Her father chuckled. “I’m glad to see you’re so interested. Do you think you’d like to do something like that when you grow up?”
“Maybe. I haven’t thought a whole lot about it. Cody wants to be a marine biologist, that’s his thing. I was wondering about being a dolphin trainer. That might be fun.”
Her parents exchanged glances.
“Dolphins are trained in inland pools, not out in the ocean,” she assured them. She knew exactly what they were worried about. Her mother looked like she was about to protest when her father laughed.
“You’ve got a lot of time yet to decide what you plan to do, Kira child. Whatever it is, we’ll send you to the best school, wherever it happens to be. You don’t need to be stuck here in this village forever.”
“I know, Dad,” Kira said. But unknown to him, she already had plans to leave on a trip that could have a lot of bearing on her future.
Chapter Eleven—
Field Trip
During the week that followed, Kira and Cody met every day to plan the next stage of her quest. They discussed the events of that summer and what they had learned to date. Kira slipped back into the sea two more times to explore near the shore, though she never saw another seal. While underwater, she tested her mermaid skills and reported her findings to Cody. He wrote down all the observations and facts they had collected so far and summarized them like the final results of a science experiment. He referred to Kira as the “subject”:
When subject’s hands are immersed in saltwater, she develops webbing between her fingers and thumbs.
When subject’s body is completely underwater, a large, fish-like tail replaces her legs. It is covered with golden-coloured scales, except for a pinkish stripe on each side. The V-shaped tail fin is a pale pink and turns to purple at the tips.
Underwater, subject feels warm and comfortable, even when it is cold. Temperature varied from 8 to 9 degrees centigrade from September 17 to 21. Normally only comfortable for humans in wet suits.
Underwater, subject has no trouble breathing. In fact, she does not remember holding her breath, or taking any breaths in or out.
On land, subject requires strong lenses to see clearly. Her underwater vision is excellent, even at great distances.
Underwater, subject’s hearing is far more acute than on land. From one kilometre she can hear the tied-up boats bumping into the side of the wharf.
With her tail, subject can move incredibly fast, make sharp turns and twists, and leap out of the water like a dolphin.
Subject feels much stronger in water than on land. She can move boulders on the sea bottom that would be impossible for even a fit adult male scuba diver. To prove this, subject measured the circumference of large boulders with a tape, and then the distance she pushed them, and rated the effort required. She also carried a huge rock to the surface, which she tossed up on shore. Two of us together were barely able to lift the rock on land.
Cody told Kira that she could probably deal with almost anything in the sea. But there were a few nasty animals to watch for. “You know, things like sharks and killer whales,” he suggested. “You can swim and turn fast enough so you should be able to avoid them, or hide from them. If you’re close to shore you can always get out of the water.”
Kira nodded her head. They had also discussed giant squid, but most of those were caught in deeper waters, far out to sea. They calculated, from Captain Doyle’s notes, that his boat had been far offshore when it was attacked by the squid. Kira wasn’t sure how far or where she would travel just yet.
“Aren’t you scared, Kira? Even just a little?” Cody asked.
“Not really. I’ve got the knife you gave me,” she said, patting the waterproof belt and sheath around her waist. “I’ll probably stay pretty close to shore, for a while anyway, until I see something interesting.”
“Like what?”
Kira shrugged. They both knew she hoped to run into other merrows. It was obvious from Kira’s extraordinary features that she was a mermaid. They both hoped that she would not run into any of the nasty finfolk types. That is, if such creatures existed.
The other concern they had was how Kira would be able to disappear for a while without alarming her parents. She was too young to go anywhere by herself, and she had no distant family or friends to visit. It was unlikely she could discover much in one day, they thought. Then again, she had never tried to stay undersea all day.
They decided a day-long field trip should be her next test. That coming Saturday, Kira’s parents planned to attend a fishermen’s conference in a town four hours away. They were staying overnight and returning Sunday afternoon. Kira told them she preferred to remain at home. She suggested that she could hang out with Cody during the day, and their closest neighbours could check on her in the evening. To Kira’s amazement, they agreed. They liked Cody, and apparently trusted him.
Her parents left before daybreak on Saturday—fishermen’s hours. Kira wasted no time getting ready for her own trip. She and Cody had a plan to fool the neighbours into thinking she was safely at home all night. Earlier in the week they recorded a message by Kira on a digital recorder. She addressed it to her neighbours, saying she’d had a busy day and was tired, had locked the doors, and was going to bed early. The neighbours had already told her they were planning to be away most of Saturday, and they knew she was going to spend the day with Cody. After Kira left, he would watch their house to make sure they were not at home when he called them and played Kira’s recording that evening. Their answering machine would record the message from Kira, and they hoped the neighbours wouldn’t bother checking on her that night.
Twenty minutes after Kira’s parents had left, she and Cody stood on a beach out of sight of any houses. It was just after dawn, and the water surface was awash in rosy pinks streaked with peach reflections from the rising sun. The day was hazy, the water calm, except for lazy waves lapping at the rocks.
“If anything happens and I don’t get back in time,” Kira said, her brows furrowed, “tell them not to worry.”
