13. Yvonne
13
YVONNE
“Oh, I’m not sure anymore…” I say.
A moment ago, it was all talk. Sure, I’d like to learn how to swim. I’d like to experience the ocean. Watching him move about the water is fascinating.
But now, in the reality of it, I can’t move my feet towards him. Even here, with calm waters, especially compared to where he first found me, I don’t know if I can do it. It doesn’t matter that Oarus is here to help me. The ocean water is terrifying.
Though, it’s clear that Oarus does not intend to let me back out of this now. He silently beckons me to him, to the water. Somewhere within me, I find strength and stand up from the rock.
Slowly, one foot at a time, I inch towards the lapping shoreline. Each step is wobblier and more unsure than the last.
But not just because of the water. While the echoing sound of each slap of the waves against the rocks sends a chill down my spine. it is not all that’s holding me back.
His seaweed-like hair is slick against his head. His feet and legs, now morphed into a giant fin, are just visible under the water. His piercing eyes lock onto me.
There has hardly been a moment since I tried leaping to my death that I haven’t felt his eyes on me. And I haven’t gotten used to it. I probably never will.
I should be running. Shouldn’t I? He’s out in the water, that should give me a head start. But how far would I really get? And what punishment would he have in store if he caught me?
So, I keep moving towards the water. I fight through all the hesitation. I work past the trepidation. I just need to get into the water.
Oarus slowly drifts closer to the shore to meet me. He gives me a reassuring nod. And I know he won’t let anything bad happen to me in the water.
I step closer and let the water wash over my feet. The shocking cold sends a shiver across my entire body. But I stay strong. I keep moving deeper.
Pretty soon, the water is up to my chest. My clothes are absolutely soaked and probably ruined.
Oarus floats closer to me. He places his long, scaly hands on my hip and the small of my back.
“I’m going to take you out deeper now,” he says very matter-of-factly. Without waiting for my response or giving me the chance to protest, Oarus drags me out away from the shore.
Within a moment, we’re out in the open water, free of the constant tide of the shore. The calm water lazily moves me up and down. Oarus lets go of me and drifts away.
Instinctively, my arms and legs start flailing under the water. It does enough to keep me afloat, but my chin is just barely above the water.
“We’ll start simple. To move, try swinging your arms like you’re digging through the water. It’ll propel you forward. When that becomes more comfortable, use your legs to kick off.”
He swims past me slowly, giving me a display of what to do with my arms. I follow his orders, or at least I try to. My shaky and cold arms only succeeded in moving me a few inches. And that might just be the water drifting me around.
“A fine start,” Oarus says. He stays nearby. “Try again.”
I continue to attempt to swim like he showed me. It probably doesn’t look like it to him. But I can slowly feel myself getting better. I’m slowly able to move against the water, moving an inch or two with each weak stroke.
“Good. That’s progress,” he mutters. “But you need to loosen up. You can’t afford to be so stiff in the water. Or the current will take you away.”
That’s easier said than done.
Oarus positions himself in the water so that I’m swimming towards him. Nervousness strikes into my gut. A nervousness stronger than the ‘oh, I might drown’ kind currently ravaging my mind.
As I look at him in the calm waves of the open sea, my mind travels out of the water. Out of the water and back into the cave. Back to the past few days with Oarus.
My mind goes back to the way he held me. The feeling of his fingers softly touching my flesh, then gripping me tightly. The sensation of his lips against mine. How fast my heart raced when –
I can’t be thinking about any of that right now. More nervousness twists in my gut. All of that needs to be pushed out of my mind. I need to focus on swimming. That’s what’s important right now.
I dig my arms through the water more forcefully and kick my legs as Oarus instructed. It’s still shaky and hardly the best anyone has swum, but I’m getting better. With each successful push through the water, I get a little more confident, fueling the next move.
Until I reach Oarus. He gives me another reassuring nod, then swiftly swims away from me.
“Again,” he calls out over the water.
We repeat this process a couple of times. I feel my strength waning, being sapped away with each push through the water. But at the same time, my strokes get more precise. More accurate. I’m actually learning to swim!
Despite feeling more and more tired, and being out in the sea, I’m able to relax. My body now glides easily through the water.
