Meeting at the Seashore

She showed up again last night, just after I plucked the mackerels and sardines from the fishing nets and collected them in the pail.

“Seems you’ve got plenty of catch,” she said in her contralto voice. She was looking down at the fish.

“Lucky tonight,” I replied smilingly.

The cool wind fondled my arms. I shivered. It blew the lantern in my bangka and the light blinked.

She was standing like some diwata across the bangka, my small fishing vessel. The yellow glow of the lantern faintly illuminated her only-revealed skin, the pleasant face, and her sleek dark suit which accentuated the curves of femininity.

The suit always made me wonder about her. At first, I thought she was a scuba diver who just happened to wander the shores of my remote village. But she didn’t have the equipment of a scuba diver. At one time, I’d asked her where she had been. And, she’d answered, “from a distant place”. I presumed what she meant was from the city. I’d asked her why in the world she ended up in the seashore past twilight. She just answered me with a gleaming smile. The most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.

Sometimes in my solitude, I pondered upon what she’d told me. I couldn’t put away the idea that she was insane. She’d said ridiculous and awful things. It lets my hair swept up to the tip and my blood rush through my nape.

“Have you already considered telling someone about what I said?” she asked the last time we talked. She slowly walked around the bangka to me.

I shook my head, reluctantly.

“You still have doubts. Someday you’ll see.” Her eyes stood out against the lantern’s light.

I was ready to head to the seawall and so I bent down to pick up the pail of fish. As I started walking, she blocked my way. I drew back, as a respect to her. She looked straight into my eyes. The lantern lighted half of her smooth face, her crisp blond hair curling above her shoulder. Her beauty dazzled me.

She then spoke up regretfully. “I have reached my time limit of staying here. I can’t risk my life anymore.” She touched my arm gently as if we’d been friends for a long time. Her hand was soft but really cold. “Remember what I’ve told you.”

The gentle breeze winnowed. The lantern held up a long wink. When the light flashed back, the mysterious woman was already on her way to the ebbing sea. I was surprised at how quickly she moved. My heart was bouncing like a fish in the land. I was torn between the amazement I felt and the mere shyness of calling her out loud. I didn’t know her name.

Her shadow joined with darkness. I got the lantern and strode in her direction. The lantern was shining five meters around me and my shadow walked behind me. I stopped to look ahead, but she was gone. I thought maybe she’d drowned. And so, my heartbeat built up more like a wild horse’s gallop. Worry swallowed up my strength so that I couldn’t bear the weight of the lantern. I had to put it down, compressing its light on the pebbled sand.

After a short while, my vision reconciled with the darkness of the night. Then, looming before my struggling eyes, 20 meters away from me, stationary upon the surface of the sea, was a metallic cube glowing in silver. I hurried to go over it. Cold waves beat my legs, but I still continued until the seawater reached up to my waist.

My eyes were on the silver cube as it took off and darted up into the clear night sky. The fastest thing I’d ever seen. It blinked a bright dot and gone away into the shimmering stars. I was utterly shocked while my eyes were still locked on where it had left nothing but emptiness. Then, her words interfered with my memory.

“After a century from now, my race will come to Earth to clean up the mess mankind has done. We will cleanse your world. We will put all of you on a big ship that will roam around your solar system. We will then purge the air, water, and land from pollution. That very moment, you would have been dead, perhaps. Warn your sons and their sons. To those who will be against us will cease to exist."