Page 21 of Oceansong
“I see.” Angie didn’t see, but she let it go. She kept her distance, and he seemed content to stay where he was as well. “What about the merman who dragged me under? Won’t he know you helped me?”
“No, in the rough turbulence, we were thrashing, the waves haphazard. It was a mess of debris and tails and hands. He fled when you fired yourweapon, leaving me as your target. He does not know it was me who was helping you.”
“Appreciated.” His explanation was feasible enough for now. “So, you can manipulate the seas?”
He looked away without answering, staring at some invisible sight over the waves. His face was impassive, but Angie caught a twitch feathering along his jaw. It drew her attention to the side of his face, and his full, sea-kissed head of dark hair. His skin was smooth and hairless, to ensure easy movement through water, she knew, without the impedance of body hair. The newly emerged sun highlighted his pert nose, not much larger than her own, and angular jaw and high cheekbones. A breeze blew his hair back, revealing his gills.
So human, and yet so foreign.
The question of why he was hairless except for his head and eyebrows interested her. She said nothing, not wanting him to have any inclination that she was looking at his body. Even if it was for scientific reasons.
Angie didn’t know if the mer thought the same way, but she had had enough young men misinterpret her friendliness and curiosity for interest.
She looked back down at her feet before he could catch her staring.
“The sharks are dispersing. Thank you again,” he said, and rolled onto his belly, tucking his tail beneath his hips. He cut his gaze to her. “I come ashore every few days. I may see you again.”
What was it about this merman, and the thought of seeing him again, that intrigued her? “What’s your name?”
A pause before he answered. “My name in your language is Kaden.”
“My language? So, what is it in your language, then?”
“Also Kaden.” A twitch appeared in one corner of his lips, but it disappeared as fast as it appeared. “In Renyuhua. Yours?”
He spoke slowly enough that she made out the sounds of his language, and it sounded like “merfolk speak.” Yet, the tones were off. Angie had picked up local tongues from her family trips to Taiwan and China as a child and preteen, but this sounded like a strange Chinese dialect. “Angie Song.” She flushed.
“Why do you have two names?” Kaden’s tail relaxed, followed by the rest of his body.
“My first name is Angie, and Song is my last name, uh, my family name.”
Kaden cast a sideways, inquisitive glance at her. “Ah, we do not have family names. We distinguish ourselves by colors. When two mer join, their tail colors meld together to signify the forming of a new family.” He thinnedhis full lips. “What shall I call you, then? Angie? Or Song?”
“Angie.”
“Okay. Angie it is then.” Kaden offered the tiniest hint of a smile, making his face light up. Then it fell, and his shoulders went rigid. “The sentinels will be looking for me.” Angie gave him a small nod as her goodbye. He pushed off his tail into the water, and then he was gone.
Ten
Keeping the blanket wrapped aroundher, Angie looked to the ground when she stood. There, a tan corner peeked out underneath a patch of shrubbery. Her clipboard, thankfully with all pages intact. Angie held it close to her, refusing to let it out of her sight until she got it into Bàba or Nick’s hands.
She thought about what Kaden said.
The sentinels will be looking for me.
It begged the question of who exactly he was, and why there were sentinels seeking him out.
Angie made it back to the gangway, fanning the clipboard and drying the papers attached to it. The ink bled on the page, but it was legible enough.
An impending shadow loomed, and an ocean of relief splashed over her. The container ship she had been waiting for, theMV Castaway, finally pulled into port. The anchor dropped, and the engine died, the ship rocking with the waves. Sailors departed, each greeting Angie as they rushed past. She stood by, waiting to step aboard and take inventory.
Finally, Luke appeared at the entryway and waved her in, a jovial smile on his pale, freckled face. Angie returned his smile, following him aboard as he walked her through the ship’s interior.
“Glad to see you’re okay. I was getting worried when your ship was delayed by—” She checked her phone. “Over two hours.”
“I know.” The boy’s tone dropped low and dull. “We hit a giant swell coming in and lost half our cargo. We recovered whatever we could, though. Sorry, I’ll explain everything to your dad, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“It’s fine, I’ll explain. Besides, my bàba won’t get mad at you.”
