Seek's grinning face looked back at her through the bright blue water.
Cryssa pushed herself up and broke the surface, breathing in as soon as she returned to the open air. The first thing she did after rubbing the water from her eyes was to sweep both hands across the surface, splashing Seek.
"That wasn't nice!" she said, splashing him again. "You scared me!"
Seek let loose a burst of clicking laughter. "And you opened your eyes! Not only did you stay underwater on your own, but you opened your eyes! You did it!"
"That still wasn't nice!" said Cryssa.
"But it worked," said Seek. "Let's do it again!"
Cryssa splashed him once more, then shrugged. "Sure," she said. "Why not?"
In a matter of weeks, she was swimming around the lagoon like she had been doing it her whole life.
*****
Chapter Eighteen
Once she had learned to swim, Cryssa went from never going in the water to spending hours at a time in the lagoon.
Each day, after morning chores and queen lessons with Grandpa Po, Cryssa ran straight to the beach and plunged into the bright water. Whenever something prevented her from swimming, like an unexpected afternoon chore or a learning session with one of the village women, she was so disappointed and out of sorts that she could barely get through the day.
A new world had opened up to her, and she couldn't get enough of it.
Sometimes, Cryssa played water games with the Kee and Sylva children, chasing and splashing and throwing hollow coconuts back and forth. Sometimes, she practiced holding her breath, competing with Eenie and Ayla to see who could stay underwater the longest.
And sometimes, she and Seek spent the afternoon roaming the lagoon together, exploring the ring of water between the beach and the wall of black rock. Each time they went exploring, she was more amazed at the beautiful world that she had never known existed beneath the surface of the sea.
Schools of brightly colored fish, striped and speckled and shining, rippled through the silent blue water, dozens or even hundreds moving as one. Gulls and pelicans dove down in streaks of foam, snapping up stragglers and leaping back to the surface.
Jellyfish floated serenely, trailing frilly lengths of ribbon from see-through bodies like shimmering bubbles. Rays drifted past, flapping their graceful wings in slow motion. Clouds of tiny shrimp puffed by in a twitching flicker.
Cryssa and Seek glided over reefs of multicolored coral, pink and gold and red and orange. Fish like rainbows darted among the towers and branches and domes of coral, zipping in and out of tiny caves and crevices. Orange starfish lay alongside spiny purple urchins and anemones with fluttering blossoms like beautiful flowers. Delicate sea horses clung to strands of grass, translucent bodies waving gently in the current.
In the soft sand of the sea bed, crabs and lobsters scuttled back and forth on spindly legs, curved claws extended before them like fists. Eight-legged octopi scrambled along, stirring up pale clouds of silt.
Among tunnels and archways and winding spires of stone, Cryssa saw fish that looked like rocks and rocks that looked like fish. Clams and oysters and scallops clung in bunches to mossy boulders, shells open like the mouths of singers holding a note. Eels flowed from hiding holes, snaking through spines of rock and feathery tendrils of seaweed like streamers in a soft breeze.
Everywhere, there was life and color and movement, all of it so different from anything on land. Every time Cryssa went under, she saw something that she had never seen before or even imagined.
This was what she had missed out on for all those years. This was the world that Ikaz had stolen from her when he had dragged her into the sea as a baby and put the fear of the ocean into her.
And Seek had given this world back to her. He had saved her life, brought her home, taught her to swim, and led her to wonders that she had never dreamed of.
More than just a friend, he was her hero. Of all the Kee and Sylva she had met, he was the most special to her.
*****
Though Cryssa had only been on Kee Island for weeks, she was already happier than she had ever been. She had never imagined that she could be so happy.
She had Seek and Grandpa Po and Eenie and Ayla. For the first time, she knew the truth about her real family and who she was. She was learning and exploring and making friends every day.
No one treated her like a freak or avoided her because she was the daughter of the king. No longer did the constant worry of Rebirth Day and death by drowning hang over her head.
It was as if everything and everyone that had made her unhappy had been washed away. Every wish that she had ever made had come true.
And yet, when she slept, she often had dark dreams.
Sometimes, the dreams were about King Ikaz and the night when he had killed her family and stolen her away. Sometimes, she dreamed that she had never escaped Shark Island and had to go through with Rebirth Day after all.
And sometimes, she dreamed about Bey. She had stopped having the old repeating dream about the Kee calling to her from the sea; instead, she had a dream about Bey that repeated almost every night, a dream that was nearly the same every time that she had it.
In her dream, Cryssa was standing on the beach or the rock wall or sitting in the tiny boat that had carried her away from Shark Island. The wind was whipping her long, red hair, and an impossibly huge full moon occupied the night sky.
Suddenly, from a distance, she heard a human voice. A familiar voice.
As she listened, she could tell it was the voice of a boy, and he was calling her name...but not her Sylva name.
Again and again, he repeated it: "Raka...Raka... Raka..."
With increasing nervousness, she looked all around, trying to locate the source of the voice. Finally, she saw it.
The head of a boy bobbed on a distant wave, rising and falling. The boy was so far away that he looked tiny, but the giant full moon threw down enough light for Cryssa to see his features.
