The Sisters' Secrets: Pearl

by Katlyn Duncan

  ‘You two can go back,’ Ben said.

  Carolina said nothing, and Harry shoved his hands into his pockets. They had grabbed their coats on the way out of the house. It was a good thing too, as a chill rolled down her spine. The sounds of the ocean beckoned her, but Pearl wasn’t going back without a human in tow.

  The four of them walked along the shore. Harry stuck to Pearl’s side while she struggled to keep up with Ben. Pearl couldn’t help but notice how Carolina clung to Ben’s other side. It reminded her of the betrothed in her troop, and how they reacted to each other during the mating season. It was a long, drawn-out process, which ended in an arduous birth of a new life. The fate of Ben and Carolina flashed before her eyes. She wasn’t sure how humans did it, but at least the start was the same.

  Carolina intended to marry Ben, but Pearl had other ideas about it. Confusion flooded her mind. Since when had humans become so complicated?

  ‘They think they know what’s best for me,’ Ben finally said.

  ‘It’s everything your dad worked for,’ Carolina said. ‘It’s why you went to school.’

  ‘I’m not a prince about to take the throne,’ Ben said. ‘There’s nothing in my blood that tells me I have to take the position.’

  ‘But he’s retiring once you take over,’ Carolina said. ‘Then you can do whatever you want.’

  Harry let out a hard laugh. ‘Dad’s never quitting. Ben’s going to be stuck with him forever.’

  ‘How are you supposed to make money?’ Carolina asked.

  ‘He’ll take his cut from the company. From our projections, there will be more than enough to go around.’

  ‘And your inheritance,’ Carolina said as if that would sway him.

  ‘What’s the point of all that if I hate doing it?’ Ben asked.

  ‘Who is happy with their jobs?’ Harry asked.

  Ben hadn’t looked at Pearl since they left the house, but for a brief, and beautiful moment he glanced at her as if she held all the answers. ‘Easy for you to say. You can do whatever you want.’

  ‘I’d take the job in a minute,’ Harry said.

  ‘It’s all yours.’

  ‘Yeah right, man,’ Harry said.

  ‘It’s not happening anyway,’ Carolina said. ‘Right, Ben?’

  Harry touched Pearl’s arm. ‘Sorry to bore you with this. For about a year, Ben taking over has been a discussion point at every family meal.’

  Even though she wore heavy outer clothes, her skin crawled at his touch. Pearl saw a lot of Peter in Harry. Much more than his looks.

  ‘I don’t mind,’ Pearl said.

  ‘Because you have no stake in it,’ Carolina said.

  ‘And you do?’ Ben asked.

  Carolina’s mouth opened and closed quickly, cutting off her words.

  ‘I’m sorry, guys,’ Ben said. ‘I can’t think when I’m around him.’ He slowed and walked closer to Pearl for a few steps before saying, ‘I never intended for that to happen when I invited you. You must think the worst of us.’

  Before Pearl could answer, Carolina stopped in front of Ben, blocking him from Pearl. ‘Let’s do something fun today. Do you want to take the boat?’

  ‘It’s going to be freezing out there,’ Harry said.

  ‘Who invited you?’ she asked, then turned to Ben. ‘It will help clear your mind.’

  ‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day. But everyone can come,’ Ben said, speaking directly to Pearl.

  Carolina frowned.

  Pearl jumped at the opportunity. If she pushed one of them overboard, she’d succeed in her plan. Their lives were too complicated, and she found herself thinking of them as one of her own, which she couldn’t do. They were the enemy, and she wouldn’t risk her life over one of them. ‘I like that idea.’

  ‘I’ll get the keys and tell Dad where we’re going,’ Harry said.

  Ben lifted a set of keys from his pocket. ‘No need for that.’

  *

  When they arrived at the docks, Pearl was reminded of the first day she had come to land. Little did she know she’d return to the same place where she’d first seen the same humans. Now that she knew more about them her memories shifted. The dynamics between them were clearer and created a richer story in her mind.

