Start Here: Beneath the Weight of Water | 1980s Fiction Saga
Begin the serialized 1980s slow burn saga, with chapters, story notes, and reader guidance in order.
Lucia Perez lives in a house where anger is excused, silence is expected, and survival means staying small. She keeps her head down, studies hard, and holds on to one fragile hope: that education might be her way out.
Set in 1980s San Diego, Beneath the Weight of Water follows Lucia as she navigates family pressure, prejudice at school, and the quiet negotiations required to stay afloat. Then Matteo enters her life: wealthy, Spanish, and impossible for Lucia to understand without risking more than she is ready to admit. He looks like escape but may be another kind of danger.
This is a story about love, class, culture, survival, and what it costs to make your life your own when no choice comes without loss.
New chapters every two weeks, on Saturday.
Beneath the Weight of Water is free to read. Paid subscriptions are optional support for future chapters, illustrations, and the long work of keeping the story alive.
Chapters
Beneath the Weight of Water
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing—then—
~Emily Dickson
Poem #93 (“I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”)
Chapter 1: Shattered Soul
Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world.
~Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
Lucia locks away her voice because one word could bring the next blow.
Chapter 2: A Step out of the Dark
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
~Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching, 6th century BCE)
After Bruno beats her, Lucia breaks the family’s rule of silence and calls Matteo, terrified that choosing safety will mark her as disloyal.
Chapter 3: Resurrection
And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.
~Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
Matteo drives Lucia to the beach, where her collapse cracks his control and forces him to name the love he has tried to bury.
Chapter 4: Suddenly, not Empty
Seek happiness in sorrow.
~Fyodor Dostoevsky
All summer, Matteo wrote letters he knew he should not send, and now Lucia’s pain forces him to admit she has reached the part of himself his family trained him to guard.
Chapter 5: A Silent War
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
~Ian Maclaren
Campus cruelty drives Lucia into the library, where Matteo finds her and offers a warmth that frightens her because she wants to trust it.
Chapter 6: Reflecting Grace
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
Inspired by Adelaide Anne Procter, “The Ghost in the Picture Room”
Lucia lets Sofia teach her a new way to face the world, then fears the attention may cost her the safety of staying unseen.
7: The Silence Between Us
There are things which man is afraid to tell even to himself.
~Fyodor Dostoevsky
Matteo gives Lucia the distance she needs, and every restraint deepens a longing he can no longer call friendship.
8: New Friend
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Alex offers Lucia the future Abuela wants for her, so she lies to him to keep Saturday free for Matteo, whose pull frightens her.
9: Between the Shore and the Sea
We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea… we are going back from whence we came.
~President John F. Kennedy
Lucia’s fear of water breaks open at the shore, and Matteo’s patience tempts her to trust the safety she has spent her life refusing.
Upcoming Chapters
Chapter 10 — Her Sin
June 20, 2026
Chapter 11 — Dignity Recall
July 4, 2026
Chapter 12 — Not a Bird
July 18, 2026
Chapter 13 — Uncharted Waters
August 1, 2026
If Lucia and Matteo get under your skin, subscribe and let new chapters arrive by email.
Copyright © 2026 Angelica Thorne
For permission requests, contact angelicathorne@icloud.com.
looking forward to grow with the series 💕
So excited to read!!