Through My Eyes

Chapter 6 - Homesick

Chapter 6

(Alysia)

I sit on the beach looking out to sea, my hand still wrapped in the human bandage Noah applied. I miss home. I want to go back, but I can’t. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what I should do. I longed to go to land in the past, but now that I am here, I’m not so sure.

“Oof.” Mum, no, Jane says as she sits down next to me. “You alright Lys?”

I shrug, bringing my knees up to my chest “I think so…”

She nods, “Missing home?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Any family down there?”

I watch the water lapping forwards, as if stretching out to me, calling me. “My sister.” I whisper, “I’m all she has.” I turn to Jane, “I don’t know where home is. I don’t know where I am now. I’m injured, I can’t heal myself properly and I don’t know what to do anymore.” I swipe angrily at the tears that start to run down my face, annoyed with the frequency of them as of late. In the whole two ‘weeks’ as Charlie says, since I arrived, I’ve been recuperating in the Dawson’s home, mostly alone. Jane and David, her life partner, have been working, Charlie has been going to something which she calls ‘school’ and Noah… well, I’m not particularly sure.   

“How about we go down to the Aquarium and see if we can at least try and find it?” Jane suggests, patting my back soothingly, “There’s bound to be some sort of sea life you recognise that’s local to a certain part and from there we could figure out some transport and drop you off, simple.”

I look at her, “You’d do that for me?”

Her lips quirk up into a gentle smile as she squeezes my shoulder, “Yes I would.” She winks at me, “You’ve grown on me, kid.”

Charlie drops down next to me with a sigh, “Look what I found.” She says, handing me some shells. I smile fondly at the discarded crustacean homes in my hands. “So I was thinking, mum.” She starts off.

Jane raises an eyebrow at her, “That never seems to lead to anything good, sweetheart.”

“Mum!” she groans in response, “It’s not about me this time.” Charlie glances at me, “I was thinking, I mean, if Lys is up to it, maybe she could start coming to school with me?”

“What exactly is school?” I ask, pushing my worries to the back of my mind. There’s nothing I can do at the moment and dwelling on sad thoughts is not going to help anyone.

Charlie draws some designs in the sand with the tip of her finger, “Well it’s basically like this place where we go to learn stuff. You know, kind of like what you guys do – those lessons on how to do things.”

In the time that I’d been here, I’d slowly told some of the ways of mermaids and my life back home. “Would I be allowed to?”

Charlie nods her head, “Yeah! We could totally say you’re an exchange student or something, get some things together, you know?” she turns to Jane, “You could probably tweak some strings mum, you work there after all.”

Jane gives me a thoughtful look before rising and brushing the sand off of her clothes, “I guess I could try if you’re up for it Lys. It would have to be a long-term commitment though. We can’t have you going for a few days and then not wanting to go.”

I shrug as I stand too, grasping Charlie’s outstretched hands as she continues to sit, waiting for someone to lift her up, “I’m happy to. But if I find a way to get back home…”