Safer Waters

CW: death, mention of a "safe word"

Waterlogged. Disorientation. Screaming. Water everywhere she turned. Devina absorbed her surroundings, slowly piecing together the events that led up to her current predicament. They had been on the way to see her sick father in Lyon, France. They were on a plane, but that clearly wasn’t the case anymore.

Panic began to sink in as she realized the plane must have crashed, and that she couldn’t see her 8 year old daughter anywhere. Did I make sure she put her life vest on? Did Kimmy hold her breath before hitting the water? Is she drowning right this very second?

“Kimmy!” Devina screamed, now in full panic mode. They were sitting right next to each other on the plane, so she should be nearby. Everyone around her appeared to be adults, also crying out for loved ones. Others were just floating, bobbing in the water. She hoped they were alive, but she couldn’t think about that right now.

Devina proceeded to scream for her daughter as loud as she could. Her throat was sore after a minute or two but she kept turning in the warm water, kept screaming for her only child. A new wave of panic rolled in as she realized another concerning problem.

The water was warm, but it was January. Devina and Kimmy had to cross the Atlantic ocean to reach France from their home in Maine. Why was the water in the Atlantic ocean warm in January? It felt like bath water. Either the plane had not been taking them to the destination it was supposed to, or the pilot was thrown off course somehow. Devina recalled the pilot saying that the weather was great for flying…..whatever, I have more important things to worry about right now.

Devina was about to begin screaming again when she heard a man near her shout “Excuse me, miss?” Her eyes landed on a nice looking man, probably around her age, staring at her with his bright green eyes. He had his hand up to signify that it was him who’d spoken to her. “Hi, I’m Cole. I’m guessing you’re searching for your daughter that was on the plane when it crashed?”

“Yes. Her name is Kimmy, she’s 8 years old. She’s got brown curly hair worn in ponytails on the sides of her head, brown eyes and is wearing a hot pink dress with pink leggings. Have you seen her in the water anywhere? We were sitting right next to each other, I don’t understand why-”

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear right now, but try to calm down. You’re probably in shock from the crash. Take 3 deep breaths for me please, and tell me your name,” Cole interrupted.

“Are you a doctor, or something?” Devina responded after she’d taken her breaths. It didn’t seem to help. “My name is Devina.”

“Devina, great. To answer your first question-no, I haven’t seen any children in the water. I’m also looking for my 8 year old daughter, Leah. Perhaps we can search for them together? Four eyes are better than 2.”

“Yes, that would be great. Thank you. And the answer to my second question?” she inquired.

Cole smiled. “No, I’m not a doctor, but I did take a first aid class in high school. Shock would be a perfectly normal thing to be experiencing after a plane crash.” He swam closer to her. “I’m not a psychic either, but common sense leads me to believe your next question is going to be ‘what does your daughter look like?’”

Devina managed a smile and said “You’re good. What does your daughter look like?”

Cole returned the smile and said “Basically the female, 8 year old version of me. Straight black hair, bright green eyes, identical facial structure, fair skin. She’s wearing all purple, a long sleeved shirt, hoodie, and pants. She wore her favorite purple snow boots on the plane as well, not that you’re likely to see her feet on the surface. I hope….”

“Those are the kind of thoughts I’ve been having, too,” Devina replied. “We should probably try and stay positive. Leah had her life vest on, right?”

“Yes,” Cole said. “I made sure it was on correctly before we went down. She’s a good swimmer, too. What about Kimmy?”

“I remember helping her get her vest on and telling her to take a big breath before hitting the water, but….”

“But what?” Cole asked.

“She doesn’t know how to swim. She was going to start swimming lessons once we returned from France. What if she forgot to hold her breath, and drowned?” Devina began panicking again.

“What was it you said just a minute ago? About staying positive?” Cole answered calmly. “3 more deep breaths, please Devina. Once you’ve calmed down we’ll start searching, ok?”

Devina’s emotions were all over the place. She wanted to continue panicking, but there was also this very handsome man in her general vicinity, saying all the right things, offering his help to her. She felt an emotional connection just in the 5 minutes they’d been talking, and there was certainly a physical connection on her end. Devina forced herself to take another 3 deep breaths, telling herself once she had, they’d stop conversing and begin searching for their children. Should I mention the water temperature before we start searching? No, I’ll wait until Leah and Kimmy are found.

“Thank you for the reminder,” she answered as calmly as she could muster. “Looks like we’re at the tail end of passengers. How about I take the right side and you take the left? We’ll meet at the end of the string of people.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan, Devina. And how about a specific word we shout if we think the other needs to come and identify their child? Something none of the other people that were on the plane are likely to be shouting.”

