The boat rocked beneath her, the water as dark as the memories swirling in her mind. The blood-red moon still hung in the sky, its light casting eerie shadows across her pale hands as she gripped the edge. The silence was stifling, broken only by the faint creaking of the boat and the occasional ripple in the water.
Emily's gaze dropped to the sea. The faces beneath her, shimmering and ghostly, were the fragments of her past—pieces of her life that had once been whole, now distorted and warped by time, regret, and loss. Her father's face, smiling but somehow wrong. Old friends, their eyes hollow, their features twisted by the weight of forgotten promises. A lover's face, the one who had walked away, and then the face of the woman she used to be, standing in a room she no longer recognized.
Her heart raced. She had to let go. She had to stop reaching for these memories. But the faces kept rising to the surface, beckoning her, drawing her in. They were all there, suspended in the water, begging for her attention, reminding her of all the things she couldn't change.
She felt the familiar tug in her chest, the temptation to sink into the past, to hold on to something—anything—that would make her feel whole again. But she knew better. She had been doing that her whole life. Trying to cling to pieces of herself that weren't even real anymore.
"No," she whispered to the faces below, her voice shaky but determined. "I'm not doing this."
The boat wobbled again, and Emily leaned forward, her hands tightening around the edge. The memories were still there, rising and falling beneath her, but this time, she didn't look. She didn't reach for them. She kept her gaze fixed on the empty space ahead, forcing herself to breathe, to steady herself.
She had to move forward. The boat would only stay afloat if she did.
Taking a deep breath, Emily looked down at her own reflection. Her face was pale, her hair damp with sweat, but her eyes were steady. She could feel the weight of the boat, the weight of her own body, pressing down on the fragile wood. It was no longer tipping, no longer swaying. The water had calmed beneath her, and with it, she felt the tension in her own chest begin to loosen.
The memories were still there, lingering at the edges of her mind, but they weren't the same. They weren't her anchor anymore. They were just pieces, fragments of a life she had lived and lost. She didn't need them to survive.
"I can't keep carrying you," she murmured to the faces. The faces of the people she had loved, the people she had lost, the people who had betrayed her. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of each memory lift as she let go.
Her heart pounded, but she didn't stop. She kept releasing them, one by one. The faces, the regrets, the anger, the guilt—she let them all slip away into the dark water. Each memory that she cast aside made the boat feel lighter, more stable. With each memory that drifted away, she felt herself becoming more grounded in the present.
The boat groaned beneath her, but it didn't tip. It didn't sway. The sea was still. The faces no longer pressed against the water's surface. It was as though the ocean itself had accepted her decision, the stillness a quiet acknowledgment that she had chosen to stop drowning in her past.
For the first time, the boat felt steady beneath her, the rocking now a gentle motion, like a lullaby. Emily let out a long, shaky breath, feeling something shift inside her. She wasn't just floating anymore. She was anchored in the present, her heart a little lighter, her mind a little clearer.
The weight of her past wasn't gone, not entirely, but it no longer defined her. She could still remember the people, the moments, the pain. But she didn't need to carry it with her every day. She didn't need to let it control her.
The boat moved forward, as though the sea itself was pushing her onward, urging her to keep going. Emily looked up at the moon, its red glow dimming now, and felt a sense of calm wash over her. She was still here. Still alive. And she had a choice.
Her gaze flickered to the water, the last faces slipping into the depths, disappearing into the dark. The boat steadied, and with it, she felt her body relax, the tension she had carried for so long starting to melt away.
She didn't know what would happen next. She didn't know where this strange reality would take her. But for the first time, she felt like she could face whatever came her way.
Her eyelids grew heavy, the exhaustion from the emotional weight of the journey finally catching up to her. The boat felt like home now, the motion comforting, almost familiar. She could feel her body giving in, the pull of sleep calling her back into its embrace.
And then, just as the world began to blur at the edges, she heard it.
"Emily."
The voice was faint at first, distant, but unmistakable. George.
"Hey, Emily," he called, louder this time, his voice cutting through the fog of sleep. "Wake up."
Emily's eyes snapped open, and she was back. The rickety boat, the dark ocean, the blood-red moon—gone. The soft, familiar weight of her blanket replaced the boat beneath her. The scent of her own room filled her senses. And standing at her door, a half-smile playing on his lips, was George.
"Did you have fun on your little trip?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking both concerned and amused.
Emily blinked a few times, her breath still unsteady from the remnants of the dream. She sat up slowly, her body aching from the weight of everything that had just happened. Her heart was still pounding in her chest.
"Yeah," she said softly, still trying to catch her breath. "It was... something."
George didn't press. He just gave her a knowing look, as if he understood that there was more to her words than she was willing to admit. "Well, the world's still here when you're ready to join it," he said, offering her a small smile. "Come on, I'll give you a minute."
Emily nodded, feeling the remnants of the boat, the ocean, and the faces still lingering at the edges of her thoughts. But now, they didn't feel as heavy. She had let go of them. At least for now.
And for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel like she was sinking