LOVE    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
GREEN-EYED SEAL by Renny Ramos When will you stop haunting me? 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. 
EPILOGUE 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