That was simple, I thought looking around for the dolphins. They were swimming near the surface and easy to spot. I smiled, knowing exactly what I wanted to do next. I am so sneaky.
Landing just behind the pod, I put my tail back on and looked around to see what was happening. That was when I learned that there was seeing and there was seeing and invisibility was relative to who was doing the looking.
“Hey, Miriam. Wait for me.”
“Stanley?” Apparently I wasn’t the only one lagging behind the pod. “You can see me? Why aren’t you with everyone else?”
“I was bored. Now that you mention it, I can’t see you, but I sure can echo-hear you and you hear great.” He caught up and gave me a few affectionate bumps. “How come I can’t see you?”
“I’ve got this cape thingy that makes me invisible.” I demonstrated by opening the dragonfly clasp for a second. Tell the rest of your pod to pretend I’m not here. I’ll feel a lot better if Zazkal doesn’t know where I am.”
“That’s going to be tough. We’re bringing him back with us.”
“No way. There’s no way I’m traveling in the same pod with him, even invisible. He is one bad fish and all I want is to be a million miles away.”
We had reached Zazkal’s atoll. Stanley and I were swimming behind and a little above the pod. We could see Verona at the front. We didn’t have to see her to hear her though.
“ZAZKAL. THIS IS VERONA CORONA.” Verona’s voice was everywhere. She sounded like Grandpa Sky did at the party when he announced the banquet only not so nice. Must be a magic thing.
“I AM HERE AT THE BEHEST OF THE CASALOT GREAT COUNCIL. YOU ARE UNDER THREAT OF TOTAL BANISHMENT AND ORDERED TO APPEAR AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING IN TWO DAYS’ TIME. WE ARE HERE TO ESCORT YOU. YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO APPEAR WITH MIRIAM MERMELSTEIN AND THEN WE’RE COMING IN.”
I wasn’t going to admit it, but I was impressed. Verona had a lot going for her besides mean and nasty. She did a great scary and intimidating. Still, she had a long way to go to beat out Zazkal in this category.
I wondered if heartspeak worked like telepathy. I scrunched up my mind and tried to connect with Verona.
Verona, I thought. I’m here. I’m behind you. Verona. Can you hear me. Verona?
Okay, so heartspeak didn’t work like telepathy, but then, I had no idea how to do telepathy either.
If I were to guess, I would say that exactly four minutes and fifty-nine seconds had passed since Verona had finished speaking when Zazkal showed up. He had a death grip on my sampo in one hand and some kind of spear thing in the other. Score one point for Verona.
“Stanley. Go and tell Verona that I’m here, but please, please don’t let Zazkal know.”
“Right” He raced off.
I wasn’t close enough to understand the words, but I could hear Zazkal’s loud angry voice. Good luck, Verona.
After a minute or two he went into the atoll and came back out empty handed.
You go, girl! Two points.
Everybody, and I mean everybody turned and started swimming in my direction. I dove deep so fast, I hadn’t even thought of it yet. Either all the dolphins knew to ignore me or they didn’t see me because they weren’t looking for anyone. I watched from below as Verona and Zazkal, surrounded on all sides passed overhead. Two dolphins stayed behind.
CHAPTER 29
FLYING FISH
“Yoo hoo! Miss Miriam! It is I. Oliver...and my companion, Stanley. We are here to rescue you once again.”
I smiled. Stan and Ollie! Verona gets ten points for that one.
“There she is, Ollie. Down there. Miriam, you can turn off your magic. Zazkal is gone.”
I took off the shadow coat, balled it up, shoved it in my wing pocket where it made a slightly painful bulge and hurried to the surface to join my friends. I would have to fold it up properly sooner rather than later.
“I am so glad to see you guys,” I said as soon as I got close enough for hugs. Dolphins don’t hug, but I do. “You are both the best thing that happened to me since I turned tail and hit the water.” I hugged them some more. They had no idea what I said, but they knew what I meant. Ollie swelled and Stanley did his happy little head shake. I think he also tried to do something sort of smile-like with his face, but it’s hard to tell without lips.
