A ship at sea only knows its destination because of the captain that guides it to port. I wanted to guide Lee Kaia home, and never let her leave.

Her parents had named her Kaia, instead of a traditional Korean name, because she had been born on a yacht off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii.

Kaia, which is derived from the Hawaiian word Kai, means “the sea”.

Kaia’s beauty, like the aqua waters off the coast of a tropical island, beckoned people in. Her nature resembled the ocean too closely for comfort, a gorgeous surface with unknown dangers lurking beneath.

As if a rip tide pulled me under, at some point I began to suffocate in the depths of her allure.

Perhaps that was how I had ended up here, clinging to her body as if she were the lifebuoy that could keep me from drowning.

Let me take a step back for a moment and start at the beginning…