Selkie

Part 2

He was leaving again. Kelso packed a bag and slung it over his shoulder, his hip flask shining in the moonlight. Then he called for the children, and heard their small feet padding over the floor. Little Aileen and Douglas hugged him fiercely and planted kisses on his bearded face, and he stood to meet his wife and baby.

Ivor's chubby hands grabbed his father's nose and blew spit bubbles at him. Kelso chuckled, kissing the bairn and his woman. Her whole-black eyes stared at him without feeling, and she held a fist to her chest.

"Cheer up, Maisie," he said, patting the children on the head. "I'll do some fishin' then be back home. I won't be out too late."

She nodded, and her children grabbed her dress as she led them away. Maisie heard the door close and lock, just as she had for seven years now, but tonight was different. Kelso would not be the only one at the shore tonight.

Aileen cried to be held, and Maisie managed to carry both the fat bairn and toddler. They pressed against her protruding collar bone, and again she wondered about her life here. She loved these children, but they were the spawn of a man who forced her to wed him. She never wanted to birth the girl or boys. She only obeyed.

Douglas tugged at her sleeve. "Bedtime, Mama?"

She gazed into the blue eyes of Kelso and at her black hair framing Douglas's face. A mixing of Selkie and mortal. The chance of one of these children being a Selkie was remarkably high, and Maisie prayed against it. There was no fairness in her babies facing the inner turmoil she fought with every breath: land or sea? Human or Seal?

"It is bedtime, my sweet," Maisie croaked. "Come on, I'll tuck you and your sister in."

He followed her into the nursery, moving to his bed and watched as Aileen was set beside him. The girl kissed his cheek and Maisie pulled the quilt over them, and they stared while she put Ivor in his crib.

The bairn cried out, but fell into a fit of hiccups as she wrapped him up in his own blanket. Ivor blinked drowsily, and didn't stir when Maisie sat beside the bed.

"Can you tell a story about mermaids?" said Douglas.

"Or the silkies?" Aileen whispered.

Maisie forced a smile. "It's Selkies, dear. I'll tell a new tale about those." She stared at the quilt, waiting for its colors to stop swimming in her vision. Gods, she was exhausted. But so were the other womenfolk in Scotland. "There was a Selkie named Catherine. She was a happy maiden who adored swimming and dancing, and like her sisters, she didn't know if she loved the sea or land more. For her whole life, this decision burdened her, but she chose to push the feeling away and stay happy. Then she was taken from the ocean."

"How?" started Aileen. "I thought Selkies could get away from humans by swimmin'."

Maisie nodded. "They can, but she was taken in her human form. She was on the shore, playing with her sisters, and a man took her coat. And that granted him power over her."

Aileen stared at her mother, and in that moment she looked just like Maisie's sister. She swallowed a lump in her throat and kept going. "He made Catherine marry him, and he raised a family with her. The man was happy, but his wife was not."

Douglas shook his head and frowned. "That's sad."

"Yes, it is." Ivor's deep breathing filled the room, and Maisie blinked the sleep from her eyes. "But years later, in an act of desperation, Catherine found where the man kept her coat. A large trunk in the shed beyond their house was hidden from view until she snooped around and discovered it. Then one night she stole the key, and fled with her sealskin."

"She left her husband?" Aileen asked. "Were the children sad?"

"All I know is that she left for the shore and slipped the coat on. And as a seal, she dived into the waters and was never seen again."

The children said nothing as they stared at the ceiling, hands at their sides.

"I didn't like that story," Douglas muttered.

"Me neither. Can you tell us a happier one next time?" Aileen asked.

Maisie rose from her chair and stroked one of their cheeks. "I certainly will. G'night."

"G'night," they said in unison. Maisie tore her gaze away from them and gave Ivor one more glance before closing the door, tears spilling from her eyes.

She blinked them away and held up a long, bony hand, a key winking back at her.

.       .       .

The wind had no mercy as she hurried down the path, leaving the cliffs behind and heading for the sea. Maisie's heart soared at the sight of moonlight dancing on water, and she barely felt the weight of her coat in her arms. She breathed in brine and salt, and it surged her onward to the foamy shoreline.

If Maisie squinted, she could see a small fleet of boats on the horizon. Kelso was on one of them, likely stroking his red beard as he waited for fish. He had no idea where she was now, and at that thought Maisie sighed in relief.

He'll never find her.

She'll never come back.

And she will be free.

Racing to the shore, Maisie plucked the pins from her scalp and let her hair fly loose, relishing the feeling. Then off came her boots and rough dress, and she stood on the sand wearing just her knickers and corset. Oh, if only those judging women of the village could see her now.

Her fingers shook with excitement as she unlaced the bodice and ripped it off, watching it sail away into the water. Then, laughing like a little girl, Maisie unraveled the coat and slipped it on. In a heartbeat, the sealskin was her own and the cold wind was replaced with freezing, icy water.

Kelso reached for his necklace as he stared into the sea, fingers searching around his neck. Then he froze - the key was gone.

The thick man reached for his oars as a great peal of laughter rang from the wind, and without hesitation Kelso knew he wouldn't find Maisie when he came home.