The Sister’s Secrets: Pearl

‘It’s you,’ she said. Her voice rang in her ears, and it sounded wrong and almost too loud. Pearlina tried to speak to him through their minds, but it was difficult.

He winced and brushed his fingers over her arm.

The sound of her clanking teeth filled her ears. Kaito’s arms wrapped around her. Warmth radiated from his skin and she sunk into his touch.

Among all the males, Kaito’s calm behavior most matched the racing energy within Pearlina. The choice was a good one. Pearlina wanted to return to a life with this male. She had noticed him in the past, but her preoccupation with the ceremony had prevented her from bothering to think about her own betrothal.

Another male might have tried to push Syrene away from helping Pearlina to the surface, but Kaito understood the bond between Pearlina and Syrene.

Yes, he was a favorable choice for her. Her arms wrapped around him, absorbing his warmth.

I was hoping for you, he sent. I believe in you. In us. Come back to me.

Pearlina arched her back and searched his eyes. She would come back to him. She had no intention of staying on land any longer than necessary.

‘I will,’ Pearlina said in a stronger voice.

Chapter 2

Kaito aided Pearlina to the rock wall. As the air bit at her skin, she hesitated about her journey toward land. The troop and Kaito relied on her to complete the ceremony. She wouldn’t fail. He squeezed her hand one more time before swimming away. From a distance, he turned and lifted his hand high above him before plunging under the surface.

The lapping of waves against the rock wall and the birds above her were the only sounds. For once in her life, she was truly alone.

Not for long.

As it was while hunting, she was most successful after creating a plan. The other females had shared their experiences, and all of them had one thing in common. She needed clothing to blend into the human surroundings. Rushing into the experience wouldn’t get her the result she needed. The first step was to appear as human as possible.

In the past, mistakes had happened for those who tried to complete the ceremony too quickly. Repercussions from the humans had threatened the troop. Human boats in search of the missing humans had traveled as far as their cove. The braver humans swam close to their home, forcing the troop to stay hidden until the threat retreated.

The sharp rocky surface cut at her hands. Her skin wasn’t as thick as it used to be. The temperature of the water bothered her more than before. The layer of thickness under her skin was gone, leaving a curve in her shape where her top half met her new legs. She climbed the rock wall and peered into the distance. The air was still cool, but she put it out of her mind. Her determination to return home to Kaito and Syrene overpowered her need to keep warm in this weak, human form.

Pearlina started over the top of the wall, the rocks continuing to dig into her skin. Red liquid seeped from her hands.

There was no use delaying her fate. So, she took one last glance over her shoulder and dove.

Swimming without her fin proved much more difficult than she’d ever thought, but it wasn’t impossible. She pressed her legs together and tried to move them as one. Her arms helped as she cupped her hands and used them in tandem with her new legs. She surfaced more times than she had in her life, drawing in gulps of air.

Each moment she stopped, the icy water continued to press against her body. When she swam, it didn’t bother her – though the land seemed as if it were moving further away. Kaito’s face in her mind stirred something inside of her to keep her going. She found it strange that her connection to the ocean wasn’t as strong as it had been before. Did humans feel the same way when they ventured into the water? It was almost uncomfortable and mixed with a sense of fear. In that way, her kind was superior to them. At least she had that advantage.

Closer to land, she saw the boats bobbing with the movement of the water. They were attached to wooden structures reaching up from the sea. She recalled the human word. Dock. She slowed her movements and kept most of her body under water. The boats were everywhere. They gave her the cover she needed to get to land.

No humans were nearby, but Pearlina scanned the area. This was their home, and she had to stay aware of her new surroundings. She swam to the closest dock, allowing it to conceal her. Her teeth clanked together as the structure blocked the sky light from warming her body. She tried to stop, but they moved on their own. The first part of her plan was to retrieve clothing for her new body. Then, the hunt for a human would begin.

The other females told Pearlina that clothing was inside the shelters of humans. Clothing would help her body adjust to the new temperature as soon as possible. Then, interact with a human. Get it to trust her. Lure it to the water. The sex of the human didn’t matter. All they needed was the sacrifice. A few hinted that the males were easier to bait.

