CHAPTER NINE
“Oh no. I'm sorry.” Colleen was laughing when I sputtered up out of the water, glaring at her.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around my torso, trying to fend of the glacial cold of the Pacific Ocean. “Be honest—you're not sorry at all.”
“Maybe not.” She dove in and disappeared for a second. When she came up she was smiling. “Stop looking so tense; the ocean isn't going to eat you.”
“That isn't what it feels like to me.” Making sure my feet were firmly on the ground, I stood. The water came up to my waist. “This is as far in as I go.”
“Lean on me.” Colleen circled around and placed her hands on my back. “Close your eyes and rest on my hands. Trust me. I won't let you go under, and neither will the sea—it chose you—it's looking out for you. Plus you're a sea-witch; you can control the water. Ask it to help you.”
I was shaking and I didn't know if it was because I was nervous or because the cold water was frosting my bones. “Okay. I'll try. Once, but that’s all. It's too cold to stay in the water any longer than that.” Colleen's warm hands caught me as I leaned back. I closed my eyes but they popped open again as a wave lifted me up. This wasn't the first time I'd tried to learn to swim, and I doubted that this time would be any more successful than the last.
“Close your eyes,” Colleen urged me.
I sighed. “Okay. I'll give it a try.” If only to get Grandma off my back. I shivered. “This would be easier if the water was warmer.”
“Then warm it up.”
“I would if I could, but I spent half an hour last night trying to warm up the water and ended up with an icy cold shower anyway. I told you, I'm not good at this sea-witch thing.” I looked up at the sky, it was bright blue, and the sun was glowing; at least I'd dry off fairly quickly in its warm rays.
“You have to stop doubting yourself and just relax—let your powers flow.” Colleen flattened her hands on my back, so that I was resting on them, my body rocking with each wave.
“I am relaxed.”
She sighed. “No you aren't. You haven't even closed your eyes yet.”
“Fine. I'll do it.” I took a deep breath and puffed up my cheeks, preparing to end up underwater as I closed my eyes. Sunlight filtered through my eyelids. All I could see was pink.
“Okay, now, have you ever gone anywhere warm like Cuba or Mexico?”
“Mexico,” I answered. “I've been to Mexico. We used to go there every year.” My throat caught at the memories: Dad chasing me into the shallow waves. Trying to learn to salsa with both of my parents. Eating guacamole with Dad while Mom ate a mango on a stick. I was glad my eyes were closed so that Colleen couldn’t see the tears that threatened to spill out.
“Was it hot?” Colleen’s words mixed with the rush of waves.
I tried to focus on the present, but all I could think of were those happy times with my Dad. “Very warm,” I said, my voice still rocky. “I used to lie in the shallow end of the pool all day—you know, on one of those long concrete chairs they have? Dad would bring me drinks and Mom would yell at me to put on sunscreen.”
“And how was the water?”
“Warm. So nice and warm. Warmer than...” I trailed off. I swished my hand around in the water that was North Pole-cold: only it wasn't cold anymore. It was so warm I couldn't feel it on my skin. It was the perfect temperature. “Is the water warmer?” I asked Colleen. “Because if it isn't, I might have hypothermia.”
“Nope. That's all you; your sea-witch powers at work.”
In awe, I swirled my hands in the water at my sides. It was as warm as the water in Mexico. The kind of water I could lay in all day. Was it really possible I'd done this? That I had the power to warm the water? I sure hoped I did, because I was looking forward to not having to take any more cold showers.
With my eyes closed, I let the water lap against me, pretending for a moment that I was still in Mexico. A few moments later, laughter bubbled up from ten meters away, breaking into my meditative state and forcing me to set aside memories of the past.
My eyes snapped open. “What are you doing?” I struggled to fix my feet firmly on the shifting, sandy floor.
Colleen giggled, ducking briefly under the water and then popping up again. “What do mean? Was I supposed to be doing something? Because it seemed like you were doing just fine on your own.”
My eyebrows narrowed. “How long did you leave me floating out here alone?'”
She soared gracefully through the water, as agile as a synchronized swimmer. “Oh, five minutes or so. You didn't even notice. Probably because the water is so warm.”
“I could have drowned,” I said with as much indignation as I could muster. Colleen ignored me. I turned my head to the sound of voices, and was just in time to see a few teenagers wearing wetsuits splash into the water, surfboards in hand.
“Townies,” Colleen muttered, watching them swim off into the waves. “They're one reason why it's so much better to live out on the island. It's like I have the entire ocean to myself out there. I can shift into my seal form and swim around for hours. With you it'll be even better—because you can warm up the water—that’ll be especially handy in December.”
