Kira's Secret (6 page)

Chapter Ten—
Mrs. Doyle

“Kira!” The snap of a ruler on a desk made Kira jump. Her classmates snickered when the teacher asked her to solve the math problem on the board. Kira didn't have a clue. She had barely heard a word all morning. Fortunately, her teacher only rolled her eyes and moved on to the next student.

Kira found it impossible to concentrate at school that Monday. She could not stop thinking about Captain Doyle and his crew, and what had become of them. Then there was Mrs. Doyle and her nightmares about the sea. Did she believe in seafolk lore, in mermaids and mystical islands? How would she react when she saw the contents of the bottle? Kira was anxious to talk to Cody after school, but that day it felt like her classes would never end.

When the last bell rang, Kira shot out of her seat and down the hall to the study room. Cody was waiting for her, just as they had arranged. He sat at a corner table, far from anyone else who might come in. For now they were alone.

“So?” Kira asked, breathless. “What happened?”

Cody shook his head. “It was awful. Poor Mrs. Doyle, I felt like I'd just murdered her husband. Bearer of bad tidings and all.”

“What did she say?”

“Well, I started by telling her where I found the bottle, and that I had opened it, and thought it might be somebody's school project, and she just nodded her head and smiled. Then I showed her the bottle, and she didn't say anything. Then I said that I'd read the pages inside, and I wondered if she might be interested in reading them, too. But first, I showed her the other stuff, you know the pens, the letter opener, the small rock with a carving. And her eyes got really big, and she grabbed the letter opener and said, ‘Where did you get this?' in a loud voice. And I turned around to see if anybody was listening.

“So then she got all quiet and told me to follow her into a small office behind her desk. She shut the door and looked at everything, and started to read, then got all pale and shaky. I was afraid she was going to cry, and I just wanted out of there.” Cody wiped his brow as if he'd been sweating.

“Did she? Cry?”

“I don't know, not then. She asked me again where I found the bottle, and I told her on the beach way south, just before the spit, so at least it wasn't that far from where we really found it.”

“Sure,” Kira agreed. “It was out there a long time, it could have landed anywhere.”

“Yeah, but then she seemed to look at me suspiciously, and wondered why the bottle hadn't broken up, because it's a pretty rocky beach there. And I figured maybe she thought I had set this up as a joke or something. Then I remembered the cloth it was all wrapped in and gave that to her, too. And she grabbed it and looked at it carefully, and saw that monogram in the corner. Then I figured she was going to explode, she was shaking so bad. So I said I should go, she could keep it all. And she just nodded her head, she was stunned.”

“Shock?”

“Yeah, I guess.

“That monogram, CHD, wasn't it?” Kira mused. “HD, Harvey Doyle maybe? What would the C stand for? Another name, like Charles?”

“Or maybe Captain?” The two of them let out huge sighs, glad the goods had gone to the person they were intended for, feeling sad that the bottle and its cargo had brought such sorrow to a person they both liked so much.

When Kira arrived home from school, her father was in the kitchen stirring a pot of clam chowder. He explained that her mother would not be joining them for dinner. She was with a friend.

“Oh?” Kira said. “Is there a problem?” She suspected she knew which friend.

“Mrs. Doyle had quite a shock today. Your friend Cody found a bottle with a few things that belonged to her husband. You may remember he was lost at sea long ago.”

Kira decided she might as well tell him that she knew about the bottle and its contents, since he'd expect that Cody would have told her about his amazing find.

When her mother returned late that evening, Kira was in her room reading. She waited a few minutes to let her parents talk, then walked into the living room where they sat, long sad looks on their faces.

“Ah, hello, Kira,” her mother said. “Dad says you know about the bottle Cody found yesterday.”

“Yeah, I saw it today. How is Mrs. Doyle?” Kira sat across from them and could see the concern on both their faces, but especially on her mother's.

“She's very upset. She fears the worst, of course. In some ways it wasn't much of a comfort for her to see his things.”

“But she already thought he was dead,” Kira said. “Do you think they were kidnapped? Maybe by pirates? Was there a ransom?” She saw a look of fear flicker on her mother's face before she lowered her eyes to her hands grasped tightly in her lap.