Sort of like a safe word, Devina couldn’t help but think to herself. “That’s smart. How about ‘Red Sox?’”

Cole gave her a dazzling smile and said “Brilliant. See you soon, then,” and swam off to the left while she did the same to her right. Devina began her search, doing her best to remain tranquil. Most of the passengers were alert by now. She’d get their attention, ask if they’d seen any children in the water and if they said no, move on to the next person. There were a few that she couldn’t rouse, but the adrenaline didn’t allow her to think about that.

After what seemed like an hour, she came across a child. He was probably around 12 years old and in shock, searching frantically for his parents. Devina asked him about Kimmy, but he’d said he hadn’t seen any other children, or any adults that resembled his parents. “What’s your name?” Devina asked him.

“I’m Shane. My parents are Sam and Marie. Can I swim with you while you look for Kimmy? I’m scared.”

“Of course you can, Shane. I’m searching the right side of the passengers, I’ve got a friend named Cole searching the left side. Just stay near me, ok? And let me know if you think you see Kimmy, or your parents. I’m also looking for Cole's daughter, Leah. My name is Devina, by the way.” She told him what the missing girls looked like, and periodically checked to make sure she didn’t lose Shane as they swam along, searching.

A few minutes later she heard Shane shout her name. She turned towards him, and was relieved to see a little girl wearing all purple. Cole was right, she was a spitting image of him. Devina swam over and Shane said “She said her name is Leah, and her dad’s name is Cole.”

“Well done, Shane.” Devina turned to the left and yelled ‘RED SOX’ 3 times. She then turned to Leah to introduce herself and explain the situation. “I hear you’re a good swimmer. My daughter Kimmy hasn’t learned yet, but she has her life vest on. She’s 8, just like you. Will you help us search for her? Looks like we’re about at the end of people, we’re headed that way,” Devina pointed.

“Sure,” Leah responded. She glanced around in all directions as if to be sure they hadn’t missed a little girl nearby. “DADDY!” she screamed with joy. “I’m so glad you’re here. Are you ok?”

“Yes, but more importantly, are you ok?” Cole asked. “I’ve been worried about you, sweet-lee.” They hugged in the water and assured each other they were alright aside from some soreness caused during the crash. “Did Devina tell you what her little girl looks like?”

“No, we hadn’t gotten that far, yet,” his daughter replied. Cole gave her the description and then introduced himself to Shane.

“Pleasure to meet you, Shane. I’m assuming you haven’t found your parents yet?” The boy nodded. “We’ve got to find Kimmy, and hopefully we’ll find your parents in the process. Stick with us and try to stay calm, alright?” He gave Shane a reassuring smile and the 4 of them continued the search together.

There were roughly 30-40 people left to check in with, Devina guessed. Still no sign of her little girl wearing hot pink. I’m glad she chose that outfit today, even if it was 30° when we boarded the damn plane, she thought to herself. She should at least stand out.

“MOM!” That was Shane’s voice. The others all turned to him and saw his mother, looking both relieved and worried. “Where’s dad?” Shane asked her.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Marie answered. “I haven’t seen him anywhere. We were all sitting together. But what do I know about plane crashes?”

“Cole and I had similar thoughts. We’ve found his daughter Leah, but not mine. Shane was actually the one who found Leah,” Devina told her.

“You’re such a good boy, Shane! How nice of you to help them search, you must have been terrified. That was very brave of you.”

“Thanks, mom. Can we go look for dad? I’ll feel better once we’ve found him.”

“Yes of course, sweetie. Thank you both for looking after Shane, I owe you dinner if we get rescued. What are your names?” Marie asked.

“I’m Cole, and this is Devina. Let’s all find the rest of our families and discuss dinner plans after. Once we find Kimmy we’ll come and help you search for your husband if you haven’t found him yet.”

Marie thanked them again and swam off with her son. "I hope they find Sam and that he’s alright,” Devina said. Maybe it was just because she hadn’t found her daughter yet, but she had a bad feeling about Sam.

“One problem at a time, Devina. Hey, I think I see a brown haired girl wearing pink over there, is that Kimmy?” Cole asked.

Devina looked where he was pointing and was positive it was her daughter. “Kimmy!” she yelled, swimming towards her. Kimmy rotated in the water, eyes searching for the familiar voice.

“MOM! I held my breath like you told me to, mom. When I got to the surface and didn’t see you anywhere, I was so afraid. I’ve just been floating here, hoping you’d find me.”

“It’s ok sweetie, you did great. Are you hurt?” Devina asked.

“I feel fine, are you ok?”

“Much better now that I’ve finally found you.” She gave her daughter a big squeeze. The amount of relief she felt was absurd, but she was still unsettled. They needed to find Marie and Shane again.

“Mommy, why is the water warm?” Kimmy asked.

