Water

Wave Forty Nine

Leira’s tides passed in a daze, as she let herself be ruled by the consciousness of the Herd. She felt it sweep her along, tide after tide. She made no decisions, no choices. She felt no thoughts of her own. She had no feelings. She simply survived. She sensed her friends trying to rouse her, but she’d fled so far beyond her own mind, they couldn’t touch her. Eventually, they stopped trying.
         
After many tides, Leira began to notice little things again. Another vein of white had streaked up her tail and lashed across her body and shoulder. Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, she noticed it had completely bleached of colour. She furtively stole Nerida’s oyster shell to look at her appearance. The stripe of white continued from her shoulder and snaked up her hair, leaving a pale streak that stood out starkly against her dark hair. It reminded her of Eli’s death and Leira felt a wave of grief threaten to engulf her. She gazed around the room, trying to distract herself. She was alone. She didn’t even know what time of day it was.
         
Leira sank down to the mattress. Her sea dragons drifted over and settled in the crook of her tail. One of them rubbed its belly along her scales, enjoying the rough texture. A smile flickered across her face and Leira drew a hand to her mouth, unused to the sensation. Tal burst into the room just as her smile was beginning to disappear. She searched his face for signs of emotion, but he swam over to her before she could read him. He settled next to her on the mattress, his face turned up to the ceiling to avoid her gaze. He had a small pink scar on the side of his face, near his forehead. It was about the size of Leira’s thumbnail. It tugged at her memory and she forced herself to look away from it. Both Mer remained silent as Nerida and Hali slipped into the room. The pressure of their bodies made the mattress sag as they joined her. None of them made a sound. They watched as the sea dragons rose and floated round the room, nibbling at each other as they danced like strands of sea kelp. After a time, Leira felt herself sink into sleep. Just as she was about to drift off, she heard Tal project in a tiny whisper,
(Thank you, Leira.)
Leira smiled again.