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Chapter 12: The Discovery at the Shore

Author: Tuelo
last update publish date: 2026-09-08 17:55:23

Damien's obsession made him follow Marrine wherever he could.

At first he told himself there was nothing wrong with it.

Port Haven was a small town.

Everyone knew everyone else.

They knew where people went.

Who they talked to.

Which houses belonged to which families.

Which fishermen had returned from the sea late that day.

Following some one in Port Haven was not difficult.

You simply followed them.

You kept your distance.

You acted busy.

You pretended you were going somewhere else entirely.

Da
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  • Tides of Grace   Chapter 18: The Island

    Three weeks of waiting passed before Zeke arrived at Marrine's side with a proposal.Three weeks,to Marrine, was three years.Port Haven had not been kind to her after the town hall meeting, but what was to come was far worst.Fear had twisted itself into the very fabric of the town, and the unease that had plagued Marrine in the streets had grown to something greater.Faces that had once been friendly turned away as she passed, some crossing themselves, others whispering.Children were shushed by their mothers, as if Marrine's very presence brought something unwanted.Even the sea had changed, for the worse.The familiar landscape that had been her comfort had become something alien, watching her with waiting eyes.Every night she heard her voice beneath her dreams, calling her.Daughter.Sometimes it was far away, distant and unreachable, but other times it was right beside her, as if it had been speaking directly into her ear.Come home,it said,but Marrine had no idea what home

  • Tides of Grace   Chapter 17: The Aftermath

    It was after that night when it felt that every face in Port Haven turned towards Marrine.The town had always been small enough that everyone knew who everyone else was.Small enough that if a stranger came into the bakery, half the town would know what they were ordering by the time they came out with their bag.Small enough that secrets were hard to keep.But Marrine had never known just how fast a town could turn against her.Before the meeting, everyone had smiled at her.They had called her name as she passed.Old fishermen had tipped their hats to her.Shopkeepers had given her an extra bit of bread to toss into her bag.Children ran up to her as she passed by on the street.She had been normal.At least, she had felt normal.Now people crossed the street when they saw her coming.Conversations were hushed in whatever room she wandered into.Doors were shut.Curtains were drawn.Whispers followed her in the streets.Sometimes she caught the words.That's her.The sea girl.The

  • Tides of Grace   Chapter 16: The Town Meeting

    Port Haven's Town Hall was packed that night.All the folding chairs were taken, and the people standing behind them were shoulder to shoulder, crowding the walls under the dim yellow lights, whispering in anxious clusters.An odd kind of heat hung in the air, despite the cold wind at the boarded-up windows.Fear and curiosity in equal measure.Some had come because they were afraid.Others because they wanted answers.A few simply because they wanted to see a show.Outside, the sea was rough.The waves crashed against the harbor wall harder than ever, sending up white spray that hung like ghosts in the night air.Inside, Damien Rivers stood at the front of the room, his hands resting lightly on the remote control in his hands, a carefully constructed mask of amusement stretched across his face, not a trace of the satisfaction burning in his chest as he surveyed the sea of faces before him.Behind him, the council members sat, along with two local business owners, Reverend Collins of

  • Tides of Grace   Chapter 15: The Plan

    Father Michael knew something was wrong with Marrine before she ever said a word.He had known her too long not to.He knew the difference between her quietness when she was tired, and the quietness that came with fear.He knew her little habits, the things she carried with her since childhood; how she hummed while she swept the chapel steps, tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear when she was thinking, and always smiled when one of the older nuns grumbled about the weather.Lately, those things had been done away with.Marrine hardly smiled.She ate little.She slept less.And anytime she thought no one was looking, she stood at the windows that looked out over the sea.Always the sea.Morning.Afternoon.Night.It was as though some invisible thread had been tied around her heart and stretched out to the horizon.Father Michael had seen grief before.He had seen young people lose parents.He had buried spouses and children, grandparents and friends.He had sat beside hospital b

  • Tides of Grace   Chapter 14: The Call

    The person who answered the phone sounded bored.Not cautious.Not suspicious.Not even remotely surprised.Just bored."As in the Department of Anomalous Entities. How can I help you?"Damien stared at the telephone in his hand.For several long seconds, he said nothing.He had imagined this conversation to be different.He had imagined alarms ringing as he told them, a room full of government officials suddenly realizing that a young man from a small coastal town had uncovered something that they had spent decades trying to hide.He imagined power.Instead, he heard a man yawn.His fingers tightened around the phone."This is Damien Rivers. I'm reporting a marine humaniod living in Port Haven."There was a pause."Sir, filing a false report is a federal offense.""I'm not lying.""That's what they all say."Damien's jaw tightened."I have pictures."The boredom in the man's voice dissapeared, replaced with something slightly more serious."Sir, what pictures?""Of her.""Who?""Her

  • Tides of Grace   Chapter 13: The Research

    Damien spent the next few days pretendinghe was fine.That was the first thing he learned about fear.It wasn't always something that made you run.Sometimes it made you sit perfectly still.Sometimes it made you smile at breakfast while your hands trembled beneath the table. It made you go to church on Sunday and bow your head at the right moments. It made you shake hands with men who had no idea what you had seen beneath the waves.And sometimes, fear made you obsessive.Damien became all three.Every night after that encounter on the beach, he dreamt of the ocean.Not the peaceful oceans people painted on postcards, nor the glittering blue horizons tourists came to Port Haven to see.He dreamt of the thing beneath it.The vast ocean.The eyes.The feeling that some impossibly old thing had opened them in the darkness and looked directly at him.He would awake before dawn, his heart hammering in his ribs, drenched in sweat.He would sit up for a few seconds, his body lying still as

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