Chapter 4
“I’m a what?”
“An Oceain.”
Holidee looked confused and thought Crix was out of his mind. She had never heard of such nonsense. She wanted to laugh, but the seriousness in Crix’ eyes stopped her. “So…I’m an Osheen?”
“An Oceain.”
“An Oshane?”
“No. O-she-in. Oceain.”
“An Oceain?”
“Yeah.”
Holidee looked at the ocean and pondered what she heard. What’s an Oceain? She felt a little stupid not knowing, because she felt that she should know what an Oceain was, but she didn’t.
“What’s an Oceain?”
Crix heard the question but just looked at Holidee. She had so much to learn. He didn’t know where to start. What’s an Oceain? The question rang in his head. How do you explain that? He shook his head and stopped staring out into space.
“An Oceain is…” He looked out over the horizon. “Well, an Oceain is someone who…I guess takes care of the ocean. They are people of the ocean. They live for the ocean. They heal it. They help it. They keep it. Everything they do is for the ocean and its creatures.” Crix stopped and was quiet for a while. The sound of the waves washing up the shore and being pulled back into the salty sea filled Crix and Holidee with satisfaction. “Holidee,” Crix looked back at her. “being an Oceain isn’t an easy task. Especially for you.”
“Me? Why am I different from every other Oceain?”
“ ’Cuz there are no other Oceains. You’re the last one.”
This hit Holidee like a brick wall. The last? Holidee had been last at a lot of things. Kickball, running, math tests. But never had it been good to be last.
“How could I be the last? What happened to them all?”
“Well, a long time ago the Oceain race lived on one island, alone and isolated from the rest of the world. But as time passed and new technology was invented, people cared less about their environment, including the ocean. Junk was dumped into the ocean, fish and other animals were killed, and the plant life slowly deteariated. The Oceains realized what was happening and, being people of the ocean, knew they had to stop it. So they all decided to leave their island and disperse among the lands. They had to reach every person to inform them of the crime they were committing. They had to reach every bit of ocean to heal it. But, by doing this, they spread their numbers thin. As time passed, Oceains married people who weren’t of Oceain ancestry and slowly the population of the Oceains decreased. Half-breeds and hybrids starting to rule the Oceain race. Until, eventually, only one remained. You.”
Holidee listened to the story with interest, but she couldn’t really grasp the seriousness in it. She didn’t really believe Crix.
“So some people still have Oceain in their blood?”
“Yes. But not enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“For the tasks that are set out for Oceains to complete.”
“And what are these tasks?”
“You will learn them all eventually.” Crix paused and thought for a moment. “A few days ago you did one without even knowing. You saved that baby sea otter. Which, by the way, I haven’t seen, but that’s off topic. You saved an animal from death that would have been caused by human error. You gave it one of the most precious things in this world. You gave it another chance to live. You gave it life.”
“But you did that. I couldn’t have saved it without your help.”
“But you will be able to soon. Soon, you won’t need anyone’s help. No one will be strong enough to help you.”
“But-”
“Holidee, remember that day? Remember when you realized you couldn’t save the otter by yourself? Do you remember what happened?”
“Yes. I went into a fit of some kind. I was cold. I don’t know why, but I was cold.” Her forehead wrinkled and her brows curved into a serious thinking position. “I started shaking. Then, I felt arms go around me. They were warm and they took away the cold. I stopped shivering, but,” She looked up into Crix’ eyes. “then you started to shake. And you got cold. Very cold. And then,” her eyes watered a little. “then you stopped breathing. Crix, you stopped breathing! I thought you were…” she looked away from him and down at the sand. “I thought you were dead.”
Crix lifted her head to look at him. “But I’m not. I’m alive because of you. You, alone, saved me. You, alone, gave me life. You and no one else. Only you.”
“But, Crix, what happened to you? Why did that happen?”
Crix sighed heavily and looked back at the ocean. “It’s complicated, but I will try to explain. Holidee, because you have not learned how to give life and heal things, you could not save the sea otter. And because of that, you felt like you had failed. Failed at what, you did not know. But you felt that you had done nothing at trying to save the little creature from dying. Because of the feeling of failure, your body, in a way, started to shut down. You didn’t know how to cope with that, and if I wouldn’t have come, you would have died. It would have taken you longer, yes, because you are strong. Oceain blood runs thick in you. In order for me to save you, I had to give some of me to you. I had to transfer some of my energy, my Oceain soul, to you. I was, and still am, not as strong as you. I am only half Oceain. I didn’t have enough Oceain blood in me to keep me alive and put life into you. But I had to in order for you to live. In a way, we switched feelings and positions. What brought me back to life was you. Even though you didn’t know how to bring me back, it still happened. You had hope and determination. You also had love in your heart.” Crix smiled. “And because of these things–love, hope, determination, and warmth--you were able to bring me back. You stayed with me. You kept your body close to mine so that I could feel your warmth. You loved me. And for that, I am forever grateful.”
