They said that before the tsunami, the ocean retreated the coastline, exposing the bed and dooming fish and other sea creatures to death — either choking slowly without water under the merciless sun or being crushed down when the looming wave finally reached the shore.  

Pam felt like she was a starfish, and Roy was her water, and Jim was her sun. 

For years, Roy was the only thing that she knew. Living with him had become a part of her, his habits and his presence had become her environment. And even when he said hurtful things or acted crude, she swallowed any insults, because how could fish ever reject the water that nourished her? 

She couldn’t pinpoint the moment when the ocean depth had become too cold and empty, and she’d started to crawl to the shallow water, to catch the rays of the sun, breaking through the water column, and to bask in them. She couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she’d forgotten how to live without that warmth on her skin. 

And then, all of a sudden, a safe water shield between her and her beloved sun disappeared; and she was horrified to find that its rays scorched and left burns on her delicate skin. Her gills were unaccustomed to the air and desperately needed the water. But the water was gone, and soon the sun was gone too, hiding behind the clouds. She was left alone on the sand, burned, choking, and her arms wiggled frantically, yet without avail. 

And she knew that the sea would return soon and drag her back into the depth, away from the shore and the sun, once and for all; and, probably, it would break her arms in the process, but it would be okay — the starfishes were known by their ability to regenerate unbelievably fast. 

She would be okay. She would stay in the same environment she lived all this time. 

She would never see the sun again. But how could the starfish stop the wave? How could she leave the sea? 

Pam felt like she was a starfish, but she was a human. 

A weak and confused, full of regrets and sorrows, dependent and frustrated, but a human nevertheless. 

She wanted to feel the sun kissing her skin again. 

And she didn’t need water to breathe.