Surface Tension

A cold gust of air woke Alice from a deep sleep. She noticed first her wet clothes and then the rocks and sand beneath her. It was early, just before sunrise. Cold, confused, and severely dehydrated, Alice picked herself up to search for her missing shoes. She remembered having a few drinks, but nothing that would explain a blackout like this. Being so close to the shoreline, it was a wonder the tide didn’t carry her off.

She found her shoes just a few yards away, side by side with the heels stuck neatly into the sand. Alice snatched them up, shook the sand from her dress, and trudged up to the pier to figure out where she parked.

After a long hot shower to wash the sand out of all the crevices, Alice sought the comfort of her regular booth at the diner with her best friend. She told Niki about how she woke up on the beach, Niki looking at her with motherly concern.

“Do you think something...you know...happened to you?”

“No, nothing like that! I mean...I don’t think so. I feel fine. No scratches. No bruises. I must have had too much to drink and decided to take a late night walk on the beach.” Alice laughed at the absurdity.

“God, Alice! That is so dangerous. You could have gotten...you know...or you could have drowned! Promise me you won’t do that again.”

“Okay.” Niki’s eyes bored into Alice until she got serious.“Okay!”

The conversation quickly turned to Alice’s new dating app. She showed Nicki the profile of the guy she recently connected with for a date.

“So, where are you going to meet this guy?,” Niki asked, intrigued.

“I was thinking about the harbor.”

“The aquarium again, Alice? What is your obsession?”

“I like watching the fish swim,” she shrugged. “It makes me calm.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that.”

Alice spotted her date in the crowd in front of the aquarium and introduced herself. Zach was handsome in a messy hair and leather jacket sort of way. He had never been to an aquarium before. Somehow this tourist attraction had become a standard for all first dates. Alice could get a feel for their personalities based on their reactions to all her favorite animals. It wasn’t an exact science, but dating is hard and she figured this method was as good as any.

First, the otters. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't like otters and Zach was no exception. He smiled at their antics and leaned in to show her his favorite otter memes on his phone. In his other hand he held a half empty plastic water bottle that crinkled loudly in his grasp.

“So, what do you do?,” he asked after a silence that went on just a second too long.

“If you mean my job, I’m a software developer, but please don’t make me talk about it,” she laughed. “It’s so boring.”

“That’s funny because I am a hardware guy. I’m in construction. Everything is either hardware or software if you think about it.” He smiled, waiting for her reaction.

Alice couldn’t decide if this was a sexual innuendo or something he meant literally. She just nodded with an affirmative “Um-hum.”

Moving on, they rounded the corner to the jellyfish exhibit. Soft music played while the jellyfish roamed their tall glowing cylindrical tanks. Zach paused, mindlessly crinkling his water bottle again.

“I don’t really get the point of jellyfish, do you?”

Alice bristled at the question. She adored the jellyfish. It took her breath away to see this beautiful creature simply exist. It didn’t need a purpose. It was a living thing, one who’s origins date back hundreds of millions of years.

Alice kept her eyes focused on the tank. “I just think they are beautiful.”

“Yeah, I guess they are.”

They took in a few more exhibits, their path eventually leading to the apex predators. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Nature’s perfect killing machine.” Zach made right for the bull shark and started tapping on the glass. “You’ve seen ‘Jaws,’ right? These guys will eat anything.”

“Really?” Alice looked back at him in disgust.

He continued, oblivious to her reaction. “If a shark tries to eat you, all you gotta do is punch ‘em in the nose.”

Alice laughed at the mental image. “It’s funny that you would say that because if you look at the statistics, sharks are responsible for about six human deaths a year. They have poor eyesight. Sometimes a diver looks a lot like a seal. Humans kill about a hundred million sharks per year. I would argue that humans are nature’s perfect killing machine. And it’s true, a shark will eat almost anything. She plucked the water bottle out of his hand and pointed it in his face. “Including all of this disposable plastic shit.”

“Wow, you’re really worked up about this.” He held his hands up defensively.

“Sharks are a vital part of our ecosystem. This stigma against them is driving them to extinction. Can’t you see the irony?”

“Why don’t we go somewhere else. Get a drink.”

“You go on ahead.”

“You sure?”

Alice watched the tiger shark slicing gracefully through the water and sighed. “Yep.”

Zach walked away muttering “bitch” under his breath.

Alice went to work the next day with a heavy heart. She went through the motions: morning coffee, commute, emails, but everything felt wrong. It had felt wrong for some time. She rose from her desk and went for her car without a word. As if steering itself, the car reached its destination with no conscious effort on her part.

The gulls called from overhead and the waves crashed rhythmically on the shore. Alice stood on the beach pondering the fact that all life on earth began in the sea. The sky was overcast and the sand was littered with clumps of kelp washed up by the tide, but the ocean never looked more beautiful. Alice swallowed the lump in her throat as great big saltwater tears rolled down her cheeks. She took off her clothes. It was cold, but the water comforted her with every step.

Her body began to change as the waves took her. In the depths she found her home.