Kiki(Estrellita Kira Son) always told herself she would never be the "main character" type. Main characters did stupid things like follow glowing lights at midnight. That is more related to main characters in scary or thriller movies.
So naturally, she was doing exactly that.
It all started as an ordinary Saturday night in Santa Monica, or at least as ordinary as things got with Gigi Romano involved. This was a night to celebrate. Gigi had finally quit her job after three years of saying she would. The two of them had just stumbled out of the club, giggling and leaning on each other for balance, heading toward Kiki's car with the intent of sneaking in more alcohol into the club. The two lightweights were trying to remember where they had parked the car, arguing about what shop they parked next to, forgetting how Kiki pinned the coordinates on her phone maps.
"Okay, I remember the smoothie shop," Gigi announced. "We parked by the smoothie shop."
"I told you it was the one next to the smoothie shop," Kiki groaned, fumbling with her keys in hopes to push the buttons to hear the beep.
"Yea, but there were like three smoothie shops," Gigi said, waving her phone flashlight in lazy circles. "I'm telling you, I remember that weird mermaid statue."
"That statue was a surfboard rack." Kiki facepalmed herself.
"Same thing!" Gigi squeaked.
Their laughter echoed against the quiet street as they finally heard Kiki's car light up with a beep as Kiki pushed the lock button on her keyset. They rummaged around in the trunk of her car for the bag containing bottles of alcohol. The two refilled their flasks with apple pie moonshine, while taking a bottle of apple-mango soju, the rest of the moonshine, and a bottle of Sprite into Kiki's purse. This wasn't going to fly by, but the two were too drunk to really think logically.
"This is so illegal," Kiki muttered as she refilled the flask.
"This, my dear sister, is called budgeting," Gigi corrected, pouring moonshine into her flask like a professional bartender. "Do you know how expensive club drinks are?"
With the alcohol secured, flasks topped off, and bottle caps tightened, they began walking back toward the club…or so they thought. Gigi insisted she remembered the way. She was walking ahead with every intention of leading them back to the club. Kiki expected delays since Gigi often got them lost. It was something they always expected when they spent time together. Gigi took a turn and cut through the boardwalk, then stopped to look around.
"Thank goodness for free parking," Kiki muttered to herself, taking a sip from her flask, slowly following behind a confused Gigi.
"Umm…I could've sworn it was a left," Gigi mumbled to herself. "Oh! Wait- What is that?" She exclaimed and jogged towards the pier.
"Gigi, where are you go-!?" Kiki called out after her, then huffed. "Not again."
She sluggishly followed Gigi to the end of the pier, confused, yet curious to know what her dear friend had stumbled upon. Gigi was leaning over the railing, mesmerized by something.
"What are you looking at?" Kiki asked her, leaning against the railing as she looked over at the ocean.
The ocean glistened from the brightness of the full moon, captivating Kiki's attention. Gigi began patting Kiki's arm continuously, while pointing further down directly beneath them. A soft golden light rippled at the surface of the water, steady and circular, like the heartbeat of the ocean itself.
"Kiki," Gigi whispered. "Do you see that?"
"See what?" Kiki questioned, following where Gigi was pointing.
"Okay, I know we're blind and drunk, but we're not that blind!" Gigi rolled her eyes. "Come on! Do you not see it?! The shining shimmering splendid!" She exclaimed.
She was so excited and entranced by it that she was climbing the wooden railing and leaning over to get closer to look.
"Gigi, what are you doing?" Kiki laughed, shaking her head.
She had extraordinarily little concern for Gigi's safety since this was a normal occurrence. She noticed what Gigi was looking at.
"Do you see it now?" Gigi asked.
Kiki squinted. "Shining shimmering splendid is what I see. What is it?"
"Maybe it's the bioluminescence."
Kiki looked over at Gigi with a raised brow. "Bioluminescence? In Santa Monica?"
Gigi shrugged. "Yeah! Nature's glow stick!"
"Does that even make sense to you, right now?"
"Yesh, I mean, no," Gigi replied. "There's something else though."
The glow pulsed again – deeper, brighter – and the air shifted with it, humming like a song just out of tune. Luring the young ladies closer to it. Gigi was almost standing on the railing as the glowing light lured her.
"Don't go near it," Kiki warned. "We don't even know what it is."
"But shiny," Gigi pouted. "I just wanna see. It looks like there's something in the circle."
'This girl is going to fall,' Kiki thought. "Can you come down now?"
"Relax. Nothing's going to happen."
"Gigi," Kiki warned, then noticed something. "Is there a beach in the ring?"
"Mhmm! I see it too," Gigi replied. "It's calling my name." She shrugged. "Okay, fine, I'm touching it!"
"Gigi, no!"
"Kiki, help-!!!"
Before Kiki could grab her, Gigi leaned over and slipped as she reached for the light. She was falling towards the ring of light on the water, screaming for Kiki's help. Feeling the urge to save her, Kiki climbed up the top of the rail as fast as she could. She did not think. She just jumped to try and save Gigi. Once Kiki fell through it, the portal closed immediately, and the pier vanished. And for one impossible heartbeat, Kiki thought she heard the ocean whisper in a language she didn't know:
"Vaelora kai illurath…"
Everything went dark and the two were screaming as they fell. Suddenly, the world came back in pieces.
They were falling.
Skydiving without parachutes. Screaming the whole way down.
"This is not what I had in mind about skydiving!" Kiki yelled.
"I NEVER SAID I WANTED TO DIE TONIGHT!" Gigi screeched back.
The wind roared around them. The world blurred. While Gigi smacked into deeper surf, Kiki landed in the shallows of the beach.