“Yeah, except I can't swim.” And I also don't plan on sticking around until December if I can help it. My eyes followed the townies. There were five of them, two girls and three boys. They splashed each other and laughed as they made their way out to the bigger waves to surf. Back home, I'd had a group of friends like that. On a nice day like today, we all would've gone down to White Rock to hang out on the beach. I would have walked to my favourite cafe for a scoop of chocolate raspberry gelato. And when I got home Dad would have been waiting out back by the barbeque, ready to sear up a storm. My stomach twisted as I thought of Marnie getting gelato without me, and Dad lying cold in the ground.
“Did you hear me?” Colleen swam up to me.
I lifted a hand to my belly, forcing myself to take a deep breath. Dad might be gone but I was okay. Missing him was okay. I closed my eyes briefly, and then opened them, forcing a small smile onto my face. I’d read somewhere that making yourself smile could actually, truly, make you feel better. “No. Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“I said, you'll be able to swim by the end of today if you listen to me. Now, crouch really low in the water, like this.” Colleen lowered her body.
Pushing thoughts of my broken life from my mind, I crouched down as low as Colleen, submerging my body up to my chin. My hair was tucked up under my hat, but since I didn’t want to lose it, I pulled it off and let my long, red hair free. I wondered if Dad could find me from wherever he was, if he could look down on me and recognize me now that I looked so different. I bit my lip, hoping to disguise my sadness as uneasiness, and focused on what Colleen was saying.
“Okay,” Colleen reached out and put her hands on my shoulders. “I'm going to count to three. On three, we're slowly going to put our heads under the water. From what I understand about sea-witches, you just have to ask the ocean to help you breathe, or think about breathing—and you'll be able to.”
I arched an eyebrow, looking at Colleen suspiciously. “How do you know all this?”
Her cheeks turned bright pink. “Your grandma might have asked me to show you a few things if you were willing.”
“You're spying on me?”
“I'm not spying.” Colleen looked at me, her eyes large and apologetic. “I'm helping. You have to learn how to swim, and I'm willing to show you. Or would you rather learn from her?”
I pursed my lips, looking briefly out at the townies that were now catching waves in the distance. “You—I'm mad she put you up to this and that you agreed to do it. You should have told me.”
Colleen nodded. “I'm sorry. Next time I will, I promise. Now, on three. One...”
I closed my eyes, fearful that the water would come rushing up my nostrils and down into my lungs, drowning me.
“Two...”
Slowly, I mov
ed lower. I hated how it felt to not be able to breathe. I wondered if Dad had hated it when his last moments came.
“Three.”
The water reached my nose and traveled up my nostrils, down into my throat and lungs. I jumped up, spitting the water out and breathing in deeply.
Colleen popped out of the water with me. “Are you alright?”
“It didn't work. I almost drowned.” I slammed my hands into the water, sending up a spray of thick droplets.
“Were you thinking about breathing?”
“I was thinking about drowning and how it sucks to have water flowing into my lungs, suffocating me.”
Colleen shook her head. “You have to think about breathing. Not drowning, breathing.”
I reached up and pushed my wet hair back with one hand. My other hand crushed my hat into a small ball. “I was thinking of breathing.”
“No, you were thinking of not-breathing. Let's try it again. This time I'll try coaching you.”
“No. I'm done.”
“Come on. One more time and I'll buy you a hot chocolate. I know this really great place in town, but it's kind of hidden so you'll never find it without me.”
I glared at Colleen; I loved hot chocolate. “Fine. Once more. And it better be good hot chocolate.” I crouched down in the water, anchoring my feet in the sand to prevent the waves from pulling me further out to sea. Colleen put her hands on my shoulders.
“Okay. We're going to slowly start sinking into the water. Think about your breath. Feel it flow into your lungs. Think about how all day, every day, that same breath flows into your lungs and then out again. Feel the air move through your nose and down your throat, filling your body with oxygen. Feel that oxygen flowing through your body as we move lower. Remember that, and focus on that circular pattern of breathing as we go lower. Breathe.”
I did as Colleen said. I felt the air rush in through my nostrils. I felt my breath flow into my body and out again. I followed the gentle pressure of Colleen's hands pushing me lower. My eyes were closed so I saw nothing. I remembered her words and thought, “I’m alive, Dad’s gone, but I’m alive—I’m still breathing.” Five minutes into the exercise I opened my eyes to see what exactly was taking so long. My mouth popped open in shock. I was underwater. I was underwater and breathing. Air moved in and out of my body exactly the same as it did on shore, only now I was underwater. Water was pushing up against every inch of my body, but it wasn't in my open mouth, and it wasn't in my nostrils, or my lungs. Vaguely, I remembered learning something about oxygen being a component of water, but I didn't remember enough to know exactly how this was working—except that it was working—like magic.