“That’s a smart little girl you’ve got there.” The voice came from a man wearing a white collared shirt and a black tie.

“Thank you. Are you the pilot?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am. I’m also the only one in the water that can answer her question. Do you mind?”

“No, not at all. I’ve been wondering the same thing.” She glanced at Cole and could tell he had been curious about this as well.

“You probably won’t believe me, but time will tell, I suppose. I’m a wizard,” the pilot said matter-of-factly.

“What?!” Leah and Kimmy exclaimed simultaneously. They both gave their parents looks that said ‘you lied to me, magic is real!’ Devina and Cole shared looks of skepticism, but curiosity got the best of them.

“Let me get this straight,” Cole began. “You have magical powers, so instead of preventing the plane from crashing, you let it crash into a body of warm water?”

“I’m still learning how to control my powers. I wasn’t sure how I could safely avert the plane from crashing. However, I’m excellent at summoning portals to other worlds humans have never seen before, and I knew this to be one of the safer ones. The warm water is an added bonus. Much better than freezing in the Atlantic, don’t you agree?”

“So, where are we?” Devina asked.

“Welcome to Croksa!” The pilot replied. "The creatures living in the water have no interest in humans. I did my best to keep everyone on the plane safe, but I couldn’t control where people landed. I apologize for making you all panic. My wizard senses are telling me that an adult male passenger perished during the crash, along with a stewardess. Only 2 died out of 300 or so. Not too bad for a learning wizard, eh?” He noticed Devina and Cole’s distraught facial expressions and said “Oh no…did you know one of those 2 people?”

“Not personally. I met a boy around 12 years old in the water. He found his mom, but not his dad, and I have had a bad feeling about Sam’s well being. If we take you to Marie and Shane, can you explain to them? It would be better for them to hear it from you. I doubt they’d even believe me,” Devina said.

“Yes of course, anything I can do to help. If you can describe what they look like, I can connect myself to them. It will allow me to find them much quicker than you could.”

Cole described Marie and Shane’s appearances, and the pilot wizard did his thing. “Follow me, everyone.” Sure enough, 5 minutes later Devina was once again looking at Marie and Shane. The worried wife took one quick glance at Devina’s sorrowful face and knew something was wrong.

“What is it?” she asked Devina.

“Marie, this is the pilot of the plane. He just told us what happened, and I asked him to convey it to you and Shane as well. I need to warn you: It will be difficult in more ways than one. Would you like us to give you some privacy?”

“Please stay, I have a feeling I’ll need some support,” Marie requested. Devina nodded, and the pilot wizard began to explain everything he’d just told her, Cole, Leah and Kimmy. Shane began to cry, but Marie was doing her best to stay strong for her son. Devina rubbed her back consolingly while fighting tears herself. She had a big heart, and although she didn’t have a husband, she knew she would be heartbroken in this situation.

“I do, however, have some good news,” the pilot wizard announced. “I placed a special, indestructible tracking device on the plane. A friend of mine here will have already been notified of the crash, and will send a water plane large enough to transport everyone in the water to their desired destination. I do believe I hear the plane approaching, now. Yes, look!” he pointed in the sky.

Cole looked at Marie and said “I have a feeling Marie and Shane won’t want to go to France, after today’s events. Could your friend arrange for another plane to take them back home, Mr. Pilot Wizard?”

“My apologies, I never gave my name, did I? I’m Axon. Yes, he most certainly can. I’ll speak with him once he lands.”

Cole nodded appreciatively and turned to Marie again. “I don’t know why Devina was on her way to France, but my trip wasn’t of importance. If you’d like, I can travel back to Maine with you. Once Devina and Kimmy have returned, if you’re up for it, dinner’s on me.”

“Would you? I’d appreciate that immensely, thank you so much.” The dam broke, and Marie let the tears flow.

Devina was in awe. It had been a long time since she’d encountered such a kind, thoughtful, attractive man. Now that everyone had been found, she needed to make her move. “Kimmy, would you stay here for a few minutes? I’d like to speak with Cole in private. I won’t be long.”

“Sure mom, I’ll stay right here and try to cheer Shane up,” her daughter answered.

“Come over here please, Cole.” They swam 10 feet away from the others and faced each other. “Thank you for all your help. Can I be forward with you?”

“I prefer forward, no room for conf-” he was interrupted by Devina’s lips on his, her hands caressing his back and luxurious hair. He returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. When she broke away, she was pleased to see that dazzling smile of his.

“I hope to have a dinner date with you before we meet up with Marie. I also hope you can remember my address. 947 Toddy Pond Road, Surry Maine, 04684. Stop by anytime.” She gave him her best smile and they shared another kiss before swimming back to their daughters.