Holidee was quiet. She didn’t like the fact that Crix would give his life for her without thinking twice. In a blink of an eye, he’d die for her. She knew she couldn’t change that either. She could, though, make sure that she was never put into a position that would require Crix to put his life in danger for her.
“C’mere.” Crix stood up and looked down at Holidee. “C’mon.” He walked towards the ocean. Holidee stood up and watched him wade into the cool water. She followed him but stopped at the ocean’s edge. Water rushed in and swept over her feet. Crix stopped when the water hit his waist. He spread his arms wide like branches on a tree and lifted his head high towards the blue sky. His eyes were closed and the sun shone down on his face. The waves rolled in over Holidee’s feet and soaked the bottom of her jeans. She looked down at her feet. Then she felt something. She looked up at Crix and saw him surrounded by every ocean creature. Whales, dolphins, sharks, fish, otters, seals, walruses, and even an octopus floated motionless in a circle around Crix. There were hundreds of them. There was about two feet between the animals and him. They just floated there, watching him. He called them to him. He called? Then Holidee started believing. She believed that she was an Oceain. She believed that she had a purpose in life. She believed that there was a race that needed her help. She believed. She waded out into the ocean. The animals separated and made a path for her to walk through. She looked around in amazement. Could this be real? Then she reached Crix who still had his hands out. She stopped next to him and looked around. The water was up to her stomach. Holidee slowly turned in the spot she was standing and looked at every creature. As she twisted towards each one, they gently went beneath the water and then surfaced.
“They know who you are. You are respected. They bow to the one who they know can care for them.” Holidee turned to face Crix. His eyes were completely blue. They were shining. It looked as though he had no pupils or irises. The royal blue covered the whole eye. Instead of being afraid, however, Holidee was intrigued. She suddenly started to understand. “Come. I want to show you something.” Holidee followed Crix back to the shore. The animals parted for them and turned to face the shore. When Crix wa
s in ankle deep water, he stopped. He knelt down and put his hands in the salt water. Holidee knelt down next to him. The sea creatures slowly swam away. They were going back to where they had come from. Crix took his hands and lifted them out of the foggy water. He held them right above the water so that they did not touch. The sea calmed. Holidee looked around. The waves stopped rolling in. The seagulls stopped cawing. Everything was still. Crix slowly made a circling motion with his hands. The water churned under his hands and turned cloudy. Crix stopped, but the water didn’t. He removed his hands and the water stopped turning. It slowly came to a rest. Then an image appeared in the water before them. It was the baby sea otter that Holidee had saved a few days before. It was swimming happily in the small fish tank Holidee had put it in.
“You can see any creature or Oceain in the ocean. All you have to do is concentrate and trust in the water. It will show you what you truly want to see. Anything. Anywhere. Just trust in the water.” Crix took Holidee’s hands and put them over the otter’s image. He slowly guided Holidee’s hands with his, but then he let go. Holidee closed her eyes and felt the water without touching it. It was warm, smooth. It moved beneath her hands. All of her muscles relaxed, as she trusted the ocean. She trusted it with her life. Her hands hovered above the churning water. Then slowly, she took her hands away and opened her eyes.
Fye was smiling back at her when she looked down at the image. Crix smiled at Holidee. “You can call any one of them to you. Your powers are endless, Holidee. Because you are the last Oceain, every trade learned by the Oceains has been given to you. Every one. You know them all. You just don’t realize it yet. And don’t worry,” Holidee looked into Crix eyes. Holidee’s eyes were completely blue. They were bright, glowing almost. Crix could see stripes of blue-green in them. They looked liked the waves, rolling across what would have been her pupils. Crix smiled. “I’ll be here every step of the way. Promise.”
Crix grasped Holidee’s shoulder to confirm his promise. The picture of Fye slowly faded away. Holidee stood up. “I think I want to go lay down a bit. I suddenly feel tired.” She started walking towards the shore.
“It’s been a long week. You should rest.” Holidee turned and looked back at Crix questioningly. “I called Mer and told her we are staying here the rest of the summer. Don’t worry. She’s going to join us later.” Holidee nodded and kept walking. Crix stood up and followed her. She stepped onto the beach and the sand clung to her wet feet like magnets. She kept walking, her pace getting slower. Crix reached the beach and watched her slow down.
“You know, Crix, I don’t feel too good,” Holidee said. Crix took a couple more steps toward her and stopped. Holidee stopped and swayed a little. Then she collapsed onto the sand.
“Holidee?” Crix ran to her side. She was unconscious. She had fainted from exhaustion. Crix picked her up and carried her to the house, where he laid her down on a bed. Crix shut the bedroom door and wiped his forehead. It had been a long week. It took a lot of energy out of him and especially her. He needed to rest too. “She’ll be fine in the morning,” he said to himself as he walked down the steps to the kitchen. He reached the living room, but collapsed on the carpet.
The house was silent except for the sound of the rushing waves from the ocean. Both Holidee and Crix had to regain energy in order to continue their long, painful journey that they had embarked on. Both of them knew what they had to do, but neither one knew what the future held for them. Only Fate knew, and Fate was the only one that could decide.