Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

45. OTHERS LIKE HER

It was a cloudy Saturday. Tiny raindrops descended from the sky while lonely rays of sunshine pierced the clouds as if they wanted to witness their journey towards the ground.

For most of the students it was a lazy day. But not for the Aquantiens in the school. For one of us, the day was a potential life changer.

I led somewhat confused Doctor Kasian towards the door with a silver plate that said S. A. August, headmaster. Behind that door, Aq53 was waiting for him. I knocked three times. After a male voice said "Enter", I opened the door.

The headmaster walked up to Doctor Kasian and shook his hand. "Welcome," he said. "We have been expecting you."

It seemed as though Doctor Kasian had trouble focusing on the man that greeted him. His eyes were searching for something. Someone. He froze when he noticed someone sitting in the burgundy armchair. Its tall backrest was very effective at obstructing the Doctor's view, allowing him to see only the dark hair on Ms. Cyan's head.

I wondered what was going through her mind at that moment, and when Doctor Kasian quietly asked, "Is that her?" I noticed that she shuddered.

She released a sigh of apprehension and stood up, ever so slowly. She took a moment before she turned around.

"Professor Cyan?" Doctor Kasian's eyes widened with surprise. "You're the Aq53?"

Those words seemed to be more than she was able to handle. With one hand across her chest, she breathed in like a person that just got saved from drowning. Mr. August approached her and placed his hand under her arm, hoping it could pour some courage into her.

"This was a bad idea," she whispered.

"No, it was a good idea!" I opposed.

"Azora, remember what we talked about," Mr. August said, scolding me with his eyes.

I remembered. After the near disaster with Mathias and the full Moon, he made it very clear that nothing that happened in his school gets passed him. Mathias, Opal, Ardea and I were called to his office again after we 'ambushed' Professor Cyan.

In normal circumstances, when I'd run into our headmaster, he seemed so friendly. His long, wavy hair tied at the back of his neck, his warm brown eyes and a bright smile made him very approachable. But that time, when the four of us were in his office, his eyes felt like daggers. We found ourselves compelled to tell the truth about everything.

It wasn't until we reached the part when I mentioned Ardea's father, that he admitted he already knew all the details. It seemed that Professor Cyan shared her secret after all. Our headmaster knew everything. It was he who suggested that Ms. Cyan and Doctor Kasian speak in his office.

And there we were, Ms. Cyan with her doubts, Doctor Kasian with his amazement, Mr. August and I.

"I still have trouble believing this," the Doctor said. "I suppose it slipped my mind the amount of time that had passed since those pictures were first taken. Somehow, I expected to see a young girl. Instead, I'm face to face with a grown woman. My daughter's teacher, what's more." He shook his head. "I simply cannot believe."

His eyes were looking at Ms. Cyan as if they saw her for the very first time. They were observing her dark hair that framed her fearful face, the gray marble effect silk scarf that hugged her neck, the black shirt, dark grey long pants and black gloves that covered her hands and the scars on them.

"How is this possible?" he asked further. "How did you escape? Where did you go? How did you get here?"

That was what I had hoped to ask her myself.