⸺ angelfish.

She was wearing a pair of sensible, slip resistant, work shoes but even if she hadn’t been she still would’ve felt confident holding onto the metal railing with both hands and pulling herself up onto the bottom rung, just to be a few inches closer to the breathtaking swirl of pastel colors above her head. Now that the sun was truly beginning to set, its intense rays were disappearing behind the horizon with it and so she lifted her face to the sky and soaked in the last bit of sunlight for the evening. The breeze picked up, tousling her dark hair and causing goosebumps to appear on her exposed arms.

She was sure who, if anyone, she had hoped to be paired with when she initially entered the raffle, but she’d assumed whoever it ended up being would be someone she’d met before at the very least. When she received a slip of paper with an unfamiliar name scrawled on it, she’d been surprised but not disappointed. That was the point of this sort of event, right? To meet someone she wouldn’t have otherwise met? Seated at a table that had been reserved for her and her date for the evening, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the slip of paper with the name written on it, smoothing it out on the table with both hands. It was strange, having a name without a face. She tried to imagine the person it belonged to, and what sort of conversations the two of them might have once they finally arrived. If nothing else, she had every intention of making a new friend by the end of the night. Folding the piece of paper in two and tucking it back her back, she glanced up and met eyes with someone being led to her table by a waitress. She rose from her seat and beamed, extending her hand to her date, her other hand fiddling with the gauzy fabric of her skirt, betraying her nerves. “Belle, right?” 

she spent every spare moment she had as close to the bay as she could possibly get without actually swimming in it. most days, she could get away with submerging her feet to the ankles at the very least. with a plate of cold french fries in one hand and a glass of powdered lemonade in the other, she walked toward the dock closest to the diner, where she would usually take her lunch hour. she hadn’t been expecting anyone else to be there but she hoped that if she were quiet enough, the two of them could share the spot for just a bit. she even tried to walk quietly, but that was a little difficult to do on old wood dock, it creaked and groaned under her weight, announcing her presence the very moment she stepped foot on it. at least when she looked up from her book, wendy was smiling. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to disturb you. i was just looking for somewhere to sit.” she held up her hodge-podge lunch with an apprehensive smile. 

she parted her lips, a witty reply on the tip of her tongue, but when she met his eyes it was all she could do to remember to breathe. she swallowed hard and forced her gaze back onto the sky. the sun was slowly starting to set, painting the clouds various shades of yellow, orange, and pink. she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the railing and cupping her chin in both hands. it was the perfect view, like something that would be printed on a postcard. it was the reason why she rushed all the way from the diner every evening, the one thing that could make a long, stressful, day seem worth it. erik had mentioned that he’d run there to catch the sunset too. where had he just come from? should she ask? would he think she was weird if she did? “it’s strange ⸺ how we both come here to watch the sunset every day and we haven’t ever bumped into each other before.” she snuck a glance at him from the corner of her eye as she spoke. “did you come here straight from work?”

as fascinated as she was by peter, ariel kept her eyes glued to the darkening sky. the sun was just beginning its descent, its rays reflecting of the surface of the water so that it sparkled like a diamond. with one hand, she shielded her face from the light, with the other she held fast to the metal railing separating her and the bay. she wanted nothing more than to strip off her uniform and submerge herself in it, to swim in shades of orange, and pink, and purple. she felt an undeniable pull toward the water, a string with her at one end and the bay at the other. but she had yet to give in. and what of peter? though their conversation had been brief, she was almost certain that if she voiced that want aloud her newest companion would encourage it, maybe even join her in doing it himself, and it was for that very reason that she kept it to herself.

