Aliyah’s hair didn’t float all around her face in the morning. It wasn’t a dream, she really was on land! Rita’s clock still ticked in the otherwise quiet room. The light from her window suggested it had been morning for a while. She must have needed the extra sleep. 

Aliyah pulled back the sheets and carefully made her way over to the mirror. She giggled at her success and did a clumsy twirl. She erupted with more laughter. She just needed some more practice, then she could dance with Derek. No problem.

She looked down paused. There on top of the bureau was all she had left from home: An empty vial from Mara and a small obsidian rock from Connie. 

Aliyah picked up the rock and rubbed her thumb against the smooth surface. How was Connie doing? And Sage? Did she like Prince Juan? Aliyah wished she could send a telepawave and ask. When would she speak with her sisters again? Her focus shifted from the obsidian to the pearl bracelet on her wrist. 

Still white. Not that she was surprised. She wasn’t expecting another call after her confrontation with her parents yesterday, but… didn’t Connie want to talk to her?

Aliyah gently placed the obsidian back down. She could hear Auntie Rita and her husband tinkering at the piano downstairs. There was something familiar about that tune…

Aliyah opened her door and heard Rita sing:

“I’ll love ye for now,” said the wiry old lass

She’d love him for years to come

And every day

He’d hear her say

“Yere more wonderful today than not.”

Aliyah smiled. She did know that song.  Aliyah’s dad sang it to her when she was little. It was Grandma’s favorite! She walked down the stairs while Rita sang the chorus.

“Yere more wonderful today than not,” said she,

“I’ll love ye when goin’ gets tough.

Me love will stay strong and taut, ya see,

Yere more wonderful today than not.”

Aliyah mouthed the words and longed to sing along. She knew the words. She knew the tune. But her vocal chords wouldn’t cooperate. She put a hand up to her throat. She felt the vibrations as she spoke the last stanza out loud. Speaking was the best she could do. Singing used to be as natural as breathing for Aliyah… How did Auntie Rita do it? How did the voice ring without telepawaves?  

“Ah, Aliyah. You’re awake!” Rita crossed over to Aliyah and clasped her hand. “Good news, darling. Marvin agreed to take us shopping–even got the day off work!” Rita looked back at her husband with a huge smile. “Isn’t The Creator good to us?” She giggled. “I get to spoil my niece!”

---

Arlen lifted a hand to signal the others to stop swimming. “You see, over there?” 

“Oh! Yes, yes, I see it. Do you see it, Asher?” Little Bella let go of Connie’s hand and pointed in the direction of the gray whale. 

“I see it, too!” Asher said. He was riding on his dad’s back. 

Beatrice put a finger to her lips. “Remember to use your quiet voices, guys. We don’t want to upset the whale with our noise.”

Arlen was happy to see the children so excited. It reminded him of the first time his father took him to see the whales. However, too much excitement could be problematic if not channeled correctly. 

“Alright guys, I’m going to swim closer to see if she’s one of our friends. You all stay right here. I’ll be back soon.”

He slowly made his way closer to the gray whale. Oh good, it’s Fred. Arlen used a low purring whale call and the whale rumbled back.

Arlen made his way back to the group. “Okay, so this whale is our friend, Fred.”

Bella interrupted, “Fred? I thought you said we’d see a girl whale.”

“This time of year we typically would see a girl, but Fred tends to come later than his guy friends. He’s injured. He survived a collision with a land-dweller’s boat a few years ago.” Arlen adjusted his shoulder bag. “I know you guys are excited, but we need to swim up slowly. Make sure he sees us. Don’t touch him unless I say it’s okay, alright?” Everyone nodded. “Okay then. Follow me.”

As they got closer, little Asher pointed and said, “Big big biiig mouth.” 

Arlen chuckled. “Did you know that he doesn’t have teeth, Asher? He has baleen. Fred filters his food from the ocean floor instead of chewing food like we do.”

