The Maidening Ceremony

Chapter Sixteen - Scene 2

           

The water was silent and still at the northeastern part of the bubble.  There were no merpeople around; the few caves there were uninhabited – Dr. Damien kept them for use when he had patients, but currently everyone in the Community was in good health.  Joseph carried two spears and had a large serrated knife hooked on a belt around his waist.  He offered me one of the spears.

"I do not think I should.  I do not know how to use it."

"If we are attacked, you will need it.  Instinct will kick it.  You will be able to defend yourself with it."

"Are you sure?"

He thrust it toward me, thepointy blade down, towards the ocean floor. I had no choice but to take it. He swam ahead of me and examined the border.  "This is not a popular exit.  I am not sure why Finley choose it.  Look here," he used his spear to saw   through the purple haze,"it is still pretty dense."

           

"What does that mean?"

"More difficult to go through.  The entrances and exits usually used have a much thinner haze."

"What do you mean difficult to go through?  Can we not swim right through it?"

"Not exactly.  In a dense area, like this, when we go forward, we are going to get stuck for a moment in this haze.  We will paddle with our arms and beat with our tails for several minutes until we actually get to the other side."

"How did I never learn that?"

"You have never crossed the border.  Hunters have tried going through spots on the border like this one, but it takes so long, most back out before they get through."

"Finley was trying to prevent Arilya from coming after him," I said.

"Then this was certainly a smart choice.  It will probably be best if you hold on to my waist and we use both of our tails together to propel forward.  Just do not let go of me, whatever you do, otherwise you will probably get sucked back into the Community – got it?"

I nodded.  He slid the knife on his belt to the right and I positioned myself on the left, both arms around his waist, my hands griping the spear so it ran parallel to his body. "It will not cut you while we are swimming, will it?"

He looked down, then angled it slightly away from his tail.  "That should do it.  Are you ready?"

I nodded again.

"On the count of three, use your lower fin to push up from the ocean floor, then start beating your tail as hard as you can.  Got it?"

I nodded.

"One. Two. Three.Now!"

We both pushed our fins down and shot forward through the haze. It was dense, almost like what I had always imagined the inside of a storm cloud to feel like. I beat my tail wildly, as Joseph had instructed, but felt stuck, as if tangled in a mass of unruly seaweed. I did not think we were moving at all. His arms strained hard above my head, but still, nothing happened.

I do not know how long we fought the haze, but just when I thought I would have to give up, we broke through into the open sea.

Ihad been living in the ocean for at least a century, but I had never reallyrealized how vast it was.  Inside theCommunity, there are borders – clear delineations.  If one looked to the left or right, there wasonly so far they could see.  But out inthe open there were no borders, no lines. The darkness surrounding us was strange – I was used to the constantglow of hair and tails, but out here, in the open, the only light came frommyself and Joseph.  Even with ourluminous tails and hair, we could only see a few feet in front of us.