she had hoped that the person with her was looking forward to the sunset but she never would’ve guessed that he would be as excited, if not more excited for it, than she was. the smile on her face grew wider as she watched him literally bounce up and down with excitement. she could feel the energy coming off of him in waves and it was kind of infectious. any other day, watching the sunset at the dock was nothing more than a daily ritual, merely something pretty to end a long day with, not something that made her heart race. perhaps it wasn’t the thought of the sunset that was making her heart race but the boy standing at her side. she kept her face forward but snuck a few glances at him from the corner of her eye. “the way the colors reflect off the surface of the water,” she murmured, “that’s my favorite part.” it was the only time of day that the ocean looked any color other than green or blue, not that she minded green or blue, she looked them very much in fact, but there was something about the cotton candy colors mirrored onto the water's sparkling surface that looked downright magical. 

the two of them made quite an odd pair, standing side by side, staring who-knows-where, listening for who-knows-what. she was tempted to break the silence just to throw off his concentration, it was what he deserved for being so abrasive with her earlier, but she was genuinely curious about what he was doing now. his very sudden exclamation nearly startled her to death. without thinking, she swatted him on the shoulder with the back of her hand “why did you do that?” she demanded, pouting again. whatever he was hearing, or not hearing, hardly mattered now that she had to actively keep her heart from beating out of her chest. “what in the world are you talking about?” it took her brain a little more time to process what he was saying but she once did, and taken several deep breaths as well, she frowned. “someone’s boat went missing? how does that even happen in this town? bounds bay only has one harbor. just because the son was lying about the horn doesn’t mean he had anything to do with it.” she pointed out, she herself had lied to her father about things several times for no good reason. not to mention it could’ve been basil’s curt personality that made him do it. she knew she would be intimidated by him if they’d met under those circumstances.

she may not have known the tidbit of information basil had just shared about the sunset, but she did know one thing for sure, this man was much too serious. his no nonsense attitude reminded her quite a bit of her father and, while she loved her father very much, he wasn’t always the most pleasant person to be around. “it’s pretty whatever you call it,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders, “ but wait a minute, if it isn’t called a sunset then what is it called?” if he was so against pleasantries than he really should’ve ignored her entirely, and he definitely shouldn’t have revealed himself to be wealth of knowledge. she was a rather inquisitive young woman, after all, and she did not appreciate being shushed. she started to pout, but his attention was already focused elsewhere. sighing at the sky, certain that she would miss out on the ‘not sunset’ she followed basil’s gaze to ─ well, she wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at it, but whatever it was he sure was watching it intently. “i can see why you prefer this view.” she huffed. she narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brow, maybe if she concentrated a little harder she’d see what he saw. 

ariel slipped her phone out of her pocket again and opened up the weather app. “nope. actually, it looks like you should be good for the rest of the night.” she held up the screen so that he could see the breakdown of the daily forecast for himself. she was certain she’d seen this man around town before, he was hard to miss. while the two of them spoke, she admired his tattoo, tempted to reach out and trace the heart shape with her finger. she’d always wanted a tattoo herself but her father absolutely hated them and, though she’d moved away from home a while ago, she still had a very difficult time doing things she knew he wouldn’t approve of. “so, what kind of work do you do?” she asked. “i envy you, i’d love to work out on the water instead of waiting on tables all day.”

​it had been an incredibly long day for her, she’d been standing her entire shift and she desperately needed a moment to sit and rest her aching feet. but she wouldn’t settle for just anywhere, she could endure at least a few more minutes of pain for the the opportunity to watch the sun set over the water. when she arrived at her usual place, she was surprised to see that someone else was already there. she cleared her throat so that her approach wouldn’t accidently startle the other person, then joined them at the end of the dock. worried that the sound of her voice might ruin the tranquility of the setting, she caught the person’s eye and smiled, then slipped her phone out of her back pocket and checked for the time of that evening’s sunset. she wasn’t completely sure the person standing there was waiting for the same thing she was waiting for, but she certainly hoped so, or else what she was about to tell them would mean nothing to them and she’d have disrupted the peace for no reason. “shouldn’t be long now,” she whispered to her companion, “phone said the sun would start to set around 5:30.”