Promise me the Sea

“WHOA, Lani, I didn’t know you could make things float! What kind of magic is that?!?”
Isja’s voice rang out in the cool dusk air, his amazement abundantly clear. The group had been travelling a while and decided to stop for the night, ending up on the shore of the sea. They were gathered around a campfire, which had been set up by Lonan, and set up their tents around it. All of them were sitting, Num fast asleep and Randy writing away on the paper in his lap, while Isja and Lonan watched Lani, who was standing. The girl was holding her hands out a few inches away from a styrofoam cup that was between them, the cup seemingly floating in midair. Upon the younger boy’s excited response to her trick, Lani chuckled, clasping the cup with both of her hands.
“What can I say… except... I’m magic…!” With that last word, she took her hands off of the cup again quickly, causing it to appear to levitate again for a brief moment before falling to the ground and rolling on its side, revealing a couple holes.
The group went completely silent, each of them staring at the fallen cup for several seconds.
Ah.
Lani sank to the ground, her face going red. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared at something in the fire only she seemed to be able to see while Isja cleared his throat, turning to Lonan.
“What cool tricks can you do, Lonan?”
The spirit snorted, shifting in their spot to get comfier. “I don’t have arms to do anything like that… All the other magic stuff I know is stuff you’ve seen me fight with.”
Isja frowned. “There’s gotta be something you can do! I’m sure of it!”
“I really have no clue what you expect me to do…”
The boy hummed for a moment. “It’s alright, I can’t do many cool tricks either… That’s Num’s deal. He can do cool stuff like peel oranges to make them look like watches, but he’s asleep right now,” he laughed.
At the edge of the circle, Randy rolled the piece of paper with utmost care and slipped it into a bottle before getting up, causing everyone else to look up at him.
“You going somewhere, Randy?” Lani asked, hands planted in the sand by her sides.
The man smiled down at her gently and nodded. “I’ll be back very soon. I’m just going to deliver a letter.”
He dusted the sand from his long coat and stretched his weary arms out, then headed towards the sea, leaving the sound of his friends’ voices behind him. Darkness had fallen quickly, leaving the sea as black as the ink he’d written with. In the sky, stars were beginning to come out of hiding, their brightness illuminating parts of the inky blackness with a certain gentleness. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“They’re coming out just to say hello to you, Winifred…” he said quietly, hardly registering that someone had come to join him.
“Winifred… Is that who your message is for?”
Lonan’s tinny voice caused Randy to look to his side, finding the spirit next to him. They looked back at him, awaiting a response. The man smiled yet again, looking at the sea.
“Yes… she always loved the sea, she did. She always asked me to read her books about marine biology, and ships, and things of that nature, and she always loved aquatic stuffed animals… Never got to see it up close, since Mestneric didn’t really have one, but I always told her we’d see it someday, so I like to think that she’s out on this sea somewhere.”
The spirit kept looking at Randy, then turned towards the sea as well. “How do you know it’ll reach her? The sea is vast and full of terrors, though you knew that already.”
The man chuckled in response. It was a hearty and full noise, but a little rough around the edges from his many years of life. “I suppose I don’t know if these letters I’ve written to her reach her, but I like to think they do. No matter how long it takes, my heart knows that they’ll find her eventually, wherever she may be.”
There was momentary silence, as if both of them were thinking to themselves, then Lonan’s voice again.
“I’m sure that she appreciates everything you send her, sir. She must know how loved she is, and I’m sure she’d be happy to know that her father is in such good company.”
Randy looked at Lonan, easily hiding slight confusion and concern on his face. It wasn’t every day that they expressed their own thoughts and feelings - Randy had always pegged them as the quiet type, never sharing what was going on in their mind. But it did make sense for them to feel a little more introspective because of this situation. After all, they were practically a husk of a person. They had no memories, no objects from their past life, nothing except for the knowledge that they had somehow died and become what they are now. It was only natural for them to wonder if someone out there still cared about them, too.
“That’s my hope… I want her to know that things are alright.”
Lonan nodded. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” they said, turning and beginning to float towards the campsite.
“I’m sure that someone out there is still thinking of you, too, Lonan.”
The spirit paused for a moment at Randy’s words before continuing towards the campsite. Wordlessly, Randy turned the bottle over and over in his hands, feeling the cool glass under his fingertips. He gazed down at it briefly, then launched it into the sea with all his might, squinting his brown eyes and watching it make a splash in the distance. Satisfied, he walked back to his friends.
-
Winifred -
Its been a long while since I’ve last written to you, hasn’t it? I’m sorry if I worried you! I’ve started travelling with some other folks - I think you’d like them. There’s this girl named Lani… She’s the strong type. Tries a little too hard to impress others at times, but a good kid. She reminds me of the main character in that book you like, “David the Cloven Hoof House”. Then there’s Lonan. I can’t get a good read on them, but they seem to be good company, too. Num’s a little grumpy, but I think you’d get along with him just fine. He’s got a soft spot for kids, though he doesn’t like to admit it. Though, I guess you’re not a kid anymore, are you? There’s also a boy named Isja. Peppy guy… A real optimist, but he’s not particularly careful, so I always need to look out for him, bwahaha!
But, how are things for you, kiddo? I know its been around 20 years, now, and I haven’t heard back from you at all, but I can’t help but wonder how things are going for you! I think I’m well on my way to seeing you again, so here’s hoping we see each other soon. :)
Oh, I almost forgot! Here’s my latest poem. My new friends tried to say it was good, but I can tell they didn’t like it all that much. Well, we’ve all got our bad days, right? Here’s hoping you like it more, pumpkin.
boogy woogy in the deep dark wilds of the bahamas
He threw rocks and garbage while squealing with glee
wooly boogers on our damp pajamas
It's all in what you see Well, it’s getting late, and we’re all sleeping soon. Lani’s been telling me to sleep more, so maybe I’ll try to tonight. We’ll see.
- Love, Daddo