The Secret Lives of Fish - a sequel to The Thirteenth Year

Ch 4 - Changes

Whit sat in the rolling desk chair that he had pulled up to the side of the tub. Sharon had run home for a minute to grab some things to make them all dinner. The Wheatley's were off doing their respective things and he was grateful for the time alone to watch over his son. His son who looked so much like a stranger now.

They had heard Cody scream from the bathroom and all had rushed in to make sure he was okay. Whit had rushed in first to see his son collapse as he passed out. His tail had been twitching sporadically with scales flaking off here and there. The tub was drained and Sharon had instinctively moved past her husband to fill it again. The water slowly revived Cody's tail, healing the scales that had flaked off and also where his hands looked oddly rubbed raw.

Now Whit watched as his son still slept, his head below the surface, the occasional small bubble slipping from his lips to the surface. How did that work, anyways? Cody didn't have gills yet he breathed water just as easily as he breathed air. He shook his head and turned back to the book he had been reading. A few minutes passed when the water sloshed in the tub and he glanced over.

Cody stirred out of his blacked out unconscious state. He had dreamt he was racing a blue whale, stumbling over his own tail as they darted in and out of the under currents. Now he blinked up at the soft yellow light that filtered briefly to him in the cold tub water. He pushed himself up the best he could, he breaking the surface, and water splashing around him.

"Son?" His dad put his book out of reach and then rested a hand on his shoulder.

Per old reflex Cody opened his mouth to say hi, but his vocal box remained unresponsive. All that came out was an embarrassing low moan of a sound. He looked down at his tail and frowned.

Watching his son, Whit let it finally sink in that there was more differences with his son than they had originally thought. Not only was he half fish, but his voice seemed to have left him.

"Cody," he shook his shoulder lightly to get his attention. "Son, it's okay. We'll figure this out."

Shaking his head, Cody finally looked at his dad. He concentrated on projecting what he'd been trying to do before he had passed out. Him putting his hands together and then his tail being replaced by legs. Only it hadn't worked. His head ached as he watched his dad's eyes widen. He had apparently gotten his message.

Images flashed into Whit's head, surprising him. This was how Cody had communicated with them earlier. It was also how His birth mom had communicated with them when she had come to take Cody home.

"It didn't work?" He looked at his son's silver and blue tail. From what Cody had showed him, he'd been trying to change back to human. He didn't understand how that worked, but it seemed the young merman had some sort of idea.

Sighing, Cody nodded and let his once again scaled hands splash back down into the water.

"Oh." Whit was at a loss for words. If it hadn't worked, did that mean Cody was stuck as a merman? He didn't want to admit it, but Whit didn't have any idea what they were going to do if they couldn't get him human again.

After a few awkward moments of silence between the two, Cody slipped back under the water and shut his eyes. He had seen the small look of uncertainty and disappointment that had shown on his dad's face. If he hadn't felt so out of place before, he definitely did now. What had he done wrong? He thought back to what his mom had told him. Hold his hands together and let the energy surge throughout him. He had known it would hurt, but he hadn't expected to have felt like he was being torn in two. He didn't know if he would have the desire to go through that experience again.

But what was he to do if he didn't? Jess would have told Sam by now that he was back and she would want to see him. He wanted to see her too, but not like this. Not when he couldn't speak to her or sit at their favorite carnival restaurant. He could barely handle the looks his family was giving him. Having Sam look at him in the same way would be more than he could take. He needed to figure this out and he needed to do it quick. Shaking determination back into his mind, he sat back up once again and stared at his dad.