  Pearl sat away from the humans and Ben and Harry prepared to cast away from land. The scent of the ocean stung her nose, as she thought of her plan to get Carolina into the water. Even though Ben didn’t want to marry Carolina, he still cared for her. It would prove difficult for him not to try and rescue her. Various scenarios unloaded in her mind, each of them creating a heavy feeling within her as if she were tied to an anchor and was steps away from plunging into the water herself.

  When she needed a break, she watched Ben glide around the deck as if it were an extension of his body. He flipped switches and moved parts of it around in a synchronized dance she’d only seen from life under the water.

  Carolina clung to Ben’s side. Several times, he bumped into her. Instead of annoyance, she seemed pleased with it. Not once did he ask her to move, he only maneuvered around her.

  As the distance between land and the open ocean grew, a churning feeling rooted within Pearl. Time slipped away much quicker than she wanted. There were plenty of accidents in the water; at least that was what the older generations told them. That fact helped humans understand when one of their own drowned. It was also why the ceremony arose about every decade so that the humans wouldn’t investigate drownings as anything more than human error. Pearl would have to take Carolina under quickly, and never return to the surface until they reached the rock wall. Without gills, Pearl had a short amount of time to complete the task. If she could force the boat toward the rock wall, she could finish the ceremony in less time.

  ‘Here,’ Harry said, holding out a thick blanket. ‘In case you get cold.’

  The bitter wind already pinched her cheeks. Pearl wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, knowing that soon, she’d be warm under the water with her tail to navigate her toward her future with Kaito and Syrene.

  ‘Thank you, Harry,’ she said.

  ‘Where do you think you’ll go next?’ he asked Pearl, even though he was staring at Carolina.

  ‘Back home,’ she said.

  ‘Was this the end of your trip?’

  Pearl nodded. ‘It’s about time I get back there. Being here has made me miss it.’

  ‘I hope you’ve had a good time in The Burrow,’ Harry said.

  ‘It was different.’

  Harry smirked. ‘Small towns aren’t for everyone.’

  Pearl thought about that. Her home was a close-knit troop, like The Burrow. In her case, she preferred to keep to herself, with Syrene. With the humans, especially Ben, she didn’t mind interacting. She didn’t mind Carolina or Ben’s family, as they afforded an immersive human interaction. As much as she missed Syrene, Pearl’s life would go back to the same routine as it had before. She’d bond with Kaito, but everything else would stay the same.

  The boat cut through the water like a shell slicing through fish skin. Humans had the best of both worlds. They couldn’t stay under the water for as long as she could in her natural form, but they had access to the water and the expanse of land whenever they wanted. Clothing was a necessary nuisance, but not the worst part of her experience. As the differences piled up, Pearl started to lose her drive to complete her ceremony.

  ‘What are you thinking about?’ Ben asked.

  Pearl hadn’t realized she had drifted to the front of the boat. Her hands smoothed across the edge. Carolina and Harry’s voices floated up from the cabin.

  ‘Home,’ she said.

  ‘I wish I had a connection with a place as you do.’

  ‘Don’t you love it here?’

  ‘The Burrow is my home. But over the last few years I’ve questioned a lot of it. Taking a closer look at my future proved to be more difficult than I imagined.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘The family
business. It’s complicated. My father never used to be this way. It’s as if money is the only thing now. He doesn’t care that I’m not happy, even when he has Harry to do the job instead of me.’

  ‘Have you said that to him?’

  ‘Countless times,’ he said, hanging his head. ‘He doesn’t want, or care, to listen.’

  ‘If you could do what pleased you, what would that be?’

  ‘In all the time I thought about leaving, I never imagined what I’d do if my father ever said I could. It sounds silly. I can’t see my life outside of this place. But I would like to work with my hands.’ He shook his head. ‘It seems useless to think about it though.’

  ‘I know what you mean.’ Pearl never imagined leaving her troop. She wanted to live and die in the ocean. Coming to land had been a strange, yet pleasing experience. The humans weren’t all as terrible as the others made them out to be. They were as varied as those in her troop.

  ‘You’re the only one who does,’ Ben said.

