body is sliding through the water, a feeling of utter happiness flows through her, but she doesn’t know why. Just then, she feels air, pouring into her lungs. Gentle hands lift her head and she looks up. There, holding her up is a kind looking boy of about 15. He has straight, brown hair that slightly covers his bright blue eyes. She blinks at him, then lifts her head up. She is on an unfamiliar beach with small houses about 50 yards away from where she lay. She turns back to the boy and he smiles at her, “Dad! She’s alive!”

    The boy and his dad carry her into an unoccupied bedroom in their beach house. She realizes that she is still wearing her beach shorts and baggy yellow top, which she notices has shrunk, and turned an ugly brown color from all the saltwater. She lowers herself onto the bed, and the boy sits down next to her. “What’s your name?” He asks, The girl thinks for a minute, and takes a quick breath in, “I… can’t remember.” The boy looks at her with understanding eyes, “Then… how about I come up with a name for you?” He smiles, and the girl nods eagerly. “Hmmm…I'll call you Melee!” he says proudly. “I like that name.” The boy gets up to go talk to his dad, and Melee heads over to the bathroom. On the wall is a picture of a girl, around 15 years old with curly, dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a ratty old shirt. The picture blinks, and Melee steps back, only to find that the girl in the picture has moved to the back of the frame. Then it hits her: It’s a mirror. How long had she been under water? A trickle of fear climbs down her spine, she turns, her back to the mirror and puts her face in her hands, trying to remember. Nothing.

    She was rather sore, so decided to take a shower. As she was washing her back, she felt something… soft? Startled, she got out of the shower and looked in the mirror. There, protruding from her back were two tiny wings. Wings. Once again she stepped back and gazed in the mirror. The wings were folded up, so Melee tried to move them. She focused, and tried to think, move. To her surprise, both wings twitched. She drew in a sharp breath in pain, but she persevered. Move. She thought again. Again, intense pain shot through her back as the wings unraveled to their full size. They were about 2 ½ to 3 feet across, and not black, or white, but a lovely charcoal gray color. Melee let out a sigh, and was surprised by a knock on the bathroom door. “Melee? Are you ok in there?” She shivered, “yeah, I’m… fine!” What on earth was she going to do? She was certain that if the boy and his dad saw her, they would kick her out. She had to hide them. “Oh, and Melee? I’ll leave you some dry clothes on the bed.” “Thanks!” She stood with her back to the door. This was just weird. Melee dried off and tiptoed into the bedroom. Sure enough, on the bed lay a big red flannel shirt, it probably belongs to that boy from before, she thought. She put it on and noticed some slits in the back, then saw a sewing kit on the table and mended the shirt. She slipped it back on, and walked down the stairs into a broad doorway at the front of the house

    The boy and his dad were waiting for her, and ushered her into the living room. There were two big chairs and a couch. The walls were painted white, with black, lacy paneling. The curtains were a sort of soft cotton that let in just enough sunlight, and you could hear the beach. There were shells all over, and pictures of doves. “So Melee,” the dad started, “Do you remember anything?” Melee thought, “A little while ago, I fell into the ocean. I remember a lot of darkness. And…” she paused, “a light. There was a single light. And I swam toward it.” She frowned. “Then I was here.” The boy and his father looked at each other and nodded. “Well, you can stay with us as long as you’d like. My name’s Aubrey and this is my son, Aaden. He’s 14 years old.” “It’s nice to meet you both. Thank you for letting me stay. I think I’m 15 years old, but I don’t really know.” Aubrey smiled. “How about some dinner? What would you like?” “Anything’s fine!”
    After dinner, Melee headed back up to her room and found a night gown on her bed. Convenient, she thought as she pulled off her clothes. Just then, the door handle started to move, “Melee? I’m coming in to take a shower!” it was Aaden’s voice. She hurried to cover herself as Aaden strode across the room into the bathroom. That was too close. She finished putting on her nightgown and snuggled down into bed. Ouch. Guess I can’t lie on my back. She pulled the sheets over her head, and woke up when the bathroom door opened. She looked up to see Aaden walking back across the room, wearing all but his shirt. She hurried to cover her eyes, but got a glimpse of gray. She uncovered her eyes and looked again. He had wings, too. She gasped, and Aaden turned around, “Thought you were asleep.” He said, turning a little red. Melee shook her head. Aaden turned and walked over to where she lay. “And you were trying to hide yours all afternoon,” he said. “Does your dad have wings, too?” She looked at his wings from over his shoulder, “He’s not really my dad, and none of us are related by blood. But yes, we all have wings” “there are more of you?” He smiled, “Yeah! Didn’t you see the other beach houses?” “Where are we?” she finally asked. “Dunno. All I can remember was being in the car, then black, a light, and poof! I washed up on this beach just like you.” Aaden left the room.

    Melee tried to sleep, but after Aaden’s speech, how could she? She got up and walked out onto the beach and felt the cool sea breeze brush against her face. She sat in the sand, looking up at the sky, when she heard someone walking toward her. She looked around, and saw Aaden, standing beside her. He sat, and she said, “I can’t help but wonder where I came from. I can’t remember anything.” Aaden looked at her with a somber smile, “None of us can remember. But don’t worry. See the moon?” Melee nodded, “Everyone in the world sees the same one, every night. If you and I have families, maybe they are looking at the same moon right now.” Melee felt a tear sting the side of her face as it streamed down her cheek. She reached up in the air as if to try and grab the moon, and without realizing it, her wings grew to be 10 feet across and she rose into the cold, moonlit air. She unconsciously pushed her wings up, then down, and steadily rose in the sky. Aaden joined her in the air, and together they flew, into the cold, thin air, and together, they let out a barely audible gasp, “wow.”