Salt.
Wind.
Water in their lungs.
Kiki gasped and coughed, her body jerking as the tide rolled over her face. The waves were warm, too warm, and when she blinked the sting of salt from her eyes, she found herself lying in shallow surf under a sky that didn't make sense. The sun was rising, but it wasn't the sun she knew. Its light shimmered in threads of gold and violet, painting the clouds in hues that looked almost alive.
A faint sound of groaning emanated from a short distance away. "If this is heaven, I want a refund."
"I have been falling…FOR 30 MINUTES!!!" Kiki shouted annoyed as she pushed herself up.
A small giggle was heard. "Kiki?"
"Gigi, is that you?" Kiki groaned out. "I feel like I got hit by a semitruck." She sat up with sand all over the right side of her face.
Gigi swam towards Kiki. "I think I swallowed half the Pacific," she muttered. "You've got a little something on your face." Holding in her giggles as she pointed at Kiki's face.
Kiki splashed water on Gigi's face. "Shut up," she grumbled.
"Why does the sky look like a Lisa Frank fever dream?" Gigi asked.
Kiki stood up, brushing sand off herself, her heartbeat running wild from the adrenaline. The two looked around to scan the horizon. The beach stretched endlessly in both directions, bordered by forests of trees with silver leaves that glowed faintly even in daylight. The air shimmered, carrying a faint hum, almost like the ocean was whispering to itself.
"Do you- do you feel that?" Gigi asked, looking around frantically.
Kiki looked around, opening her mouth to answer, but the words died on her tongue. The tide pulled back again, revealing black stone shot through with veins of light-gold, blue, crimson- all pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Kiki?" Gigi called out, following Kiki's gaze. "What is it?"
The tide covered the black stone. The wind shifting, carrying voices from the forest. Unfamiliar syllables that lilted and fell like song. The same words Kiki had heard in the moment before everything went dark.
"Vaelora kai illurath…"
"What language was that?" Gigi glanced at her.
"Why's it feel like somebody's watching us?" Kiki asked.
"I always feel like somebody's watching me~," Gigi sang, lightening their mood.
They held each other's hand for support to get out of the water, their heels proving it to be more difficult.
"Maybe we should take our heels off," Kiki suggested as she sat down to take her heels off.
Gigi took her heels off and looked over at the horizon in front of her. Tilting her head to the side and pointed. "Kiki, I don't know if I'm still drunk or not, but are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Kiki followed Gigi's gaze and noticed a mermaid on a rock. Basking in the sun, rolling over to lay on its stomach.
"Mermaid!" Gigi squealed. "They're real!"
Kiki furiously blinked multiple times, trying to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but each time she looked over at the rock, the mermaid was there. "Ain't no way that mermaid is real!" She denied. "Where are we?"
"I don't know, but MERMAID! They're real!" Gigi replied, jumping up and down in excitement. "I knew it!!!"
Kiki shook her head as she stood back up. "I need a drink."
"Oh! Yes, please!"
Kiki giggled at her response, rummaging through her purse for the bottles they had grabbed. She handed Gigi the flask that was filled with apple pie moonshine and took the mason jar of moonshine. There was half of a jar left inside. After taking a big sip of moonshine, she closed the jar and put it back in my purse.
"What time is it?" Gigi asked, looking at how bright it was, but they were just enjoying the night out of clubbing. "Where's my phone?"
As she started patting herself, searching for her phone and pouting, realizing she had no pockets or even a jacket for her phone to even be in. Kiki checked her purse and remembered they put their phones in a Ziplock bag. After repeatedly getting drenched while walking from class to their car, they decided to begin this initiative. Soaking your phone in rice constantly, was a waste of rice.
"Here," Kiki said, handing Gigi's phone over to her after taking it out of the Ziplock bag. Kiki also took hers out and checked.
"How do I have full bars here?!" Gigi exclaimed, as she started tapping on her phone.
Kiki looked down and noticed the full bars of service at the top left corner next to the 5G logo. "Hmm. We must be somewhere with a really good reception, but none of this makes sense. How is this working?"
She shrugged. "Tomorrow's problem."
"Facts."
Kiki put their phones back into the Ziplock bag and put it back in the purse. They continued to drink some more and just played at the beach. Eventually, Kiki grew thirsty.
Gigi whined, "I'm hungry~!"
Kiki began to think they were just imagining everything, she started digging into the sand that was near the water. "I shall find us some clams as bait!" Kiki informed her.
"Oh! I wanna help!" She exclaimed.
They both started digging. They noticed small holes, dug, and found clams. Each time they found one, they got super excited.
"Look at this one!!!" Gigi squealed, holding up the live clam she found for Kiki to see. "Can't we just eat these?"
"Ooooo that's a decent sized one! Nice find!" Kiki complimented. "Maybe we can find a really flat rock to use as a little stove."
"Yea! Let's do it!"
"Let's gather more clams, then maybe we can find some coconuts and wood. Then the rock," Kiki said as she started digging for more clams.
Suddenly, a distant horn sounded from somewhere beyond the tree line. Deep, low, and ancient.
"Uhh, that didn't sound like California," Gigi's eyes widened.
Kiki swallowed hard. "No. No, it didn't."
Another horn echoed, closer this time.
The girls turned toward the sound, and for the first time since falling through the ring of light, they realized they weren't alone. That feeling they had of somebody watching them wasn't just a feeling. Figures stood at the edge of the trees, cloaked in light and shadow, their eyes glinting like the sea. The tallest one raised a hand and spoke. The wind carried his words to them like a prayer.
"The Veils have fallen."