“No, Kira, there was no ransom,” her father replied. “There was not a single word, we never heard from the lads or about them again. Until today.”

“So what do you think those things were swimming around the boat? Some kind of shark? Cody tried to look them up and there is no such shark or dolphin or anything like it anywhere.”

“Kira, as I've said before, the sea can be a dangerous place. We don't know all the different creatures that inhabit the deeper parts of our oceans, and perhaps come up from time to time. Like the giant squid.”

“I know, I've been reading about some of them. The animals in the deepest places don't even have eyes because no light gets down that far. We watch videos of deep-sea life in school. It's really cool, they have these special remote-controlled submarines with cameras that are built for the high pressure under all that water.”

Her father chuckled. “I'm glad to see you're so interested. Do you think you'd like to do something like that when you grow up?”

“Maybe. I haven't thought a whole lot about it. Cody wants to be a marine biologist, that's his thing. I was wondering about being a dolphin trainer. That might be fun.”

Her parents exchanged glances.

“Dolphins are trained in inland pools, not out in the ocean,” she assured them. She knew exactly what they were worried about. Her mother looked like she was about to protest when her father laughed.

“You've got a lot of time yet to decide what you plan to do, Kira child. Whatever it is, we'll send you to the best school, wherever it happens to be. You don't need to be stuck here in this village forever.”

“I know, Dad,” Kira said. But unknown to him, she already had plans to leave on a trip that could have a lot of bearing on her future.

Chapter Eleven—
Field Trip

During the week that followed, Kira and Cody
met every day to plan the next stage of her quest. They discussed the events of that summer and what they had learned to date. Kira slipped back into the sea two more times to explore near the shore, though she never saw another seal. While underwater, she tested her mermaid skills and reported her findings to Cody. He wrote down all the observations and facts they had collected so far and summarized them like the final results of a science experiment. He referred to Kira as the “subject”:

1. When subject's hands are immersed in saltwater, she develops webbing between her fingers and thumbs.
   
2. When subject's body is completely underwater, a large, fish-like tail replaces her legs. It is covered with golden-coloured scales, except for a pinkish stripe on each side. The V-shaped tail fin is a pale pink and turns to purple at the tips.
   
3. Underwater, subject feels warm and comfortable, even when it is cold. Temperature varied from 8 to 9 degrees centigrade from September 17 to 21. Normally only comfortable for humans in wet suits.
   
4. Underwater, subject has no trouble breathing. In fact, she does not remember holding her breath, or taking any breaths in or out.
   
5. On land, subject requires strong lenses to see clearly. Her underwater vision is excellent, even at great distances.
   
6. Underwater, subject's hearing is far more acute than on land. From one kilometre she can hear the tied-up boats bumping into the side of the wharf.
   
7. With her tail, subject can move incredibly fast, make sharp turns and twists, and leap out of the water like a dolphin.
   
8. Subject feels much stronger in water than on land. She can move boulders on the sea bottom that would be impossible for even a fit adult male scuba diver. To prove this, subject measured the circumference of large boulders with a tape, and then the distance she pushed them, and rated the effort required. She also carried a huge rock to the surface, which she tossed up on shore. Two of us together were barely able to lift the rock on land.
   

Cody told Kira that she could probably deal with almost anything in the sea. But there were a few nasty animals to watch for. “You know, things like sharks and killer whales,” he suggested. “You can swim and turn fast enough so you should be able to avoid them, or hide from them. If you're close to shore you can always get out of the water.”

Kira nodded her head. They had also discussed giant squid, but most of those were caught in deeper waters, far out to sea. They calculated, from Captain Doyle's notes, that his boat had been far offshore when it was attacked by the squid. Kira wasn't sure how far or where she would travel just yet.

“Aren't you scared, Kira? Even just a little?” Cody asked.

“Not really. I've got the knife you gave me,” she said, patting the waterproof belt and sheath around her waist. “I'll probably stay pretty close to shore, for a while anyway, until I see something interesting.”

“Like what?”

Kira shrugged. They both knew she hoped to run into other merrows. It was obvious from Kira's extraordinary features that she was a mermaid. They both hoped that she would not run into any of the nasty finfolk types. That is, if such creatures existed.

