Called

by E J Pay

  “Yes, Aunt, you were telling me about when you first decided to enter into life in the ocean.” I want to keep her happy, so I skip over her life with her father. “What was it like for you then?”

  Ceto sits back and gets comfortable in her chair, ready for a long story. Gwen relaxes and pulls her legs onto the ottoman. I rest against the arm of the couch, but I am still leaning forward with complete attention given to Ceto.

  “In the sea, I felt like I belonged – finally,” Ceto begins. “I was surrounded by two-worlders just like me. People who were drawn to the sea. So many had long lines of family history that dated back thousands of years in the ocean. But there were just as many who had no past ties to the sea at all. Some came from wonderful families who had loved them their entire lives. Others were complete outcasts like me. But none of that mattered in the sea. We were all joined together in our likeness and abilities. We all had incredible talents and skills which we were working to improve and grow. Oh, I made so many friends. I was so happy.” Ceto takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh as the water swirls around her face.

  “Eventually I met Adrian – your father’s brother,” she says as she turns to me and I glance at Gwen. This is the first time she has heard the details about my relationship to Ceto. She keeps her eyes steady on our enemy. “There wasn’t a kinder or more wonderful man in all of the sea,” Ceto continues. “He was strong and handsome. So many girls fell madly head-over-heels for him. But I had never been taught how to love properly. I assumed I was worthless. Yes, I was accepted by the friends I made and the other two-worlders, but I didn’t think it would be possible to actually find something to love about me,” Ceto rests back in her chair, gazing ahead and remembering another time. “But Adrian found something in me that he thought was wonderful. We spent so many hours together after our training, just talking and swimming and enjoying our abilities.

  “Then one day, he confessed his feelings for me. He loved me and wanted me to be his wife. Me. I had been so in love with him for so long, but hadn’t even imagined that he could feel the same things for me. I was very happy.

  “His family welcomed me into their arms at first,” Ceto’s happy smile fades slowly and a darker expression enters her eyes, a sadness that looks more a part of her than the smile.

  “But then I started to change. For most sea people, their sea skin wouldn’t begin to show until they had been in the water for a decade or more. I had only been living in the ocean for 12 or 13 months. But my skin, of course, wasn’t the shiny, scaled version I assumed would come to me,” her voice grows angry and I see a reddish color creeping up her neck and into her face as she speaks.

  “No, I was destined to be undesirable from the day I was born. I hadn’t inherited anything that was lovely or wonderful or acceptable. I was born to be an outcast,” her voice is low and rumbling as she continues, “The skin on my legs was the first to show the change. A slick and shiny black started at my toes and worked its way up to my knees with a greenish tint affecting the rest of the skin on my legs. At first I was frightened, I thought I had contracted some kind of disease in the sea that my body just couldn’t handle.

  “Adrian was so gentle. He knew what it was that was happening to me and he reassured me that everything would be fine, that we would be fine. I was just taking on a form that we hadn’t expected. That was all. We could still be happy together. Everything would be okay. But his family didn’t feel the same way.” The reddening of her face disappears as ashy grey/green once again takes over her face. She looks so much older. I pity her for the disappointments in her life.

  “Adrian’s mother, in particular, was a very superstitious woman. She was more than happy to welcome me into the family when I was sweet, adored, and normal Ceto. But when my skin changed, so did her opinion of me. She was certain that my changing had been a sign, a warning against my marriage to her son. Nothing he could say would change her mind. And his father was so controlled by her, that he dare not oppose her. ‘Don’t worry about this one, Adrian,’ he said, ‘there are plenty of other women in the sea. You will soon forget her.’ Adrian was appalled and I was frightened. I didn’t want to lose the one person who had ever shown me real love. I had grown such hopes that we could raise a real and loving family. All of those hopes were tumbling down on top of me, crushed by his vile mother and family.” Ceto twists her hands as she remembers her youth.

