Page 13 of Rainse
“Not safe?” I laughed softly, the sound too brittle. “And here is? You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s nothing on this rock but sand, kelp, and coconuts. And even those coconuts will all be gone soon.”
“You would not understand,” he said quietly.
“Try me.”
"I am a finman. I was born underwater and I will die underwater. My body is made for it." He tapped the sides of his neck. "I have gills. I can breathe beneath the ocean's surface. I have webbing between my toes to increase my swim speed. I have greenskin that reads the currents and helps me plan my route. I can hear, see, smell better than humans, both underwater and on land. For me, swimming to the island was easy. I could navigate the dangerous currents. Sea creatures like the one that almost attacked you know I am a fiercer predator than they are. They won't dare to attack me."
"Well, you've just established that you're better than me," I sighed, frustrated at the lack of actual information. "But not why you didn't bring me to the island that has shirts and blankets and food. Or why you didn't bring me back to my ship, the Minerva. You didn’t know I had a cracked, broken, whatever rib when you first rescued me."
He stared into the flames, not meeting my eyes. He was hiding something, I was sure of it.
"It would be too dangerous," he said eventually. "There are sea creatures near the island that are much more aggressive than the one you encountered. They would see you as prey, even with me by your side. And besides, the currents are too strong there just now. I could swim through them, but I couldn't drag you along."
I didn't believe a single word of it. Yes, there were sharks in these waters. He'd already proven that he could handle them. And currents? Seriously?
But I didn't want to alienate him. Not yet. I'd find a way to discover the real reason why he was keeping me here. And then I'd escape. For now, I'd let him think that I'd accepted his excuses.
"Who are you, really?" I asked abruptly. "A merman? An alien? Something else?"
He looked relieved at the change of topic. "I was born on the planet of Finfolkaheem, which makes me an alien in your eyes - even though it is you who is the alien, to me." He grinned. It lit up his face, making him seem younger and less stern.
“If you’re an alien, then how come you understand me? How come you speak English?”
He tapped the side of his head. “I have a translator implant. But I have also spent some time learning your language. Without the implant, I’d be able to communicate, but I’d get lost in translation a lot, so for now, I’m relying on it. Your Earth languages are very different from the ones we speak on Finfolkaheem. Yours are made to carry through air. Ours are made to echo through water.” He hesitated for a moment. “Would you like me to tell you about my world?"
I looked up at the moon, trying to judge what time it was. But then I decided it didn't matter. I wasn't tired. I'd eaten my fill of fish. And I wasn't going to get off this tiny island tonight. So I might as well listen to his stories.
For some reason, I didn't react with panic or shock at the revelation that he was an alien. I supposed a lot of strange things had happened since this morning. A whale had crashed into my boat. A shark had almost eaten me. And now I was listening to an alien tell me about his home. I rubbed my forehead. Maybe I'd cracked my head. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I was in a coma. Or maybe this was all real and I was just too stunned to react in a normal, scream-in-panic kind of way.
I nodded. "Please do."
He stared into the distance, and I imagined him picturing his home, remembering places I could only dream of.
"I grew up in the city of Eynhallow, brought up with two clutch-brothers called Fionn and Cerban. I am the oldest of us three, but by less than a sunpass. Still, as finboys, I would often make a point of being the oldest, and therefore in charge." He chuckled and once again I was struck at how a simple smile changed his entire appearance. "My planet is beautiful. Most finfolk live underwater, in large cities or small hamlets at the bottom of the ocean. Others prefer to travel as nomads, traversing the seas as traders and storytellers. Life as a finboy was good, until we reached adulthood. That's when... No, I need to explain some things first. Generations ago, the climate of Finfolkaheem began to change. The oceans grew warmer. And that affected the gender of the finbabes being born. Fewer and fewer females, more and more males."
"Like turtles."
"Turtles?" he asked, confused.
"They lay eggs in sand and the sand's temperature determines the gender. Although for them, it seems it's the opposite way than for your kind. Warmer sand means more females. But I suppose the end result is the same."
He nodded, sadness now creasing his brow. "We reached a point where for every ten males, only one female was born. That's when the Matriarchs created a new system that would ensure the survival of our species. All finboys were to be tested and only the best would be assigned a female."
I could see where this was going, but I stayed silent.
"My clutch-brothers and I were deemed unworthy. We were told that we would never have a mate. It was devastating."
The pain was etched into his face, shimmering in his dark eyes. I felt for him. I really did.
"I'm sorry," I said when he didn't continue.
Rainse stared into the flames. "It took me a long time to come to terms with. And I'm not sure if my clutch-brother Fionn ever did. He was miserable. In a way, it was fitting that it was him who discovered our one hope of finding mates."
"How?"
"He found a record in the National Archives that spoke of a group of finfolk who had crash-landed on a planet far away. They had stayed there for hundreds of mooncrossings - years in your language. Their presence would give rise to legends about sentient beings living in the sea, although for some reason, they ended up being depicted with fish tails instead of legs."
"Mermaids," I whispered. "They crashed on Earth."
