by B.M. Green
Chapter 3
“Holidee. Holidee, wake up.” Crix turned on her bedroom lights. Holidee groaned and rolled over in her bed, trying to cover her eyes. “Holidee. C’mon, it’s time to go.” Crix smiled and shook his head. “Okay. You asked for it.” He left the room only to return in a couple minutes. He had a small cup of cold water in his hand. He threw the ice-cold water on Holidee’s face, waking her up.
“AH! I’m up! I’m up!” Holidee said as she sat straight up. “Geeze! Did ya have to wake me up like that?”
Crix smiled. “You gave me no choice. Now c’mon, get dressed. I’ll be waiting for you outside on the porch.” Crix walked out of the room.
Holidee rubbed her eyes and got up to get dressed. She put on the jeans she wore yesterday and a tank of a bright blue. Then she brushed her teeth and hair and put on a thin, white long-sleeved t-shirt over the tank. The blue tank could be seen through the white shirt and Holidee liked it that way. The collar on the white shirt hung a little off of her shoulders so that the tank straps could be seen. She looked at herself in a mirror and smiled with approval. Then she grabbed a bag she had packed of odds and ends things and left the room. She walked out onto the porch and saw Crix sitting in a chair. “Ready.” Crix looked up at her. It was still dark. The sun had not come up yet, and Holidee wondered why he had gotten her up so early.
They both jumped into Holidee’s new car. “I’m going to drive,” said Crix, “because you don’t know where we are going. Hope you don’t mind.”
He started the car and they drove off. Holidee leaned her seat back and shut her eyes to catch up on the sleep she was missing. “You’re not going to sleep, are you?” asked Crix.
Holidee opened one eye and replied, “Why shouldn’t I? There’s nothing to see.”
“Yes.” Agreed Crix. “But there is plenty to hear.” Holidee looked at him and sighing put her seat back in an upright position. Neither one of them said anything. Then after a few minutes, Holidee broke the silence.
“So…where are we going again?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise.”
“Well, how far is it?”
“Not that far.”
Holidee looked over at Crix as he was driving. He had one arm on the steering wheel and one on the door, where it hung over the side. Every now and then he would bring it up to his mouth as if he were concentrating hard on one of his experiments in the classroom. He seemed so relaxed driving the 1968 Mustang convertible. Holidee sat studying him and then he turned and saw her.
“What?” he asked smiling.
Holidee didn’t answer him at first. She didn’t move. Then she looked forward at the road. “You really like Mer, don’t you?”
Crix, surprised at the question, answered, “Yes. She’s a very good friend.”
Holidee turned her head to look at him and one of her eyebrows lifted in disbelief. “C’mon. Don’t try ‘n hide it. She’s more than a friend to you isn’t she?”
Crix, who was now looking at the road, pondered Holidee’s accusation. His hair whipped in the wind and his hand went back up to his mouth. Then after a couple minutes of analyzing the question, his hand went down and he answered, “Yes.” A pause. “I love her very much.” Another pause. “In fact, I plan on marrying her one day.”
Holidee was surprised with this last bit of information. She looked at Crix, who was still looking forward. “You plan on marrying Mer?”
“Yes.”
“But, you’re not even dating. You have to date first.”
“Oh?” He looked at Holidee and smiled mysteriously.
“Oh no. Don’t give me that smile. That’s the kind of smile you give when you know something and the other person doesn’t. Alright. Out with it.”
“Out with what?”
“With what you’re hiding.”
Crix didn’t answer, so Holidee took her small bag and hit Crix with it. Crix swerved on the road and then looked at Holidee. “What was that about?”
“You weren’t going to answer me.” She smiled at him.
Crix laughed and shook his head. “Alright. Fine. You win.” He paused for a second. “We never really officially dated, but we’ve done things together for a long time. When your parents and I all lived down in Georgia, we would always do things together. We went out to eat, to the movies, everywhere. I fell instantly for Mer, and I think she fell instantly for me. At least that’s what I heard. I wanted to ask Mer out officially, but then Gregoric and Katre moved up to Ohio because Katre was pregnant. I stayed down in Gregoric’s house in Georgia and spent more time with Mer. So, in a way, we were dating. But then you were born and I was named your Guardian. I couldn’t stay in Georgia any longer because I had to be where you were. Mer never wanted to leave her home, and I didn’t blame her. So, we went our separate ways. I flew down to Georgia about every other weekend or so to visit her, though. I wanted to marry her so bad, but then your parents died, and she took you in. I knew then, and so did she, that you were more important than us. We haven’t done anything since. But I still love her. And I will marry her even if it is the last thing I do.”
Holidee, hearing so many stories the last days, just sat there in silence. “I think you two should go out sometime.” Crix looked at her questioningly. “Mer loves it when you’re around. And, plus, I don’t mind you too much either. You’re an alright guy.” Crix smiled at Holidee and just kept driving.
