Page 12 of Tides of Time

There was nothing he could do now but wait. Wait and wonder until everything becomes a blur as a new reality replaces the old reality - his current reality.

Once, he’d tried to explain to Ariana what it was like for those she left behind when she slipped through the tides of time. It was an empty existence and went on for as long as it took her to complete her task.

She could be gone for days, sometimes. Minutes other times.

There was never any way to know the outcome.

A chill spread through his chest, leaving a numb and lifeless feeling in its wake. The emptiness was palpable, like a void sucking all warmth and vitality from his core. It left him feeling hollow and alone, as if the very essence of his being had been drained away.

His entire world was somewhere in time, potentially fighting for his life and hers, and Orion could do nothing.

Truth be told, his wife was a force of nature with her gift. She could travel at will, and while she had never tampered with anyone’s life without their consent before, she could at any time. The people in their pod respected her for the intensity of her gifts. They didn’t hold her at arm’s length, though. They welcomed her and treasured what she could give their people.

And it still wasn’t enough.

Orion let out a heavy sigh, trying to ignore the sensation of wet sand squishing between his toes and invading every crevice of his body. He grimaced at the feeling, wishing he could shake off the grains and wash them away with the crashing waves.

He couldn’t lay on this beach forever. If this reality changed, if she didn’t come back with a change of heart, he would vanish, but potentially not soon enough to stop someone from seeing a load of naked man they might not have been invested in seeing.

Pushing upright, Orion glanced at the pants they’d grabbed from their home before their travels. He slipped his jeans on forgoing boxers, ignoring how constricting they were around his thighs.

Being a merman was freeing in a way he could never imagine. May never imagine if Ariana succeeded in taking this from them both.

What if the man she met wasn’t enough for her? He’d been different then, a soldier. Would she make haste and return to their time only to hate him for the human he’d been?

Orion dragged his hand through his short hair with a disgruntled sound. He’d been no one special when he’d died. The fear of death never left him. Orion believed Poseidon left them with those vivid memories to ensure they never forgot what was done to them - to never forget how they were indebted to him.

He trudged on through the soggy sand, each step sinking deeper than the last. The salty sea air filled his lungs as he made his way towards the water's edge, determined to reach his destination despite the discomfort of sand everywhere.

Gazing out into the silent night, Orion couldn’t help but stop the flashes of memory of his life as a human. Of the senseless violence he’d been forced to carry out in the name of his people as those of other religions attacked his homeland. He’d never told Ariana, but he’d taken close to a hundred lives before he lost his own.

He’d stared into countless sets of eyes, all filled with fear, before pulling the trigger. He’d cowardly killed many others by not looking them in the eyes as he brought them to their death. He was killer in his own right. A murderer, and that weight never truly left his shoulders, but Orion had found a way to ignore some it with the pod.

The man he’d been before was the reason he did not aim to hurt any in his new life. Ironic given his gift, but still truthful. He would kill if necessary, and had on many occasions, but he wasn’t the pacifist he led wife to believe his entire life.

Once upon a time, I deserved the drowning death I’d found. Maybe if she succeeds, Ariana will make me a better person the same way she’d help take the coldness from my soul as a merman.

His stare stayed on the waves.

Sitting back on the sand, but further from the shoreline to keep his trousers dry, Orion looked out over the calm ocean. The barely visible waves were made stunning by the glint and glimmer of moonlight off the dark water. He could watch them for hours and would do so to ensure if Ariana somehow appeared in the water, he would be the first to see her.

Whether he had minutes or hours, he would never know. The waiting was a death in and of itself, but for his wife, he would always wait.

SIX

Ariana's legs,already weakened and trembling from exhaustion, nearly gave out a third time as she stumbled across the broken cobblestone street. The once-pristine stones now lay scattered and jagged, evidence of the destruction that had ravaged this part of town. Puffs of dust rose up with each step Ariana took, coating her legs and clothes in a layer of grime. She strained to keep her footing, the only sound accompanying her labored breaths was the crunching of debris beneath her worn boots. Her heart raced as she scanned the desolate street for any signs of life or safety. But all she found were crumbling buildings and shattered windows, dark and empty like the pit in her stomach.

Israel was nothing like the glossy travel photos she had seen in her time. The reality was a far cry from the picturesque images of endless sand dunes and barren landscapes. Instead, it was a patchwork of colors and textures, a vibrant mosaic of life. The earth beneath her feet was a rich red, dotted with tufts of green vegetation. In the distance, a rocky mountain range soared against the deep blue sky.

The streets were teeming with life, as cars zipped by and people hurried along the sidewalks. The constant honking of car horns filled the air, adding to the chaos. As she stood on the corner, the sun beat down on her exposed skin, causing her to squint and block out some of the surrounding city. She longed for the cool shade of a nearby building, but new a desert climate was not likely to offer that this time of year.

She’d never been to the desert, even as a human, but she’d heard stories of the sun from Orion.

“Stories that did not properly articulate this,” she huffed, actually longing for the cool waves she’d just left behind.

The relentless heat of the sun beat down on her, scorching her bare skin. She had no protection from its fiery rays - no sunscreen to shield her delicate complexion. All she could do was pray that the thin dress she snatched from a nearby clothing line would provide some relief and protect her skin from being completely ravaged by the intense heat. Tiny beads of sweat formed on her brow, accentuating the already prominent redness of her flushed cheeks. The air hung heavy with humidity, making it difficult to breathe. She longed for a cool breeze or even a single cloud to block out the harsh sun, but all she could do was trudge onward in the unrelenting heat, hoping to find relief soon.

Ariana could - and would - apologize to her shoulders later with a soothing kelp wrap.

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