Where the Water Remembers Us

Where the Water Remembers Us

Gabriela Carolina Alvarado Aguilera

04/23/2026

Suddenly, Miami has become the most expensive city in the United States. It did not just disappear by the water as expected but it became exclusive. Only people with the luxury of having AI Floating luxury homes and private docks instead of garages. could remain in Miami with no struggle. With the technology of 2072, wealthy people found a way to escape from the reality of land to the privilege of smart buildings elevating themselves, literally. In Miami everyone knew that flooding did not only come from the ocean but also from the ground itself because of the porous limestone beneath the city1. Some people, mostly landowners, lost money before floating became permanent, nobody wanted to invest on flooded land. But of course, where land lost value, new investments were floating their way in such as AI Floating luxury homes. At some point it gave people hope. The rich saw it as their vacation homes, turning Miami a waterfront paradise.

Middle-class family were forced to either move inland - if they even had money, other states became more expensive than Florida as demand increased - or survive having an half-flooded house transporting themselves with old boats. Thankfully, Grace's family had and old houseboat that was meant to be only for vacation back in the day never imagining that it could turn into their home. They were not a privileged family but they had it better than other people who had to survive in abandoned buildings and could not afford to move out.

Grace's mom, Georgina worked remotely selling jet skis for a millionaire company, so that was also an advantage of stable income. Alejandro, her father, is an immigrant from Venezuela who had flee years ago from his country to Miami and decided to stay in Florida for the same reason every immigrants is scared of; deportation. Even though his status is legal, he could not risk his family losing him. He heard different stories about immigrants moving from Florida so, he did not hesitate to stay. Leaving Miami was not only about money but also starting over, something very risky for some people.
Grace is 18 years old and she hears stories from her mother when she was her age wondering if she could ever be part of a chess club, volleyball team, or even paint in an art class. After all, she did not know what those social events looked like. How could she? She has lived on that old houseboat ever since she could remember.

"I remember being at your dad's baseball game, and I'm certain that if it had not been for the floating he would be playing professional baseball right now" said Georgina to Grace giving her hope that one day she'll find her person but most importantly, she'll get to experience a game live. Grace would only get to watch her dad playing baseball on the tv from the YouTube videos he posted from his games years ago.
"I'm glad I posted those on my YouTube channel" Said Alejandro.
"Were you famous dad?" asked Grace. "No" answered Alejandro with a hopeless expression on his face. "Not on YouTube, that app became old. I posted them on TikTok though back in the day before it shut down. I think that was the real apocalypse worse than the floating" Said Alejandro on a more hopeful tone.
"Maybe I get to be a famous model"
"I know you will! You've already achieved the first step; being the most beautiful girl I've seen, besides your mom of course!" Said Alejandro feeling proud as if she had already been a supermodel.
Grace stayed home with her mom and had school remotely, most of the homework involved live AI hologram teaching and automatic assignment systems that she had to complete live with no computer or notebook, just the hologram. On her free time, she taught herself how to walk in heels "one step in front of the other" repeated to herself as she wore her mom's old European style heels. "Look up, do not look at the floor" said Georgina as she was sitting across the dining table while working on her computer. It excited her so much, she forgot the fact that it might not become real because of the reality she was living in. Her parents weren't worried her dreams would become true because they were trying really hard.

The education system was broken, as you can tell, her parents were not worried about college. The only wanted her to have her high school diploma and a successful job that could bring her joy and financial stability. At least she knew what she wanted to be and had her goals set not like her friend, Maru, who did not worry about the future or appreciated the life she had with rich parents. They met through her father who owns the millionaire jet ski business Georgina works for. As expected, Maru lived in land somewhere in the United States Grace never bother to ask because there were more important things to know about Maru's life.

"Do you use different shoes when you're walking through sand?" Maru laughed and answered, "You haven't asked your parents that before?" "No" said Grace "Sometimes I rather ask AI assistant from school instead because it must be hard for them" "Is it also hard for you?" asked Maru. "Well, I can't miss something I never had or experienced before. That's why I feel it's harder for them" answered Grace. Then there was an awkward silence. Maru did not know what to say, she wanted to uplift her spirit so she asked "What did AI tell you about shoes and sand?" Grace said "It said something about sand always finding its way into your shoes" Maru answered "Just know that it is better to not wear shoes on the sand".

Sometimes the weekends were family fishing days, only when Alejandro could afford spending more fuel to go the closest to the coast. The whole family knew they would not catch anything, they never did, as if the aquatic animals got used to living around humans and knew our typical bait. The floating did not even bring new marine habitat because of the contamination it produced. They tried to filter water to clear it but that wasn't going to help economy, AI Floating luxury homes did, that's why their focus is only on that. Even though the fishing wouldn't go well, the family stayed together knowing that for the memories it was always worth it. Georgina likes fashion and clothes so, she would create designs on the same screen she worked in while watching Grace practice her model walk quietly because he dad was fishing. He would hold his fishing pole and Grace's as well while she walked. They knew it was kind of boring but they could endure it just to watch the sunset after, it was peaceful and wholesome. While sitting there Grace thought it wasn't so bad to not know why walk through the sand barefoot like Maru said. She is happy and loved, that's all that mattered to her.

