The Princess of the Ocean

19. Dog-Squirrel Hybrid Girls Do Not Like Electricity (Part 1)

I sat there staring at the ceiling for a few seconds before I realized I was awake. I rolled over and looked out the window, the moon lighting up the lake. What had woken me up?

Flopping back on my pillow, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Ten minutes later, it was clear that wasn't happening any time soon. I sometimes hated my inability to go wake up and stay awake.

I sighed and got up. Maybe sitting by the ocean and watching the waves would make me sleepy.

My hand was on the doorknob before I remembered: curfew. It was definitely after ten. The harpies would be looking for campers trying to sneak out. Sadly, I fell in that category. And being turned into a midnight snack for a demon chicken lady wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

I sighed and started to make my way to my bed before an idea struck me. My head snapped up. The window! I could just climb out of there. Or rather...

Seconds later, I was flying out of my cabin in the form of a small bird. Shape shifting was getting much easier to do, but I still had to concentrate to do it correctly. I shuddered as I remembered when I had tried to turn into a dog the other day. A squirrel had run in front of me while I was concentrating. With my mind both on the dog and squirrel, I ended up turning into a grotesque and slightly painful hybrid. Let's just say no one would even want to consider having that as a pet.

I flitted towards the beach and changed back to human mid-air, the sand muffling the impact of my feet. I sighed and sat down, hugging my knees to my chest. The waves lapped peacefully on the beach, it's soft sound mixing with salty breeze that instantly calmed me down. Yes, this was much better.

My mom and I used to go to the beach a lot at night. During the day, it was too crowded, too bright, too noisy. At night, the waves were calmer. The moon and stars glimmered in the inky black sky. It was so much better than being in the brutal sun.

We would take a blanket, some snacks, and just relax for an hour or two. Sometimes, my mom would tell me of the things she did with her mother back back when she was a kid. Sadly, it was short-lived. Her dad had died of cancer when she was around seven, and her mother died months later of grief. She jumped from foster family to foster family. 

"One time," my mom said while we were on one of these nightly beach retreats, "a foster family wanted to take me in. But they were all the way in San Juan and I was in Ponce! It was across the island!"

My mom took advantage of these little trips to tell me about herself, since I was always asking and she never had the time. She worked in a clothing boutique in Tribeca. She got there really early every day and left late at night. Even though she worked ridiculously long hours, the paycheck wasn't that good. But at least it was better than when we lived in London. At least we had an apartment instead of a space under a bridge.

I could've been there for a minute or an hour, I was too relaxed to tell, when I heard a rustling noise. I listened closely. After all, that could've just been an animal, or some kind of nut falling from a tree. I started to relax again after a moment but then a muffled noise came from behind me.

I sprang up and started to turn around but my arms were suddenly pulled behind me so tightly I almost cried out in pain. 

Wait. That's what I was supposed to be doing! Someone would certainly come running to help if they heard a scream. The grip on my hands behind me tightened viciously and I cried out. Almost immediately, a hand slapped over my mouth and nose, cutting off both my voice and ability to breathe.

Huh, I thought. So sitting out here on the beach actually made me sleepy. I was already blacking out when I realized that it wasn't the ocean waves that had made me drowsy, but a cloth that was in the hand covering my mouth.