“We were all terribly worried at first when Zazkal said he couldn’t find you,” Ollie said, “but Verona Corona didn’t get upset at all. She assigned us to stay behind and find you. Of course, now I understand and naturally, I appreciate the honor of once again being your official escort, but Miss Miriam, why couldn’t you just come along with the rest of the pod?”
I shivered.
“Trust me,” I said, not really wanting to talk about Zazkal. “This is better. Want to see me be a flying fish?”
“You mean those fins?” Stanley said. “I thought they were part of that thing you took off,” Stanley said, “but they’re still there, aren’t they?”
“Yes, Miss Miriam, where have you been hiding such beautiful dorsal fins?” Ollie asked.
“They fit under my shoulder blades, but they don’t stay unless I have something to hold them in. Come on, I’ll show you how they work.”
First, I did the flying fish thing with my tail dragging in the water. Stanley loved it. He stalked me underwater and then suddenly leaped over me like a cat pouncing. We did stalk and pounce for a while and then I switched to legs and took off.
“Catch me now, Stanley... If you can,” I called, flying temptingly low. Too low, actually. Stanley did an impressive leap that knocked me out of the sky with the kind of gigantic splash that Ollie so abhorred.
After that, Ollie and order ruled and we made our way sedately in the direction of Casalot.
That night Ollie and Stan took turns standing guard overhead while I slept. It was very comforting. The next day I felt a lot calmer, so calm, in fact, that there was room in my brain for thinking about things other that fight or flight, and thinking is mostly what I did for the next couple of days. By the time we got to Casalot, I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew what I needed to do. Unfortunately, they were not the same thing.
PART 3
CHOICES
CHAPTER 30
MERMAID’S TEARS
Grandma Sky must have some kind of early warning system because she showed up almost as soon as we got within sight of Casalot. She was jet propelled, her face black with anger. In a hurry to tell me what a jerk I was no doubt.
“Miriam,” she said in fast forward. “How could you be so foolish? How could you be so careless? How could you be so stupid? How could you fall for that Sky’s trick? Why did you let him? Why? Tell me why. Answer me. Tell me the reason.”
This was a new level of angry for Grandma Sky. Way beyond pissed off. I looked at her, furious and trembling. She was so mad, I couldn’t compete.
I remembered the time I fell into someone’s swimming pool when I was little. I don’t remember the details of how I got in or out of the water, but I remember Dad. It was the maddest I’ve ever seen him. It took him an hour to calm down and stop screaming at me. He was so unfair.
At that moment, I decided to forgive them both.
“So, I guess you missed me, huh?” I said to Grandma with a grin. She burst into tears. She cried so hard I could actually see some of the teardrops come out before they dissolved into the ocean. Real mermaid’s tears. No wonder the sea is so salty. She needed a hug and I provided one.
“It’s all right, Grandma,” I whispered into her ear. “Don’t cry. I’ll be more careful next time,” I lied.” It was the right thing to say.
“Oh, Miriam,” she sobbed. “We were so worried.” She wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. Better than a tuck. Grandpa Sky finally caught up with Grandma. He was wearing a huge grin on his face. He swam over and put an arm around Grandma.
“Now, now dear. Don’t cry. It’s all over.” He was still smiling ear to ear. Over Grandma’s shoulder,
I noticed Stan and Ollie discreetly sneaking away.
“Miriam, dear,” Grandpa said, “As much as possible, Flora and I want Casalot to be your home. It’s not a fairy gift, but we will always be here when you need us, no matter how old you get.” I felt so warm and happy inside, I was in danger of melting away.
Finally the moment was over. I wouldn’t call Grandma calm, but she was calmer. We broke hug and swam the rest of the way to Casalot holding hands. Me in the middle. I love me in the middle.
CHAPTER 31
FORGIVE AND FORGET
I knew what to do. I didn’t want to do it. I needed to talk it out with someone. Maybe Ert. I hunted down Verona, to find out where he lived. Besides, I had something to say to her. Part of my new `do the right thing’ campaign.