The other concern they had was how Kira would be able to disappear for a while without alarming her parents. She was too young to go anywhere by herself, and she had no distant family or friends to visit. It was unlikely she could discover much in one day, they thought. Then again, she had never tried to stay undersea all day.

They decided a day-long field trip should be her next test. That coming Saturday, Kira's parents planned to attend a fishermen's conference in a town four hours away. They were staying overnight and returning Sunday afternoon. Kira told them she preferred to remain at home. She suggested that she could hang out with Cody during the day, and their closest neighbours could check on her in the evening. To Kira's amazement, they agreed. They liked Cody, and apparently trusted him.

Her parents left before daybreak on Saturday—fishermen's hours. Kira wasted no time getting ready for her own trip. She and Cody had a plan to fool the neighbours into thinking she was safely at home all night. Earlier in the week they recorded a message by Kira on a digital recorder. She addressed it to her neighbours, saying she'd had a busy day and was tired, had locked the doors, and was going to bed early. The neighbours had already told her they were planning to be away most of Saturday, and they knew she was going to spend the day with Cody. After Kira left, he would watch their house to make sure they were not at home when he called them and played Kira's recording that evening. Their answering machine would record the message from Kira, and they hoped the neighbours wouldn't bother checking on her that night.

Twenty minutes after Kira's parents had left, she and Cody stood on a beach out of sight of any houses. It was just after dawn, and the water surface was awash in rosy pinks streaked with peach reflections from the rising sun. The day was hazy, the water calm, except for lazy waves lapping at the rocks.

“If anything happens and I don't get back in time,” Kira said, her brows furrowed, “tell them not to worry.”

“You know they'll worry,” Cody said.

“Maybe. But maybe they already know what I am. I just don't want them to think I drowned.” Without looking Cody in the eye, she removed her glasses, her jacket and sneakers, and handed the clothing to him.

“I'm sure you'll be back in time. Don't worry about your parents. Anyway, it's covered.
If
you're late and
if
they ask I'll tell them I don't know where you are and you were fine when I last saw you at your house on Saturday. Then 24 hours later I'll give them the note you wrote and pretend I just found it tucked into my hiking pack. But I'm sure that won't be necessary!”

With her glasses removed, Cody's fuzzy outline reminded Kira of a teddy bear. She smiled at him. “I'll be back. But if I find my real family and I can't return right away, I'll try to let you know somehow. I promise.” She could sense Cody's frown.

She turned away quickly and dove into the waves before she changed her mind. Kira had not been underwater this early in the morning, and the surface looked like it was on fire above her. She glanced back at her undulating tail, bathed in a shimmering mango colour. The seaweed bed waved gently below her, as if welcoming her back to its world. To her new world.

As she drifted into the darkness below, Kira had no way of telling time without a watch or the sun to guide her. She decided not to worry about it for now. She'd check at the surface once in a while, when she thought of it, but for the time being she simply enjoyed the scenery.

Kira stayed close to the bottom, keeping the coastline on her right side. She swam south against the current, reasoning that twelve years ago that same current may have swept her towards the fishing boats, where she had been found. Somewhere down in the sea, she hoped that her real parents were still alive, and that she would find them.

From the corner of her eye Kira noticed a slight movement and she swung her head to the right. She came face to face with a tiny seahorse. She smiled at the sight of the little creature bobbing up and down. Before long, several other seahorses joined the first one and they appeared to be dancing, making small circles, teetering forward and back like rocking horses. Kira laughed at their antics and the seahorses scattered. She had forgotten she could make audible sounds underwater. She made a note to herself to remain quiet. Cody would find all of this fascinating.

Kira swam for what seemed a long time, following the shoreline, though she felt she must have moved farther away. She pulsed her tail and aimed for the surface to get her bearings. Before she had moved very far, she heard faint high-pitched sounds coming from her left. She decided to follow the sounds. After all, it could be what she was looking for—she had to investigate. How wonderful, she thought, to be able to home in on a noise so weak yet distinct.

As she came nearer, the sounds became more complex. There were high whines along with scraping noises and deep booming reverberations. The higher tones made her uneasy. They reminded her of sea-bird distress calls. They lasted a few seconds, stopped for a beat, then repeated over and over, like the fire alarm at school.

