The Creation of a Goddess

It is said that, a thousand years ago, a young girl named Mizu frequently enjoyed playing at the beaches on Wabbit Island. She played for hours each day and returned during the night, yet she never touched the water, for she was afraid of the tales of the sea, and how it steals the lives from sailors. One summer night, she walked down to the beach with her Father, whom she respected greatly. They sat on the beach and watched silently as the water washed up the beach, and then retreated back into the sea.

“Father,” Mizu asked, breaking the silence. “Why does the water not stay with us on the beach?” Her father smiled but remained silent for a brief moment.
“Young daughter,” her father replied. “The water is frightened of our presence here.” This answer perplexed Mizu, as she thought that, from the stories, the sea was a fearless entity.
“Why is it frightened, father? It’s so powerful. It has nothing to be afraid of…” Mizu replied, curious eyes gazing at her father who was looking out at the horizon.
“You will learn this soon, Mizu, but power does not disperse fear. No matter how powerful a being is, if it fears something, it is just as weak as the rest of us.” This perplexed Mizu more.
“So, what are you if you have no fear?” Her father smiled as he looked up into the sky.
“If you conquer your fear, you no longer remain in this world. Nobody knows what happens to you.” With that, her father stood up and began to walk up the beach and back to their abode, followed closely behind by Mizu.

That night, she couldn’t sleep. Curiosity had stirred within her, and drove her out of bed and back to the beach. She stood in the sand as wind curled around her, yet she was unfazed by it. Her fascination with the sea focussed her attention onto its swells. Slowly, she approached the water side, and just as it had earlier on, the water retreated from the beach, however this time she felt as if it was retreating from her. Her fear of the water had been quelled a little, and the curiosity pushed her forward. As she edged towards the flowing water, it kept pushing back, much further than it had ever before. She began to walk faster, desperate to catch up with the water, however as her pace grew, so did the pace of the retreating water. Her pace grew to a run before she tripped over a rock that was hidden in the wet sand. She slowly stood up, and a giant wall of water had confronted her. It sliced the sky as it moved forward, towards the island and towards Mizu, who stood isolated in the vast sand. She stood in awe at the wall of water, but not in fear of it. She started to walk forward and closed her eyes. The wind that existed before had disappeared, replaced by a lovely cool mist that left droplets of water on her face. Mizu smiled as she continued to walk forward, confronting the giant wave, until the two entities met, and Mizu disappeared in a veil of blue.

The next day, her father awoke to see her not in her bed, and began frantically searching for his beloved child. After several hours of unavailing search, the sun dropped behind the horizon, and so did the hopes he held in his heart. He walked down to the beach in the dusk wind, and sat on the beach. His head in his hands, he began to shed tears of sadness onto the sand. Suddenly, the breeze that frantically blew the sand stopped, replaced by a cool mist that, for some reason, comforted him. He felt the mist entwine around his body, as if it was a part of him. His face rose from his hands, and his tears stopped. He felt compelled to move to the water’s edge, so he stood up and moved slowly towards it. For the first time in decades, he saw that the water did not retreat back into the ocean, but instead stayed on the beach in pools made by the sand. He smiled as he knelt into the ocean and allowed the cool water to swell around him.
“My daughter… is not dead at all…” He whispered as tears resumed streaming down his face, and into the ocean.