For Grace it was the normal life of the middle-class people but for her parents, it was lonely. Alejandro had planned to go back to his country to visit his family as soon as he becomes a citizen but as time goes by, his immigrant situation only gets worst not knowing when the day would be he could see his mother again. And just when he thought his situation couldn't get worse, the flood happened which made it less possible for him to financial afford a vacation to his country. He felt stuck, but he never let that get in the way of happiness. At the end of day, he was thankful to have a home and a family to go back to feel protective over, which made him keep going forward.

Georgina was a regular teenager back in the day when flood in Miami was not a thing. She enjoyed many things she now thinks about when she sees Grace growing up wishing she could have the same. She wants to see her play volleyball at the beach, dropping her off to have brunch with her friends, but most importantly she wants to see her on a fashion show runway having her dreamed job. She knows that her family's future will look different than now, but she feels frustrated asking when it would be different.
Fishing became a struggle not only for Grace's family but for many other people who wanted to obtain their own source of food due to the high prices of imported food. Everything came from other states, even countries. Large cargo boats would arrive at distribution centers making it accessible for people to go on their boats. You will have to wait on the line for hours since everyone wants to do groceries as soon as they arrive. The rich ordered their groceries with automated shipping systems, which is clearly more expensive. Some people had their gardens on unaffected areas so they would grow as much food as they can, but Grace's family did not so, they never knew of fresh food again. It was impossible but it was rare to find it fresh. They had a mix of canned/imported food, fish occasionally whenever it was a special day or celebration. Georgina would try to sell her designs in exchange for fresh food. Sometimes she would even offer discounts on her jet skis for a trade. It was hard for most people, but it was livable.

One day, a kid and his family moved in the neighborhood, but they were not like the other people. As Grace looked through the window when they arrived, she noticed a red head boy who sitting on a corner of the outside of the boat. She feared he would fall but he seemed like he had been doing it for a long time before he moved there. Grace asked herself, "Is there any other place he came from that look like this?" "How is he not afraid of falling on the water?". Days passed and the boy never came outside, he lived with a man, "his father" said Grace assuming they're family. She was excited to see a boy that does not look like her dad but that looks like her age. Besides Maru, she did not know anyone her age, so she was curious.

After weeks, the man that had just moved in paid a visit to Grace's family. She was surprised as no one ever had come to her house before, most people would live in Miami, they were mostly tourist. She was intrigued to see if the boy had come with him then he said, "I just moved in with my nephew here and we just wanted to introduced ourselves" Georgina and Alejandro welcomed them and said to the boy "You look just like my daughters age" then the boy with a shy and awkward voice said "I'm Noah" looking a Grace he was focused. Grace on the other hand was glad to make a new friend nearby since Maru never stayed around for long.

Noah and his uncle were finally invited to Grace's house after a week of Grace insisting her parents and Alejandro saving up enough money to host a dinner. At the table they had porcelain dishes gifted to Georgina from her grandmother. They had smash potatoes and salmon, not fresh of course but delicious enough. Noah and his uncle were surprised and thankful for the dinner, after hours of talking Grace did not know enough about Noah. She had so many questions "Why did you move here?" "Where do you come from?" "Where are your parents?" "Do you know of other kids too?". But it was late and had to go back home.

Grace suddenly stopped practicing modeling, instead she waited by her window to see Noah. Her parents arranged a family fishing day to take Noah with them and that way Grace could get to know him better. Grace found out that they had suffered a lot after his parents passed away after the flooding. Him and his uncle had to move frequently until they found the neighborhood they live in now, he says it's "Peaceful and safe". Most people from different zones tried to steal from them and as he continued to tell the stories about him and his uncle, Grace could not stop thinking how hard it must have been for Noah. She could relate to Noah’s situation and emotions because for the first time in her life there was someone that did not know life in land like her. She felt understood.
As time passed, Noah and Grace became great friends and would hang out frequently to do homework, yap or go fishing. They would go on adventures together exploring the city on Noah uncle’s boat but one day they stopped by the Walmart on 157th street that was recently completely abandoned because it was affected by the water. It was almost empty, people around the area took everything from it as soon as the water took over it.

“Not much is left,” said Grace. “I don’t see the point on coming here”
“Well, there’s a lot of sofas here and electronics” said Noah while looking at the furniture sinking under the water.
“Nobody would want new furniture while starving,” said Grace.
“Look at that” Noah gasped and rush to grab this camara that was on top of a floating small mirror and said “This is the Sony A1 II just like the one my dad used to have. Well, it’s not the same one but it looks the almost the same!”