Arlen caught a glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye. Aliyah? He did a double take. No, Aliyah wasn’t here with them. It was just Beatrice helping little Bella. Aliyah’s hair was more strawberry blonde anyway. 

“Remember we have to ask before we touch, Bella.” Beatrice placed a hand on Bella’s shoulder.

“Arlen, can we touch Fred?” Bella was bobbing and wringing her hands together. It was probably taking all of the willpower she possessed to keep her hands to herself.  

Arlen glanced at Fred. He didn’t seem irritated at all. “Yes, Bella. Be soft, okay?”

After everyone got to say hi to Fred, the little ones wanted to go back to the palace for a snack. Arlen stayed behind to care for Fred’s torn scar tissue. He was glad he brought the medicine that helps whales fight off infections. Satisfied with his work, he turned to catch up with the group.

Beatrice and her family giggled and raced ahead. Connie lingered behind. Did she miss Aliyah like he did? There had to be a way to cheer her up. He sent her a message. What did the oyster say to the pearl?

Connie turned, her black hair swishing around her. What?

He caught up to her. “Nothing. Oysters don’t talk, silly.” 

A smile crept across Connie’s face. “How do you know they don’t talk?”

“Well, they’ve never objected to being placed on my dinner plate. I think if there were ever a time to start up a conversation, it would be then, right?” 

Connie laughed. It sounded so much like Aliyah’s laugh… Arlen’s stomach dropped to his fluke. He put on the best smile he could and gestured for them to swim on. 

“I wish Aliyah was dating you instead of a land-dweller.” Connie said.

Arlen nearly choked on ocean water. Where in the five oceans did that come from? 

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, maybe if Aliyah dated you, she’d be safe at home instead of stranded on land and…I think you’re funny. You’d make a good brother-in-law.”

Well, if Aliyah dated him, by default she would be in the ocean. He was a sea-dweller after all, but that’s not what Connie meant. If Aliyah dated you, she’d be safe…

He ran his hand through his hair and hoped Connie didn’t notice the color in his cheeks. “I appreciate the compliment, but I think Aliyah will be alright on land. Your aunt will keep her safe and she’ll find happiness with Derek.” He said this more to convince himself than to reassure Connie.

“I still think you’re better than Derek.” 

Glowing starfish… If only Aliyah thought the same thing.

“Race ya to the palace, Connie!” Arlen dashed away with Connie close behind him.

---

The door chimed as another customer walked into the sports clothing store at the outlet mall. Music filled the store as people browsed through yoga pants, shoes, and hats. When Auntie Rita said they were going shopping, Aliyah had imagined booths with shirts and skirts like she’d find at the coral reef at home. This was amazing! Each shop had its own room and unique music…

“How about this one, Aliyah?” Marvin held up a sea-green jacket. It had the same logo on it as Derek’s sweatshirt. It made Aliyah like it all the more.

“Yeah, that one’s nice.” 

“Alright, would you rather the green or the gray, hon?” Rita held up the other jacket in question. “Or we could get both? Mix and match with your other outfits?” She looked at her husband who nodded in agreement. “Okay let’s do that!”

Aliyah appreciated the new clothes, she really did, but she was beginning to wonder how much it was costing her aunt and uncle. They already purchased 5 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, sandals, flats, and a “Sunday dress” – just in case. 

“You know Auntie, there’s a chance I’ll go home after the dance. I’d like to stay, but I did make a promise and… I’d hate to have you spend all this money for nothing.”

“Aww, it wouldn’t be for nothing, sweetie.” Rita set both jackets in her shopping basket. “Besides, you could always come and visit again.”

Visit again? Aliyah hadn’t thought about that…Though if Derek didn’t have feelings for her, coming back to shore would bring back painful memories. She wasn’t sure she could handle that disappointment. 

At the cash register, Marvin took out his wallet from his back pocket. Aliyah noticed he wore another ring next to his wedding band. It had a wave etched on it. Or was it writing? 