Oarus watches me quietly, offering the odd pointer. “Stay bent at the elbows.” “Don’t flail your legs.” “Keep your mouth closed or you’ll swallow the whole ocean.” But in no time, an emotion I think is pride is plastered all over his face.
“Very good,” Oarus says after a while. “I imagine you’re swimming as well as many human children by now. And you’ll only get stronger from here.”
“Thank you,” I say, treading water.
“Do you think you could swim back to the cavern?”
“I can certainly try.”
Oarus swims alongside me as we start to wade back to the caverns. I can tell that every fiber of his being wants to swim a lot faster than this. But he holds back, staying beside me the whole trip back.
Luckily, we’re able to use the tide to do most of the work getting us back. We’ve been out in the water for a while, and I don’t know how much strength I have left in me. The waves push me farther than any of my strokes do.
After a while, we make it back to the mouth of the cavern. My arms and legs are on fire. I just want to get out of this damn water.
“This way,” Oarus instructs me. He swims off to the side into the cavern, away from the shore we started in.
“But I thought –?”
“Trust me. This way.”
I use the last of my strength to follow as closely as I can. I have no idea where he’s taking us. But it’s not like I’d be able to get anywhere else in this cavern without his help.
We swim deeper into the cavern than I’ve ever been before. The light from outside soon fades completely and we’re swimming through total darkness.
“Don’t worry.” Oarus’ voice carries through the inky dark. “Just keep going straight.”
I do as he says, and a light starts to appear in the distance. With no other option, I just swim toward that light until I’m in a fully lit-up open area of the cavern.
Just as I start to think I have nothing left to keep pushing with, I realize Oarus has disappeared from my view. My arms and legs are starting to get numb with fatigue. The waves are slapping against my face. I don’t even have the energy to look around.
“Oarus?” I call out. “Where did you –?”
A large hand grabs me by the back of my shirt and lifts me out of the water. It then slaps me down onto my feet, finally on solid ground. I collapse onto my knees, with Oarus standing over me.
“I didn’t go anywhere,” he responds.
The two of us are now on a large piece of rock jutting out of the water. It’s smooth on the top, making it easy for us to stay on its water-slick surface. It’s like a little island in the middle of the cavern.
I lay on my back to catch my breath. Oarus quickly joins me.
I wonder where the light in this cavern comes from, so deep in the earth, but as I look up at the ceiling, my question is answered.
What would otherwise be a pitch-dark part of the cavern is illuminated by stalactites hanging down from the top of the cavern. Something in the rock formation is emitting a lovely glow.
All the water droplets on my skin shine in the glow of the rocks. A similar effect is happening on Oarus. All the features of him that most would find terrifying are softened under this light. He looks almost friendly.
The whole place is so naturally beautiful. It’s a shame that it’s so deep under the water, hidden away from where people can enjoy it. Or maybe that’s a good thing.
The silent sereneness of this section of the cavern is something I haven’t felt since… Ever. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a moment as peaceful as this. I could stay here forever.
The pain and exhaustion in my arms and legs fade away. My heavy breathing slows to a comfortable level. I just look up at the lights and soak it all in.
“This is my favorite place,” Oarus says plainly.
“What was that?” I almost let myself forget how I got here. Why I am here.
“This spot in the cavern. It’s probably my favorite place to visit. The lights calm me. They have ever since I was a kid.”
“You’ve been coming here since you were a kid?”
“Yes.”
“Have you always lived in these caverns?”
“I have. In fact, I grew up below these very waters. There is not a spot in this cavern that I don’t know by heart. I’ve explored it all, over and over hundreds of times. And this spot is my favorite.”
“It’s very nice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something as beautiful as this. Are there more spots like this?”
“Not exactly like this… but there is a lot more beauty to be found here. Both above and below the water.”
“Below the water?” My interest piques. I never thought much of what could be under the water before I met Oarus. I never really had the luxury.
Next to me, Oarus rolls onto his side to look at me. I mirror his action, taking my eyes off the beauty of the stalactites above.
Maybe it’s the light from the rocks, but Oarus has a soft expression on his face. No furrowed brow. No thinly concealed anger. Not even the curiosity he usually looks at me with. But a softer, less clinical intrigue.
His eyes look at my soaking wet form up and down for a moment. His mouth opens to say something, but he quickly stops himself.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Would you like to see what waits under the water? See the world I call home?”