Grace had a lot to questions about what Noah just said but she did not rush to ask him anything just yet, she just wanted to enjoy that moment; the look on his face was contagious, it was the first time she ever saw him so happy and excited about something, so much that she started questioning how much he liked fishing…
Suddenly, that look on his face faded away, “What happened?” asked Grace. “You didn’t like it?”
With a nostalgic and irritated tone Noah answered, “It’s whatever, I don’t think I want it, there’s no point. Why would I want a camara when there are more important things to worry about”
Grace stayed silent, she did not know what to say because after all… He was right. But then she got up on the boat carefully and said “Take a pic”
“What? right now?” said Noah
“Yes, look at the lighting! This the perfect time to capture a picture”
Then Noah grabbed the camara and started taking pictures of Grace while she was trying to balance her on the boat trying to not fall. Noah laughed, she looked so funny, but he kept on taking pictures. The more pictures he took that day, the closer he was getting to professional pictures. He felt like that was his purpose in life, he felt passionate, but the stronger emotion was towards Grace. He was so grateful to have her by his side to make him see things differently even when things were bad.
“Thank you”, said Noah.
“Oh no, don’t thank me, they’re not free! said Grace trying to keep a straight face while Noah was looking at her surprised, but she couldn’t hold it, she burst out laughing and Noah said, “You sounded so serious I was about to throw the camara to the water” and after a while laughing at each other’s jokes, they went back home. They had a great time that day and Noah took the camara with him to continue exploring its settings and potential.

After days of photoshoots between Grace and Noah, they both had develop better into photographing and modeling. Noah would go on his uncle’s boat photographing everything he could find, he learned how the lighting worked, he learned about the best frames, and he even knew how to zoom in things far away with the best quality. Grace had learned what poses worked best for her, she learned editorial poses and got more comfortable with weird but high fashion poses.
Grace found a flayer that flew out a yacht passing by her house, she could barely see what it said and almost ignored it as it was sinking in the water but then she read in some part of what was left of it “Artist… your Opportunity…” so she quickly grabbed it and almost fell inside the water to get before the water erased away its content. She grabs it and reads; “Artist around the world, this is your opportunity to shine and demonstrate your work. We’re looking for some new talents to represent them at the Art and Color festival”. “Art?” said Grace, “This is just what Noah needs!”. Grace immediately texted Noah through “Tweeting”.
“Hey! I know you said photographing is just a hobby but maybe you can take it to the next level” texted Grace.
“wym?” replied Noah
Grace sends him a picture of the flayer, and she just sits there waiting for his response. She’s looking at her phone with a smile on her face thinking she’s the best friend someone could ever ask for but as times goes by, she still sits there less joyful. An hour goes by, two hours, then five hours she waits for his response but nothing. She now thinks “Did I say something wrong?”, “Is he thinking about it?”, “Is he writing a long “thank you” paragraph?”, “Did a fish eat his phone?”. Whatever it was, it was already late for Grace to go to his house and check on him, so she just tried to go to sleep. The whole night she wouldn’t stop thinking about Noah, “why would he ghost me?” over and over again. She wrote a paragraph on her notes describing how she feels about being ignored, she never felt that way before. She thought about sending him the paragraph but as soon as she pasted it, she deleted it all. She feared being ignored again so she turned off her phone and tried to go to sleep.

The next morning Grace woke up with a headache, she didn’t sleep good, but she still had to attend class, so she got up and got ready for school. She wasn’t tired, she felt like she was going to lose her best friend and that’s what kept her awake, the fear overcame the exhaustion. After class she asked her mom if she could take her to Noah’s house, but Georgina didn’t really like her daughter going to another house, she has never done that. Grace escaped her house after her mom said no and she felt it was the right thing to do, “it’s an emergency that my mom won’t understand” she repeated to herself to feel less guilty about it. Grace gets to Noah’s house and she finds him sitting on a corner of the outside of the boat and he looked as if it was his first day in the neighborhood. She sits next to him and asked, “How much do you like photography?”. “it’s what I spend most of my time in” he answered. “Then why didn’t you like the idea of showing your art, your photos, your work? You’ve become so good at it!” said Grace. “I don’t think it’s good enough, they wouldn’t accept me even if they got paid to do so. Besides, who would take care of my uncle if I’m here” said Noah. “I’ll take care of him, you won’t have to worry. This is your chance to get him out of this life, to get yourself out this life.” Said Grace but Noah got up and said, “I won’t let my life get ruined like my parents!” leaving Grace by herself wondering what had happened to his parents, but she wanted to give him space. She finally understood that there was nothing she could do for him but apply for him to get represented.

