Bastian
Chapter Side Story 20 - Sea Glass

✧Sea Glass✧

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Odette found her swimsuit in the second trunk. The swimsuit she had prepared for the summer gatherings was carefully tucked away among the blankets and towels. She was surprised to find she had overlooked it. Seizing the moment, Odette grabbed the swimsuit Dora had packed and found a secluded spot to change. When Bastian returned from his second trip to the yacht, to ferry over the picnic stuff, he laughed to see Odette duck behind a rock, swimsuit in her hands.

She could not fathom why Bastian would drag her all the way out to this small island, with its miniature beach, when they could have just picnicked on the beach outside the mansion, but she decided to make the best of the situation.

   Now in a swimsuit and feeling a little more comfortable, Odette came back to the beach and started arranging the picnic area. She spread out the blanket and dig in the parasol. She sat under it and watched Bastian splash back out to the Yacht to fetch the food. 

The water grew less deep the closer he got to the shore. Under the protective shadow of a parasol, Odette’s cheeks warmed with a blush, watching him making his way from the ocean. 

 The midday summer sun shimmered on his damp skin. Despite being half naked, Bastian strode up the beach as if he were in the privacy of his own room. He walked with long, purposeful strides and placed the cooler in the sand next to her.

Inside a sizable wicker basket, there was a variety of dishes crafted by the chef. Odette laid out the lunch on a lace tablecloth, turning it into a refined display adorned with vibrant fruit baskets and attractive cordials. To dodge the awkwardness, she focused on arranging the items as Bastian dried off.

   Satisfied with her arrangement of colourful and wonderfully smelling food, she opened up the last case to find an assortment of ladies grooming essentials. She was thankful for Dora’s thoroughness.

   “You must be hungry, lets eat,” Odette said, forcing herself to lift her gaze above Bastian’s firm pectorals.

Contrary to her expectation that he would have put on a shirt, Bastian appeared the same, still shirtless, albeit a bit drier.

   “Are you planning on getting dressed at all?” Odette said, moving to search the luggage for his swimming attire. Panic struck her as she realised there was no swimwear for Bastian. “Oh no, I think the maids forgot your…” Odette paused, realising that maybe the maids had not forgotten at all. Bastian did very little to hide his smile as he picked up an apple without responding. His calm demeanor while eating the apple suggested that it might not have been the maid’s mistake after all.

“You won’t always be like this, will you?” Odette sighed, giving him an incredulous look as she grasped the situation. 

“Believe what you like,” Bastian responded nonchalantly, taking another large bite from the green apple. Odette finally came to understand his fondness for this place.

   “Bastian! What if someone sees us?”

   “All I see is the sky and the sea. Oh and some Gulls, but I don’t think they mind.” Bastian did not act as he sounded, the sarcasm in his voice plain for all to hear. “Come, you must be hot in that frilly thing, feel free to take it off.”

   Bastian slowly turned his head to look at her frilly beach robe, oblivious to the latest fashion, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Odette mockingly chided Bastian with a look that suggested she was less than amused with his boyish antics. 

As they shared puzzled glances, the sun’s glare grew stonger   “Lets respect each others ways,” Odette said, picking up a tuna filled vol-au-vent. With sheer cliffs at their back and the vast ocean before them, their privacy was only at risk from the occasional seagull, so she agreed  to concede somewhat. “But at least maintain some dinning etiquette, shall we.”

Odette paused in her serving duties and let out a soft sigh. Bastian, meanwhile, wiped his juice-stained hands on a towel, mindful of his wife’s elegant standards. The Klauswitzes, despite their contrasting styles, started to savor their beachside lunch in their own ways.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Colourful seashells sparkled like jewels in the sand. Odette looked at them with delight and gathered all the ones she liked the most as she walked along the beach.

   “Bastian, look at this one,” Odette called out in excitement. She held up a brilliant pink shell.

   Bastian was out in the sea, elegantly swimming around the yacht. Changing her mind about calling to him, she decided to show him when he came back to the beach. She placed her colourful shells on a flat rock near to where they picnicked.