Pearlina had no preference. She wanted to take the first one she found. Then the ceremony would be over. Returning home was the only thing on her mind so that she could prove herself to the troop. She thought of Syrene, wishing she still shared a connection with her sister. The human form muddled their communication. And anyway, it would never reach across the distance, even if she and Syrene were both in their natural forms.

Booming sounds crashed over her. She ducked under the water, expecting a human to appear and notice the naked figure in the water. Going back toward the rock wall wasn’t a choice. Her chest burned. She surfaced for air, careful to draw in a slow and quiet breath. No human grabbed her or revealed her location. When she realized she wasn’t in immediate danger, she waited. Pearlina could no longer feel her fingers or new toes. She needed to get out of the water, but with humans nearby and no clothing in sight, she wasn’t sure what to do.

Excited human voices pierced the air above her. It was only a matter of time before they spotted her. From her hiding spot, she peered at the nearest boat. Strange symbols etched the side. They looked like the markings on Zimra’s body.

Three humans appeared. A female and two males. They raced around the boat searching for something. One of them held a recognizable clear bottle with liquid inside.

When Pearlina was young, she scoured the cove for human items. At least she did until Daryah. Since then, she had wanted no connection with the humans. But at that moment, Pearlina moved toward the boat with rapt interest.

A high-pitched sound erupted from the female, and she flashed her teeth at one of the males. The other seemed unfazed and disinterested. Pearlina understood the feeling.

The female and one of the males, both strikingly dissimilar in looks, broke from the group and stood at Pearlina’s side of the boat. The female’s hair was pale, while the male’s was darker than the depths of the ocean. Pearlina held her place under the dock and watched them.

‘Where is my wallet?’ the second male asked, out of sight. ‘I swear it was here.’

‘Why do you need it anyway?’ the female asked. ‘Ben has money.’

‘Because, Carolina, I’m not going to rely on my brother,’ he answered.

‘Why not?’ the dark-haired male said. ‘You always do.’

‘Oh, burn!’ the female, Carolina, shrieked.

‘Found it,’ the other male said.

‘Why is it so warm today?’ Carolina asked. ‘It’s supposed to be fall.’

‘You complain about the weather no matter what time of year it is,’ the dark-haired male said before disappearing.

Carolina removed a layer from her body, revealing another set of coverings underneath.

Pearlina studied the human. To blend in, she needed the same. Her hands fisted at her sides as if she already held the clothing. Where else would she find coverings near the water? She wanted to walk on land in clothing so she wouldn’t get caught. If she could reach up to the boat and grab the covering from Carolina, she would be off to a good start. But that plan involved coming out from under the dock. If they noticed her, she’d have no way to explain herself. She wondered how the other Drywalkers retrieved clothing so quickly. Had she chosen the wrong part of the land to start her ceremony? Even if Pearlina came out from her hiding spot, she wasn’t tall enough to reach up to take it.

The opportunity slipped through her fingers as the female lifted it from the side, cradling it over her arm.

An object zipped by her face, landing in the water beside her.

Pearlina kicked away from it, creating a splash loud enough for the humans to hear. She ducked under the dock in time before the three humans glanced over the side of the craft. Her heart hammered in her chest, enough that she thought it would burst from under her skin. The world shifted on its axis. For the first time in her life, she was out of control.

‘Sorry about that,’ a female voice said. It wasn’t Carolina.

‘Mrs. Jones,’ one of the males said.

‘Hi, there!’ she chirped. ‘Harry, Ben, does your father know you’re on his boat?’

‘No, ma’am.’

‘I’m looking for my wallet,’ the hidden male said.

‘You’d better keep hold of that.’ Mrs. Jones let out a laugh that pierced Pearlina’s chest, pleasantly. It sounded like the song of the sky fliers. Birds. ‘Well, I’ll leave you all to it. I was going for a stroll when I accidentally kicked a rock.’

‘It’s a good thing you didn’t hit the side,’ the hidden male muttered.

‘It’s a good thing,’ Mrs. Jones repeated. ‘I might have had to explain to your father who I saw before damaging his boat.’

