The breeze picked up as the rain pelted down harder, soaking Marina’s aqua hair and her green dress. Marina gazed at moonless rainy night sky, merging her moist tears with the cold droplets of rain.

Her attention to the sky moved downward as a fluff of fur brushed against her legs.

Huh?

“Meow,” a soft voice greeted Marina.

Three gleaming olive green eyes reflected in the darkness as they met Marina’s eyes. A lean beautiful gray cat with three olive green eyes rubbed against the aqua-haired woman’s legs. They gazed intensely at Marina, startling the woman. The cat wore a fancy black collar decorated with a round faceted transparent crystal.

Marina gaped at the cat’s third eye. The olive green eye blinked back at her.

“He—Hello kitty…” Marina greeted quietly, recollecting herself. “This is my first time meeting a cat with three eyes.”

The gray cat purred loudly with pride as she head-butted against Marina’s laced brown boots.

A small smile peaked on Marina’s lips. The first smile she had in months. “You’re still cute even though you look strange. Aren’t you bothered by the rain?” I thought cats didn’t like to get wet.

“Meow,” the three-eyed cat answered.

Marina chuckled, bending down to pet the cat’s wet forehead. “Or maybe you don’t mind the rain like me. You should go home now.” Marina glanced at the cat’s jewel collar, noticing it may be an outdoor cat. The gray cat looked well-fed and her coat was too shiny to be a stray.

“You have a place to go unlike me,” Marina remarked softly.

The olive green eyes glanced up at Marina curiously, staring at the left arrow pointed-shaped birthmark on Marina’s left hand.

“Goodbye, kitty.” Marina waved her hand at the feline, taking one last look at the three-eyed cat before she headed inside the entrance of a wooded park.

The three-eyed gray cat watched the human disappear.

~~~

I am here.

Raindrops bombarded the still lake that absorbed the darkness of the night while some parts of the wooded park were dimly illuminated by the streetlamps. The light rain shower drenched the entire park. Marina faced the large pool of water, her back to the dense foliage, as the wind blew her braided ponytail and dress. It was cooler than before after the sunset, especially in the rain.

Abbi took me here on our first date.  Marina recalled the lost fond memory. We used to walk here together. Now I’m the only one who still comes here alone. She has forgotten about this place.

Wistful teal green eyes brimmed with tears.

Now the happy memories are a fragment of the past.

Everything is falling apart in my life. My relationship. My future. I’m 24 years old and never had a real job. I’ve been unemployed since I graduated from college two years ago. All that hard work I put into school went nowhere, only lead to disappointment.

How is it that everything I done correctly ended in failure? I feel like I’m going to be unemployed forever, no matter how many jobs I apply to. How can I survive in this world?

Tears trickled down Marina’s cheeks as her teal green eyes were lost in the black lake, comforting her to come closer.

You shouldn’t exist in this world, a voice echoed in her head.

You can end it all right now.

End it all right now? At that moment, the wide pool of water seemed more appealing than the life she had. It coaxed her to come closer to the edge of the cliff where it dropped steeply below to the water.

No one cares about you, the voice continued, jabbing Marina’s heart as she shuddered from hearing the truth.

Your girlfriend doesn’t even love you. You have no family. You have no one else in this world. No one wants you.

You can end all this suffering right now.

Marina found herself looking down at the deep lake on the edge of the cliff.

The streetlamp dimly lit the water reflecting Marina’s upper body. Above her left shoulder, a tall black shadow stood over her.

Huh? Startled, Marina spun around but before she could make out the figure, she was shoved off the cliff by a long black arm. It was the last thing she saw before plunging into cold water.

Gravity dragged Marina deep into the lake. It felt as if time had stopped slowly before her. A faint gleam of moonlight streamed into the water, reaching toward Marina’s body.

Doesn’t it feel nice to drown your pain? the voice echoed sinisterly.

That isn’t my voice!  Marina realized it was not her speaking, but someone else in her mind using her own voice.

Fighting back against the water, Marina kicked her legs toward the surface. Her teal green eyes widened in fear as slimy long black arms wrapped tightly around her ankles, dragging her deeper into the lake.

Wh—What is that?! It was the same arm that pushed her off the cliff.

No matter how hard Marina tried to swim, she was dragged deeper farther away from the moonlight.

Marina squeezed her eyes closed. I can’t hold on any longer! I can’t breathe!

Marina, a soft voice echoed.

The aqua-haired woman opened her eyes.

It was the three-eyed gray cat swimming toward her. Her jewel collar was blinking bright blue, glowing in the water.

Kitty?  Marina weakly reached her hand out to the cat.

The left arrow pointed-shaped birthmark on Marina’s left hand glowed bright blue as she reached closer to the cat’s jewel collar. The faceted crystal released a burst of blue light shooting into all directions, illuminating the entire lake.

The figureless black arms shrieked with excruciating pain as the blue light burned their black skin. The arms released Marina’s legs, retreating back to the depths of the lake.

Radiant, warm, blue light enveloped around Marina’s entire body, shooting up parallel to the surface. All the water rushed around Marina and the cat, spinning as if it was a whirlpool.

What’s happening?

Marina was so confused yet a surge of peaceful energy pulsed through her entire body.

This light is so warm. Why does it feel so familiar?

Marina’s clothes were slowly vanishing, replaced by the bright blue light circling around her body.

Marina was no longer wearing her clothes. Adorning her body was a silky turquoise shawl draped over a sea green mid-thigh dress. The turquoise shawl was decorated by sparkling neon blue inverse triangles, embroidered by shimmery neon blue hemming. Sea green laces wrapped around the turquoise arm bracers like seaweed, protecting her forearms. Two silver rings banded around her right thigh. Her boots were replaced by silver gladiator sandals decorated with sea-colored tassels dangling on the laces. A starfish hairpin with luxurious pearls graced her braided aqua hair.

As the blue glowing light dissipated from her body, a long crystal blue trident with a transparent icy sheen appeared in Marina’s right hand. A round iridescent milky moonstone shined in the center of the trident. The icy pole of the spear was deeply engraved with glowing inverse triangles from the top to bottom, the same symbols on her shawl. The trident was surprisingly light in Marina’s hand.

Marina stared in shock at the trident and her transformation.

What—What is this?

The black lake swallowed her sight.