Fish Out of Water

Chapter 21~Just Keep Swimming

            Being in the ocean for a few days doesn't feel like being on land. Underwater time feels suspended. Like it moved slower than on land but when I finally surfaced on a beach I didn't recognize it. It felt like a hundred years could have passed. My lungs unsealed and the air burned as it filled my chest. I took a few deep breaths to stretch them back out. That quick. A few days underwater and my lungs were already weaker. I kept most of myself in the water to keep my gills under. I hadn't thought to bring extra patches with me, I just wanted to go. Emory's tear-stained face sat at the forefront of my mind no matter how long or deep I swam. Not even the endless deaths of the ocean could erase that from my mind.

            I glanced around the beach; a few people dotted the shoreline, laid out in the sand. The water wasn't as salty as the shore of Ireland. Fear trickled down my spine as the realization of what I had done sank in. I had no idea where I was. I didn't even have mom's new Ireland number memorized. Even if I did, I didn't have anything to cover my gills I wouldn't be able to go on land for too long this wasn't like back at our new house. These people didn't look like they were part selkie or mer. A wave curled over my head dunking me and rolling me closer to shore before I could regain my sense. Panic crawled up the back of my throat. My lungs resealed immediately. Why couldn't my gills just do that? I needed a map or a phone or Mom. I wanted my mom.

            A solid smack caught my attention a few yards away from me. I squinted at it looking for a shark or a dolphin and I wasn't sure which one to want. Sharks didn't bother other sea creatures all that often and Dolphins were literal bullies to other sea life but were fine with humans for the most part. I was still human enough for dolphins to like, right? I strained my neck higher without standing high enough to let my legs above water and I saw it. A glimmer of dark teal.

"Bay!" I swam toward his familiar fin. I wanted to be angry, but I needed him. I needed someone and mom wasn't here and Emory wasn't here but Bay was. A second later his red head broke through the surface, and he offered a sheepish grin.

"Hey."

I threw my arms around him. "I'm still mad," I said hugging him. "But I'm glad to see you."

"You are?" He asked. "I wasn't sure if I should follow you but you seemed upset, and I know you didn't grow up in the water so I didn't know if you knew how to navigate with the stars or had anything on you."

"You saw me leave?" I let him go but a part of me wanted to keep hugging him, wanted to link myself to something.

"Yeah. The water always feels different when another sealing," he grinned on the word. "enters your territory. I figured it was you and I just kind of trailed behind you. You can stay under for so long now." He laughed and looked down at my gills. "All opened now, huh?"

"Yeah."

His eyes scanned over my skin. "All your scratches are gone." He backed away from me a little. "You should have gotten in the water sooner, I wasn't gonna bother you I knew you were mad—"What?" I shook my head.

"You're getting close to solidifying the transformation. You need to spend more time in the water. I know the last time we hung out it didn't end on a good note, but you didn't have to avoid the water just to avoid me." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I wasn't avoiding the water because of you. I just..." it felt so stupid then. As if staying out of the water was going to slow anything down. "I was afraid if I went into the water I wasn't going to want to come back out." The admission lifted some of the weight from my chest, but Emory's voice still rang inside my head.

"Oh." He nodded. "I'm glad it wasn't because of me then."

"Don't flatter yourself." I tried to joke. "You're not that scary."

He rolled his eyes. "So... are we still running or you ready to go back?"

I sighed. "I guess I should head back. If I keep missing all this school, it won't matter if I pop a fin or not. I still won't get to go to college." I jabbed an elbow l laugh toy into his side, careful not to hit his gills. "You know the way back or are we just lost together."

"I know exactly where we are." He grinned.

"And where's that?" I asked hoping he wasn't just saying that to try to keep me calm.

Brest France. "You swam clear across the English Channel."

"France?" I asked.

"It's not as far as it sounds and you're at least twice as fast as you were when I first met you." He chuckled. "I half expected to see you grow a tail or get your skin during all that time."

"How long has it been?" I asked hoping I wasn't too far off on my day count.

Bay shrugged. "A few days. Not that long."

"A few days underwater." I reiterated.

"You spent that long in the bathtub you said."

"I spent two days in the bathtub."

"What's two more days?" He asked and to him, it wasn't that much. Full-blooded mers lived up to a thousand years, half breeds like us were a few hundred at least and that was just of what was known. Our grasp of time was different of course two days more days wasn't a huge difference when you had thousands. When we had thousands of days to spare.

"Ready?" Bay asked. I nodded and followed after him. He offered his hand just like he had in the caves we went to, only now it felt different. Before felt like visiting the underwater world now it felt like it was finally claiming me. I took his hand and with a single flick, we tore through the water.

Daily posts until I'm back on schedule

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XOXO