  “I want you to understand that your father and mother were on our side, Evelyn. They wanted Adrian’s mother to accept me and assured her as best they could that all would be well, that we could be happily married and have a normal family. Your own parents had been married for just over a year and were expecting their first child – you. But nothing could dissuade that woman. She refused to give her blessing and Adrian’s father refused to give his, too afraid to do anything different.” Ceto straightens in her chair, looking faraway as she continues her story.

  “Adrian convinced me that we should run away together, that we could elope and move back to the land before my transformation took me too far. Once that happened, I wouldn’t be able to survive on land. It took me an entire month to agree. I had so hoped we could find a way to convince his family to accept our union. By the time I said yes, the black and green changes had fully engulfed both of my feet. We were married secretly and made plans to leave as soon as we could find a home and make a living on land. Six grueling weeks went by and the day finally came that we were ready to leave our life in the sea behind.” Ceto looks back to Gwen and me as she continues.

  “On the day we were to leave Atlantis, I entered the kelp forest that we had determined as our meeting place. Every sound and movement made me shudder with fear. Where could he be? Had our secret been discovered? But just as the afternoon light was beginning to fade to gold, he found me. He wrapped me in his arms and held me so close that every fear and every worry I had been harboring in my heart just melted away. He kissed my face all over and buried his head into my hair. But, just as I relaxed my head into the hollow of his neck, he pulled me away from him.

  “‘Ceto,’ he said, ‘I am so happy that you are still here. There has been a lava breach near Atlantis and I have been fighting to hold it back all day.’ He held me close again and continued, saying, ‘I was worried sick, hoping and praying that you were safely here, waiting for me.’” A single tear floated from Ceto’s eye and into the water. It started as a glistening drop but faded as it became one with all around it. Ceto continued.

  “I would have waited forever for him. My heart was so happy. I had the man I loved, loving me in return. We were married and starting our life out together. The lava flow had been subdued enough that Adrian knew it was in safe hands, so we picked up right where we had planned to and headed for the shore.

  “As we rushed on our way, we swam into your mother and father. Your mother was so fully pregnant with you that it was difficult for her to move quickly through the water. We all understood that it was time for her to move ahead to shore. Adrian and I were so happy to be going with them. But then it happened.”

  I am familiar with this part of the story. I read it in my mother’s journal. Ceto continues on with her version of the events of that day as Gwen and I listen quietly. Ceto tells how the lava made its way through the wall of Atlantis and my father and uncle rushed back to help. She talks about her delusional mother-in-law, my grandmother, throwing epithets and accusations her way. Then, the awful death of her husband and love. Here she stops, sinking into her chair. 17 years of time has done nothing to quell her emotions about these events. Ceto rises from her chair and crosses the room until she is nearer the table. After a brief moment of quiet, she turns to face us and continues her story.

  “I was devastated and shocked beyond belief. My mother-in-law went completely insane and began accusing me of starting the lava flow. Sensing the threat that she was bringing about, Marisol – your mother and my dearest friend – took me by the wrist and together we made our way to the
surface.

  “But it was too late for me by then. If only Adrian and I had gotten away sooner, the change would not have been so advanced. But as it was, I found that I could not breathe once I broke the surface of the water. All I could do was wheeze and sputter. It was pitiful and devastating. Marisol had worked so hard getting us both to the surface and to safety that breathing was the only thing she could do. I looked into her eyes and I think we both knew what had to happen. She had to go to shore. I had to go back to the sea.

  “My heart was breaking in so many ways that I couldn’t say a word. I tried to convey all my love and pain and loss and life into a single look. And then I went back into the ocean.” Ceto moves to the ottoman and takes Gwen by the hand.

  Gwen is staring at Ceto with a look that I don’t understand. It is somewhere between sympathy and irritation, like she can’t decide how to feel about the woman in front of her. Even though I understand that Ceto is the enemy of Atlantis, she is still my aunt and I cannot help but feel sadness for her situation.

