Riascos González Sofía, Those Ocean Eyes

THOSE OCEAN EYES

Written by Sofía Riascos González

Ana was completely lost. The shapes and figures she was witnessing made no resemblance to anything her ocean eyes had ever seen in her 30 years of life. Ana started to walk around that unknown place, everywhere she looked seemed like a fantasy. This place was so magical that it could be described as a medieval castle, with long cream columns and tremendously large gardens filled with tulips and sunflowers. As Ana walked around she started to feel peace under her skin, she felt a kind of happiness that overloaded her body. Ana continued to walk around the castle and entered as many rooms as she could. Every one of them surprised her even more. One room was like an extravagant hotel lobby, the other was hut by the sea and no time or common world space could be distinguished inside that castle.

After a few moments, Ana decided to go inside a wideopen room but rarely seemed as if it called her with fear and anguish. The moment in which Ana entered that mysterious room her mindset was changed, what she saw standing in front of her made her jaw drop. Ana could not believe her eyes. Matthias, her husband, was standing right in front of her, looking down at her with love and a melancholic feeling that confused her deeply. Matthias stared at her without blinking, but both eyes didn’t cross paths. Ana blinked again and saw that Matthias was still staring at her, but what he stared at was only her body which was laying down with its eyes closed in a hospital bed with extremely low pulsations and on the verge of going down forever. At that moment Ana realized that her body had been separated from her soul. Her physical self was injured, it seemed like she could be going through a lot of pain, but her soul and where her conscience was located at that moment, felt perfectly right. After a few moments, Ana decided to try and reach out to Matthias, she wanted to let him know that despite everything, she was okay, although her

soul could move around, her voice was not able to reach the plane in which Matthias was settled, it was like an invisible barrier separated his world from hers.

Ana went into desperation, she could not understand anything that was going on. In one of her many attempts to touch, talk, or feel Matthias, she heard a whisper. Ana held onto that whisper as hard as she could and that whisper turned into a real voice, Matthias’ voice. Then that voice turned into two, because when she blinked a very young doctor entered the room. Ana heard Sabrina, the doctor, say to Matthias “ I believe I must inform you that this is not looking good. Sir, your wife has contained an infection we have never seen before, every single drug we have tried has made no advance in her condition. This medicine is only making her worst” and Matthias answered; “Sabrina, please help me here, I am desperate, I can’t lose her, if there is absolutely anything you can try, please do.” and Sabrina answered; “Well there is one thing, but it has not been tested before. You need to know that if we proceed with this special treatment the possibility of its success is rare and if it fails her body will have to be euthanized or else, I’ll be fired.” and Matthias answered; “I don’t care, tell me about it. I am willing to try anything”

At the moment in which Sabrina was going to open her mouth to explain to Matthias this procedure, Ana lost that connection she had made with the real world. She tried as hard as her body allowed her but she couldn’t understand what came out of these people’s mouths. With a surowy feeling, Ana walked outside that room into one of the castle’s beautiful gardens. As she walked, trying to calm herself with the warm weather and beautiful sunlight, she saw in the distance a woman wearing an extravagant green hat, which made her look like an elf. She was standing beside a water fountain. Ana could not see that woman’s face, but something dragged her

closer. When she got close enough that mysterious woman turned around and Ana almost passed out, that woman was her mother. Ana’s mom passed away over 10 years ago, so it was the first time they could see each other. Ana bursted into tears and said “Mom how can this be happening, I don’t get it, you are supposed to be dead” and Ana’s mom answered, “I don’t know honey, just trust your instincts.”

Ana and her mother started to walk around the castle while they talked about practically everything her mom had missed during those long years. A few hours went by and these two women found themselves in the only obscure place from that ginormous castle. It was a tunnel. One side guided to another beautiful garden and the other to endless and frightful darkness. Ana and her mom stood right in the middle and faced each other. Ana was very confused and asked where they were, and her mom answered; “Come on honey, walk with me to the light, you will love it there, I promise.”

Ana trusted her mother with her life, so she did not doubt for a second to follow her anywhere. As both of them walked closer to the light, Ana heard whispers that got louder with every step. She could not understand what the whispers said, but with the distance, those whispers turned into voices and when she was going to take the last step and reach the garden the murmurs screamed; “Ana! don’t take any more steps please, turn around, look at me” Ana’s mom told her not to turn around, that those voices were just trying to distract her from finding true happiness. Ana stopped walking and turned around but the darkness of the tunnels made it impossible to see anything, so she took a step closer to the blackness. With each step, the voice became clearer and clearer until she realized it was Matthias screaming at her with all his heart.

Sabrina entered the hospital room that day and checked Ana’s vital signs. She said the patient had never been weaker

and that there was only one more thing they could try. She warned him that it was very rare, but if he believed enough in the power of love, it could succeed. Sabrina moved closer to Matthias and told him to grab Ana’s hand and to talk to her. She said he had to believe that Ana was listening. Each time Matthias pronounced a phrase Ana’s pulse got softer. Sabrina begged him to try harder and said; “Matthias, this is a life or death moment, believe me. This spiritual calling is our last resort, is the help that traditional medicine needs. If this fails, Ana must be disconnected from everything. These are new drugs, so if they don’t work they must never be seen or heard from anyone, anymore. Please do your best. Focus...Matthias... focus! Try to show her how much you love her and how much you love each other. Love is the only tool that is powerful enough to bring her back. This is it, Matthias, you just have to believe it. Hold her hand tighter.”

Ana’s mom appeared back in the picture and said; “Ana sweetie, I’m your mother, come with me. There is no other bond like family. Let yourself go from your old life and walk with me to the light.” Ana took a step closer to her mother. Matthias could not give up and started shouting “ Ana, please. Don’t leave me. I love you more than words could ever explain. Your life is not supposed to end like that. We have yet so much to discover together.”

“Come on sweetie, you know this is what you have to do” spoke Ana’s mom peacefully.

Ana took a deep breath and reached her mother’s arms. She held her as tight as she could and when she inhaled her last breath before she was consumed completely by the light, she pushed herself away from her mom. Ana screamed; “who are you? You are not my mother. When I hugged you, you did not smell like her. You are not her. What are you trying to do?’’

At that moment the soul pretending to be her mother

bursted into an explosion of lightning and consumed itself. Ana was extremely confused about what had just happened and could not help herself. She just cried hopelessly.

A few minutes later, her depressedly consumed head, heard a voice, it was Matthias again. He screamed; “it’s alright Ana. that was not your mom, it was somebody trying to guide you to paradise, but you are not quite ready to conquer that land yet. Come home, your life must not be over yet.” Ana walked softly towards the darkness.

The heart monitor started to slow down. Matthias held his wife’s hand, closed his eyes, and kissed her on the forehead with all the love in the world. When he opened his eyes, he saw two lids come together and instantly fall apart, a tear of happiness came out of those beautiful ocean eyes. She was back.