“You know they’ll worry,” Cody said.
“Maybe. But maybe they already know what I am. I just don’t want them to think I drowned.” Without looking Cody in the eye, she removed her glasses, her jacket and sneakers, and handed the clothing to him.
“I’m sure you’ll be back in time. Don’t worry about your parents. Anyway, it’s covered. If you’re late and if they ask I’ll tell them I don’t know where you are and you were fine when I last saw you at your house on Saturday. Then 24 hours later I’ll give them the note you wrote and pretend I just found it tucked into my hiking pack. But I’m sure that won’t be necessary!”
With her glasses removed, Cody’s fuzzy outline reminded Kira of a teddy bear. She smiled at him. “I’ll be back. But if I find my real family and I can’t return right away, I’ll try to let you know somehow. I promise.” She could sense Cody’s frown.
She turned away quickly and dove into the waves before she changed her mind. Kira had not been underwater this early in the morning, and the surface looked like it was on fire above her. She glanced back at her undulating tail, bathed in a shimmering mango colour. The seaweed bed waved gently below her, as if welcoming her back to its world. To her new world.
As she drifted into the darkness below, Kira had no way of telling time without a watch or the sun to guide her. She decided not to worry about it for now. She’d check at the surface once in a while, when she thought of it, but for the time being she simply enjoyed the scenery.
Kira stayed close to the bottom, keeping the coastline on her right side. She swam south against the current, reasoning that twelve years ago that same current may have swept her towards the fishing boats, where she had been found. Somewhere down in the sea, she hoped that her real parents were still alive, and that she would find them.
From the corner of h
er eye Kira noticed a slight movement and she swung her head to the right. She came face to face with a tiny seahorse. She smiled at the sight of the little creature bobbing up and down. Before long, several other seahorses joined the first one and they appeared to be dancing, making small circles, teetering forward and back like rocking horses. Kira laughed at their antics and the seahorses scattered. She had forgotten she could make audible sounds underwater. She made a note to herself to remain quiet. Cody would find all of this fascinating.
Kira swam for what seemed a long time, following the shoreline, though she felt she must have moved farther away. She pulsed her tail and aimed for the surface to get her bearings. Before she had moved very far, she heard faint high-pitched sounds coming from her left. She decided to follow the sounds. After all, it could be what she was looking for—she had to investigate. How wonderful, she thought, to be able to home in on a noise so weak yet distinct.
As she came nearer, the sounds became more complex. There were high whines along with scraping noises and deep booming reverberations. The higher tones made her uneasy. They reminded her of sea-bird distress calls. They lasted a few seconds, stopped for a beat, then repeated over and over, like the fire alarm at school.
In the distance Kira sensed a large, dark object above her. She slowed down and approached more cautiously once she recognized the shape. It was a boat, a huge ship. And trailing out behind the ship was a gigantic net, scooping up thousands of fish. She could hear them, trapped and confused as they darted from one side to the other.
Kira braked with her strong muscular tail to suspend herself alongside the net. The shrill cries she’d heard earlier continued, but she couldn’t see where exactly they came from. She swam next to the net, keeping her distance, and came around the other side.
Then she saw the source of the distress calls: a sleek grey dolphin, frantically swimming amongst the trapped fish. Kira rushed to the terrified animal and stared at him. His pleading eyes met hers, and she knew she had to do something. She reached out and touched the net, and immediately her hand was repelled. That awful sensation, the rough, sharp nylon threads she hated so much. She couldn’t touch it. Oh, for a pair of gloves, she thought—not that any human gloves would fit her webbed hands now.
“Please, help me!” the dolphin screamed.
Kira’s mouth dropped open in shock. She understood him.
“Please. I’ll drown before they pull me out with the fish. I need air! Pleeeeeeease.”
Kira remembered her knife. She withdrew it carefully from the sheath, her webbed hands not ideal for such a task. But she had practiced holding it underwater, so she was ready. Her hands trembled as the dolphin continued to squeal and plead for help.
“All right, all right, I’m moving as fast as I can. Please don’t cry. It hurts my ears,” she said, searching for a good place to start cutting.
“Sorry,” he said, and stopped thrashing.
Kira began sawing at the net, trying not to touch it, but brushing up against it as it swung back and forth, bulging with fish.
“Ouch, ooh,” she said as she cut away. It was much tougher than she thought it would be, but she was making progress. A few fish slipped through the first cuts and Kira worried about a mad rush for the opening once they figured it out. But suddenly they swam away from her, then to the left, then up, constantly zigzagging. Her movements seemed to startle them.
“Come closer, dolphin,” she said to the patient animal. “I want to make sure you get out first.”
“Don’t worry, merrow,” he replied. “You know fish aren’t very bright. They’ll stay away from us if they can.”
A minute later the hole was large enough that the dolphin edged out, and in a flash he disappeared into the darkness of the water.
“You’re welcome,” Kira muttered. Not a very appreciative creature, she thought as she turned away from the horrid net. She decided she wouldn’t come to the surface anywhere near the large boat. There could be other boats in the area and she didn’t wish to be spotted.