A long silence stretched on before several sets of the booming sounds thundered over Pearl’s head. Now she understood that the noise was humans walking above her.

The hidden male appeared. He shared the same pale hair as Carolina.

Syrene would never believe Pearlina encountered four humans within minutes of being near land. Yet, none of them were drowning in the water beside her.

Pearlina let out a breath. It was hard enough to breathe above water. She didn’t need her body to stop working before she completed her mission.

Slower movement shuffled above her, then stopped. A human groaned, and then Pearlina came face to face with a female one. The human’s upside-down lips curved. Her skin was dark, like Kaito’s, but not taut like his. Deep wrinkles creased the corners of her eyes and mouth.

If Pearlina ever came across a large predator, her reflexes always followed through for her. With one flick of her fin, she’d out-swim it in seconds. The same instinct came to her, but she still tried to keep afloat. Instead of withdrawing from the human, she shoved water away from her and kicked her useless legs.

‘It’s a good thing they didn’t see you,’ Mrs. Jones said. ‘Especially in your condition.’ She eyed Pearlina up and down.

Pearlina sunk below the surface but kept her head visible. Still, she couldn’t believe the water, which had given her comfort earlier, now only made a pit widen in her stomach.

‘You kids and your skinny-dipping,’ she said with a huff. ‘Though I’m not sure why you’re by the docks. I don’t want to pretend I know why you all do the things you do.’

Pearlina had no idea what to say, but she knew what she needed.

‘I need clothing,’ she said. The human way of speaking still foreign to her but the words came to her as if they were always there, waiting for her to release them from her mouth.

‘You came here without clothes?’ Mrs. Jones asked.

Pearlina nodded.

The human made a sound that reminded Pearlina of a dolphin’s click.

‘Can you help me?’ If the human came close enough to the water, she could take her. But she was already exhausted and would never make it back to the cove today. This human didn’t feel right. She had kind eyes, like Daryah’s. She hated thinking of the banished one, but there was no helping it.

‘I can,’ Mrs. Jones said, pointing toward land. ‘I have a place over here. You follow me, and I’ll get you a coat. Then we can talk about how you ended up here.’

As much as Pearlina didn’t trust humans, she had no choice. She swam as silently as possible, keeping Mrs. Jones above her.

‘You wait here now,’ Mrs. Jones said, peering over the side of the dock once they reached the land. ‘I’ll be back in a jiffy.’

Pearlina grabbed a rock that led up to the land and stayed put. A cool breeze clung to her, and she dipped under the water again. She turned toward the cove in the far distance, and closed her eyes, hoping to go back soon. Once she was out of the water, she wouldn’t return without completing her duty to the troop.

Chapter 3

Mrs. Jones returned to the docks with a covering, like the outer layer Carolina wore. This one had fur around the edge. It wasn’t damp or matted but moved as the woman walked. Pearlina had never seen anything like it before.

The newness of the clothing interested her, but an opportunity neared, and she couldn’t ignore it. With one sharp movement, Pearlina could smash the human’s head against the rocks. If she grabbed Mrs. Jones and swam under, maybe she’d be home quicker than she thought. Though diving into the water with the human in tow would take forever. And she didn’t have the strength after her swim to shore. As much as she disliked the humans, she had to carry out her plan the first time without fail.

Mrs. Jones tossed the covering onto the rocks and stepped back from the water’s edge. It was as if Pearlina had spoken her plan aloud. This human had shown her kindness. Pearlina admitted to herself she was curious about land. There was no harm in learning about humans for one day. Pearlina lifted herself from the water, and Mrs. Jones turned away.

Were these humans that modest? She slipped the covering over her shoulders. It was long enough to cover her down to the knobby bones halfway down her new legs. Knees, she recalled from her conversation with the other females.

‘You decent?’ Mrs. Jones said.

Pearlina shivered. ‘Y-yes.’ She tucked the sides of the covering over her bare chest. She climbed onto solid land, pressing her feet against the rocky surface. She wobbled, but Mrs. Jones grabbed her arms.