  “What did you do once you went back into the ocean,” I ask. “Where did you live and how did you survive?” I can tell that answering my question is something that Ceto is not excited about. Considering her life up to that point and where she is now, I can only imagine that life back in the ocean had not gone well for her at all. With a sigh, Ceto makes her way slowly back to her chair and sinks into its soft cushions while she speaks.

  “I knew I had no other choice than to live in the sea forever. I had simply moved too quickly into my transformation to go back to the land. I don’t know. Maybe I could have made it on land, lived with a wheeze for the rest of my life. Whatever my physical discomfort, I knew I wouldn’t have lived for long. And I needed to live. You see, Evelyn, by the time Adrian and I were headed to live on the land, I was already with child.”

  Wow.

  Just wow. My mouth dropped open and I was powerless to close it. Ceto was pregnant when my mom was pregnant with me. I am sure nobody in Atlantis even had a clue about this. I risk a glance at Gwen, but she is looking down, playing with the fringe on a nearby pillow. I look back at Ceto, questions pouring into my head. What happened next? Had she carried the baby full term? Had it lived after birth? Where was the child she had carried? All of these are questions I know would be out of place to ask. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

  “Oh Aunt Ceto. I had no idea.” I reach my hand out to her in sympathy. She takes my hand gently in her own, looking into my eyes as she continues.

  “For several months I tried to return to some kind of normal life. I tried to talk to Adrian’s family, to tell them about the baby and how much I needed their support, but I received none. Your mother and father were already busy having a new baby of their own. They were the light of everyone’s life. I was too much the opposite of what the family wanted and expected their son to marry. I don’t think your parents ever even knew about my pregnancy.”

  That is true. I know my mom’s sense of right would never have allowed her to abandon Ceto in her time of need. If only she had known.

  “Your mother tried so many times to reach out to me from the land, but I couldn’t face her. When the time came to deliver my baby, I went to an outcast sea nurse for help. We found a small cove with enough water and privacy that I could have my baby on land but still return to the sea as I needed. Breathing had become so difficult above water that it nearly killed me to give birth. But by an unseen power I was able to make it through the birth and had a healthy baby girl.

  “I stayed in the cove and nursed her for a month. One month was all that I could stand before I knew my life was being drained out of me. The sea nurse who had helped me give birth attended to my needs while I recovered and cared for my child. But we could not keep on this way forever. Nobody from Atlantis would help two outcasts like us. We were completely alone and the meager living the sea nurse made was not enough to care for extra two-worlders.

  “So, I did what I could and reached out to my half-sister, the one who told me when my father died. Though we had never been close, she was the least unkind of my family members. I had to trust that she would care for my baby and help her know about her mother, one day returning her to me in the sea.”

  I looked across at Gwen, but her expression surprises me. Her eyes are wide and she has a small smile on her face. It looks like she is trying to stifle a laugh. She seems to be amused by what Ceto is telling us about her past and her life. Maybe she just thinks Ceto is crazy. I don’t think she understands there is another Ceto out there somewhere, someone we should be aware of and on the lookout for. I give her a single eyebrow, inquisitive look so she knows this isn’t funny. She gives me one more half smile then looks back down at her pillow fringe.

  As I turn toward Ceto, she is already looking at me intently. She isn’t done talking and telling me what she needs to get out.

  “Evelyn, you must understand this. Once I returned to the sea, I was shunned and outcast more than ever. I had lost my husband and my child – both within the same year. I was completely shunned by those who should have cared for me. I had to do something if I was going to survive. That’s when my thoughts turned to the Atlantis power source.”

  “The Atlantis power source?” I ask, wanting instead to hear more about her baby, “I thought that was just a myth.”

