Message From The Grave

The woman turned around before I could reach her and went deeper into the sea. I waded into the water. Where was she going? Why couldn’t I see her face? Who was she? I thought I asked these questions out loud, but the only sound I could hear was her gentle voice calling my name. I chased after her. The waves pushed back. The water level rose to my knees. ‘Amiyah!’ An arm shot around my waist and roughly yanked me back. ‘What are you doing?’ I turned around. Kieran held onto me. He looked terrified. I blinked. ‘I…I was trying to talk to her.’ ‘Talk to whom?’ Kieran’s voice shook. ‘You are the only one out here.’ I glanced around. A seagull dipped into the water, then flew away. The woman in the white dress had disappeared. ‘I…’ My head swam. Kieran half-carried, half-dragged me back to shore. He didn’t let go of me the entire time. ‘It’s not your fault.’ His eyes were red-rimmed. Kieran repeated, ‘Not your fault.’ I kept looking back towards the horizon. ‘I made an error of judgement,’