When the Ocean Calls

Chapter Five | Seeing the Healer

"Kiara!"

A hand planted on my bare shoulder and pushed it back and forth, the movement labored by the water. My eyelids shot open to see Catilli looming over me, her face cast in a pink glow.

I need to get up already? It seemed like I had just gone to sleep a few minutes ago. My jaws stretched into a yawn. Fog clouded my brain, muddled my thoughts.

"What time is it?" I said.

"It's rising tide," Catilli said. "Time for our first meal."

I wanted to collapse. The fish from the night before kept me up all night, threatening to exit my stomach and pollute the water around me. To make matters worse, I slept in an alcove surrounded by granite on three sides, the entrance barely large enough to squeeze through. Catilli said that if I slept anywhere else, I would probably end up floating around her home and knocking things down. The rock ensured that I didn't move.

It also ensured that every time I drifted off the sleep, the water nudged me into a sharp edge. In the dim light, my bleary eyes saw at least seven scratches on my arm and two bluish bruises.

"Come on," Catilli urged. "You already slept through the first low tide bugle."

Really? Those things were so loud, I thought they could be heard around the world. I guess I had underestimated my fatigue.

I slowly rose into a seated position until a blunt surface smacked my head. I closed my eyes and let out a hefty sigh.

There goes the rock again.

"Careful."

Irritation crept up my skin. I really didn't need an audience for this. My hand found the edge of the rock bed and guided me through the narrow opening, the rough sides scraping my skin. I stretched my legs in the open water. It felt so good to no longer be confined. They kicked to keep me afloat, though each stiff movement sent pain through my muscles.

"Let's eat, I'm starved," Catilli said.

I glanced at a stone slab built into the wall, reminiscent of a table. Two shells floated away from it, toward the cave's exit on the opposite end of the room.

"Pardon me," she said as she herded both dishes back to the rock. She grabbed one and motioned for me to take the other. I clutched the smooth base and pulled a mound of seaweed from the top. My heart sank at the sight of peach-colored raw fish. I didn't know what I was expecting, but anything had to be better than this.

Catilli gulped the seaweed down in one bite. I inhaled a breath. I couldn't avoid eating—it would be impolite. Besides, I needed strength to swim around Oamer, and even more to get home. With all the will I had, I placed the waterlogged strings in my mouth. They squished between my teeth, overwhelming my tastebuds with salt. I choked it down before even thinking about the raw fish.

"Wow, you humans really do eat slowly."

I glanced at Catilli to see that she was already done. Her blue eyes stared at me, her lips parted in a contented smile. I cleared my throat in a failed attempt to cleanse the salt from my mouth.

"I'm actually not that hungry," I said. My empty stomach stirred in protest, but I ignored it.

"Really? I don't want you to faint or anything."

"I'm sure that I'm fine."

Catilli shrugged. "Okay then. I'll put these shells away, then we'll go." She swam away from the table with both shells of food.

I rested my chin on my palms. Each kick of my legs to stay afloat drained my energy. My eyelids drifted downward.

"Okay, I'm ready to go. Come on." A hand closed around my wrist, and my eyes jolted open as Catilli yanked me to the exit.