“Thank you, merrow,” a voice behind her spoke, and she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
Kira whirled around, surprised that an entire pod of dolphins had snuck up and now surrounded her. They began to squeak and spin around like a whirlwind.
“Yes, many thanks to you, merrow,” a deeper voice spoke and a large, nearly black dolphin floated up next to her. He was as still as Kira except for the slight fluttering of fins and tail. “You rescued my son, and for that I am grateful.”
“Uh, you’re welcome,” Kira replied. Talking dolphins, how bizarre and wonderful. But just as strange, she could speak and be understood by a different species, and all underwater. She wished Cody could see and hear this.
“May I ask,” the dolphin continued, “what a young merrow is doing on her own, so far from kin?”
Aha, she thought, they were familiar with merrows. “I’m looking for my family,” she answered, her heart racing. “I was lost, a long time ago. I don’t know where to find them.”
“We may be able to help you,” he replied.
Kira felt herself bobbing up and down, doing a little seahorse dance. “Really?” she squeaked. The dolphins around her squeaked in response and the smaller ones began to streak around even faster.
“Yes, we know where some of them live. There are many merrow families, of course, but we can bring you to the closest clan. If you wish.” The large dolphin dipped his head as if bowing.
“Yes, yes, please, if you don’t mind!” Kira was ecstatic. Who knew it could be this fast and easy to find other merrows.
The large dolphin sent out a series of sharp whistles. Half the pod, including all the youngsters, sped off and disappeared. The rest formed a shell around Kira and the leader, and they started swimming in the opposite direction. They appeared to be heading deeper into the sea, away from the coast.
Finally, Kira was about to meet her own kind. And if she was lucky, her real parents and family.
Chapter Twelve—
Dolphin Escort
They had been travelling for a short time when the leader dolphin said to Kira, “I should introduce myself. My name is Steen. I am the eldest of our pod.”
“My name is Kira.”
“Kira, how is it you are lost? Merrows keep their families close. They are highly protective of their young.”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember, I was only a baby when I was found.”
“Who found you, Kira?”
“A fisherman, a human. They adopted me, took me to their home and cared for me.” Kira suddenly remembered them, as if it were a long time ago. She wondered how much time had passed since she had left. She felt a familiar lump in her stomach.
“Ah, humans,” he mused. “They can be very kind to their own. But they are also harsh with their enemies. Their floating vessels are dangerous and destructive.” He shook his head back and forth, and Kira wondered if he was angry.
“So, you must have changed on land, grew legs?”
“Yes, I suppose so. I just found out a short time ago that I’m not a normal human. At least I don’t think I am,” Kira said, feeling confused. She’d already forgotten what legs felt like.
“No, you are not a human. And you are not finfolk, either. They sometimes disguise themselves as merrows, but they would never rescue a dolphin. Many merrows are sympathetic to our kind.”
Kira frowned. “So, are you saying that not all merrows are friendly?”
Steen’s body wobbled, and from the look in his eyes Kira believed he was laughing. “Merrows often behave much like humans—they can be fickle and tricky. You will want to be cautious when you meet them. Some can be very unfriendly, indeed.”
“Thanks. I’ll be careful.”
“Merrows face many of the same enemies as we do. Killer whales are fast and sneaky. Always look around as
you swim. They can appear from anywhere.”
“Like you did?” Kira asked.
“Yes, like we did, young Kira. This is a dangerous place for someone alone like yourself. It will be good for you to be with your own kind. There is safety in numbers.”
“You mentioned finfolk,” Kira said. “Are they also dangerous?”
Steen looked at her for a moment. “They can be, but usually they leave merrows alone. They are more interested in humans as slaves, and of course they eat fish, and the occasional young dolphin or shark. I’ve heard of disputes between the merrows and finfolk, but we stay as far from them as we can. Best if you avoid them, too.”
After a moment he added, “If you should ever need assistance, make this sound: EEE-U-EEE-U-EEE! If dolphins are nearby, they will come.” The other dolphins looked at him sharply, but they seemed to understand he was demonstrating the distress call for Kira’s sake.
“Yes, I heard that call loud and clear when I found your son in the net,” she said.
“Ah, yes, that’s my Cass. Dolphins his age have high spirits and take foolish risks.” Steen shook his head. “They dare each other to approach ships and sharks and killer whales. That is how they grow strong, fast and clever—if they survive.”
“Like you?” Kira asked with a shy smile.
“Yes, like me.” Steen wobbled again, and this time she was certain he was laughing.
Kira practiced the call until Steen told her to stop. She had mastered it. His ears were likely ringing more than hers.
After the lesson, they continued to travel in silence, Steen and Kira in the centre, surrounded by a perfectly spherical array of dolphins. Below them she saw flat fish gliding along the bottom, and occasional lobsters stirring up the sand as they crept along. The kelp beds were homes for many fish that darted in and out of the tall, tree-like plants. Besides passing by small schools of fish, she noticed odd-shaped creatures she couldn’t identify. She remembered seeing pictures of some of them in the books Cody had borrowed from the library.
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