Those kind eyes lifted to Pearlina’s once more. ‘You’re going to get hypothermia. Come inside.’

It took a few steps to get her footing before Pearlina walked closely behind Mrs. Jones.

The creaking of the docks and the gentle lapping of the water against the boats became distant sounds as they walked further from the sea.

Similar-looking structures rose from the land. Houses. The dwellings where humans lived. Mrs. Jones led Pearlina to a door. She took out a tinkling set of keys and fished through them for the correct one. When Pearlina was young, she had found some at the bottom of her cove. She had kept the shiny metal for a time, even though she had no clue about their use. After Daryah’s betrayal, she’d rid her home of all human trinkets. She had dropped them over the ceremonial cliff into the depths of the ocean, forcing them to disappear with the humans the Drywalkers captured.

Unfamiliar terms bubbled through her mind. Windows. Doors. Rooms. Walls. They were the basics of human homes.

The woman pushed inside. The sound of the door brought Pearlina to the present. She entered behind the human.

When the door closed, darkness blanketed the room. Pearlina jumped back, pressing herself against the wall.

As quickly as the door closed, light filled the space. Pearlina searched for the source since the sky light had disappeared when they entered the structure. A smaller sky light appeared to be attached to the wall. Pearl stared at it.

Mrs. Jones let out an amused sound, and Pearlina glanced at her.

‘If you’re intending to go blind, keep staring at that.’ Then, she muttered something under her breath before walking away.

Pearlina quickly kept up, momentarily disoriented by the intrusion in her eyes. It took a few seconds for the dark spots in her vision to disappear. She climbed upward, following Mrs. Jones.

Through an open door at the top, sky light filtered into the bright space. There were items of furniture Pearlina recognized and others she didn’t. The arrangement gave her some idea of their use, more than she had when she found these pieces floating around various locations in the ocean. She wondered how they had come to be in Mrs. Jones’s home, but she had a bigger problem to figure out.

‘What size are you?’ Mrs. Jones asked.

Pearlina blinked.

‘Your clothing size.’

Pearlina nodded her head, not wanting to alert the woman to the fact that she had no clue what she was talking about.

‘Wait here,’ Mrs. Jones said.

Dividers separated the space. Passages led to smaller areas, each decorated differently. Mrs. Jones’s home reminded her of underwater caves and caverns she’d explored on her own before Syrene was born.

Mrs. Jones returned and handed over a stack of clothing. ‘My daughter is around your size. Here’s a pair of shoes too. I hope they fit. At least they will get you to your destination.’

‘Daughter?’ If there were another human around, Pearlina wouldn’t need to travel too far from the water to find her victim.

‘Monique. She’s living in the southern part of the state. I’m sure she won’t mind you borrowing them.’

‘Thank you,’ Pearlina said, and opened the layer that was covering her body. It was much warmer inside, and she no longer needed it.

‘The bathroom is over there.’ Mrs. Jones pointed to the smallest space with a white chair inside.

Pearlina walked into what Mrs. Jones called a bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another female. She jumped back, banging against the door, and it closed behind her. She reached for the handle and tugged at the same time as the human. But as she struggled she noticed her hands were the only ones on the knob. Her body stiffened. The female turned to face her as realization dawned. Pearlina lifted her hands, and her reflection did the same. The female was her.

In her life, she’d only seen a smaller version of this reflective glass. The one she remembered had intricately designed metal coiled around it. She had used it to reflect the sky light into Syrene’s eyes. Her sister’s reaction had amused Pearlina, and they played with the human item for some time before Syrene grew bored since Pearlina never allowed her a turn.

Pearlina recalled what she had looked like on the reflective surface. Mirror. Now, her dark hair was much longer than it had been, and her face had lost its roundness. It could have been from the loss of thickness under her skin, but the strangest part was not seeing the slits across her neck. For some reason, she couldn’t stop smoothing her hands along the flawless surface.

‘Everything all right in there?’ Mrs. Jones asked.

Pearlina started and quickly said, ‘Yes.’

‘Would you like something to eat? I made muffins this morning. I can warm you one.’