On the way out the door, Aliyah noticed the same design on Rita’s necklace. Huh. Matching jewelry. Do all land-dweller couples have a matching set? 

“Uncle Marvin?” 

“Hmm?” He walked over to a bench and sat down.

“I like your ring. It says ‘hope’ on it, right? Same as Auntie Rita’s necklace?” 

“Ah, yes.” He held out his hand to look at the ring. “Hope is our daughter… We lost her long ago. Stillborn… she would be about your age.” 

Aliyah didn’t know what to say. If Hope were still alive… she’d be shopping with them too. The extra shoes and shirts were starting to make more sense now.

Rita fingered her necklace. “Yes, well… we’ll all meet Hope someday. The Creator is good to us.” She gave Aliyah a side hug. “He gave us our niece for a few days after all. And around prom too! We still need to find you a fancy dress, miss.” 

Aliyah nodded and tried to smile. Rita and Marvin couldn’t buy their own daughter a prom dress, but they could purchase one for her. She decided to try on anything that suited Rita’s fancy. Aliyah would make it the best shopping experience they ever had.

---

Derek stepped into Coral’s Floral Shop. A slender girl with sleek ash-brown hair was placing a sign in the display window. Remember Prom Pick Up! 8am-6pm. Sample boutonnieres and corsages were neatly placed on a display table. The girl turned and made eye contact.

“Hey, it’s our prom prince! How ya doin’?”

“I’m doing good. Just here to order a flower thingy.” Derek gestured to his wrist and she laughed. He liked the way her nose crinkled. “How’s our prom princess?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Busy as usual.” She picked up the basket of flowers previously on display. “Cara’s at the front desk. She can help you with a corsage.” 

Derek nodded his thanks and made his way to the cashier.

“Hey Cara, I know it’s craziness back there and I’d hate to add to the chaos…”

“No no, never chaos. We have a system going.” She handed a form and pen to Derek. “I’m assuming you want a corsage for your mysterious date?” 

“Um, yeah. Is that alright? I know it’s late notice…”

“Of course! We can always add one more. We ain’t out of flowers yet!” The phone rang and Cara raced to answer it, pen and paper in hand. “Coral’s Floral Shop, Cara speaking. Yes, we can do a custom order. What color is her dress?…”

Derek looked down at his own order form.

Circle one option from each section below:

Accent color (ribbon): Silver, Gold, Rose Gold

Rose color: Pink, Red, White

Filler: Baby’s Breath

*All corsages are filled with Baby’s Breath. Substitutions can be made for an additional $5

Filler Substitution: Dusty Miller, Delphinium, Heather

Derek was grateful for the picture examples, but it didn’t make his decision any easier. He checked his phone. Rita said Aliyah’s dress was light blue. Silver and blue look good together right? He circled silver, pink rose, and delphinium. Why not? He filled in his customer information as Cara returned to the register. 

He handed her the form. “Oooo, I see you selected delphinium. Is her dress blue then? Nice choice!” She rang up the total. “With the substitution, that brings you to $28 even. Will you be using cash or card?” 

Derek handed her cash. “So that’s it?”

“Yeah, we’ll take care of the rest.” She placed the order on a clipboard near the door to the back. “Oh, just remember to pick it up tomorrow.”

“I’ll remember. Thanks Cara.”

He passed by the prom princess who was now sweeping the floor. He felt like he should say something. 

“See ya, Rhona. You’re coming to Depoe Bay tomorrow, right?”

“Oh uh… I’ll probably just meet you guys back here for dinner.” She swept the pile of petals into the dust pan. 

 He thought for sure Heber said she was a part of their group tomorrow. Perhaps Rhona’s boyfriend changed the day-date last minute. “Oh, okay. We’ll see ya later then.”

Derek stepped out of the shop. That should be it, he thought. He had a tie, two prom tickets, extra cash, and a corsage ordered. Everything was ready to go for tomorrow. He looked at his watch. Just in time, too. He headed back to the school for track practice.