  Pearl turned to him, not realizing how close they were to each other. It reminded her of when Harry stood by the balcony. This time there wasn’t an urge to move away.

  He handled the wheel, turning the boat. The moment between them fell away, and Pearl snapped back to the present.

  The rock barrier neared. The closeness to her home was unbearable. Her two worlds collided quickly. She wanted nothing more than for Ben to turn the boat around and head back to land. She had mistaken the pull within her as homesickness. When she came face to face with it, she yearned for solid ground under her feet.

  A shimmering light flickered from the edge of the wall. Pearl leaned against the side, recognizing the signal. Whenever Syrene and Pearl had played on the surface, they had used the reflection from different shells of the sky light to signal each other. Their game had been to see how far they could separate and still see the other’s light.

  Syrene was out there, and they were getting closer. Somehow, Syrene knew or perhaps suspected Pearl was on the boat. Her sister would have every expectation of Pearl diving over the side with a human. Syrene didn’t understand that if Pearl took one of them, she would threaten their troop. Ben and Harry would alert the other humans. Their secret would no longer remain hidden. It was imperative for their protection. If Ben continued the course past the rock wall, it would be too late for all of them.

  At least that was what she told herself as a pulse of energy surged through her and she grabbed the wheel.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Ben asked.

  Pearl said nothing as she pulled the wheel in the other direction. The boat had to turn back to land before Syrene saw her. It was a false hope since she knew Syrene’s sight was much better than that of the humans.

  The boat pitched to the side and Ben grabbed on to the wheel. ‘Stop, Pearl. We’re going to hit the break wall.’

  Pearl peered over the side, realizing he was right. Syrene hid most of her body behind the barrier, but they locked eyes. Pearl froze in her place as Ben righted the boat. Syrene’s expression was unreadable, but Pearl could almost hear the whirring thoughts in her sister’s mind. Daryah’s betrayal seemed to rip through both of them.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Pearl shouted. She had never apologized in her life.

  Ben’s hands covered hers, and she tore her gaze away from Syrene. His teeth dug into his lip with concentration as he righted the boat. ‘If you wanted a lesson, all you had to do was ask.’

  Pearl gave him a shaky smile. At least he didn’t seem too upset. She couldn’t say the same for Syrene. Looking over her shoulder, Pearl no longer saw Syrene by the break wall. Syrene wasn’t supposed to be at the surface. If she told anyone, even Kaito, they wouldn’t accept her actions. Syrene couldn’t understand why Pearl didn’t take one of the humans, but Pearl knew that if she had the humans would have investigated their home.

  Syrene had to understand. Once Pearl returned home, she would explain it to her. Then all would be well with them again.

  ‘You have to use gentle movements.’ Ben’s fingers lightly gripped hers.

  Pearl stood in front of him, his body against her. His faint heartbeat thrummed against her back. His hands were warm. His breathing picked up, almost as much as hers.

  ‘There you go,’ he said, helping her turn the boat again.

  Pearl’s vision blurred as her chest ached for Syrene. She needed to explain herself to her sister, but she had no idea how. The only time she would see Syrene again was if she returned home with a human.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Carolina’s voice floated over the deck. Her glare, reserved for Pearl, turned into a wide-eyed stare at the closeness between her and Ben.

  Ben moved away. His warmth evaporated, leaving a chill to move down Pearl’s body.

  Harry arrived moments too late.

  ‘Pearl wanted to take the reins,’ Ben said, scratching the back of his neck. ‘She overshot the turn.’

  ‘Why did you turn?’ Harry said. ‘I thought we were going further out?’

  ‘We’re going to stick closer to land,’ Ben said as if he could sense Pearl wanting to be away from the break wall.

  ‘I brought some food.’ Harry held up several bags of food. ‘I couldn’t find those chips Mom likes.’

  Ben and Pearl shared a look. The jovial mood from before disappeared into the ocean air.

  ‘Sounds good,’ Ben said, anchoring the boat closer to shore.

