Chapter 7

The whole shore was filled with jellyfish. Standing from afar would confuse one into thinking they're plastic bags thrown in there by the crowds. I wanted to scream at the people on the beach. Weren't they seeing this too? Why was everyone just so calm about it there shouldn't be any cries of laughter or ongoing conversations at this rate. What if there was someone swimming in the water with these critters, they could get hurt-

I looked around in fear for the people around me, and then came to the realization that, this was a dream. It was another one of those dreams again to guilt – trip me, my emotions were getting a hold of me again and I don't know what to do about it anymore, it's not my fault we had a vacation here, my parents just want the best for me but I just cant get over the past experience that left a scar on me forever. And now that scar has resorted to this. Can't I ever have a few days here without living my fears again? It's just the ocean, like what my parents told me why couldn't I seem to grasp that?

The answer to my own question would be how much I pitied that poor woman that day and how I wish I hadn't been on the couch to witness that event on TV. Or not even have anything to do with it, so now I'm stuck in this realm of distorted reality that depended on my decision now to change the ending's fate. What am I supposed to do?

Everything made sense now, to Jonathan being a toddler and everyone not paying attention to the infestation in the waters, this wasn't real, and neither were my actions.

But mom and dad.

That was all I could think of, I was still with my family here, this was still a living and breathing world, everyone had their fates.

I started walking back to where my "parents" were, I wanted to make sure they were OK. I remember dad was standing close to the water so that worried me a little. Jonathan was skipping on the sand like nothing happened. Of course he wouldn't understand how severe it is to have stinging creatures in the water that could kill you the moment there tentacles grab a hold of you.

Every step I could feel the sand pulling my feet deeper. I was afraid of what I would see ahead of me. And I was right. My parents were no longer there.

My eyes widened, I searched every inch of matter around me, not a single clue that my parents were still here. There weren't as many people anymore, but that wasn't the problem, it was where my parents could be. And then it hit me, if my parents were not here, they're most likely getting ready to board the boat! Which meant Jonathan and I would be left behind. Why would they do this to us?

I raced towards the boat station, trying to remember every single detail that we came across here while still gripping onto Jonathan's fragile hands to the boat station where a crowd of people were getting on a white boat with some seats and windows. It was definitely the ride that mom was talking about, we were on the right track. Poor Jonathan he just looked around and than back at me cluelessly but I had no time to explain everything to him right now, and since this was a dream it would probably be useless. Mom, dad I know this isn't real but please promise us you wouldn't leave us like that, not in real life either. Please don't let this be a message of what's going to happen in the future. You'd always want the best for us and this is definitely not it.

Not a single phone call or text from mom. Was she really mad at us, at me? Were we too late? Is this a way for her to lurk us all the way here and than to be scolded at the spot?

My feet landed on the wooden porch and to my surprise, the boat had already left. My heart sank knowing my parents had really done the impossible. I squinted my eyes at the passengers on the boat; I saw mom with her hat that caught my attention. Not too far away from her was dad who was just looking out at sea. The closer I look the more I was quite relieved to see my parents well until I saw something else.

To my horror I was there too me and Jonathan, standing beside mom accompanying her. There was nothing to distinguish them from us, same shirt, same looks, no distinguishable features at all. I couldn't process a single thing that I just witnessed. My mind was becoming foggy, it was hard to think straight, there were constant tensions making me want to throw up on the spot. I just wanted to hold onto someone and reflect on everything even though it wasn't my fault. How could there possibly be another me in this dimension, was that even me? Who am I or what am I?

Looking at the sight was so eerie I was afraid that the me on the boat might look back and reveal something uncanny that would lower my self-esteem. I had to and I did, I sat down on the floor, hoping that whatever was on the boat with my parents wouldn't harm them or do anything to them. The sight of mom just casually standing there with those impersonators replayed in my head, I wanted to believe they were just people who looked identical to us and that my parents were tired of waiting so they decided to go without us, but that seemed too unreal because they were us. Like any other child, expect a scolding, but this time it was the outcome of the boats last arrival. What if I was the impersonator? There's a chance that I'm the one who's taking the place of the me in this world where else would she come from, this is likely to be a third persons point of view. I wanted to believe that and sometimes convince myself that I was seeing things- but it was too hard to put the words together because it felt real.

"Where's mommy and daddy?" Jonathan broke the silence.

I looked up with a slight smile. He does feel things. I'm not alone anymore at least there's someone who understands.

But now the problem is, I don't know what to say to him. Even if he's too young to understand how alarming the situation is, he still wouldn't get it.

"They're- at the café! Our ice creams coming you excited?" I lied, the stammers were obvious.

Jonathan clenched his fists and beamed at me. His cute little eyes really looked like sparkles, similar to how they're portrayed in movies.

He jumped up and down with the orange squishy toy still in his hands. "Yay! Ice-cream! I want ice-cream!" I almost forgot about the situation I wished I could share the same happiness with him.

I decided to wait for my parents to come back and see what happens but before that, I wanted to call mom.

So I grabbed my phone from my pocket, messed with the controls and called her. I was hesitant at first, but I was determined to make sure I wasn't seeing things anymore. I had to get over this even if it meant getting humiliated in this nightmare.

"Hello?"

It was mom's voice.

