by Frank Martin
“You’re welcome, April,” he replied, letting go of the board with a gratified grin. “Anything to see you smile.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
April spent the rest of the day doing two things: avoiding her uncle and debating whether or not she condoned what he did to her by accepting his gift.
The first task was easy. April never left the guesthouse and Henry steered clear after his morning visit. She figured he already got what he wanted. There was no point in him pressing his luck by aggravating her any further.
The second part of April’s agenda was a bit trickier. She tortured herself wondering what her uncle must be thinking right now, sitting in his fancy house all by himself, feeling triumphant about what he did. By contrast, April felt dirty about taking the board from him, but it was a means to an end, she told herself. A way for her to escape the hell he trapped her in.
April couldn’t tell if her brother knew for sure that something was going on with her. She did her best to hide it, but siblings were terrible at keeping things from one another. April knew when something was wrong with Mark, just as he probably knew when something was wrong with her. He never asked her about it directly, but April had a feeling he was suspicious. Mainly because he was so dead set on spending the day with her.
The guesthouse was stocked with just about every classic board game April could think of, and they went through them all. Monopoly. Battleship. Even Operation. At home in the city, April wouldn’t be caught dead spending all day with her little brother. Now she welcomed their time together as a much needed distraction.
The distraction ended, though, when it came time for bed and April returned to the bedroom she was so eager to get away from. As she ascended the stairs after dinner, April made the conscious decision to push what happened in that room from her mind. She was determined not to let her uncle and his own despicable actions control her. That meant taking back the personal space she lost.
April stormed into the room and immediately ripped the sheets from the bed. After bringing them downstairs, April tossed them into a dark corner behind the washing machine, hoping they would stay there until the end of time. She put fresh sheets on, brushed her teeth, and climbed in bed.
The first couple of minutes were difficult as April tried hard not to think about her uncle. In order to keep him from her thoughts, she focused on the creature in the woods. She’d become enthralled by it, so much so that it was the last thing on her mind as she drifted into a slumber. It wasn’t the best sleep she ever had, but it was good enough considering she spent all of last night on the floor.
The next time April’s eyes opened it was to her phone’s alarm blaring on the nightstand. April set it to go off at the crack of dawn, eager to get out on the water and look for the creature’s home.
After throwing on a bathing suit, April tore out of the house, this time never bothering to make sure Mark stayed asleep. Only a couple of rays of sunshine stretched out over the trees, sprinkling the valley with a thin veil of light. April sprinted down the walkway, across the grass, and over to the dock, where the paddleboard and paddle were already waiting for her.
Even after spending several hours yesterday researching videos online, April still had no idea what she was doing, but what she lacked in experience she made up for in enthusiasm. Confidence, as well, however misplaced she knew it was.
April dropped the board in the water at the edge of the dock and cursed as it started floating away. She stretched out with the paddle, just barely able to press the tip of it into the board before it was out of reach. She breathed a sigh of relief, pulled the board back to her, and said a short prayer before lowering her feet on top of it.
Holding onto the dock, April found the board surprisingly stable on the water. At least, until she let go and felt it wobble under her feet. April knew she wasn’t the most athletic girl around, but neither were the people in the videos. She was young and vibrant. Or, at the very least, naïve and stubborn. She wasn’t about to let this grandma of a sport get the best of her, so she carefully lowered the paddle into the water and pushed off with her eyes closed.
A light breeze wafted against her face, which was a good sign her first attempt was a success. It wasn’t much, but it was still better than being soaking wet. April opened her eyes and saw the water flowing behind her. She was moving forward. Drifting was probably more accurate, but still, it was progress.
April then lowered the other end of the paddle and pushed off again. Then the opposite side. And the opposite side after that. Alternating back and forth in a smooth yet steady rhythm until she found herself out in the middle of the lake.
The air was cool. The water was peaceful. And other than a few canoes and other paddleboards on the far side of the lake, April felt completely alone. So much so that she completely forgot about trying to find the creature. She paddled out further and further, determined to reach the opposite shore.
As she drew closer, a peculiar rock formation in the water caught April’s eye. There were several large boulders, distinct in their own right but seemingly connected to form a disfigured island in the water. The collective series of rocks wasn’t in the dead center of the lake but a few hundred feet off shore. Far enough for a boat, or a paddleboard, to easily circle around it.
With her arms stuck in a mindless loop of rowing, April went around the rocks three or four times before she noticed an odd disturbance in the water beside her. Random bubbles percolated on the surface, and April leaned slightly over the edge of the board, trying to peer into the water’s dark depths. The bubbles suddenly stopped and April saw nothing except a twinkle of glistening morning light. She stayed there for a second, waiting to see if they returned.
They didn’t, and April was about ready to resume paddling when a large splash on the other side of the board startled her. April dropped to her knees to keep her balance and was surprised to come face to face with the creature’s glowing blue cross of an eye floating in the water.
“Hey,” she exclaimed happily. “It’s you.”
The creature flapped its tentacles under the surface as it treaded water in place.
