wrath of the Sea Queen (96 page)

Max stood there fidgeting, looking sadly at her
, and not knowing how to respond
. 
C
a
eli
knew
Max
was only trying to help, so
she
tried to reassure him that he
did not
do anything wrong.

"
It's all right, Max.  I
wi
ll be ok in a minute, and then we can go.
"
 

Max watched
C
a
eli
as she tried to catch her breath.  She
did
n
o
t
understand
why this hit her
again
so suddenly and caused such extreme changes
in her physical condition
.  Her renewed frustration at he
r
degeneration
spurred C
a
eli's determination to overcome the problem.  After about five minutes, C
a
eli stood up and took Max's hand again.  They walked slowly down the length of the
far side of th
e embankment toward the water.

This side was much smoother than the other.  Here, the rocks had deep gouges etched into them that formed
vivid
images.  These caught
C
a
eli
's eye as she walked along, helping support herself on the unyielding
stone, while also trying to avoid touching the shocking depictions.

"
What is this place, Max?
"
  C
a
eli looked at the strange carvings o
n
this side of
the ridge as they walked.  They reminded her of ancient cave drawings she had seen on documentaries about primitive cultures.
  These images, however, perhaps should have been covered.  They were clearly a tale about conception and childbirth. 
C
a
eli
found the depictions to be much too detailed to show to a young child who knew nothing of such things.

"
It's a secret cave. 
Only this side has the pictures. 
My Mama used to bring me here
and tell me stories
.  She said
the cave
was special, like me.  Mama said if
I
am
very quiet
when I s
i
t inside
,
then
I
c
an
hear the
S
ea
G
oddesses talking to each other.  Sometimes, I c
an
hear
other people, too.  You will feel better in here.
"

"
Do you hear me now?
"
  C
a
eli asked, attemp
ting to speak with Max mentally, remembering that he seemed to overhear the silent conversation she had with Salma on the plane.

"
Yes.  I can hear you.  You
a
re talking aren't you?
"
  Max
did
not realize that C
a
eli
was not speaking
out loud.

"
Not exactly.  I wanted to know if you could hear my secret voice.  I
a
m not talking
with my
real
voice.  I'm talking
in
side
my
head
, Max
.
"

"
T
his is fun
!
 
If it's your secret voice, does that mean
I have
a secret voice, too? 
Like when I talk to my uncle? 
Do I have
to keep it a secret?  I
'm a good secret
keep
er
, pretty C
a
eli.
  Papa told me so.
"
  Max immediately responded to her
query in the same silent
manner
.  Either he was a quick learner or he had done this before; perhaps with his unnamed uncle.

"
Yes, Max.  It is a secret. 
I
t seems like you do have
your own secret voice
.  And, yes
, you do have to keep mine a secret. 
I'm sure your
P
apa told you how important it is to keep your special
ears a secret,
too,
right?
"

"
Yes.  I
a
m not supposed to eveningdrop on guests, and I'm not supposed to say anything
that
I hear.
"  Max confirmed C
a
eli's suspicions.  There was definitely something special about Max.

When they reached the end of the
ridge by the water's edge
, Max turned and led her inside.  They moved in
to the cave
about six or seven feet.  It was far
enough inside to notice
a drastic drop in the temperature, yet
C
a
eli
could still feel the cool water of the ocean lapping at her bare feet.  C
a
eli
hadn't even thought about putting
on
her shoes
before they left the room
. 

C
a
eli sat down, and Max sat next to her, leaning his head on her leg.  They sat quietly for quite some time, enjoying each other's company and the coolness of the cave.  C
a
eli also
relaxed as
the
refreshing water cover
ed
her feet.  She began to feel a little better
sitting
there pondering the mystery of Max's unique personality.  She thought that he must miss his mother very much and this place allow
ed
Max to feel close to her again.  C
a
eli was happy to
substitute the role for
Max while
they were here, if that was what the boy needed from her
.

"
W
hy don't you tell me a story?  I came all this way to hear the story your Mama used to tell you about the
S
ea
G
oddesses. 
You mentioned it to me on the plane, remember? 
I would love to hear
the rest of the
story,
"
C
a
eli
prompted
after a large yawn
.

"
No,
"
Max repl
ied in a matter-of-fact voice.

C
a
eli was surprised at the answer.  She assumed
Max
would be excited to tell her his favorite story.

"
Why not?
"

"
You won't like that story right now.  I can tell you another story,
"
he offered
enthusiastically
.

"
M
y heart
was
set on hearing about the
S
ea
G
oddess
es
.  You promised to tell me.  Why don't you tell me the beginning of the story?
"
  C
a
eli suggested.  Max thought about it for a moment and finally agreed.

"
Ok.  Th
is
man wanted to be a Papa, but his pretty lady could not
be a Mama and could not
g
row
a baby.  One day, the pretty lady went down to the water to talk to the
S
ea
Q
ueen.  Everybody knew that the
S
ea
Q
ueen helped people if they
paid
her
.
"

"
That doesn't sound too bad.  I suppose if the lady wanted a baby that badly, she would be willing to give anything
for it
,
"
C
a
eli commented, not really expecting Max to understand such a concept.  Salma
once
confided to C
a
eli that her one wish in life was that she could have a child.  Now in her late forties, Salma finally found the perfect father for that child, but it would take a small miracle for such a thing to happen.  Instead, Salma
frequently
dropped
none-too-subtle
hints to C
a
eli
about
how much she would enjoy being a great aunt.