They drove the rest of the way in silence. Both of them were in deep thought as they listened to Mother Nature. Holidee gazed out through what would have been the window if it were rolled up. Crix stared straight ahead at the road. His hand and arm moved every now and then from the door to his lips. A little sliver of light showed above the horizon. Crix knew he was running out of time. He also knew that it wasn’t too far now. Crix took a right turn.
They were now in a small town. It reminded Holidee of a small fishing town that could not keep up with competitors so they had to result to other things. It was quiet and pretty, she thought. The buildings were worn but strong. She guessed that the people were probably as pleasant as their little town looked. She thought maybe this was where Crix was taking them, but she was wrong. About twenty minutes later, they were driving out of that small village. Holidee saw less and less houses. She saw more grass and plant life. She was wondering where Crix was taking her. In the past month, she had gotten extremely close to him and Mer more than she had any of the months before. She didn’t know why either, until her birthday arrived. Then it slowly pieced together. Now she felt even closer to Crix. He was as close to her father as she was going to get and yet, she didn’t look at him like a fatherly figure, but more like a friend. He was someone she knew she could go to for help or anything else. Her mind wondered to the stories he had told her. She pictured him young and with her dad. She watched them laugh, fight, and cry together. They were best friends. Crix was her friend now along with Mer. Then a thought entered her mind. We’re kind of like a family. Mer, Crix, and I. We’re our own little family in this time of sadness and joy. She smiled to herself and reflected on that statement. She wasn’t alone. She had a family. She was still loved…and she loved back.
“Hey! Dreamer!” Crix woke her out of daydreaming. “We’re here. Look.”
She sat up and looked out the front windshield. They were driving up a long driveway. They were definitely not near anyone. Trees, with long branches and vines, were standing all along the driveway, bordering it. As a light breeze flew in, their branches swept and grazed the top of the grass with an elegance Holidee had never seen before. Then, she noticed, something brown was mixing in with the grass. It’s sand. She was about to ask Crix about the sand and grass, but something else caught her attention first: a house. It was big. It was white with sea green shutters and doors. Huge masses of vines and moss covered parts of the sides of the house. The great porch wrapped around the house, holding it like a child. The paint was chipping off of the house and the shutters looked worn t
o pieces. Some were hanging by one hinge. The porch wasn’t painted. It looked like someone had built it but never finished the job completely. Weeds grew up around the house trying to steal the beauty away from it. There were tons of windows. At least twelve were on one side of the house. Some of the windows needed repair and all of them needed cleaned. Then Holidee looked beyond the house. The ocean! She couldn’t believe it. The blue, green misty water lapped up the shore. There was a beach in the front yard of the house. That explains the sand, she thought. Foam stood still on the beach until it faded out of sight. Holidee now saw that the grass extended all the way past the house and then stopped at the end of a small drop-off. From there, she could see tall, brown plants growing like wheat. She saw wooden stairs that led down to the ocean and beach. It was like a dream. It was the most beautiful thing Holidee had ever seen. She was flabbergasted and could not find any words to describe what she saw. It was perfect.
Crix parked the car in the semicircle next to the side of the house. Then he turned off the car and looked at Holidee, who was looking up at the house and around at its surroundings. He smiled. He knew she’d love it. “Well,” he said, “we’re here!” He got out of the car and stretched his arms. The sun had already risen, but it did not shine brightly. It was still dawn. The calm, sea air and the gentle breeze gave the place a perfect feeling of tranquility. Crix didn’t realize how much he missed this place until now. He reached into the back seat for his suitcase and a bag and lifted them onto his shoulder. Then he walked toward the house. He stopped, about halfway to the front door, and looked back at Holidee who was still in the car. He laughed to himself.
“Well, you coming? Or are you just going to stay in the car all weekend?” He started to walk again towards the house and heard Holidee jump out of the car and run after him with her bags. He shook his head in amusement and pulled out the key to the house.
He knew she had dozens of questions whirling around in her head, but she was silent as he turned the key and opened the door. The door creaked open slowly. Crix walked inside, followed by Holidee. Dust and dampness covered the place. Neither Crix nor Holidee noticed, though. They saw what it would look like once they were done with it. Crix set down the bags he was holding. He turned and looked at Holidee.
“Shall we clean up a bit before we settle in?” Before getting an answer he took out a rag in his back pocket and started to wipe off some cobwebs. Holidee set her bags down too. Crix disappeared into a room and remerged a few seconds later. “Here!” He said tossing Holidee a mop-like broom. “You can clean the floors.” He smiled at her and continued dusting the tables, pictures, and walls. Holidee swiftly cleaned the hardwood oak floors. Slowly the dust covered house turned into a sparkling wonderland. Holidee and Crix cleaned one room at a time. Finally they finished the first floor and moved on to the upper floors.
