Dripp

My strength was growing day by day. It had begun so slowly, ever since- a disturbance? The earliest memories were dark and cloudy, but with each day clarity grew. Along with it came pain. Growing pains? The ache at my centre certainly grew with me.

I was not alone down here. Creatures floated by, hurrying along under their own power. I couldn't move; my surroundings pressed against me, clinging to me. Slowly it was that which built me up. Kelp, mud, and treasures lost long ago filled the empty spaces in my body.

Over time, I was strong enough to shift my limbs. They had been stuck in the mud for as long as I could remember- that wasn't quite true. There was a time at the edge of my memory, more like a shadow, when I wasn't here. I couldn't be sure about anything in that time, but that was long past now.

At last, the day came where I was able to heave myself up out of the mire. A kelp-strewn creature came by and I grabbed onto it. This startled it and it took off, but I clung on. It burst through a barrier into a new sort of place.

In my shock I let go, laying in the murky water as I looked around. The creature fled, disappearing back into the murky depths. This place was so familiar and yet so new. The air was so much clearer than the water, and now I could move with relative ease. My joints squeaked and resisted the movement, but the more I tried, the easier it became.

Unfortunately, my persistence did nothing to ease the ache deep inside. It throbbed at my core, unrelenting agony with no apparent source. It was soon so overwhelming that the pain spilled over, leaking from my eyes as black, oozing tears.

I went out from the pond, searching for the source of my pain. Something- no! Someone had to be the cause of this. Someone dear to me, maybe someone who never existed?

In my travels, parts of me wore out, and new ones were found. I was hardly recognizable from my time in the lake. The only consistency were those tarry tears that never ceased to flow. They were the only way I could bear the ache inside. Nothing I found gave me any relief. If anything, my wandering made me hurt more because there was nothing to find; no matter how hard I searched.