Sunken.

He lived in the lighthouse but all he saw was cold stone. The waves crashed against the rocks but all he heard was breaking.

She accidentally made everything more beautiful than they really were. She'd only dip a moment in the water, but she had never left the sand.

The day he met her was the day she fell in love. The day he fell in love was the day he taught her how to sail the seas. They glided along the ocean, skimming the surface of the water. And she'd dream of the spray of the ocean and the smell of salt on her skin for months after she'd stepped off that beach.

She told him that the way he slipped his feet into the sand made every grain feel individual.
She made him feel like he held all the magic.
And it may be that she really thought he did.

But, this is not a love story.

Sally sells seashells by the sea shore.
And it's a horrible business.

Well, at least she used to. And she doesn't remember when she realized it, but... she hated that.


She was tired of getting sunburned.
She was too sleepy to sail any longer. Although Peter always came down from his lighthouse, even when he didn't want to, Sally was sick of rocking on the sea.
Peter was in love with Sally, she knew that. But all she saw were the same waves crashing upon the same shore every day. The same beaches. Same sunsets. Same seasons. Even though Peter and Sally sounded so nice, it didn't look like it was going to be.

Even though Peter Piper showed her how to pick a peck of pickled peppers, she needed to swim.

This is not a love story,

because it was that Tuesday morning that she lit the lighthouse on fire with him still in the bed. Later, she felt ever so sorry.
But not as sorry as she should have.

Because it was that night that Sally had been given the entire ocean. Even though she didn't deserve it. And she has sunk deeper than she ever thought was possible. She's learned to do much more than float. She's learned to just keep swimming and that she can always smell the salt in the sea. Now, the water's warmer.

Even though it's a big ocean, Sally can't believe she hasn't just hit rock bottom. She can't believe it could get any deeper than this. That there are more adventures waiting. Deep in the depths of the water. Buried treasure, sunken ships and the people of the sea. She couldn't name all the adventures they were to have. But she will spend their years in the water forever trying to learn all the wonders hiding in the heart of the ocean.

You can't know how excited she is to find them all out.