“Well, there’s only one more room left to clean. I’ll go get the bags while you start on it.” Crix walked down the stairs. Holidee heard the creaks with each of his steps. Then she went towards the last room that had to be cleaned. The clock struck noon as she reached for the door handle. She slowly opened it and peered inside. It was dark like all the other rooms in the house. She went over to a big window and opened it. Then she threw the shutters open and felt the sunshine and sea air wisp in. Sunlight crept slowly over the floor and furniture. Holidee looked around, wondering where to start.
She slowly cleaned the room one piece of furniture at a time. She went over to an end table by the bed. On it was a framed picture. She wiped off the dust that was on the frame and glass and looked at four smiling faces. All four people in the picture had blue eyes like hers. One person was her mother. Then there were two older people next to her holding a baby girl. She stood there, mesmerized by the picture. There’s something familiar about those people…
Crix walked into the room and was about to say something to Holidee when he noticed her looking at a picture. He stopped in the doorway of the room. He crossed his arms and smiled as he leaned against the doorway. He watched her stare at the picture with curiosity. She fingered the faces and clothes of the people. She has so much to learn. There’s so much she doesn’t know. Crix stood upright and let his arms fall beside him.
“That’s your grandparents.” He said as he took a step toward Holidee. Holidee turned and looked up at him. Then she looked back at the picture she was holding. Crix took a couple more slow steps toward her. He was now behind her looking at the picture over her shoulder. “That’s you they’re holding. You were the cutest baby. Your grandparents loved you. You were about one when that picture was taken.” He fell silent looking and searching for a reaction or answer from Holidee.
“My grandfather died when I was twelve from cancer and my grandmother died when I was fourteen.”
“Yeah. I know.” Crix felt bad. It seemed like everyone Holidee loved had died. She didn’t understand why and neither did he. He put his hand on her shoulder for comfort. “There’s going to be a lot of pictures here and memories. Some memories you have never had.” He stopped, took the picture from her, set it down on the table, and turned her so that she was facing him. “Holidee, this house…this was your mom’s. This house was your grandparents’ house. Your mother grew up here. Your grandparents died here. Your parents got married here.” He paused and took his hands off of her shoulders. “This house was given to your mom by her parents, and your mom gave this house to you.” At this news, Holidee looked up at Crix.
“My house?”
“Yes. It was in your parents’ will. They gave it to you. They planned to bring you here when you turned sixteen, but…” His sentence trailed off into the silence. Holidee was looking down at the floor. Crix saw a tear hit the clean floor with a tiny splash. He reached out his hand to comfort her but then withdrew it. He watched her cry silently to herself for a few moments. “Holidee…” He tried to find words to comfort her. Nothing came to his mind. Then, as he began to feel the burning sensation in his own eyes, he wrapped his arms around Holidee and pulled her tightly against him. He placed his head on top of hers and embraced her. He lightly swung slowly back and forth, rocking her like a helpless infant as he stroked her hair.
“Why,” Holidee sobbed, “why’d they have to leave? It’s…it’s not fair.” She clutched Crix’ shirt and cried aloud. Tears soaked his shirt. “I mean…” she sniffed and looked up at Crix. He looked down at her with sympathy. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye,” she said softly. Then she buried her face back into his shirt. Crix hugged her even closer. He closed his eyes and lost the control of holding back his tears.
After several minutes past, Crix let go of Holidee and squared her shoulders to face him. He knelt down on one knee to become eye level with her. His hands stayed on her shoulders as he softly spoke to her.
“Holidee,” He took one hand off of her shoulder and wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. “I know this is hard for you. Trust me, it’s hard for both of us. This house became my home and it filled me with memories. Those memories come back to me every minute I’m here. But I stay strong because,” Crix turned Holidee’s head, who had looked away from him. “because I know that they never left. They are always going to be with me…and you.” He looked at her with honesty and truth. She wanted to believe him. She did, but she just couldn’t believe all of it completely. Crix saw that in her eyes. “Come with me. I want to show you something.” He led her out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the house. He quickly walked across the lawn with her following. He walked down the steps to the beach and trotted to the ocean. There he stopped and took off his shoes and socks. His toes got wet from the waves that washed up onto the shore. He spread his arms wide and looked toward the sky with his eyes closed. Holidee wandered what he was doing and why he was doing it. Then Crix turned his head and looked at Holidee with his arms still out beside him. His eyes were twinkling. He smiled at her encouragingly. She didn’t understand his reasons, but she did as his eyes told
her to do. She took off her shoes and socks and walked up next to him. Foam and wet sand squeezed between her toes as the ocean water swept up the beach.