I took a deep breathe before answering.

"Mom, it's me, Lucinda."

There was a moment of silence before I heard a choke at the other side. My body quivered.

"Is this another one of your games Lucinda?" There was a commotion going on along with some screams and yelling. I had a bad feeling about this, since mom thinks this is some prank, there's no way she'd believe I'm the real Lucinda. Now she was confronting the other Lucinda, meanwhile I'm here listening to the commotion.

"I don't have time for this!"

"Mom I-

I got cut off by dad who I figured was asking mom what was going on. I didn't hear anything from the other Lucinda, nor did I hear the other Jonathan's voice. Are they even there? Of course but why weren't they saying anything, unless they aren't human. That made sense, just being there to cause a ruckus like this between our family, and now this is what happened. I can't do anything because my parents and I were separated so I could only watch from afar and listen.

The argument was still going on, I could hear mom shouting at dad now. I think something must be very wrong now, the two imposters still aren't responding despite mom's bitterness right now. I could only break it up though it may make matters worse but the call was still on so I had to.

"Mom I-I'm your daughter, the real Lucinda, you left me and Jonathan at the beach." I croaked trying to hold my tears I don't think it was enough to convince her to believe me.

"We just got back from the store.. Jonathan got a new toy mom, r-really that's not us we're still here-

"This is not funny whoever you are! I don't want to hear from you again!"

With that the call ended, and we were left with nothing but dead silence.

I stared at the sky that was turning dark in just a few hours. What am I going to do now.

If Jonathan and I were now replaced, we had no where to go. We couldn't even make a report about this issue, it was unbelievable before we know it we both might get into trouble. All I could do was watch and hope my parents would come back safely, that's all that matters now. And from then on, I'd just observe and watch over them, maybe think of a plan.

Seeing Jonathan walking around, meddling with his toy made me feel discomfort in my chest. It hurts seeing him unaware of this dire situation at such a young age. Nothing crossed my mind at this rate, I stared into blank space, I wanted to call out for help but it would be to no avail, my parents would show up and I would be embarrassed in front of everyone, framed and castaway from society all because of something I couldn't control. What if I had came back earlier? If Jonathan and I had decided to put in effort into finding a spot for a little game, would I have been in this situation now? If this was a lesson for me to learn how to make the right choices, I think I'm starting to believe it. But at the same time, another thought crossed my mind and that is: This is just a dream it isn't real.

But my emotions are telling me otherwise.

~~~

My eyelids were heavy, the more I took a deep breathe, the tired I got. But it was the sound of a yell that made me jump from the wooden floor I was sitting on.

"We've got an emergency!"

When I heard that sentence I perked up and paid close attention to the staff at the boat station. Based on my observations, the boat that my parents boarded hadn't returned and evening was coming. I wasn't sure if I had fallen asleep, Jonathan was sitting beside me looking around too. My instinct tingled. Something was very wrong and I didn't like the sound of it. It better not be that something happened to the boat. Even if I wanted to deny it that was the possibility, and my suspicions rose when I saw some lifeguards racing ahead to the ocean with their speedboats. I turned back and saw a group of people including more lifeguards ushering everyone not to panic. My heart stopped when I heard the final blow to the sentence, I paid close attention to the whole statement.

"Boat number 451 has capsized 25 kilometres from shore, no survivors have been recovered yet, a search team has been sent to the area. Only a few spare parts and belongings have been found. A thorough search will be conducted, please be reassured that this case won't be left hanging. We apologize for this sudden alarm."

That was the boat my parents were on. There was no other boat that left this area. I looked at my watch again. It has been four hours since mom and dad were at sea and they hadn't come back since. I must've fallen asleep for this time skip to happen. This was so sudden I wasn't expecting the worst to occur especially when my emotions are at their lowest. I want to leave this nightmare right now.

More lifeguards raced to the boats further away and sped to sea, their sihlouttees disappearing from sight. Jonathan was sulking now, he wanted to go home, so I told him to wait a while because mom and dad were coming back soon even though that was a partly a white lie. He can't know the truth.

I heard footsteps behind me, only to be greeted by one of the lifeguards informing me about the severity of this chaotic situation and telling me to move away from this area because it was now blocked for ongoing investigations. I felt hurt but I had to because I wasn't a part of this nor was Jonathan.

Now that we were back on the sand, I felt a sense of bewildered nostalgia running through my veins. I miss my parents.

~~~

The sky was turning dark. Some time passed before that lifeguards, reporters and their camera crew were swarming the beach. Families of those who got lost in the unfortunate accident were breaking down at a once cheerful place. I got a call from my aunt earlier, she was going to pick me and Jonathan up. We'll be staying at her place from now on. I wondered, were those fake imposters responsible for all this? Of all people why were they targeting me, I was mature enough to handle the stress but not Jonathan, he doesn't deserve this.

It was a while before my aunt arrived.

"Oh my Lucinda and Jonathan I'm so sorry I-

She hugged us in tears, her words were inaudible, we couldn't hear what she was seeing but we knew deep in our hearts.

If she knew the truth behind what happened, she'd be shocked but I'm glad she didn't. I wasn't sure how to feel about this, but people not noticing me and Jonathan still on shore was a safe call. At least we didn't have to be answerable to anything, at least not for now.