My so called salt-sister was in the kitchen column. The kitchen on her level was tiny. Just a room with wall shelves all around and a low table in the middle. Verona was floating up near one of the higher shelves, pulling something out of a jar and stuffing it in her mouth. She looked like a little kid with a cookie jar.
“Hey. Verona. Hi.” She turned around with a mouth full of food and a guilty look on her face. As soon as she saw it was me, the look went from guilty to scornful. The bulging cheeks kind of took the edge off the scorn. I tried hard not to grin.
“What do you want?” Caught in the act is not a good way to start a conversation, but I wanted to do this and get it over with.
“Uh...thanks for saving my tail back there,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” she said, still chewing.
“I, uh, especially appreciated it when you arranged it so I could come back with Stan and Ollie instead of you and Zazkal. That was very, uh, insightful of you.”
“Not really. I would have felt the same way. He’s a creep. If you want to thank me, thank me for spending two whole days with him. What a jerk.”
“Thank you.” We were now faced with the meaningless silence that always follows acts of contrition, and believe me, mine was an act of contrition. I decided on the go-for-details response.
“So, uh, how did you find me anyway” I asked?
“Dolphin alarm. It’s a little like whale’s singing only no one can hear it except other dolphins. Your friend Stanley sent a message to the nearest pod, who sent the message to the next nearest pod and so forth, until they tracked you down. Flora knew you were in trouble, but she couldn’t find you without the dolphins.”
“How did Grandma know I was missing?”
“Heartspeak. She’s a worrier. If she loves you, she’s on your wavelength all the time, just in case. Your mom uses heartspeak all the way from outsea and Flora can pick it up.”
“Can you show me how to do it?”
“I don’t know,” Verona said, and a big grin spread across her face. “You’re already pretty good at it. You nearly knocked me out of the water back at Zazkal’s place.”
What a nice smile, I thought. She doesn’t look ugly anymore. I opened my mouth to say so and stopped. For once, I waited to let my brain catch up with my mouth. Brain speaking here: Big mistake. Do not say ugly.
Okay, I thought. I’ll just tell her that she looks pretty when she smiles.
This is your brain again. Do not say pretty. Pretty is the opposite of ugly, which is what you will be telling her that she is when she doesn’t smile. Best choice? Close your mouth and say nothing.
“Close your mouth,” Verona said scornfully. “You’re a Sky, not a Fish.”
Hey, I’m thinking. She called me a Sky. I felt so good, so grateful; I really wanted to say something nice back, so I shut off the danger signal ringing in my head/chest and spoke anyway.
“You have a nice smile,” I said. “It makes you look...” think Miriam, think. “..prettier,” I said at last.
“Listen Miriam,” Verona said in a serious but surprisingly unmean voice. “What you said about always wanting a big sister, and that other stuff. I thought about it a lot, and well, the truth is, I always wanted a little sister.”
Live and learn, I thought.
“I only did the salt sister thing because it was so important to Aunt Flora. But, if you still want it, I’ll be your salt sister for real.
“Works for me.”
“Of course, I still get to let you know when you act like a little twit.”
“Hey, part of the territory. Besides, I reserve the right to get really ticked off when you do.”
“Fair enough.”
“If you’re ready to start the sister-for-real thing, I need to talk to someone about this idea I have. It’s a great idea, but it’s also something I really, really don’t want to do.” I was going to ask Ert, but that was before...before, you know, this.” I waved my arms around vaguely to somehow demonstrate what ‘this’ was.
“My big sister ears are turned on and waiting for input.”
“Zazkal is kind of an outsider, isn’t he,” I began.
“He’s a Rogue Sky. You don’t get more outside than that. Well, except for you, of course.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“Any time, Sis.”
“So you agree, we’re both outsiders.”
“Right, only Zazkal is smart.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny. Look. What if Zazkal did something nice for someone, sort of to make-up?” Would that make him less of an outsider?”