Pearlina moved her hands to the bubbling feeling in her stomach. Even though she’d eaten her fill of fish before the ceremony, she wasn’t sure when or how she’d get her next meal.

‘Yes.’ Pearlina pressed her ear against the door, listening for the sounds of Mrs. Jones retreating. Then, she got to work. She lifted each piece of fabric and tried to remember where Mrs. Jones wore them on her body. She understood the mechanics of the top cover, but the lower took her a few minutes to figure out. At first, when she slipped it on, the button in the back was impossible to clasp and was extremely uncomfortable. It wasn’t until she turned it around that she got somewhere.

Then, she had to deal with the fabric shaped like a foot. She pulled them over her toes, after several failed attempts. Then, the shoes. Those were easier. They were a little bigger than her feet, giving her room to move her toes. She’d found enough of them floating in the water throughout her years to understand they were protection for feet against the harsh terrain. There was so much these humans had to do to survive, she wondered how they would fare in the ocean. They probably wouldn’t last long.

A satisfied smile crossed her reflected face. The clothes made her look and feel more like a human. The fabric was soft against her body, but not as comfortable as the movement of the water across her skin. It would do for now, and she was no longer shivering. After she claimed her sacrifice, she’d never have to wear clothing again. The pearl necklace glittered against the light, and she quickly tucked it under the shirt. It was her only possession, and she had no idea what would happen to her legs if she took it off. Images of Daryah’s legs turning back into a tail filled her mind. Then came the screaming.

Pearlina shoved the door open and tumbled out of the bathroom, willing the screams to stop. The room was empty. Mrs. Jones moved around the other room, preparing the food. Pearlina glanced around the area for insight into the human mind. There were images on a wooden shelf above a brick part of the wall with an opening. A sharp scent filled her nose as she neared it. Fireplace. It wasn’t pleasant or unpleasant, but somewhere in between.

The still depictions of life beckoned to her. Photographs. Humans were able to capture the essence of their physical form in that way. The older generation warned the younger ones about avoiding the possibility of humans stealing their spirit. If captured in the pictures, they would no longer be safe. The humans couldn’t know of their existence in their true form, or else it would prove a threat to the troop.

‘Food’s up,’ Mrs. Jones said from the other room.

The older female sat on a chair at the table, her eyes sparkling and hopeful.

A sweet scent made Pearlina’s mouth water. She couldn’t take her eyes off the source, resting on a plate. She grabbed a part of the food and took a tentative bite. Flavors exploded in her mouth, and she nearly choked as she breathed them in. A sweetness coursed over her tongue while a familiar saltiness swept through on top of it.

‘Hold on there,’ Mrs. Jones said. ‘Have a seat. Stay a while.’

Pearl licked her lips, savoring the food. She studied Mrs. Jones and situated her legs into a seated position.

‘What’s your name?’ Mrs. Jones asked. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t ask earlier. I wanted you to get inside first.’

‘P-Pearl—’ Her tongue stuck on the last part.

‘I haven’t seen you around these parts before, Pearl,’ Mrs. Jones said, cutting her off.

The shortened version of her name sounded both pleasant and strange. Pearl. Pearl lifted the muffin from the plate, not meeting the human’s eyes. Mrs. Jones had cut it in half, and there was a yellow sheen to the cut side.

Her new name gave her a temporary life on land.

‘I’m visiting,’ Pearl said before stuffing her mouth with the muffin.

‘With who?’ Mrs. Jones asked.

Pearl’s eyes flashed.

‘Reason I ask is that The Burrow is a small town. Most of us know each other. Visitors don’t come into town much during the off-season without us noticing.’

Pearl didn’t like the way Mrs. Jones’s gaze raked over her face as if memorizing each detail. She looked down at the hard, circular dish in front of her and took another bite of the muffin. It soured against her tongue.

Chapter 4

Mrs. Jones stared at Pearl as if she were waiting for more of an explanation. It was hard enough for Pearl to communicate with her mouth instead of her mind. This human had given her food and clothing. She owed her something in trade. Answers, false truths, would be enough.

‘I’m traveling alone,’ Pearl said.

‘How did you end up naked in the water?’ Mrs. Jones asked.