Grace prepared every picture Noah had taken of her and send them right away to the tweeting address that the flayer had. She believed in him and his work. Noah got a notification of receipt, he was confused but as soon as he saw the word “art”, he knew. He tweeted Grace saying how disappointed he was, he did not sound as grateful as Grace thought we would be. They ended up arguing and when Grace said
“Would you help me understand why this sounds like the end of the world to you?”
“My parents died when they were going to my dad’s new job. They hired him inland and I stayed with my uncle, just to find out they had been in an AI floating accident”
“I’m sorry Noah. I didn’t know. I just wanted to help.”
“It’s ok. I know you like helping”
“I think we don’t have to travel inland on a AI floating”
“What are you thinking Grace?”
Grace smiled and told him her plan. With the help of her friend Maru, they booked a flight to the company sponsoring Noah. It was their first time inland, “There’s grass!” said Grace excited. “I never though this day would come! Sais Noah. They walked around New York where the fair was going to be hosted. Noah presented some of his work and in most of them, there was Grace. Noah got accepted and started a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they celebrated with Maru who suspected there was something between Noah and Grace that they didn’t want to accept.
Grace found this place in New York where they hosted the New York Fashion Week. She was excited but also nervous. She felt like there was so much competition and she wouldn’t audition. The last day for auditions, Noah recognized her being nervous and told her
“It’s my time to help you believe in yourself” They both laughed.
“I want to, but I don’t feel ready yet. I wish my mom was here, she would know what I should do” said Grace.
Then Noah proceeded to compliment her walk and poses and he slowing started getting closer and closer to her. When they were almost as close, someone came in the room and they quickly went the opposite way.
“Maru! Hi! I didn’t know you were coming.” Said Grace.
“You told me to come help you with the auditions,” said Maru
Oh, yes! I think we should start going to the auditions and you can just help me out on the way there.”
Maru awkwardly agreed and started walking towards the door as Grace joined her. The air felt weird, Grace felt something that she never felt before or maybe something she felt for a long time but decided to ignore. “Does that mean we like each other?”, “Does he actually like me?” “Are getting married?”. Then, Maru interrupted her “WOAH! Let’s focus on the auditions for now, okay?”. “Definitely, thanks,” said Grace. Grace got to the modeling castings, but it was nothing like she imagined. There were models of different sizes, heights, weights…
“This is not what my mom described to me” said Grace as she proceeded to walk towards the line and she said, “I cannot do this!” and ran to the bathroom across the room.
Maru followed her and told her, “Do you remember when you told me that it must be hard for your parents now that they’re living under the boat circumstances?”
“Yes” said Grace.
“Well, how about you do this for your parents to change that! Imagine what their life would be like when you are so financially stable to move them here without worrying about immigration or their job or the water? You must go in there and show off your hard work for them” Exclaimed Maru.
“You’re right maru,” said Grace. It was at that moment where Grace started her modeling career. She did not make it to the New York Fashion week, but she met a girl on the day of the audition that had connections with a Victoria Secret’s Promoter. Grace had a lot of photoshoots, events, runways, promo days and finally after two years in the industry traveling around the world, she came back home. Noah came too, but in a different auto flight since she had moved to Los Angeles and he had stayed in New York.

They came back to take their family with them after two long years. Grace and Noah went their own way to their families and agreed to meet for a dinner at Grace’s house just like the first time they meet. Everyone was happy to be together, Noah’s uncle was happy to see him and Grace’s parents to see her. They enjoyed dinner while sharing their memories of each other and their adventures while they were inland. Grace and Noah were happy to see each other as well. They hadn’t seen each other since that day of Grace’s casting for the New York Fashion Week. “You were busy, huh?” said Noah to Grace while approaching her outside of her house when dinner was over. “I’m living my dream,” said Grace. “I’m happy for you, you deserve it all” said Noah convinced. Grace replied shaking her head “Thank you, but… I feel like something’s missing”.
“Well, you’re already taking your parents with you, that’s probably the missing piece”. -Noah “I’m happy that my parents get to live inland again but that’s not really what I feel is missing,” said Grace. “I’m sure you’ll find it” said Noah and then he proceeded to whisper “and I hope it’s me”. “What was that?” said Grace. “Oh no, I didn’t say anything” assured Noah. “Woah! Is this my uncle’s boat? Asked Noah surprised as he notices his uncle’s boat with some repairs that Alejandro did while they were both gone. Grace turned around and as she was looking at the boat she said, “Should we take our last adventure before we leave?”. “We must!” said Noah.

Grace and Noah were so happy while going for a boat ride just like old times. As they went through 104th street by Miami Dade College they started naming as many adventures as they could remember, laughing and joking around they started to realize how much their life have changed. That moment brought them closer together. At a point they were smiling at each other but not because of the jokes, they felt connected but unsure. The water brought them back together and their story together continued.