Breaking waves of salt water, the excitement of the infinite, the fear of the unknown, all these feelings were tangled up in Luka's heart. He wanted to race on a sailboat, he wanted to sail around the world, he wanted to change gravity, he wanted to fly on water, he wanted to experience adventure alone, sailing on strange tides. The sensation of the wind shaking, the power of the sea invading, the immensity of the ocean blinding, the power of the unknown and the world at your feet. Living life as it comes, as it feels, welcoming storms like old friends.
Luka wanted to run.
So he signed up for a great solo round-the-world adventure. By controlling his white sailboat, he was controlling his life, an existence he could barely comprehend. Luka cast off his white horse and sailed into the deep waters of the ocean. He had no ties on land, no wife to lose, only a brother he hadn't seen in years. Luka didn't have a permanent job, he didn't have a home, there was nothing to link him to the terrestrial world. It was as if he hadn't been born to live on land, as if he didn't have to live like an ordinary mortal. The call of the sea was stronger than anything else, as if someone were waiting for him, as if someone were calling him. The sound of the waves lulled his nights, and he longed for their caresses.
On the big day, Luka's heart wandered the streets one last time. Wearing a purple pirate's hat, he didn't care what people thought. He was living his dream, the only being to flourish in the mist. The big blue was exciting. The further he got from the coast, the more he tasted the salt of the sea. The movement of the boat on the waves didn't make him sick. It was like a lullaby to him, he could fall asleep like that. Luka was hypnotised by the sea and wondered if it had the same effect on him. He could spend hours looking at it, but he had a competition to win. He wanted to win the cup. He saved all his life to buy his sailboat, he played the game for years to get what he wanted in the end. It was time for him to follow the wind and live.
A final farewell to the land of humans, a final farewell to this world that did not belong to him. He had no regrets, and was ready to be reborn beneath the waves of the rough seas.
In his previous life, Luka wrote poems that nobody read. These poems seemed to come from another world, an inspiration from nowhere. He followed a clear line in his head, wandering between the pages of his manuscript. He had an irresistible urge to talk about the infinity of the ocean, and did so very often, but he wasn't happy talking about the sea without seeing it. Imagination didn't give him that connection. He was obsessed with leaving, obsessed with disappearing. He didn't want to lose the voice of the sea that he sometimes heard.
He wrote one last poem before leaving, left on the pavement of an alleyway that was never lit. His poem was about a love he had never known, a woman he had never loved and a body he had never cherished. Luka didn't feel this world, he felt the absence of her.
The supernatural, the mystical, the impossible was waiting for Luka, but he didn't know it.
The tenth day at sea was the worst. A huge storm almost toppled the white horse. As he battled against the ocean, he heard a voice. The waves were raging, the winds were violent, and he was doing everything he could not to fall overboard. He wanted to follow his plan, but nothing was going according to plan. The sea was having fun with his white sailboat. He felt small, defenceless in the face of the Queen's power. He was vulnerable to her. The cold crept into his flesh, his bones, his heart. He felt feverish, he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet, he even wondered if all this was real. Maybe he'd fallen asleep at his desk, maybe he'd never escaped. He had to get back to his cabin to wake up, he had to do something so he didn't get lost again. The sea was so angry, he hadn't done anything wrong, he hoped it would calm down.
The sky was strangely dark in the middle of the day, as if night had taken over. The sea glowed in the dark, the lightning illuminating the secrets.
Someone was watching him.
Luka didn't want to waste a second, so he slipped awkwardly before entering the cabin and closing the door behind him. The sound of the wind was soft in his ears now, and he took a deep breath, then exhaled his fear. At last, some peace.
In the distance, the sea was watching the boat. The woman did not move in the midst of the chaos. Such power could not be ignored, such a woman could not be erased. She scanned the movements of the boat, such a small boat that she could easily destroy. The day had started well before this storm called. She saw the white sailboat struggling not to capsize, and she wanted to help it. She was no more powerful than any other creature in the ocean, she was nothing special. She was a precious pearl who simply wasn't afraid of men. She wasn't afraid of Luka, she wanted him. She'd seen a human before, she'd even drunk their blood. She knew Luka wasn't from her world, she knew he had no idea what she had in store for him. The cruelty of life had no limits, no barriers. Here, he was willing prey.
Her long flipper began to glide through the water, heading towards him. She let herself be guided by her mother... the sea. Her voice mingled with his, telling him that this was his destiny.
Minutes later, he heard another noise, louder than the first, which sounded like a body being thrown on wood. He couldn't understand it. He had to get out of his cabin to see what was going on. As he stood up, he heard an intelligible voice. He convinced himself that he hadn't heard anything. He put on his fluorescent yellow mackintosh and opened the door to face the storm winds. He grabbed a rope to hold on to so as not to fall.
It was hell and the body of a woman was laying there.
She was naked, her legs covered by a transparent membrane, her long wet hair in tight curls forming a divine halo around her face. Luka was fascinated by this creature; she looked human without being human. Her beauty was so bewitching that he thought he could see the sun rising on her skin. Luka thought he was dreaming because he never thought in his life he would meet such a magnificent being. He slowly approached her. His heart could do no other. He knelt down and ran his hand over the thing covering her legs. The viscous membrane bent between his fingers, but it didn't frighten him. He was hypnotised. His irises glowed with a dangerous fire but Luka couldn't see it, she could, although her eyelids remained closed.
He gently lifted the body of the unknown woman and walked without rope to the door of her cabin.
He was strong now that he was with her, he had found the world he was looking for. The woman's breaths tickled his neck, he was carrying a cloud in a cage or the cloud was carrying him out of the cage. Luka didn't seem to be Luka any more. At her touch, he was different. Their connection created electricity that vibrated through every part of his body. They belonged together.
The woman could feel the blood surging through Luka's veins. Inside her, a strange attraction was awakening from a deep sleep. Her long hair slid across the white floor like thousands of snakes. She smiled secretly as she wiggled her toes. She could feel life stirring inside her.
Luka moved around the small cabin. He was careful not to let anything bump into her. The white horse had to be gentle with her. No one had ever been in her refuge before. Unique as a shooting star. Divine as the ocean. The woman opened her eyes and then closed them again.
He placed her on the bed, which was soon soaked, and Luka looked at the sleeping beauty in front of him for a moment. Reassured, he turned round to take off his mackintosh and put it on the table. He realised that the boat was no longer moving, as if there were no more waves, as if they were no longer on the sea. He turned to look at the woman on the bed... Maybe he'd bottled the sea.
In an instant, she disappeared from his sight. He walked towards the bed without trusting his mind. He heard murmurs. He closed his eyes, then opened them again and there she was, standing before him.
Naked and dangerous.
Luka's fear was delicious, she revelled in it. Fangs protruded from her lips as her smile widened. Her black eyes looked like abysses. Black veins swelled around her dark gaze as her curly hair twisted together.
Luka gasped in fright as she transformed.
- Who are you?
- I'm Alice.

On strange tides
Author's note: I don't know if I should continue with this story, it's quite atypical and I confess I don't know where it fits in.
Let me know what you think!
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