Disclaimer: This piece of fiction has been written solely for the enjoyment of the readers (and the author). No infringement upon copyrights has been intended.

Thanks to beta readers Anagi and Cheryl Barnes for the support and the inspiration.

Technically, it's half-Death Story (the characters live, though not in human form, as you'll soon see) and half-myth. You have been warned. It has a happy ending, though.

The loss tugged at his heart, as it had for the past two years. He should have known he was saying goodbye. It was there in the silence, it lingered in his sad whisper. It's good to hear your voice, he remembered him saying.

He said he'd keep in touch. It was a promise that was never fulfilled.

They told him he was as good as dead, even as they waited for his body to wash up along the shore. They pulled him away from the waters, as he howled in grief.

They never found his body.

For two years he'd been sitting on this same rock, for hours on end. With pen in hand, he drew images from memory -- always the best ones, the most joyful, when he saw him in laughter, tending to the ones he loved the most. His mother, his family, his friends.

But not tonight.

He sat on the rock and rubbed his palms together, feeling the crinkled tips of his fingers brush against each other. The sweater was no match for the cold. He hugged himself tightly and sighed.

I don't want to be alone anymore.

The moon was unusually round and full. It was midnight. An inner voice compelled him to stay beyond the usual hour.

Perhaps it was the beauty of the stars. He could count each one of them until the night passed. Maybe that was it.

Until he heard his name softly whispered in the wind.

Surprised, he scanned his surroundings. There was no one around.

I must be going crazy.

Look down, an inner voice commanded.

Moonlight banished the shadows and he saw a sleek, grand seal floating in the waters.

They regarded each other silently. Then, with one expansive movement, the seal pounded its flippers against the waters' surface, splashing him from head to toe. He laughed. He smiled at the seal as he ran his fingers through his hair. "My, but aren't you one big, playful fellow?"

The seal moved closer, pausing at the foot of the rock to gaze at him.

Suddenly, the sound of the waves grew louder and the light shone brighter. A voice inside him urged him to fix his sights upon the seal's face. He gasped.

The seal had green eyes.

He felt joy wash over him. He wanted to jump, he wanted to dance, he wanted to laugh and sob all at once. For a moment, he was speechless. When he found his voice, it was barely a whisper. He mouthed the words tentatively, softly.

"You've come back for me, haven't you?"

The seal retreated towards the waters and leapt grandly into the air as if to say, Yes!

He blinked back the tears and smiled. Casting one last look at the shore, he slid down from the rock. He undressed with brisk and precise movements, tossing away each piece of clothing onto the rough sand. Naked at last, he moved away from the shore, towards the sea.

He gasped and shivered as the sharp cold enveloped him. His hands skimmed the surface unsteadily as the current quickly tossed his body about. With a knowing look, the seal quickly swam towards him. He nodded silently, and wrapped his arms around the seal's neck. "I'm not afraid," he said.

The current pulled them further away from land, and soon they reached the fathomless belly of the sea. Bobbing once, twice, three times -- with each movement, he felt the slick skin transform into warm, human flesh. Soon, he found himself embracing a familiar figure whose love always swelled and flowed, and gave itself through kind, green eyes.

They held each other possessively, as the current continued to tug at them. Their laughter boomed across the waters and mingled with the sighing of waves. They moved further away from the shore.

Silver foam bubbled briefly across the shimmering surface, as they sank into the waters for the last time.

Near the rocks, just along the fringes of the shore, children laughed as they played with two seals -- one with eyes the fresh shade of spring, the other with eyes that matched the color of the sea.

The End

E-mail the author: Blue_Grey_Eyes@hotmail.com