The grass blew chaotically as the salty smell of the sea mingled with the smell of distant rain. The clouds promised a storm like no other, but it wasn’t something I wasn’t accustomed to, for I had seen many storms, but none quite like the one I was going to experience that day. Nothing could compare to being taken by the wind. 

The sand squashed beneath my feet as I walked along the shore nearing my home, the lighthouse, with each step. I watched the waves crash against the rocks beneath the lighthouse where the fiddler crabs lived. My eyes followed one as it scuttled across the sand not too far from my bare feet. Its tiny legs moved so fast you’d think if you blinked only for a second it would be gone. How odd, I thought. The fiddler crabs rarely strayed from the rocks. Perhaps it has gotten lost due to the wind. My attention was drawn away by the sound of my name being called in the distance. I spun around looking for who could have possibly been on the beach after a weather warning was issued. It was dangerous for those who didn’t understand the ways of the sea. 

“Hello?” I questioned after finding no one on the beach. After a moment with no response, I turned back. It was then that I saw him. A few yards away from me stood a man dressed in the strangest of clothes. They were an array of blues and greens—far more shades than I’d ever seen in one place. “It is not safe to be out here, you know,” I called, beginning to walk closer. With each step, I noticed the complexity of his features. One. He stood tall with broad shoulders. Two.  His cinnamon skin was painted with the most peculiar patterns of white and blue specks. Three. His hair was akin to the color of the sun through amber.  Four. His sharp nose was dusted with even more blue specks. Five. His eyes…they were unlike anything I’d seen. They were an astounding blue, though what set them apart was their similarity to the stray cat that lived under the lighthouse porch. 

“Your eyes,” I whispered barely audible over the wind, “they’re like a cat.” He smiled as his hand brushed the sword I had yet to notice that was attached to his hip. My eyes never strayed from his, too captivated to look away in fear that if I did, he’d disappear. 

“They’re gorgeous, no?” he asked. His voice hit me hard, stealing the air from my lungs like being dunked in the ocean in the middle of winter. It was smooth and melodic. It was then that I knew he was a water fae. I said nothing, still staring into his cat-like eyes.

“I’ll have you know they are quite a rarity among my people,” he explained. “Never really know what your fae mark will be ‘til your hundredth birthday.” His words bounced around In my head: “my people,” “fae mark,” “hundredth birthday.” I knew what he was; I’d read tales of them stealing kids from the shore and sinking boats, but that is exactly what I’d thought they were: tales. Make believe. That was all it was meant to be. Yet in the back of my mind, I had always known that they were out there and I had always heeded the warnings written in children’s books. Finally, I took a step back, wondering why I hadn’t sooner.

The sky above us grumbled loudly before releasing its cold tears upon us. The wind began to pick up as he stepped closer, his feet leaving deep shoe prints in his wake. Strangely, the pouring rain soaked only me, leaving him untouched. “Who are you? What do you want?” I asedk quietly, my voice wavering slightly.

“My name is Wind and I’m the first commander of the wave. I’m here for you, our new light keeper,” he answered, his face now serious. He stepped forward in one swift action, wrapping me in his arms, his salty smell invading my senses before there was nothing.

And just like that, I’d been whisked way by the wind.