In front of me, Colleen was floating with her eyes closed. Her hair moved around her like soft silky ribbons, and her pale skin glowed in the turquoise blue ocean. Her eyes opened and she saw me staring at her. She broke into a huge grin, and then she gave me the thumbs up and pointed to the surface. I followed her back up into the sunlight.
“That was the coolest thing ever!”
“See, I knew you could do it.” Colleen laughed and splashed the water.
Elated, I dove back down, and for the first time in my life I wanted to sink to the bottom. It was beautiful under the water. The ocean provided me with all the air I needed. I swam around, smiling when Colleen joined me. I surfaced after a few minutes, laughing. Colleen surfaced right after me, leaping so high above the water I saw her knees.
“How did you do that?”
Colleen winked at me. “That's a selkie secret.”
I smiled at her and submerged again. I stayed under longer this time, floating along the ocean floor, digging my hands into the seabed, burying them in the mounds of sand. After a while I came back up, catching sight of the townies who had drifted closer to us. They were laughing again. My stomach clenched. I suddenly felt stiff and tired. Back home my old friends were probably hanging out on the beach. I wondered what Mom was doing and if she missed me at all. The water suddenly cooled and I shivered. “I think I've had enough of the water,” I said when Colleen swam up beside me.
“What?” The smile sank on Colleen's face. “But I was just beginning to have fun.”
I shrugged and moved toward the shore. “I think maybe you were right—about the island.” I nodded my head in the direction of the townies.
Colleen turned her head and looked at them. She smiled when she looked back at me. “If you want to go back to the island and swim on our private beach, I’m all for it.”
Getting out of the water was a shock. I trembled in the light breeze. As the water evaporated from my skin, the sun began to warm it, my goose bumps fading.
A voice from behind me said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such talented swimmers. You girls sure can stay underwater for a long time. For a few moments, I thought I was witnessing you both drown.” The stranger’s voice made me jump in surprise. I was sure there hadn’t been anyone on the beach when I exited the water—I must have missed him.
“Lots of practice,” Colleen said, as I turned to face the stranger.
I felt a small whoosh of air escape between my lips. It was the man from the ferry, the one who had grabbed my arm so tightly I could still feel a small bruise under my skin if I pressed hard enough.
“You must be locals then.” Standing stick straight, he plastered a smile on his face and looked from one of us to the other. His salt-and-pepper hair sparkled in the sunlight, but his dull grey eyes still looked as creepy and empty as I remembered. “What a great place this is. Just moved here myself. I’m starting up a business. Construction. Maybe you could take a pen for me, spread the word with a little bit of useful advertising.”
“I don’t think either one of us is going to be doing any construction any time soon.” The words rushed out as a wave rushed in, brushing my bare feet with frosty water. My skin prickled. My toes began to ache.
“But maybe you know people who are? I could come by and take a look anytime. I do free consultations and quotes. Maybe your parents are thinking about a porch, addition, even a fancy dock on the water.” His tiny black pinprick pupils in his pale grey eyes stabbed me.
“I think everyone we know is pretty happy with the houses they live in.”
“But we could take a pen,” Colleen volunteered without even looking at me. “Spread the word. Do the neighbourly thing.”
I wanted to scream at her to drop the pen the moment she touched it. Being near this man made me feel like crabs were crawling over my skin and jellyfish were stinging my legs. I wanted to run back to the car.
The man smiled, pulling a forest green pen from his pocket, handing it to Colleen. “Thank you, that’s very considerate.”
“No problem. We’ve got to get going now. We’re expected for supper right away.” I grabbed Colleen’s elbow and steered her away, turning my eyes from the strange man before I had to look at him for another second.
“What did you rush away for? It was kind of rude,” Colleen said as soon as we were far enough away.
I slipped on my sandals, which I’d picked up on our way across the beach. I shook as much sand as possible from my skin and then left the beach behind, climbing through the trees and up to the parking lot. “Because he’s creepy. I’ve met him before—on the ferry. He grabbed me. If my Grandma hadn’t been there, I would’ve been really scared.”
“Scared of what?”
I paused on the path, turning to look at Colleen. One of her eyebrows was squished downward, her left eye half-squinted. “I don’t know, exactly. Maybe I was scared for my safety.”
The pen stuck out of Colleen’s fist, and I reached for it, easily pulling it from her grasp. On it there was gold writing. “FJ Construction, ever heard of it?”
“No, but it’s new, isn’t it?”
“That’s what he said.” I tossed the pen into the forest.
“What are you doing?” Colleen’s eyes followed the pen’s flight through the trees.
“Didn’t you mom ever tell you not to accept gifts from strangers?” I headed back up the path. Colleen let out a gust of air behind me. She might think it was strange, but I knew she’d forgive me for it. And I was right, a few minutes later, when her favourite song came on the radio, it was forgotten.