“You are the only one, right?” April asked, studying the creature’s familiar features. “There aren’t more of you out there?”
Its upside-down mouth twisted into the expression from the other day, what April determined to be a smile.
April smiled, too, satisfied with the creature’s response. “Didn’t think so.”
The creature then started swimming away and April stood up, concerned that it was leaving her. “Where are you going?”
As it reached the end of the board, the creature hooked around and continued swimming down the other side. It then hooked around the board again to go around for another lap. If April didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought the creature was showing off in an attempt to impress her, which it was. The creature quickly picked up speed until it cut through the water like a torpedo, zooming in circles around the paddleboard.
“Wow,” April uttered, her head spinning around slowly so her wide eyes could track the creature. “You’re even faster in the water than you are on land. How do you move that quick anyway with your body being so—”
The creature abruptly pivoted towards April at full speed and used its momentum to propel itself up and out of the water. Leaping through the air, the creature’s tentacles slapped the board as it stuck a perfect landing, digging its claws into the rubber mat at April’s feet.
“Whoa,” April fretted, bending her knees to balance as the board rocked back and forth. “Easy there, fella. I still don’t quite have the hang of this thing yet.”
As the board settled in the water, April looked to the creature, which sat patiently in front of her, beaming with that twisted glare of a smile.
“What do I call you, anyway?” April asked it.
The creature tilted its head sideways as if it didn’t understand the question. To be fair, April didn’t fully understand it
herself.
“Aren’t I supposed to give you a Latin sounding title or something?” she wondered out loud.
Science wasn’t her best subject, and the thought of trying to classify something on her own made her head spin. Where would she even begin? The creature kind of looked like a reptile. Then again, maybe amphibian was more appropriate. But six legs? Two of them tentacles. And that face. A glowing cross for an eye and a mouth on its forehead. April stared at the smirking creature and drew a blank.
“How about just a normal name for now?” she finally settled on. “But that leaves me with an even bigger problem. I don’t know if you’re a boy or a girl.”
As if on cue, the creature scooted up on the board closer to April’s legs. It stopped at her feet and looked up at her, practically begging with its slimy tongue hanging out of its mouth, draped along the side of its face. The expression looked goofy and desperate to please. It oddly reminded April of several boyfriends she had and provided her with an answer to her question.
“Fine,” she concluded confidently. “I’ll go with boy.”
April then thought of names that the creature could associate with. Maybe something having to do with water. Like Neptune or Hydro. Too dramatic, she thought, and focused on something more conventional for a pet. Such as Spot or Rover. But those were boring. April needed a regular name that had meaning. Maybe she could name him after the lake. Oscawana sounded weird, though. Like a Native American chief. Yet it brought April to something better suited for her needs.
“Does…Oscar work?” April asked the creature.
Lifting his tentacles, the creature happily reared up on his two back legs, giving April the answer she needed. “Oscar it is then.”
Oscar flopped back down on the board, never taking his unique eye off of April. Although strange, his gaze was focused and sharp, allowing April to believe there was more to Oscar than meets the eye. “You really understand me, don’t you?”
He responded by lying down on the board, comfortably and at ease. April smiled as she bent down over him, rubbing his scaly backside. “So Oscar, would you like to be my friend for the summer?”
Oscar didn’t move. He closed his eye and nestled further into April’s gentle massage.
“And my only friend, too, by the way things are looking,” she mused.
The smooth lake drifted the board slowly past the rocks, but neither April nor Oscar seemed to mind. They stayed in the same position for several minutes, until a faint buzz in the distance caught Oscar’s attention. His head perked up and scanned the lake. April followed suit and spotted a boat, the only boat on the water, headed straight towards them. Before April had a chance to react, Oscar dove back into the water and disappeared into the darkness of the lake.
April turned her attention back to the boat, which slowed down well before it reached her. The loud roar of the motor settled into a steady hum, and the boat’s wake dissipated, returning the water to the smooth surface it once was. Still a good distance away, April couldn’t see who was driving, but it all became clear when the boat turned and the word “SHERIFF” along the side of the hull came into view.
April waited several more seconds for the boat to drift close enough for her to recognize Sheriff Thompson behind the wheel. He wore his full uniform, hat, sunglasses, and all, and greeted her with a warm smile. “Good morning, April.”
“Hey, Sheriff,” April replied, shouting loudly enough for her voice to carry. “I'm surprised to see you out here. The lake’s not exactly busy.”
Embarrassed, Sheriff Thompson grimaced while averting his gaze. “I have a confession to make.”
Curiously confused, April watched the Sheriff grapple over the best way to phrase his words.
“Your uncle called,” he eventually confessed, shooting a quick glance back in April’s direction. “He wanted me to check on you.”
April’s shoulders slumped at the news. She didn’t know what kind of game Henry was playing, but tapping the Sheriff to more or less spy on her was definitely a passive aggressive threat. It let April know that her uncle had a close relationship with the very people she was supposed to trust, just in case she ever decided to let the authorities in on their secret.