  “No, my dear. It is very much real,” she says. “It had been hidden for centuries but its power still gave life to all of Atlantis. I knew if I could harness that power that I would be able to force everyone to pay attention to me. I knew I could make them treat me with the respect I deserved. I was done being hated and tossed out of society. I was done losing all of my heart and love to the violent workings of land life. I knew I had to bring the balance of the ocean to the entire world. Then everyone would understand that they should never have underestimated me and judged me and condemned me. I was going to be a force that nobody could turn from ever again.”

  Her eyes are fervent and that reddish tint is creeping up her neck again and into her face. I feel an urgency in her voice. Gwen gets up from her seat as though she is bored with the conversation. I could not be more captivated. Ceto doesn’t seem to notice Gwen’s behavior. All of her attention is on me. She wants me to understand her. She wants me to accept her when nobody else will. I decide to see what else Ceto will tell me.

  “What did you intend to do with the power source once you found it?” I ask.

  Ceto leans back in her chair, dropping her hands on its arms. A smile plays at the corner of her mouth. She is satisfied that our conversation has led to this point. As she folds her hands together in her tentacle lap, she says, “I want to bring the ocean to the world, Evelyn. I want to cover the entire earth in water as it was meant to be.”

  Gwen, who has moved to the dining table at this point, actually lets out a laugh. Not anything long and resounding, but one loud and hard “Ha” as though she thinks the entire scheme is completely insane, which it is. But she is loud enough for Ceto to hear. Ceto focuses her attention on Gwen.

  Rising from her chair, Ceto crosses the room to where Gwen is picking through some snacks on the table. Her movements frighten me and I stand from my seat to protect Gwen if I need to. But Gus is right by my side.

  Do not upset yourself, Evelyn, he says. Gwen be fine. This not first time she and Ceto disagree about this thing.

  Wait. What? What do you mean? Are you saying you have seen them together before?

  I say no more, Evelyn. You just stay here and you watch.

  Ceto takes Gwen by the arm and turns her body until they are facing each other. Gwen looks bored. She is risking her life by acting this way. How can she not see that? I cannot see Ceto’s face, but the tone of her voice is anxious and pleading as she speaks to Gwen.

  “Gwen. Gwen, my darling girl.”

  What. The. Heck.

  “Gwen, I so want for you to understand. We have gone over this so many times. I didn’t want to leave you. I was d
ying. I had no choice. To have brought you with me could have been death for you. We would have been cast out and who knows if your latent abilities would have even awakened so you could live in the sea?”

  Gwen is Ceto’s daughter. The one she sent to live with her half-sister. Gwen’s upbringing was affectionless just like Ceto’s and it was Ceto who put her there. With each new point she makes, Ceto shakes Gwen’s shoulders ever so slightly. It is like she is trying to force understanding into her. Gwen raises her hands and shakes Ceto off.

  “Look, Mommy Dearest, your stories may get thousands of your ‘outcasts’ to follow you, but they won’t work for me. Look at Evelyn. You have her eating out of your hand.” Gwen points to where I am standing by Gus and Ceto makes a quick glance in my direction, but I can see that she doesn’t care about what I am thinking or doing. Her real purpose is to convince Gwen and she returns her gaze toward her daughter. Her Daughter!

  “But me,” Gwen continues, “You haven’t convinced me. You will never convince me. You left me. You didn’t care enough about me. You never reached out to me. You were hurting so you thought you could just sit in your ball of hurt and find some way to force everyone else to make you feel better. But you didn’t care if I was hurting. You never reached outside of your own pain to lift the burden of your daughter.” She turns from Ceto and goes to the other end of the table, her back to the rest of the room.

  Ceto’s shoulders sink with the weight of Gwen’s words. It isn’t the first time she has heard them. “In time, Gwen,” Ceto says, “I hope you can forgive me. I hope you can understand. I hope you can come to love me.”

  As she utters those words, there is a commotion outside the door. A shark bursts in through the door the doctor eels left through.

  “Your majesty, we are under attack,” He says. “We have been discovered and the enemy is at our gates.”

  Ceto straightens and goes into commander and monarch mode.