Crix put his arms down and looked at Holidee. “Close your eyes and lift your head towards the sky.” She did what he said, not knowing what to expect. Her face soaked up the sunshine. She threw her head back and saw a seagull fly beneath the marshmallow clouds. She slowly closed her eyes and saw the sunlight peer through her eyelids. Crix came up behind her. He put his hands under her arms and lifted them up. Then he whispered in her ear.
“Clear your mind. Clear your mind of everything. Push all your worries away.” He was silent for a few minutes. “Now, think of your parents. Think of your father’s smile. Think of your mother’s eyes.”
Holidee did and then she felt her eyes well up with tears. She felt Crix put her arms down and step away from her. Holidee felt a thick breeze come in and brush against her. It lifted up her hair and she felt like she was whirling around in circles like a tornado. Her eyes weren’t watery anymore. She smiled. She knew that her parents were with her. She felt them. They had never left her. Crix was right. They were always with her, and when she needs them, they will come to comfort her. Holidee’s smile got bigger.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.”
The wind whipped around her. It surrounded her with warmth. Then after a few minutes, the breeze was gone. Holidee opened her eyes and looked out over the ocean. The wind may have left, but she knew her parents didn’t go anywhere. Her smile was still on her face. She sat down on the soft sand. Crix came up beside her and sat down also. His knees were bent and he leaned back on his elbows. Holidee had her knees pulled into her chest. Both of them sat there staring out into the ocean.
“Holidee,” He looked at her. He wanted to tell her so bad, but was it the right time? He had no idea. Holidee looked at Crix. Crix cleared his throat and then continued, “I’m going to go back up to the house and unpack our things. You can stay down here if you want.” She nodded and he got up and walked away.
After he had left, Holidee just sat on the beach, thinking. Sometimes she didn’t think of anything. She just looked at the ocean and its magnificent colors and rhythms. The waves slapped back and forth, pushed and pulled, rose and fell in a musical way. She never knew why she loved it so much. The ocean just had a way of calming her and relaxing her. She always found a friend there.
The ocean seemed to call Holidee. She always heard its beautiful sounds and voices. Holidee placed her hands at the hem of her jeans. She only paused for a moment. Then she rolled her jeans up to her knees and stood up. She slowly walked towards the water. The blue-green waves gently hit her feet with a cold shock. She waded farther out. She slowly walked out until the cool water hit right underneath her knees. Then she stopped and closed her eyes. She lifted her palms up towards the sky. She concentrated. She thought hard about her life. She thought about her parents and home. She thought about Crix and Mer. She thought about herself as a person. And then, she thought about the ocean. She thought about its warmth on a cool evening. She thought about its colors and magnificence. She thought about its creatures that inhabited its waters. She concentrated hard on the beauties that surrounded her. She thought hard about the beauties in her life. She searched her mind for importance greater than what she now stood in. She found none. She started humming. She hummed a song that her mother would hum her every night before she went to sleep. Then she started to sing. She started softly and then gradually got louder.
Come my creatures and I will look after you.
I will care for each of you with the gentleness I give.
I will cleanse you and make you anew.
I will make you happy while you live.
Come my children and I will protect you.
I will keep all harm and danger away.
I will make your path clear all the way through.
I will make sure you do not go astray.
She kept repeating it. She kept her eyes shut. She bent her knees a little and touched the water while her eyes were closed. The blue-green liquid streamed through her open fingers. It was warm. She swept her hand back and forth on top of the gentle water. She kept singing aloud. She felt so at peace and, in a way, at home. She knew exactly what to do when she was near or in the ocean. It came naturally to her. He felt the smoothness of the water, and then, she felt something else. Something had bumped into her hand. It was soft and smooth like the water, but it had a firmness to it. It glided towards her. She wanted to open her eyes but she also wanted to try and guess what it was. Was this a game? She stroked the animal that was now before her. It was so quiet and alone. She knelt down into the water, her eyes still closed. The water soaked her clothes up to her waist. She took both hands and felt the mammal. Her hands brushed over it gently. It kept still unafraid. It trusted her. She trusted it. Then, with a sudden excitement, she understood.
She understood how she had to act. She understood where she needed to be. She understood the creature’s feelings. She understood her own feelings. She understood others and their feelings. She understood all of this and more, but she did not understand why or what she needed to do. She didn’t know what to do and why she needed to do it. She didn’t understand why this creature came to her. She didn’t understand why she acted the way she did: happy one moment and crying the next. She didn’t understand why she needed to be there. She didn’t understand why she could feel the creature’s heartbeat and flow of emotions. She stroked it as she pondered these thoughts.
She slowly opened her eyes to look at the creature for the first time. It was beautiful to her. Everything about it was perfect. Its eyes. Its snout. Its fin. Its tail. Everything. She kept her hand on the animal, petting it gently. Its rubbery skin was smooth and glistening in the sunshine. Holidee smiled at it as it smiled back at her. Then it retreated from her hand and disappeared beneath the water. Holidee searched for it beneath the waves but had no luck.