“That would make everyone very surprised. Zazkal has never done anything for anyone. But if it was for you, I guess people would think of it as a kind of an atonement.”
“What about me? Like you said, I’m about as outside as you can get. How could I be more accepted? What would it take?”
“Give it up Miriam. You can never be a real Sky. You’re too different.”
“A person can be different but still be part of a group, can’t they? What if I studied magic? How would people feel about me then?”
“Not a bad idea. Every Sky kid learns basic magic. I think people might respect you more if you did that. Yes, that would work. You should do that. Aunt Flora and Uncle Mele’ are fabulous magic users. They would be great teachers.”
“Yes, but what if I also did something nice for someone else. What if I helped someone, helped them with something they couldn’t do by themselve? Wouldn’t that work for me as well as Zazkal?”
“Pulling things out of your magic bag whenever somebody needed something would not make you popular. People would resent you even more.”
“No, not that. Something that had nothing to do with any of my extra stuff. Something that would be really, really, and I mean really, hard for me?”
“Oh, no. You can’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m thinking, all right. You can’t begin to imagine how much I don’t like this idea. But it works, doesn’t it?”
“Well, the sacrifice would certainly count in your favor. Nobody would willingly spend any time with him. Personally, I’d rather be unpopular.”
“Me, too... I think. But you should have heard what G. and G. said about Casalot being my home. This is not gonna happen all by itself.”
“Come on, let’s go tell them. See what they think.”
“Oh, no. I’m not going to say anything. You’re going to tell them. It has to sound like it’s your idea. It’s going to be horrible, anyway. Do you have any idea what that fish would do to me if he knew I thought of this.”
CHAPTER 32
THE BIG MEETING
There was a meeting of the Grand Council that night. According to Verona, everyone showed. I waited nervously in my nest for the formal invite. I had not been successful in persuading the G’s that my presence was not necessary.
About a hundred years later, Verona finally poked her head through the door. “Talk time is over. Flora sent me to get you.”
“Wait. You have to help me stick my wings back in. I don’t want Zazkal to know about them... Just in case.”
“What? Just in case you need to make another flyi
ng escape?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Please?”
“Okay, but you are way too paranoid.” I took the Chameleon tape out of the sampo and pulled my wings in while Verona stuck them down. We worked fast and it only took a minute.
“Thanks”
“You’re welcome. Hurry up, we’re late.”
“I so do not want to be around when they tell Zazkal what his punishment is,” Verona said as we speed-swam to the meeting room on our level and then up the column to the council meeting room. “He’s counting on a nice, long banishment.”
“How do you know the Council will agree?”
“It’s not like anyone on the Council has to live with him. Nobody would agree to what they’re about to make you do.”
We could hear the buzz of conversation as we approached the meeting room. Floor and ceiling doors don’t have curtains and as soon as we got to the adjacent room, we could see that the Council room below us was big and that it was packed to capacity. No furniture, no pillows, just people. It was also dead silent from the moment we entered.
“Good, you’re here,” Flora said, not smiling. “Someone fetch Zazkal.”
He showed up through a curtained side door after a couple of very long, very silent minutes. I was near the same door for purposes of fast escape, and turned my head away to avoid eye contact, wishing for my shadow coat. Everybody else must have felt the same way, because the crowd parted leaving a straight path to Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma got right to the point.
“Zazkal, if you have anything to say in your defense, you may speak now, and you may speak again after we have given you our judgment.” He remained silent.
“Very well, she continued. I will begin. May we assume that the barrier which was suffocating the coral reef has been removed?”
“It has,” he replied.
“Good.”
“Zazkal,” Flora said. “You have been tolerated in our community as a harmless eccentric, even admired for your dedication to and skill in magic. Your recent behavior changed all that. At this point, the only difference that formal banishment will make is to cut you off from the supplies you need for your experiments.
“It is the consensus of this group,” she continued, “that your punishment should be in the form of restitution to the person who was most injured by your actions. My granddaughter needs to learn magic. You’re going to teach her.”