Page 38 of Rainse
"I promise," he said solemnly.
The waitress arrived to take our orders. Overwhelmed with the amount of options on the menu, I made it easy for myself and went with the chef's special vegetarian menu - mostly to avoid fish. To my surprise, Rainse only chose human dishes. Curious. Maybe he was trying to impress me.
We chatted while we waited for our starter. Inconsequential topics, yet it felt natural and cosy. As if we'd done this many times before. I liked being in his company. I was almost annoyed when our starters arrived, even though my stomach was clenching with hunger.
He didn’t touch his food at first. He just watched me, a little too intently, as if trying to memorise my features. When I caught him, he looked faintly guilty and reached for his own plate.
“I contacted the Minerva earlier,” I said after enjoying a few spoonfuls of soup. “It was really good to speak to my team.”
His gaze sharpened. “They know you’re safe?”
“Yes. And they found Hugo and Jammie.” Relief softened my voice; I hadn’t realised how much weight I’d been carrying until it eased. “Hugo was picked up by a trawler not far from where we went down. He’s bruised, dehydrated, but alive. Jammie was hypothermic and delirious, but recovered quickly. The Minerva is currently docked so they could get hospital treatment. They asked whether I'd want them to arrange transport back to the ship for me. I didn't know what to say. I had to pretend that I couldn't quite remember how I'd got to this island. They wouldn't have believed the truth. I didn't like lying to them, but it was the only way."
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but stayed quiet, waiting for me to talk through the situation.
"I miss them. I miss my research. But at the same time... I don't want this adventure to end quite yet. I don't want to return to the Minerva and continue as if nothing happened, as if we..."
"As if we didn't happen," he whispered.
"Exactly. I wish you could come on board with me, but I know that's impossible. You'd become the topic of research, not the cetaceans. They said they'd be docked for another two days or so, to make sure Hugo and Jammie are fully recovered. Then they need a response."
"I would love to see you do your science. But I agree, I have to stay on this island. We are not allowed to reveal our existence to other humans."
“My research feels small now,” I admitted quietly. “Hours and hours of data about whales, tracking patterns, behavioural analysis… It all seemed so important. But after nearly drowning, I can’t stop thinking about how much I don’t know. About how much there is down there we’ve never even touched.”
“Your kind looks at the sea and sees mystery,” he said. “Mine looks and sees home. But maybe they are the same thing.”
I smiled at that. “Spoken like a poet.”
He tilted his head. “We call them song-scholars. On Finfolkaheem, every scientist learns to sing the currents before they study them. You can’t measure the ocean unless you’ve listened to it first.”
“That’s beautiful,” I said softly.
“It’s practical,” he said with a half-smile. “But I like that you think otherwise.”
For a while, we ate in comfortable silence, the soft murmur of other diners fading beneath the sound of the tide. I couldn’t remember the last time a conversation had felt so easy, so natural.
When I glanced at him again, he was already looking at me — not staring, not intense, just looking.
“I’m glad you got to speak to your people,” he said. “Even if it means you might leave.”
“I haven’t decided anything yet,” I said truthfully.
“Then I’ll hope.”
“You seem to do a lot of that,” I teased gently.
He smiled — the kind that started in his eyes. “Only since you arrived.”
15
Rainse
The world was quieting in preparation for the oncoming storm by the time we left the restaurant. The last light of the sun painted everything gold — the sand, the palms, her skin. A warm breeze lifted the edge of her hair, and I had to curl my fingers into fists to stop myself from brushing it back.
“Too full?” I asked as we followed the boardwalk toward the beach.
She gave me a lazy smile. “You’re the one who convinced me to try seaweed pudding.”