Then, with a big splash, the dolphin leaped out of the blue ocean. Just as quick as it jumped out of the water, it dove back in. Holidee marveled at its elegance. Then the dolphin swam slowly back to Holidee and let her touch her again.
“I’m gonna call you Fye.” She looked at the dolphin. “How do you like that?” The dolphin reacted with a nod of the head. She understood and she agreed. “Okay, Fye.” Holidee stroked Fye for a few more minutes and then Fye jerked out of reach. She swam about a foot in front of Holidee. Then she dove under water and swam parallel with the beach. After a few minutes she swam back to Holidee and made a clicking sound. Then she swam away again and returned after a few minutes. Fye kept on repeating these actions for several minutes or so. Holidee watched her, puzzled.
“What is it girl? What do you want?”
The dolphin turned around half way from Holidee and popped her head out of the water and jerked it toward the other side.
“Do you want me to follow you?” Holidee asked questioningly.
Fye nodded in agreed and dove under the water. Holidee looked nervously back at the house where Crix was unpacking the bags. She bit her bottom lip and looked back at where Fye had disappeared. Then she made up her mind. She tried to run back up to the beach, but the water slowed her down. When she finally reached the sand, she started to run down the beach in the direction where Fye had disappeared beneath the ocean.
Sweat and water poured down her body. Her pants were still rolled up to her knees. She didn’t want to waste any time to stop and roll them down.
Even though she didn’t see Fye anymore, she knew she was going in the right direction. She could feel it. She didn’t know why she could feel it or why she knew she was right. She just did.
She ran and ran until she came upon a dead end. She stopped and looked around for Fye. There was no sign of her. Holidee waded into the water again. She thought hard and closed her eyes. She concentrated on Fye. Then she felt something nudge her hand. It was the friendly dolphin.
Fye s
wam out farther into the ocean and looked back at Holidee. Holidee turned, took off her top shirt, and threw it onto the beach. Then she waded out to where Fye was waiting for her. When she reached Fye, the water went up to her waist. Her cami was getting soaked.
Fye dove under water, came back up, and then dove under again. Holidee followed her. She took a deep breath and dove under the cool water to follow Fye. The coolness of the ocean surged through Holidee. She reluctantly opened her eyes. She thought the salt water would sting her eyes, but it didn’t. She could even see clearly under the misty liquid.
Holidee could see the tip of Fye’s tail and followed it. It felt like a lifetime of swimming for Holidee. She had never swam that far before or for that long. Finally, though, she saw Fye surfacing. She followed and broke the surface of the water with a gasp of air. The oxygen poured into her lungs. Then, with her hair dripping, she looked around at her surroundings. They were in a cave. The entrance to the cave must have been underwater. Holidee marveled at the salt built up on the cave’s edges. This is amazing! Holidee spotted Fye in the water. She swam over to her and grabbed onto her for support because she was exhausted. The muscles in her arms had not been worked like that in a long time. Fye swam Holidee over to land that was in the cave. It was mostly composed of dirt and rock with some sand. Holidee climbed up onto the tiny landmass to rest. Only then, did she notice a small, helpless creature lying next to her.
Holidee stared at the tiny life form. Sadness filled her eyes. The helpless creature was alone and practically dead. Holidee gently leaned over it and picked it up in her arms. She cradled it like a baby for a few minutes, and then she looked back at Fye, who was watching her from the water. Holidee looked deep into the dolphin’s eyes. She saw her soul.
“This is what you wanted to show me. You want me to help this small creature, don’t you? Why do you think I can help it? What can I do?”
Fye just looked, blankly, at Holidee. Holidee looked back down at the little being.
“You’re a cute little sea otter, aren’t you? She took her hand and stroked the semi-wet otter’s fur. Something tacky clung to her fingers as she pulled them away from its fur. She examined her fingertips.
“Oil?” Holidee looked at Fye who looked sadly back at Holidee. Then she understood what she had to do. She just didn’t know how to do it.
Holidee picked the fragile sea otter up and held it into the water so that its head was above the surface. She dipped one hand into the water and gently poured it over the otter. She tried to get most of the oil out of its fur, but it didn’t work. Thinking of another idea, she took off her cami and soaked it in the water. Then she wrung it out and scrubbed the otter gently. After a few minutes of this method, she stopped because her arm ached. She rolled down her jeans and leaned back on her elbows. She looked down at the baby otter and at her cami that was now stained with oil. Even though oil came out of the sea otter’s fur, it barely made a dent. Holidee sighed and let her head fall to her chest in failure.
