บท 231: A Song Beneath the Waves

Emily sat on the edge of the old wooden pier, the salt-laden breeze tugging at her auburn hair. The ocean stretched before her, vast and unknowable, its surface shimmering with the gold of the setting sun. She gripped the strange pendant around her neck, the smooth, iridescent shell glinting faintly in the light.

The pendant had been a gift, though she wasn't sure she could call it that. It had arrived in the mail three days earlier, without a note or return address. Inside the unassuming box, the pendant rested on a bed of seaweed, its presence both mesmerizing and unsettling. Since then, strange dreams had begun to plague her—visions of underwater cities, shadowy figures, and a haunting melody that echoed in her mind long after waking.

The pendant thrummed faintly against her chest, warm despite the cool ocean air. Emily glanced down at it, wondering for the hundredth time why it felt so familiar, as if it belonged to her despite never having seen it before.