She was everything she was expected to be. A 17 year old girl, junior in high school, slightly above average grades, living in a small coastal town. Being a native, Jenna was familiar with her Oregon beach. She expected the cold, windy weather, yet knew it was often full of good company. She’d go along when her friends prodded her to attend the latest party. She even felt her parent’s scorn after she snuck out once or twice to be there in the past, but she had never truly been in any real danger. Drugs and alcohol never really interested her.
However, tonight Jenna felt different. The angst of school coming to a close for the summer had spurred her friends to have another one of these spontaneous gatherings. One teenage dullard would bring hard lemonade, touting he had stolen it from the local 7/11 when in reality he traded some chores so his older brother would buy it for him. Another would bring CBD sleep gummies claiming they were “the real shit”. Not the smartest crowd to be with, but far from the most dangerous.
So, there Jenna sat that clear dark night. A slight few yards from the fire, facing the crashing waves. listening to the static-sounding wash each one made, compounding with the last. She felt somewhat distant from her usual sociable self. Almost alone in her melancholy. Her lack of connection, or maybe her routine of school coming to an end was to blame. Whatever the reason, she simply felt lonely.
A flicker caught her eye. Brighter than a horizon’s star. Not man made like a buoy, or a ship light. It circulated. Danced out in the distance past the surf. Projecting every color that wasn’t normal. Jenna was entranced. She forgot about her friend’s faux drunken laughter. The crackling fire, or even the roar of the waves. It was pulling her. What’s more, she didn’t want to resist it. The wind gently blew the blanket from her left shoulder as if nature herself was trying to subtly knock her from her stuporous fixation in this light. She pictured herself standing, walking out into the waves, swimming past the wake… “Jenna?” Her friend spoke as she touched Jenna’s arm. Somewhat startled, and forgetting where she was, Jenna turned to greet her.
Then, as she glanced back to the ocean, the light was gone.
The party concluded. The town was small enough, there was no need to drive. They all walked their separate ways. Some more intoxicated than others, still far less than they led on to be. That night, Jenna’s mind was transfixed on the light. “I need to catch it. Can it be caught? What was it? Maybe it was just in my head. Aliens maybe? Don’t be stupid Jenna.” Her thoughts tumbled over themselves, but she could not turn away from the idea of finding the light.
The following day Jenna attended school in almost total silence. Apart from the occasional answer provided to her teachers, the day almost never took place in Jenna’s mind. Her thoughts, forever on the light. School finally came to a close. That evening, she told her parents she was going to the beach for a little while , promising to be back by her 9:30 curfew. She sat there. Staring as she did the night before. Waiting to see the dancing mystery once more. Determined, she waited. Hours went by. It was drawing close to curfew, but still no sign.
Then it happened. The greens, circulating with the blues, whirling with the reds and yellows. All as one, around, and around in circles just on the horizon. Jenna smiled. She stood up, and began walking towards it. “I need it!” She thought. “I have to hold it! Just to feel what it is!” Her feet met the cool, Late-Spring water. First her toes, then ankles. She kept walking. “How far is it?” She wondered. “I can make it, no matter the distance.” The water reached her knees, then her waist. Though fully clothed, she cared for nothing but the light. The phone in her pocket filled with water, and quickly shorted out. By the time she reached her neck, Jenna’s feet were in a full paddle. She was no stranger to swimming in worse waves than this, she quickly overcame the slow-flowing surf.
She never lost sight of the light. Dancing, and swaying to an unheard melody, Jenna tracked its every move, then… It disappeared, along with Jenna.