  While the humans ate, Pearl couldn’t take her eyes off the water. Harry sat beside her and asked her questions, but she barely heard them. At any moment, she expected Syrene’s head to pop up from the water, and demand to know why Pearl hadn’t fulfilled her duty to the troop when the perfect chance arose.

  If asked, Pearl wasn’t sure she’d have an answer. Her former self bubbled to the surface, asking why she hadn’t taken Mrs. Jones under that first day. The more she understood the humans, the more complicated things were for her.

  ‘Are we still going to the Harvest Fest tomorrow?’ Carolina asked, digging into one of the bags.

  ‘Not sure,’ Ben said. ‘Though it might be the perfect opportunity to avoid Dad.’

  Carolina sighed. ‘You’ve been working a lot.’

  ‘That’s not my fault,’ Ben said.

  ‘Why are you so argumentative?’ she asked.

  Harry groaned. ‘Does everyone have to fight today?’

  ‘I’m not fighting,’ Carolina said.

  No one spoke for a while after that. As much as Pearl wasn’t involved in the conversation, she sensed it had something to do with her. If she’d allowed Ben to remain on his course past the break wall, everything might have been different, especially if only two of them had made it back to shore.

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, Pearl woke in Uncle Greg’s house after a fitful night’s sleep. Throughout the night she woke often, from the most vivid dreams. Syrene appeared in all of them. With each new vision, Syrene’s anger grew in the twist of her mouth and the hardness of her eyes.

  Eachdream involved drowning one of the humans she knew. The variations widened a pit in her chest. Carolina drowning had surprised her the most. The idea of taking any of their lives unnerved her. Pearl had less than two days to complete her mission, or the troop would banish her forever. She would never be able to see Syrene again. That possibility created the biggest hole in her heart. Syrene had no idea of the turmoil inside Pearl, but she could feel her sister’s judgment from miles away.

  The last of the dreams involved Syrene jumping onto Ben’s boat and dragging Pearl into the depths of the ocean. Ben and Harry had reached over the side for her, but neither jumped. Syrene’s hand gripped Pearl’s so hard that she screamed in pain, choking on the salty water. Syrene swam into the depths until the world faded out of Pearl’s mind. When she woke, she gulped deep breaths of air. It was a sensation she never wanted to experience again. Yet, it was her duty to the troop to do that to a human.

  Pearl was no longer sure what
she was going to do.

  When Ben showed up the next morning, he seemed to notice her shuffling, sluggish nature.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Ben asked.

  ‘I didn’t sleep well,’ she said.

  ‘Have you had any coffee?’ he asked.

  Pearl had seen other humans drinking it but hadn’t had the opportunity. ‘No.’ With the lack of sleep, lies were hard to come by.

  ‘Get dressed, and we’ll get some strong coffee. Or tea, if you prefer. It helps me after a sleepless night.’

  ‘Do you have many of those?’

  He held the front door open for her. ‘More than I care to.’

  *

  Uncle Greg’s home wasn’t far from the center of town, and it was warm enough outside to walk. For once in her life, Pearl didn’t want to be near the water. The inevitability of her situation was enough for her to stay away for a little while longer. She’d go through the unthinkable in less than two sunrises.

  In the last few days, she’d learned the human names for a lot of things outside of what the others in the troop had told her. The bright, warm light in the sky was called the sun, and there were many more straightforward names for the marine animals she’d seen throughout her life.

  As she had been a distraction for him when they first met, Ben moved her thoughts away from the water to closer inland. With the Harvest Festival underway later that afternoon, the town had transformed overnight. It was as if the leaves waited until that day to turn from green to various shades of red and orange, bringing about a new life to them.

  Ben and Pearl stopped at a smaller place than Harry had taken her. The line of people extended out the door.

  ‘Everyone is getting an early start today,’ Ben said.

  A few humans stopped Ben on the way out to greet him. Ben introduced each one of them to Pearl. Everyone had big smiles on their faces, and Pearl couldn’t help matching them. In a place where people were as close as those from her home, the humans accepted her without knowing her. If a human had tried the same to her troop, they wouldn’t be as welcoming.

  As the morning progressed, Syrene drifted further from Pearl’s thoughts.