Annoyed by the situation, April looked away from the Sheriff and started paddling. “I’m doing fine. Thanks.”
“You sure?” he asked, concerned. “Those boards might seem easy but I’ve seen people—”
“I got it!” April barked at him.
She regretted the outburst as soon as she said it. It wasn’t Sheriff Thompson’s fault her uncle was using him as part of a power play. The fact that she yelled at him meant she let Henry get under her skin.
“Sorry,” she apologized with her head lowered. “Didn’t mean to snap. I just...”
April pushed off to paddle again, this time towards the Sheriff’s boat. “I’m used to taking care of myself. That’s all.”
She came up beside the boat and grabbed onto the Sheriff’s hand, who looked down at her with a sympathetic frown. “I understand. Just next time make sure you wear a life jacket, okay? Wouldn’t want you slipping and hitting your head on Goose Rock.”
“That’s what they call it?” April asked, looking over her shoulder at the rock formation.
Sheriff Thompson smiled and shrugged. “Don’t ask me why. Local tradition, I guess.”
April was already laughing when she turned back to face the Sheriff. “At least it’s easier to say than Oscawana.”
Sheriff Thompson allowed himself a quick chuckle before stifling it to reform his stern demeanor of authority. “Life jacket. Please. It’s the rules. Plus, it’ll make me and your uncle feel better.”
April couldn’t give a damn how her uncle felt, but she buried that anger deep within to keep smiling. “Sure thing, Sheriff.”
She pushed off the boat, and Sheriff Thompson bid her farewell with the tip of his hat as she drifted away. “Have fun, April.”
He then slowly pressed down on the throttle, gradually revving the motor until the boat skimmed across the surface at full speed back the way it came.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Without even realizing it, April fell into an actual routine over the next couple of days. She woke up every morning along with the sun and wasted no time running down to the docks. After throwing on the life jacket Sheriff Thompson was so insistent on her getting, April put the paddleboard in the water, paddled out to Goose Rock, and spent the next couple of hours drifting around with Oscar by her side.
She was always amazed by the amount of energy the little creature was able to muster every single time she visited. He never became bored with her either, maintaining the same level of enthusiasm when she arrived than when they had to eventually part ways.
Usually that was when others started heading out onto the lake after breakfast. Kayaks. Boats. Even more paddleboarders. April never instructed Oscar to leave, but he instinctually dove back into the water whenever they came close enough to see him. April wondered why Oscar was so afraid of them. Maybe a human abused him at some point and now he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. To isolate himself in the middle of a great big lake with the only person he could trust.
April could relate. It felt as if that was what she was doing now. When she wasn’t on the water, April moped around the guesthouse, waiting for the next opportunity to get back out there. She stopped texting with her friends back in the city and barely spoke to her brother. But it all seemed worth it to April, who hadn’t seen her uncle in days.
Her focus was solely on Oscar and the shifts in her morning routine. Everything was fine at first. He swam around her board, dove under it, jumped over it, even rolled around on it at her feet. But each time out, April noticed there was less and less space for Oscar to maneuver next to her, almost as if the already small area on the board was getting crowded.
The board obviously wasn’t getting smaller. Which meant Oscar had to be getting bigger. A fact that became apparent to A
pril when his body started changing as well. She slowly noticed several of his scales started protruding upward. It wasn’t anything drastic at first, but they started perking up more and more until there was a cascading ring of spikes running down his back.
Oscar loved being petted, but April started to do so hesitantly, concerned that she might poke herself. The spikes weren’t very sharp, but they could’ve been dangerous. Poisonous, even. The thought of Oscar suddenly jumping into April’s arms and digging those things into her chest constantly ran through her mind.
Luckily, the protrusions only had a point to them for a few days. They continued to grow, eventually forming more into fins rather than spikes. But April had been so focused on Oscar’s changing shape that she barely paid attention to his growing size. By the time the fins were fully developed, it was impossible for Oscar to stand on the paddleboard anymore. Even the slightest movement from him caused the whole thing to tip over, flinging April into the water.
After the third attempt and failure to get Oscar on the board, April reluctantly gave up and headed in for the day. She said goodbye to Oscar and paddled away from him. It was the first time they cut their morning together short, and April looked over her shoulder to see him floating in the water. Only the top part of his eye was visible, which faded back and forth between a dark blue and a reddish purple. April didn’t need to be a scientist to realize he was sad.
For the rest of the day, April toiled over a way to get back out on the lake with Oscar. She researched paddleboards to see if they came in a bigger size, which they did, but none that she could control by herself. She considered maybe getting a totally separate board just for Oscar, but then how would she get it out into the middle of the lake? She looked into inflatable tubes, floating chairs, even renting a boat. Nothing was a feasible option.
April went to bed that night more bummed than she’d been in a while. Seeing Oscar, a secret for her to enjoy that no one, not even Mark, was aware of, had almost become a drug for her. She needed that time together. It was the only thing keeping her sane these days. The thought that she might not be able to see him safely filled her with anxiety.