In the distance Kira sensed a large, dark object above her. She slowed down and approached more cautiously once she recognized the shape. It was a boat, a huge ship. And trailing out behind the ship was a gigantic net, scooping up thousands of fish. She could hear them, trapped and confused as they darted from one side to the other.

Kira braked with her strong muscular tail to suspend herself alongside the net. The shrill cries she'd heard earlier continued, but she couldn't see where exactly they came from. She swam next to the net, keeping her distance, and came around the other side.

Then she saw the source of the distress calls: a sleek grey dolphin, frantically swimming amongst the trapped fish. Kira rushed to the terrified animal and stared at him. His pleading eyes met hers, and she knew she had to do something. She reached out and touched the net, and immediately her hand was repelled. That awful sensation, the rough, sharp nylon threads she hated so much. She couldn't touch it. Oh, for a pair of gloves, she thought—not that any human gloves would fit her webbed hands now.

“Please, help me!” the dolphin screamed.

Kira's mouth dropped open in shock. She understood him.

“Please. I'll drown before they pull me out with the fish. I need air! Pleeeeeeease.”

Kira remembered her knife. She withdrew it carefully from the sheath, her webbed hands not ideal for such a task. But she had practiced holding it underwater, so she was ready. Her hands trembled as the dolphin continued to squeal and plead for help.

“All right, all right, I'm moving as fast as I can. Please don't cry. It hurts my ears,” she said, searching for a good place to start cutting.

“Sorry,” he said, and stopped thrashing.

Kira began sawing at the net, trying not to touch it, but brushing up against it as it swung back and forth, bulging with fish.

“Ouch, ooh,” she said as she cut away. It was much tougher than she thought it would be, but she was making progress. A few fish slipped through the first cuts and Kira worried about a mad rush for the opening once they figured it out. But suddenly they swam away from her, then to the left, then up, constantly zigzagging. Her movements seemed to startle them.

“Come closer, dolphin,” she said to the patient animal. “I want to make sure you get out first.”

“Don't worry, merrow,” he replied. “You know fish aren't very bright. They'll stay away from us if they can.”

A minute later the hole was large enough that the dolphin edged out, and in a flash he disappeared into the darkness of the water.

“You're welcome,” Kira muttered. Not a very appreciative creature, she thought as she turned away from the horrid net. She decided she wouldn't come to the surface anywhere near the large boat. There could be other boats in the area and she didn't wish to be spotted.

“Thank you, merrow,” a voice behind her spoke, and she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

Kira whirled around, surprised that an entire pod of dolphins had snuck up and now surrounded her. They began to squeak and spin around like a whirlwind.

“Yes, many thanks to you, merrow,” a deeper voice spoke and a large, nearly black dolphin floated up next to her. He was as still as Kira except for the slight fluttering of fins and tail. “You rescued my son, and for that I am grateful.”

“Uh, you're welcome,” Kira replied. Talking dolphins, how bizarre and wonderful. But just as strange, she could speak and be understood by a different species, and all underwater. She wished Cody could see and hear this.

“May I ask,” the dolphin continued, “what a young merrow is doing on her own, so far from kin?”

Aha, she thought, they were familiar with merrows. “I'm looking for my family,” she answered, her heart racing. “I was lost, a long time ago. I don't know where to find them.”

“We may be able to help you,” he replied.

Kira felt herself bobbing up and down, doing a little seahorse dance. “Really?” she squeaked. The dolphins around her squeaked in response and the smaller ones began to streak around even faster.

“Yes, we know where some of them live. There are many merrow families, of course, but we can bring you to the closest clan. If you wish.” The large dolphin dipped his head as if bowing.

“Yes, yes, please, if you don't mind!” Kira was ecstatic. Who knew it could be this fast and easy to find other merrows.

The large dolphin sent out a series of sharp whistles. Half the pod, including all the youngsters, sped off and disappeared. The rest formed a shell around Kira and the leader, and they started swimming in the opposite direction. They appeared to be heading deeper into the sea, away from the coast.

Finally, Kira was about to meet her own kind. And if she was lucky, her real parents and family.