Then she looked up at Fye. “Maybe Crix will know what to do.” Without an answer from the dolphin, Holidee took her cami and the baby sea otter and dove into the cool, ocean water. She started swimming out of the cave and to where she thought the house was. Fye swam up next to her and smiled. Then she swam ahead of Holidee to lead the way. Oil was streaming out of the cami Holidee held, but the dark spots stayed in the same places on the shirt. She thought she would have been cold in the ocean waves when she was only wearing jeans and her white lace bra, but she wasn’t. She was, in fact, quite warm.
When Fye and Holidee finally reached the beach behind the house, Holidee jumped out of the salt water and ran to the shore. She only paused an instant to look back at Fye with a look of gratitude. She ran as fast as she could in her heavy jeans. She wrapped the baby sea otter in her wet cami so that its fur wouldn’t dry out in the humid air. She struggled, tripped, and fell going up the wooden stairs because her legs were so tired. She reached the grass and started to call Crix’ name. She stumbled only once in the grass but caught herself from falling.
Crix heard her cries immediately and sprinted out of the house worried that Holidee was hurt. He slowed down a little when he saw her drop to the ground. Then he sped up again, his heart beating faster.
“Holidee,” he called out of breath. Crix slid to a stop beside her. The grass was wet. Why was the grass wet? Then he noticed Holidee was soaked and only half-dressed. Fear built up in him. He knelt down beside her and put his hand on her bare shoulder. She was freezing. Oh God, no.
“Holidee,” he said softly trying to calm himself down. “Holidee, what is it? What’s wrong?” He was about to say more, but Holidee lifted her head and looked sadly at him. Crix couldn’t tell her tears from the water dripping from her hair. Her face was pale.
“I…I…” Holidee began. Then she looked back down. Crix noticed that she was looking at something. “I tried. I did. I…” Her voice trailed off. She shifted a little, and Crix saw she was holding a baby sea otter. The little creature wasn’t breathing. Crix looked back at Holidee who was silent. C’mon. Cry! He thought. Please! She didn’t cry. Oh, God. He racked his mind on what to do, but he couldn’t remember. He touched her white skin again. She was getting colder.
“Holidee, we can save it. We can.” Holidee didn’t move or speak. Her breathing slowed down. “You have to believe! Believe, Holidee! We can save it.” She started to shake slowly. Oh, God. Crix didn’t know what to do first. He knew what could happen, but he had no choice. “Holidee, set the otter down.” He guided her hands to the ground, and she slowly released the mammal from her fingers. “Good. Now, give me your hands.” Crix took her hands, which felt like ice. Holidee seemed to be in a daze. Crix closed his eyes and then opened them after several minutes. Nothing happened. Please, no! He looked at Holidee and took one of her hands. He put her hand on the dead baby sea otter. He set his hand on top of hers. Then he took his other arm and wrapped it around Holidee. He pulled her close to him. Her skin gave him chills and his shirt soaked up the water droplets. He squeezed her tightly and closed his eyes. C’mon! Please! Then he felt her arm go around him. He felt her getting warmer. He kept his eyes closed and concentrated. He was getting colder. He started to shiver, but he didn’t let go of Holidee or the otter. Holidee got warm. Crix couldn’t concentrate any longer. He opened his eyes shivering more rapidly and uncontrollably. His vision went blurry and he lost any focus he had. He felt the sea otter’s chest go up and then down. It was breathing. Crix’ eyelids were half open. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t move. He felt so cold. So very cold.
Holidee felt life pour back into the sea otter. She felt warm and happy. Everything was good. Then she felt Crix shivering as he held her. His grip was getting loose. He started to shake uncontrollably. He felt cold. Freezing, in fact. Holidee narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What’s going on? Then before she could do anything, Crix fell to the ground, still shivering.
“Crix!” She ran to his side. He was as white as paste. His eyes were closed. His lips were turning purple. His arms were wrapped around himself as if trying to keep himself warm. Holidee was worried. She had no clue as to what was going on or what was wrong with him. Then all of a sudden, Crix stopped shivering. He stopped moving. No! “Crix!” She shook his shoulders. “Crix! Answer me! C’mon!” She didn’t know what to do. Everything she had learned in health class seemed to be gone. She felt tears coming to her eyes. “Crix,” she said more softly. “You…can’t…” She looked at him through tears in her eyes. His white, blurry figure lay motionless. Then she blinked the tears out of her eyes. “I…I won’t let you!” she yelled. Then she got up and grabbed his shirt collar and started dragging him towards the house. “You… are… not… going… to… die!” She said between each breath. She got him inside the house after several painful minutes. Then she dragged him into the living room and put him onto the couch. She quickly got blankets and covered him with them. She went to the thermostat
and put the heat on. He still wasn’t moving. Then she ran over to him and put her hand on his forehead. Still cold. “Crix, you stubborn fool, wake up!” No movement. She sank to her knees. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hand was still on his forehead and she laid her head down on his chest as her other hand rested over his heart. “Don’t leave me,”she said between each sob. “please.” A tear fell onto Crix’ shirt which soaked up the tear and touched his skin. The last word she uttered was barely audible. She sobbed and cried herself to sleep, dreaming about Mer, Crix, and her as a family.
