Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

27. UNDER THE GLOVES

"I know you're an Aquantien," I repeated to answer Ms. Cyan's question.

"Who told you that?" she wanted to know. She stared at me with a piercing gaze that made me feel as if I was looking into the eye of the storm.

"No one. I figured it out by myself," I replied softly. I had to shove my hands into my pants pockets to stop them from shaking. "There are so many hidden races in this school. I tried to connect you to one of them, but I failed to do so," I began explaining. "And then a thought popped into my mind. I remembered how you cried every time I mentioned my story. Something about it made you cry. I knew that, even though you denied it, which made me conclude that you heard it before. And only an Aquantien could have told it to you. Or maybe you heard it while you still lived in your underwater home."

I knew that I told her only partial truth. There was another piece of the puzzle I was determined to keep hidden; Mathias and his sense of smell.

"No," she shook her head. "No!" She turned her back to me, stood there silently and I could see her hand touching her face, maybe chasing the tears away.

"I haven't told this to anyone." I felt the need to say something comforting. "Nobody knows but me," I continued. I really wasn't gonna involve Mathias into this. It was bad enough that I broke the promise I gave him.

She turned around and let her watery eyes look at me. She opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but hadn't found the right words.

"You can talk to me, Professor Cyan," I said, hoping it would encourage her to speak.

"I. Can't. Talk. To. Anyone!" she said slowly, clearly enunciating each word. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes gazed at me blankly.

"Don't say that." I wanted to make her feel better, to show her that I wasn't the enemy. "We've been through the same, so I know what it's like. I understand."

She laughed at my words. It was a laughter filled with pain. "You know what it's like?" she asked as if she was mocking me. "You really think you know what I've been through?"

I nodded, afraid to cause more anger on her behalf.

"You don't! No one does! And you can just thank your lucky stars for that!!" Her voice kept getting louder as she spoke.

After saying those words, she bowed her head and covered her face with her gloved hands. None of us spoke for a while, and when she did, her voice sounded so broken. "Do you ever wish you could go back in time? To undo it all?"

"No," I replied after a short pause. "No, I don't. Do you?"

She lifted her head to face me before saying, "Yes. Not a day goes by that I don't wish that."

"But why?" I asked now that she opened up a bit.

"Every time I take a shower, every time I wash my hands, every time the water touches my skin, I can hear it calling me. But there's no going back. I'm stranded here, in a world I don't belong."

Hearing those words stung my heart. I hadn't felt like that. Not for a second. Yes, the water was still alluring, but I was able to resist it. I didn't need it as much as I did before. This was not the case with Ms. Cyan, as it turned out.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," I said with a lip quiver. Looking at her, I saw more pain than I ever thought a person could carry within. It was overwhelming. I broke down, unable to keep the tears at bay.

"This is not your problem," I heard her say. "There's nothing you can do about it."

"But there's gotta be something you can do. If you feel the call of the water, why do you stay here? Why don't you move somewhere near the sea? Somewhere where you could swim whenever you choose to?"