   Bastian finished floating on the waters surface and stood up, the water lapped around his waist and the sun glistened off his wet torso. Odette felt a sudden flash of heat rise in her watching him shimmer like part of the sea

   When Bastian came to shore, Odette grabbed a towel and gingerly dabbed the water off his face. She began to sing a song set to an old Pellia poem, a song that swore eternal love. Bastian might not understand it, but Odette liked it all the same. It allowed her to express how she felt in song.

Bastian leaned back against the rock, listening to her singing. The brilliant afternoon sun bathed them in its glow as their gazes locked intensely. She felt abashed under his gaze, but she carried on, gathering courage to herself and poured her heart into every verse. The soft lapping of the wind-stirred water and the distant calls of seabirds harmonized beautifully with her melody. She ended her song with a shy laugh.

   “I like this one,” Bastian said, holding up a conch shell. In such moments, Odette felt like she was a little girl again. Her face blushed scarlet, a face reserved for Bastian alone, an innocence that was her gift to him, a gift of happiness.

   As the joy of the moment ebbed, Bastian revelled another treasure he had plucked from the bottom of the sea.

   “What’s this?” Odette said, her eyes sparkling in the light of the jewel in his hand.

   “Sea glass,” Bastian said.

   “This stone was once a piece of glass?”

Bastian nodded and handed her another piece. “It’s made from fragments of glass that have been smoothed over by the sea’s currents and sand.”

   “Its beautiful, like a gem,” Odette marvelled, placing the sea glass carefully in the basket with her other treasures.

   Suddenly a splash of water struck Odette and the shock of how cool it was against her sun warmed skin made her squeal.

   “BASTIAN!” she cried out, as Bastian retreated to the sea with a boyish laugh. He splashed at her again, more fiercely.

   As he unleashed a relentless attack, Odette half reprimanded, half laughed as she tried to fight back. Spirited, Odette threw herself into the sea after him. Her headscarf slipped off, and her hair unraveled, yet it didn’t matter anymore.

   The water fight ended with Odette victorious, throwing herself at Bastian bodily and knocking him off balance and tumbling into the sea. Bastian rose out of the sea, lifting the victor high. They shared smiles, exchanged deep kisses, and laughed together once more—a moment of pure, unclouded happiness.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

Odette relished the warmth of the sand under her feet as she stood, wrapped in a towel and another turbaned around her head. Her clothes were still soaked and she was trying to push away the thought that she was going to have to wade out to the yacht naked.

   She retreated back under the parasol and out of the imposing midday sun. “Isn’t it hot?” she said to Bastian as she refreshed herself with water infused with a slice of fragrant orange.

   “Its better than wearing those damp clothes,” Bastian said, opening his eyes to look at her. He was laid out on a towel in direct sight of the sun. “Come here, lay with me.”

   “No thank you, I don’t want to get cooked by the sun.” she declined firmly, retreating deeper into the shade.

   Instead, Odette busied herself combing out the knots in her hair, hoping her swimsuit will be dry by the time they decide to make back for home. Once her hair was in order, she set to organising all the treasures she had found, washing them and drying them. She lovingly placed them in a trunk. She packed the sea glass last.

   The sparkling colour of the sea glass matched Bastian’s eyes and she loved it all the more for it. She smiled as she looked at it. She was pleased at the thought that shattered glass could be transformed into something beautiful. Just like how some ones jagged heart could be transformed into something smooth and beautiful.

   That love cautioned for a child. A longing that Odette desperately wanted to satisfy, caught some where between hope and despair. The doctor told her that it wasn’t impossible, but to not be overly optimistic about the idea. At times, she felt like Sisyphus, forever pushing a bolder uphill, haunted by the past and regret.

   What if this desire ruined the love she had? Odette sometimes feared what she would lose with Bastian, chasing the impossible dream of a happy family. It would be amazing if this miracle were to happen, but she knew, child or no child, Bastian’s love for her would never change, just as her love for him would never falter. Even without one, things were perfectly fine as they stood.

   Odette packed away the sea glass and smiled as she looked up at the clear blue sky. Bastian roused to take a sip of water, then laid back down to bask in the sun. Odette watched him intently and made up her mind. She shed the thick woollen towel and stepped from under the parasol, letting the sun kiss every inch of her skin.