Holidee awoke from by her head moving up and down. She was still for a few minutes, and then she jerked her head up and looked at Crix. There was movement coming from Crix’ chest. He’s breathing! She thought. He’s alive! He was still ice cold, though, and he didn’t look any better. He was shaking a little too. But he’s breathing! Holidee was so glad he was alive. She didn’t move for several moments, afraid that if she did, he would stop breathing again. His breathing was slow. Very slow. But it was there. It was most certainly there. Crix was there.
Two days later, Holidee awoke with a jolt when Crix’ body stopped shaking. She blinked several times before she slowly moved her head from the edge of the couch to look at Crix.
His conditions hadn’t improved over the two days. If anything, they only got worse, but Holidee had hope in her heart and she never gave up. She did everything she could think of and more. She tried to stay by his side for as long as she could. Sometimes she never moved from the same spot for hours. Her legs would cramp up and she would be forced to get up and walk about. There was no phone in the old house, so she had no way of calling anyone. She didn’t dare leave Crix alone and go drive into the nearest town for help. She was afraid he’d die.
Slowly, Holidee’s eyes lifted from the ground to look at his face. She expected to look at his eyelids since his eyes hadn’t opened for days, but instead, she lifted her eyes to look into two misty gray eyes that were looking back at her. Holidee was speechless with shock and disbelief. Crix smiled wearily and lifted his hand to touch Holidee but was too weak. His hand fell halfway up, but then was caught by another, warm hand. Holidee caught it and held it tightly, trying to pour the warmth from her body into his. She had been trying to do that for the past couple days. Crix closed his eyes, feeling her warmth.
Crix was so glad to be warm. He was lucky. He knew he was lucky. He was lucky to have Holidee with him. He knew that without her, he would have died. He shuddered at the thought. Crix slowly opened his eyes and looked into two deep, ocean waves that whirled around gently and sadly in Holidee’s eyes. Then, he looked at Holidee’s features.
Holidee had not gotten a lot of sleep in the past couple days. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was flat and not brushed. Crix knew no sixteen year old should be put through this. He tried to utter the word ‘thanks’ but his lips and throat were too dry for the word to come out. So he tried to show his thanks with his eyes.
Holidee saw the gratitude in Crix’ eyes and knew he was saying thanks. She smiled sleepily at him and squeezed his hand. “You need to get some rest.” She told him quietly. “I will make you something for when you’ll hungry or able to eat. Until then, though, sleep. I’m going to go take a shower.” Holidee finished talking to him, but didn’t let go of his hand. She was afraid to leave him. She was afraid something would happen if she left him. Then, after several minutes, she reluctantly set his hand down on his chest and got up. She walked slowly up the stairs, never taking her eyes off of him. Crix turned his head slowly to look at the ceiling. Then he slowly closed his eyes to sleep. Holidee, reassured by his decision to sleep, walked into the bathroom to wash.
Her shower was longer than usual. For about ten minutes she just stood there, letting the warm water hit her face. The past couple days came flooding into her and her mind was running wild. Hopefully everything would be back to normal soon. But what really happened? Holidee had no idea why Crix almost left this world, and part of her was afraid to find out. She had a feeling, though, that she had no say in whether she would find out or not. She also had a feeling that whatever happened; she wasn’t going to like it.
Holidee turned the water slowly off and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and dried off. Then she blew her hair dry in the bathroom naked with the towel wrapped around her. Once she was done with that, she walked into the room that Crix had put her bags in a few days earlier and got dressed. She didn’t want to go back downstairs. She didn’t want to look into sad, weak eyes and a face full of gratitude. She did, though, want to check to see if he was still breathing and alive. Maybe he would recover fast. She had no clue. All she could do was hope.
Holidee, before walking downstairs to see Crix, walked into another bedroom that she enjoyed. She liked the whole house. It was beautiful, but this room had something special about it. She walked into it slowly. The wood boards under her feet creaked with every one of her steps. She stopped at the big glass window and looked out into the ocean. Oh! How she loved the ocean! How she longed to go to it! It called to her every morning and every night. But today, like the other two days, she wouldn’t visit it. She had to take care of Crix until he was completely well. Then, and only then, would she go and say hello to her majestic friend.
Holidee turned around to leave the room and saw Crix standing in the doorway. His one shoulder leaned against the side and he smiled at the look she gave him. Crix was back.
