Sharp pain sprung from her side but Aliyah pushed through it. Just moments before Aliyah was singing above the waves shielded by a rocky fortress. She knew she was close enough to the shore to be within earshot, but she had glanced back to make sure no one was there before practicing her solo. Imagine her surprise to be disrupted not by an annoying seagull, but by a desperate “Help!”
Someone apparently was distracted by Aliyah’s singing, had searched for the source, and stumbled into a rip current. These powerful currents were troublesome for even sea-dwellers –at least those who would adventure near the shore– though they found them more annoying than dangerous. Land-dwellers on the other hand, could drown from swimming directly against the current. Which is exactly what this land-dweller had done.
Aliyah hoped she wasn’t too late. She swam as fast as she could at an angle away from the current with the land dweller in tow. Sand started seeping into her seaweed woven wetsuit. She knew she couldn’t go further or she would be beached. Luckily the man’s head was above water, so he could breathe. Was he breathing? Aliyah did a quick scan for life. His chest moved up and down. Thank The Creator. As her gaze reached his face, Aliyah’s breath caught. Bright blue eyes stared back at her. She could feel the color rush to her face. He’s so handsome.
With Aliyah’s state of being love struck and the land-dweller’s apparent shock and exhaustion, the two made quite a silent pair. The land dweller tried to break the silence, “What happ–uh…Who…?”
Aliyah snapped back into reality. How long was she staring at him? She quickly tried to push herself backwards to freedom (each wave had pushed wet sand onto her short skirt and made it heavy). The land dweller sat up, “Please, don’t go!” But Aliyah was now deep enough for her strong tail to whip her around. She swam a half mile out to sea before she stopped and looked back at him. He was still sitting there –waves crashing on him– with a look of surprise. He’s probably never met a sea-dweller before… could he find a sea-dweller attractive? He smiled and waved at her. That eased some of her worry. She offered a timid wave back and chuckled to herself. If only Carl had seen this.
It didn’t take long for Aliyah to find Carlson. He was slowly making his way to the back entrance of the kitchen. Caught you, Aliyah messaged. Using telepathic waves allowed them to communicate without giving away his position. Allie, you startled me!
Aliyah noticed the purple shells hanging around the edge of Carlson’s short skirt. Have a date tonight, Carl?
Carlson fingered one of the purple shells and shrugged while rolling his eyes. Dad invited another princess to the concert tonight. He wanted me to look my best.
Aliyah did her best to stifle a laugh. Shells on sea dweller’s skirts were normally white or pastel pink. The vibrant purple signified royalty and Prince Carlson only wore them when the occasion deemed them absolutely necessary. Uncle Evan’s attempts to get his son hitched were such an occasion. She regained composure. Meet me at the lookout after breakfast. I’ve got to tell you something.
Carlson gave a quick nod and continued to casually swim along. No doubt he was intending to sneak away an extra sweet urchin for himself or place spicy scales in Sage’s breakfast sponge. Aliyah’s older sister, Sage, was often the recipient of Carlson’s pranks. Connie, Aliyah’s younger sister, was too sweet and Beatrice, the eldest, now lived with her husband (making her a harder target). No, Sage was the best cousin to prank. And she knew how to dish it right back– which only encouraged the fun. Whatever the reason for Calson’s morning excursion to the kitchen, Aliyah was sure she would hear about it soon. Either from Sage or from her royal cousin himself at the look-out.
A Sand Tiger Shark perused the ship’s ruins among the fish. Aliyah noted it and continued on her way. She was smart enough to recognise which sharks were a threat and which weren’t. She was also wise enough to respect every shark’s power. This shark was a peaceful one. As long as she didn’t bother it, it wouldn’t bother her. She swam up to the ship’s crows nest and found Carlson carving into his new sea-flute.
“Hey Cous’! How far did you go this time? At the rate you’re going, you’ll end up beached on shore and I’ll have to rescue you.” Carlson loved to tease. Aliyah knew perfectly well that he approved of her explorations and only wished he could tag along more often.
“Oh, I went close enough.” She didn’t want to admit how close she was to actually being beached. “You know how you’ve always wondered what a land-dweller would do if we were seen?”
Aliyah had his full attention now. “That close huh, and you were seen! Allie, what happened? How close were you to being harpooned?!?”
She laughed, “I wasn’t even close to being harpooned! He waved at me, actually.”
Carlson slumped against the crows nest. “He waved… Allie, I’m not going to lie. That was pretty anticlimactic.”
Aliyah felt she needed to defend her amazing experience. “I rescued the land-dweller first. He was stuck in a rip current. So it was way more than just a glance and a wave!”
“You saved him! Well, no wonder he didn’t harpoon you. He’s probably got a huge crush on you now!”
Aliyah felt the heat rush to her cheeks again. Her hands rushed up to hide the color, but she couldn’t hide her smile or the pleading in her voice. “Do you really think so?”
Carlson poked Aliyah in the ribs with his flute. “You like him don’t you? Miss Allie has a crush on a land-dweller!”
She couldn’t deny it. Those stunning blue eyes and golden blond hair had done a spell on her. She was beginning to believe it was fate that brought her to meet the land-dweller that morning.
Carlson abruptly pulled away and surveyed the surrounding ocean. Something didn’t feel right.
“I thought I’d find you guys here!” A third sea-dweller swam up and stopped short. All the fish and even the lone shark Aliyah saw earlier had left. An eerie stillness emanated from the shipwreck. Then they saw it. A deep purple Shortfin Mako.
All three sea-dwellers swam hard towards a rocky landscape for cover. The Shortfin Mako was an aggressive shark that could swim up to 45 miles per hour! Sea-dwellers could hope to outswim it, but not for long. It was exhausting work. Aliyah risked a glance backward, only to find it rushing towards them.
“There!” Carlson led the way to a small cave and everyone piled in. A blur of purple sped past. Carlson spoke in between gasps, “Welcome… to the party… Arlen…”
Arlen typically was roped into whatever mischief Aliyah and Carlson got into during the summer months while he visited his mother. The other months of the year he lived with his father in a different sea-dweller kingdom. Somehow he got pinned up against the wall with everyone sharing such a small space, “You guys… will be… the death of me…it’s a good thing… we’re best friends…”
Carlson didn’t miss a beat, “Oh, outsmarting that Mako was nothing! You should hear what happened this morning. Aliyah went face to face with a land-dweller!”
Arlen looked at Aliyah with genuine concern. Carlson laughed, “Arlen, she’s fine. I think she rather enjoyed it.”
Aliyah elbowed Carlson. In a way his teasing was a relief, though. It meant he didn’t think it was weird that she liked a land-dweller.
“I’m going back tomorrow morning. Maybe I can see him again.” Aliyah left the cave in a happy daze leaving behind both Carlson and Arlen staring at her in shock.
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