And she recognized him. He was Bey.
Devoted Bey, who had been her friend when no one else had wanted to be. Brave Bey, without whom she would never have left Shark Island. Poor Bey, who had given his life to protect her from the sharks and Sharkites.
Dead Bey...yet there he was, floating in the ocean, calling out to her.
"Raka...Raka...Raka...."
All that he ever said was her name, over and over again. She shouted questions into the rushing wind, and he never answered them.
But somehow, she still knew what he wanted. Without hearing him say it, she knew that he wanted her to come closer, to come to him.
He wanted her to join him in the deep, dark ocean. She belonged there more than he did; he was only there because of her.
"Raka...Raka...Raka..."
"Leave me alone!" she screamed into the wind. "Please just leave me alone!"
Bey's only answer was always the same.
"Raka...Raka...Raka..."
She must have had the dream hundreds of times, and his words were always the same. She knew what he wanted without explanation, but Bey never said more than that single, terrible word.
The name from the past. The lie of King Ikaz. The person she had been.
The person she never wanted to be again.
"Raka...Raka...Raka..."
And when she woke from the dream with her heart pounding and hands shaking and skin soaked with sweat, the name echoed in her mind with terrible intensity.
"Raka...Raka...Raka..."
*****
Chapter Nineteen
One year to the day after she had arrived on Kee Island, Cryssa touched a burning stick to the tip of the torch in the middle of the feasting grounds.
The torch, which was taller than she, was stuck deep in the sand. When the flames from her stick danced over the oil-soaked bunch of kindling atop the torch, the kindling caught fire with a crackle.
As orange flames burst from the tip of the torch, the crowd of Sylva who were
gathered in a circle around Cryssa applauded. In the lagoon, a crowd of Kee splashed their tails in the water and whistled.
Cryssa fluttered the burning stick in the air to put out its fire. She smiled back at the smiling people around her, come to celebrate the anniversary of her return. A year ago, they had been strangers, gathered in much the same way to welcome her home; now, a year later, she knew all of their names and stories and had become a part of their lives.
So why had she been feeling lately like she was not yet completely one of them?
Grandpa Po hobbled over to stand beside her and raised his arm in the air. "One year ago," he said loudly, raising his voice for both the Sylva and Kee to hear, "this lost child returned to us. All at once, we regained a granddaughter, a sister, a friend...and a queen.
"Since then, Cryssa has added her light to our own." Grandpa Po gestured at the blazing torch. "Her lighting of the torch reminds us of how much brighter our lives have been since her return."
Again, the Sylva clapped, and the Kee splashed their tails.
"Let us now feast in honor of the day when Cryssa came back to us," said Grandpa Po. "Also," he said, more somberly, "in memory of all those who were lost in the Great Raid sixteen years ago, when Cryssa was taken away."
This time, no one applauded. Instead, the people closed their eyes and stood silently for a long moment. The Kee, also, were still and silent in the lagoon.
Finally, Grandpa Po spoke up. "We must always be on guard," he said loudly.
"We must always be watchful," all the Sylva and Kee said together.
"We must always be strong," said Grandpa Po.
"On land and in water," said the Sylva and Kee. "By day and by night."
"Let the feast begin!" said Grandpa Po.
Everyone let out a joyful shout at once. The beach filled with the music of drums and flutes.
*****
"Hey, Cryssa!" said Colo, the boy whom Cryssa had first met with Eenie and Ayla in the banana grove. "Have a seat!" Smiling, he patted a spot on the sand beside him. He sat cross-legged, with a heaping bowl of fish and fruit in his lap.
Cryssa gave him a friendly smile as she walked past. "Thanks," she said, "but I have to visit with my Kee family right now. I'll see you later."
Colo looked disappointed but kept smiling. "Don't forget about the games," he said. "I want you on my team."
Cryssa looked back over her shoulder as she headed for the water. "Thanks, Colo," she said. "I'll try to make it back in time."
The truth was, Cryssa didn't really want to be on anyone's team. She wasn't in the mood for games or feasting that day.
She thought that Colo was a nice boy, and she liked him (though not nearly as much as he liked her). She liked all of the Sylva, every one of them, and she enjoyed spending time with them.
But she liked the Kee more. She enjoyed spending time with them more. She felt more comfortable with them.
Especially with Seek. During the past months, she had gotten closer to him than ever. Though she had duties and lessons on the island, she had come to spend all her free time with him in the water.
It wasn't that anyone on land had treated her badly. Everyone was as friendly and kind as ever. Other than a few minor spats with Eenie and Ayla and a lecture or two from Grandpa Po when she skipped or botched a chore, no one had said a cross word to Cryssa since her arrival.
It was just that she thought that Seek understood her better than anyone, even Grandpa Po. Seek always knew just how to make her feel good. He was full of surprises.
And sometimes, she felt more like she belonged with him in the lagoon than with the Sylva on the island.
*****
Cryssa and Seek swam around the island to their favorite little cove, leaving the feast behind. Cryssa knew that Grandpa Po would be disappointed in her for sneaking out of her own party, but she was just not in the mood for a party that day.