Holidee forgot about the ocean and ran to Crix. She threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. He stepped back on one foot to catch himself. He was surprised at Holidee’s actions. Holidee just hugged him and held him close. Crix, finally overcoming his shock, wrapped his arms around Holidee and hugged her back. Crix smiled and his eyes filled with tears. He knew he was lucky. He knew he was incredibly lucky. He also knew that he couldn’t stall or procrastinate any longer. He had to tell her…soon.
Holidee let go of Crix and stepped back. “Thanks…for comin’ back.” Crix looked at her puzzled.
“Thanks? Don’t thank me. You’re the one who brought me back.” Crix became amused with the look on Holidee’s face after he said that.
“I didn’t do anything…” Her voice faded off as she felt ashamed. Crix put a hand on her shoulder.
“You did everything.” Then he smiled at her and said, “You’ll understand soon.” Then he turned to leave.
“Where’re you going?” Holidee asked before he could leave.
“To the beach. To rest,” he said and then added, “Wanna come? It’s much more enjoyable with company.” He smiled and left the room without waiting for an answer. Holidee, without thinking, ran after him.
They walked in silence down to the beach. They both were lost in their thoughts. When they reached the beach, they both sat down on the soft grains of sand and looked out over the horizon. Crix’ hands hung as his elbows rested on his bent knees as his hands hung. Holidee had her legs bent and her hands in the sand as she leaned back on them. After several minutes, Crix spoke up.
“I love the ocean.” Holidee looked at him for a moment and then back at the ocean. “It can always calm me. It always understands me. It’s…it’s almost like a friend to me.”
Holidee understood completely and she silently agreed with Crix. The sea was her friend. It understood her and helped her with her problems. It always had. Even when she lived in Ohio and there were no waves near, she would always find a picture or sounds of the ocean and it would comfort her. When she was next to it, though, or touching it or breathing it into her lungs, she felt as one with it. She felt like she was part of the ocean.
Crix twisted his head to look at Holidee. The light breeze was whipping little strands of hair out of her face. She looked very relaxed sitting on the shore. Sand speckled the hem of her jeans as she dug her bare feet into the soft grains. So young, Crix thought. So much responsibility. Holidee turned and saw he was looking at her. She smiled at him. I d
on’t want to tell her. She then gazed back at the ocean. So did he.
Thoughts crept into Crix’ mind. She’s the last. The only one. They are dying off. All of them. She is strong. She can support everyone. Help them. She is the last one. At that moment, Crix knew he had to tell her. He had to tell her at that moment. But before he could say anything, Holidee spoke up first.
“You know, even though my parents are gone, I don’t miss them as much as I use to…thanks to you.” Crix looked at Holidee after she said that. She kept watching the ocean waves roll onto the beach. “You showed me how they never left. You told me things about them I had never known before. And,” she paused before continuing. Holidee slowly rotated her head to face Crix but kept her eyes at the ground. Then, after her head was turned, she slowly looked up at Crix. She looked directly into his eyes. “and, well, in a way, you kinda remind me of my dad. I mean…” she looked back at the ocean. “…I see him in you.” Crix didn’t say anything. He didn’t know of anything to say. So he looked back at the deep blue sea. Then he sighed deeply.
“Do you remember when you mentioned your father’s journal?” Holidee glanced at him questioningly.
“Yeah.” Crix sighed again. This time his sigh was inaudible: his chest just rose and fell.
“Well, I remember the day he wrote about. The same thing happened to me. Only a little different.” Holidee turned her whole body to face Crix. She pulled her knees into her chest to listen and leaned her head on the top of them. She knew he wanted to tell her something that was difficult to say. It sounded like it had been on his mind for a while. Holidee waited patiently for him to spit out what he wanted to tell her.
“Do you remember what your father’s journal entry said?”
“Yes. But the bottom was torn out. He wrote that he was something, but I don’t know what.”
“Yeah…did you ever think that whatever he is, you are, too? You are, after all, his daughter.”
Holidee pondered on this thought. It had never occurred to her before. What could he be, though? What could she be? This new thought brought a whole perspective to her. “So…you mean-”
“You father found out when he was sixteen. He found out on his sixteenth birthday. You were supposed to find out on your sixteenth birthday, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know when to give you more stress and worries. There never seemed to be a right time, but I have to stop delaying and tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Tell you the truth. Tell you who you really are. Tell you what your parents were. Tell you the responsibilities. Tell you about the strain. Tell you about the glories. Tell you what your choices are…and consequences. Tell you what could ultimately change your future. It could ultimately change your life. And it will.”
Holidee looked down at her knees. “So-”
“Holidee,” Crix lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. “You are a very special girl. You are, maybe, one of the most important people on this planet. Your life is worth more than so many and more fragile than most. You have to understand and accept this concept.”
Crix removed his hand from her chin, but she didn’t move. She was fixed on his intense eyes.
“Holidee,” he paused, looked down at the sand, and then looked back into her eyes. “you’re an Oceain.”