III ; Right Where You Left Me

3.4K 93 4
                                    

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞
Help, I'm still at the restaurant
Still sitting in a corner I haunt
Cross-legged in the dim light, everything was just right
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞



Lessons began immediately the next day. Tsireya stressed how important it was that they begin learning, and their father was quick to agree. He was incredibly grateful that the Metkayina granted them uturu, and hadn't said anything except "I appreciate it" and "say thank you", since the family arrived.

Tsireya, Rotxo, and Ao'nung dived into the water, elegantly and with great ease. Sylwana glanced to her brothers and sisters, hesitating for a split second before jumping in after them.

The reef was abundant with life and colour; plants and sea animals she had never seen before. The coral was vibrant, swaying gently as fish swam past, leaving a small, bioluminescent current behind. Sylwana watched as a disk-like fish swam toward her, swimming up over her head. She reached up and danced her fingers along its belly, making it shiver and swim away faster. She marveled at the sea anemone, catching unsuspecting prey in its strong tentacles.

The Metkayina swam off, glancing back at them every now and then, but they were all so taken with the view that they didn't notice until they had to break the surface for air.

Taking in a deep breath, they looked down into the water again to see Tsireya making gestures with her hands. Lo'ak shrugged at her, and she smiled and made a motion that said 'come on.'

Diving back into the water, Tsireya, Rotxo, and Ao'nung swam off again, though slightly slower this time. Sylwana, Tuk, and their brothers struggled to keep up. Not long had passed until they needed air once again.

"Are you alright?" Tsireya asked, joining them above the water.
"You're too fast, wait for us!" Tuk whined, rubbing the excess water out of her eyes.
"Just breathe," Tsireya replied.
Ao'nung broke the surface next to his sister. "You are not good divers," he said, "maybe good at swinging through trees, but-" Tsireya hit his head, and he glared at her.
"We don't speak this finger talk," said Neteyam, changing the subject.
"We don't know what you're saying," Sylwana added.
"I will teach you," said Tsireya.
"Where is Kiri?" Rotxo suddenly asked, his head swiveling around. Kiri was nowhere to be seen.
"Who?" Ao'nung asked, and Sylwana resisted the urge to slap him.

They dove back under the water, swimming until they saw Kiri playing with the ocean fauna. She looked peaceful, it was the first time in several days Sylwana had seen her look happy. She gestured to the others to go up to the surface.

"She is okay, let's leave her be."

"Are you certain?" Tsireya asked. Sylwana and her siblings nodded.

"They cannot dive," Ao'nung began saying, a smug smirk on his face that made Sylwana want to hold him under the water until even his lungs couldn't take it anymore. "We should have started with something easy."

"

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
invisible string ↝ ao'nungWhere stories live. Discover now