The Glimmering Sea

CHAPTER NINE

Caught by a transient ray of sun, tears sparkled on Delfina's cheeks. Armida drew into herself with the pain of seeing an old friend wounded by Torquato's words. Delfina, who had not done anyone true harm, was fearful of these new ideas. The same new ideas Armida had not sought, but had found anyway. She took Delfina's hand and guided her back into a chair.

"Dearest Delfina, we must not allow this gulf between us. We must work together to address the dangers Marea faces." Seeing the questioning look from Delfina, Armida turned to Torquato. "Has she not been informed? Have any of them?"

Torquato shook his head. "No. You were the first of the Initiates to learn of the perils we must confront."

Delfina lifted her chin and, with a defiant expression, said, "What, then? The burden should not fall on Armida alone."

The glinting tears were now Armida's.

After Torquato relayed what Armida already knew, Isabetta was the first to speak, her voice matter-of-fact. "Why did no one tell us sooner?"

Torquato sighed. "It is easier to see the mistakes of holding secrets after they have escaped into the world. But it is also that gradual change can be blinding. If you remove the grains of sand from the beach one grain at a time, at what point is it no longer a beach?"

Delfina gaped at him. "Why does everyone speak in riddles? But is all this really happening? How can it be? Marea cannot simply cease to exist."

"I apologize for the manner in which I spoke to you earlier. However, everything I have just told you is true. The situation is dire."

Rinaldo leaned forward and gestured to everyone. "Then we must do our part. When our time here is over, we will each contribute. Surely the Antichi will guide us. We will find a way."

Isabetta turned to Armida, who had been quiet. "Why did you say nothing about the grimewater?" Her voice was gentle with compassion.

Armida's tears had dried from her cheeks, but hidden inside, they continued to flow. Indeed, she was uncertain what impulse had driven her to silence. Although a weight fell away because she no longer carried knowledge of the grimewater alone, her unhappiness with her parents and the powerful urge to action bubbled beneath the surface still.

"I do not understand it myself. It seemed that once I knew there was a problem, it was like I faced a tidal wave that carried me away."

✧✧✧

Standing in the tunnel, Armida inhaled deep into her abdomen and exhaled. The intake of air had smoothed in recent days; the stabbing reduced to an occasional need to clear her throat. She took another deep breath. She imagined water flowing over her vocal cords, soothing and lubricating them. She recalled her mother's singing, then allowed the air to ease from her lips until her lungs were empty.

At first, Armida only spoke the words. "And you, clear running stream, why can't I exchange my path for yours?"

Then she slowed the words, drawing them out as her mother had done. "And you, clear running stream, why can't I exchange my path for yours?"

The sound was a mere murmur. Armida raised her hands to her chest, and as she extended them, she used greater force. "And you, clear running stream, why can't I exchange my path for yours?"

Mourning doves flew away from the entrance, sailing up into the air as Armida's song reverberated, filling the cave with her joy. Again and again, each time more fluent, each time more lyrical, each time more resonant.

"That's beautiful."

The sun silhouetted Rinaldo. Shadows shrouded his features.

Heat in her face and awkwardness overcame her. No one had ever heard her attempts to sing, as far as she knew. Until today, she worried she sounded like a frog rather than a bird.

"Thank you. I was unsure if it would be possible for me. My Terran skills are lacking. Unlike you, who springs about like a cricket."

"You assume it comes naturally? It takes every ounce of my strength and agility. You are as skilled physically. Perhaps a bit less determined."

Armida's voice was soft. "You are being too kind. But of course, Rinaldo. Always so kind." Armida walked toward him.

"Not always. Remember how angry I was when you protested my enthusiasm for Terra?"

Together, they walked outside the tunnel and sat in the tall grass. The tender green blades waved in the breeze, reminding Armida of the last time they had wandered in the kelp forest.

Rinaldo sat cross-legged, which was still beyond Armida's capabilities. He stared at his feet. "I'm glad I found you here alone. I have something I need to say. I want to tell you about my mother, the whole story I never shared with you. While we still have the chance. The end of our training here will come soon and we may be parted."

Armida nodded. She was afraid to speak lest she confess that if she was pushed to serve on land, she might flee and never see him again. The Initiate training had been a season too long abovewater for her.

"I was told my mother and father lived on Terra and I was born there. Because she was in Terran form, it must have meant I was carried by my mother in the Terran fashion, not by my father. Yet I was born a merpup and rushed to the sea. My mother took me and returned to Marea. We both would have been killed if any Terran discovered me. I always wondered if that was why she left me. I was a reminder of something unnatural."

Armida slid closer. "Do you remember her? You were young when Isabetta's parents took you in."

"I remember she dreamt of singing. I knew of no other mermaids with her skill." Rinaldo laughed. "Until you." Serious again, he said, "Then she went out to gather food and never returned. There was no sign of disturbance. She was just gone. All I have of her is a broken fragment of a marble heart."

Armida took the stone from him and rolled it in her hand. The partial inscription read:

Rinaldo, I will re

Mum

Rinaldo said, "I want to believe the incomplete word is 'return.' I think she intended to come back for me."

She sensed the depth of his pain and hated it. And herself. She could do nothing to help him with the pain of his missing mother. She had to save herself first. And then the ocean.