"I found a new cave today," said Seek, floating along the surface of the water as Cryssa held on to his back fin. "There's an airspace, so we could stay inside for a while and explore. Would you like to check it out?"
"Maybe tomorrow," said Cryssa. "I don't really feel like it right now."
Seek turned a gleaming eye toward her. "What's wrong?" he said. "You don't sound like yourself today."
Cryssa sighed. "Sometimes, I just don't feel like I belong here," she said. "I don't even know why."
"Did something bad happen?" said Seek. "Did somebody say something to make you feel this way?"
"No, no," said Cryssa. "Nothing like that. I mean, I shouldn't even feel like this. Everybody's treated me great. I can't tell you how much better my life is now than it was before."
"But you don't feel like you belong here," said Seek.
"Sometimes," said Cryssa. Letting go of Seek's fin, she paddled over to a sloping rock--the top of an underwater tower of stone, actually--and hoisted herself up to sit on it. "It's like, everyone is perfect here, but sometimes, I feel like I'll never really be one of them because I didn't grow up here."
"I know they don't think of you that way," said Seek, resting his snout on the rock.
"But I feel that way," said Cryssa. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm half-Sylva, half-Sharkite. Why do I still feel that way a whole year after I got here?"
"Because you spent most of your life on Shark Island," said Seek. "You can't expect everything from all those years to just disappear."
Cryssa scowled. "Why not? I hate the Sharkites. They killed my family! They kidnapped me and lied to me all my life!"
"But you were one of the Sharkites, weren't you?" said Seek. "Does that mean you hate yourself, too?"
Cryssa thought about it for a moment. "Maybe," she said quietly. "Maybe a little."
"I think it would be hard," said Seek, "to learn so many terrible things about the people you lived most of your life with. You used to think of yourself as one of them, so you might worry that their bad qualities had rubbed off on you. You might even feel guilty because of the awful things they've done to the people you're with now."
Cryssa drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Yeah," she said, staring into the rippling water. "I guess I feel like that sometimes."
"It's understandable," said Seek. "I think I would feel like that, too, in your situation. But you have to remember, none of what the Sharkites did was your fault."
"I was a part of some of it," Cryssa said softly. "The way they treated the Kee. Everyone on Shark Island was part of it."
"And now you know better," said Seek. "Maybe the rest of the Sharkites would change, too, if they bothered to get to know us as something other than dinner."
"I doubt it," said Cryssa.
"You might be surprised," said Seek. "Were all the Sharkites completely evil? What about the boy who helped you escape?"
Cryssa bit her lip. Just the mention of Bey was still enough to make her feel bad...but she knew that Seek was making a point worth considering.
"And what about the woman who raised you?" said Seek. "Queen Perza. Didn't you say that she was kind to you? That she loved you?"
Cryssa nodded. She couldn't deny that Perza had treated her with kindness...and without the insensitivity and inflexibility of Ikaz. She would never forget how Perza had argued with Ikaz about Rebirth Day, how she had said that she loved Cryssa and wept at the thought of Cryssa dying at sea.
"If there was one good boy and one good woman," said Seek, "then the Sharkites were not all bad. And if they were not all bad, and you were one of them for a while, then you can't be all that bad, either."
Cryssa thought for a moment, then managed a little smile. "You always know how to make me feel better," she said.
"You do the same for me," said Seek, "just by being with me."
Cryssa stretched out her legs, then pushed herself off the stone into the water. She paddled over to Seek and gave him a quick kiss on the snout.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Seek," she said.
*****
Chapter Twenty
Thanks to Seek, Cryssa felt better over the next few days. The feelings that had troubled her faded, though they didn't go away entirely.
By keeping in mind that the Sharkites--Bey and Perza, in particular--had not been all bad, Cryssa was able to stop worrying so much that they had tainted her. Just because she hated what some of the Sharkites had done didn't mean that she had to hate all of them...or herself. Just because the Sharkites had done terrible things to the Sylva and Kee didn't mean that the Sylva and Kee hated Cryssa.
By focusing on these thoughts, Cryssa was able to limit her feelings of not fitting in with the Sylva. As she did her chores and learned her lessons and talked to people, her heart was lighter than it had been in a while.
Then, one night, just when she thought that she had made peace with the past, the past came back to her.
*****
On a full moon night a week after the feast, Cryssa sneaked down to the little cove to meet Seek. One of Grandpa Po's rules was that she wasn't allowed to swim late at night, but Cryssa decided to break the rule just this once. Seek had been telling her how the water in the cove glowed with light from tiny creatures on certain nights, and Cryssa wanted to see it. According to Seek, the glow was at its peak when the moon was full, as it was that night.
Sure enough, when Cryssa slipped out of the jungle and looked out at the water of the cove, it was filled with shimmering light. As if touched by magic, the water rippled with a milky, blue-green radiance, brightest near the depths at the center of the cove. In some spots, the water glittered, winking with pinpoints of light that were brighter and more numerous than the stars in the sky. It was as if there were a sun beneath the waves, casting its rays upward, shining by night to warm the sea from below when the daytime sun had finished warming it from above.
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