A lonely child's memory

Sue found the bottle when she was walking along the beach. Although there was nothing particularly distinctive about it, it had a kind of hidden charm or beauty that she could not explain.
Sues parents had fallen asleep under the heat of the blazing sun that shone high above them as they stared up at the clear, blue sky and Sue, using it to her advantage, had crept of by herself to do a bit of exploring around the caves. There was a sort of cubby-hole in one of them and it was just by chance that sue saw it because it was well hidden. She did a double-take and squeezed her hand inside it. Her fingers closed around something cold, and she bought out the bottle.
Sue sat down on the golden sand that stretched out for miles before her and examined her find more closely. It was about the same size as her thumb in both length and width. It was a pure turquoise colour and glinted whenever it made contact with the sun. She turned it over to look at it's base and saw what looked like a very small, print. Squinting as she brought the bottle closer to her eyes, Sue could just make out the shape of a mermaid. This mermaid however, was unlike any she had ever seen before. In her story books, they were beautiful beings, with long fair, hair that fanned out behind them as they rode the seas back. The mermaid on the bottle was, in Sues opinion, a dark creature who's greasy, lanky, black hair did not fully hide her cold, beady eyes. She shivered and raked her fingers though her own hair, which was light brown and hung just below her shoulders.
Sue too, was now starting to feel the heat of the sun, burning into her shoulders. Feeling rather tired all of a sudden, she laid back upon the sand, listening to the sound of the roaring sea, echoing in her ears, and she closed her eyes, listening to the sounds around her and feeling blissful.
However after just five seconds, she sat up straight, looking around her. Cold shivers ran down her spine. She had the peculiar feeling that someone was watching her, but nobody she could see was paying the slightest attention to her. Sighing, she lay back down again, but before three seconds had passed, sat up again and turned to stare at the caves behind. Sues eyes travelled all over the caves and then fell upon a gap in them as if there was an alley way there.
At once she sensed someone or something was there, staring at her right now. Her heart hammered against her chest. She screwed up her eyes trying to make something out but it was useless. The 'alley' was too dark to see anything, so feeling rather panicky and curious at the same time, she got up and cautiously headed towards the caves, all the time keeping her eyes firmly on the place where she sensed a presence.
Once she reached the cave, Sue dared go no further. She was breathing deeply and her heart was beating against her chest, so loud that she felt sure the whole world could hear it.
Then, as she lent closer to the alley-way, she heard something that paralysed her body at once. Crying. Someone was crying in there, mournful sobs that sue could not ignore. She bent her head so near to the alley, that one more step would ensure she was inside.
"hello? Sue whispered uncertainly, peering into the darkness. The sobs stopped, but she was sure she heard a faint scuffle come from within. There was no answer.
Sue could bear it no longer. Her curiosity getting the better of her. She took one deep breath and before she could change her mind, pushed herself forward, closing her eyes as she did so, although she didn't really know why she was feeling so scared. When she opened them, she was shocked to discover that she was in fact in a small cave. The sand on the floor was white and soft and Sue thought it looked rather pleasant. However, as her eyes swept over the cave, she saw that in one spot, at the far end of the cave, the sand had been disturbed. There was no-one apart from herself, in the cave and so she turned to leave, but when she did, she saw something that made her almost have a heart attack. She had come face to face with a what looked like a child. She was about the same size as Sue, only she wasn't, she couldn't be¦human.
Sue jumped backwards with a scream that echoed throughout the cave. As she surveyed her, she knew at once that she had seen those eyes before, those that were almost hidden by her greasy, black hair, and that was when Sue realized that she was an exact replica of the mermaid on the base of the bottle, except that she, in front of Sue, had legs instead of a tail. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't in a dream. It hurt a lot and deciding this was real, reached out a hand towards the girl, but withdrew it at once. Something about those unblinking cold eyes were seriously spooking her.
Without warning, the girl moved towards her so fast that Sue was sure she would have missed it had she blinked. She seemed to glide rather than walk. Closer up, Sue looked straight into her eyes, and was not afraid but entranced. Behind those small black eyes, she could see shadows and bright colours and as the pictures became more clear she soon realized that the bright colours were made up from blinding oranges and yellows. There was a fire. As she gazed further into this girl's memories, Sue saw her. A little girl was cowering in a corner of a burning barn. The flames were now huge and people were screaming outside the barn. She was crying for her mother but she didn't come. Instead, a tall, dark haired man who's face she couldn't see burst through a door and scooped her up into his arms¦
Sue broke away from the child and fell down upon the soft sand. She quickly scrambled up using the cave's wall to support her and, breathing deeply, stood staring at the girl in front of her. How long they stared at each other for, Sue did not know. But as she started forwards the girl held out her arms and took her hands into hers. Then, for the first time, she spoke. Her face was no longer expressionless but gave her a pleading look.
"you have to know she whispered in a deep, rasping voice. Still she did not blink. Sues heart started beating fast again.
"know what? she whispered back. She was terrified. She did not knock what was going on but was fascinated by this girl. Neither spoke for a moment then-
"to understand¦you must, know¦have to, to help¦my eyes¦BREAK IT! she suddenly shouted. "look¦my¦ eyes she talked quietly again, as through every word cost her a great deal of strength. Sue looked obediently into her eyes.
She now saw two people at the seaside. There was a tall man, who's face she couldn't see and the little girl herself. They seemed to be playing, or at least, the girl was playing with a bottle, splashing about in the sea and laughing while the man watched. It became dark, and what sue saw next made her scream and attempt to free herself of the girl's clutches.
The man grabbed the little girl's neck and forced it downwards into the water while she struggled and squealed for help. Her screams could be heard so clearly even though Sue knew this wasn't really happening. The man did not bring her up for air. She was drowning, and she, Sue could do nothing to help the child. When at last the man let her go, she did not move, but floated soundlessly on the water, clearly dead. Her hands unclenched and her bottle was carried out to sea, unnoticed by the man. He lifted her up into his arms once more and carried her body to a cave, where he laid her down upon the white sand. He then departed without so much as a backwards glance.
Sue was aware that she was on the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw the girl kneeling down beside her. She understood everything at once. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the bottle. She then placed it into the little girl's hand. Sue watched soundlessly as the girl's hand reached for the lid of the bottle. She blew sand onto the lid and took it of. Sue noticed that she was starting to fade away.
"thanks¦ she whispered clutching her possession to her chest. "the spell is broken She shimmered and then completely disappeared leaving Sue alone in the empty cave and Sue remembered that day every day after for the rest of her life.