The walk through town was much different than it had been on Pearl’s first day. Her feet moved on their own, conscious of cars and other humans. Weaving through the streets, she said a silent goodbye to the short life she created in The Burrow. As a human, she’d unconsciously learned much about herself. For her entire life, she had believed she was a creature of the water without a sense of purpose. With the removal of her tail, a snapshot of purpose dangled in front of her like the grandest meal she’d ever hunted.
Like her first day, her head hung low as she walked the streets, desperate to keep hidden. The purpose she’d found climbed higher into the sky, unreachable.
The closer she walked to the water, the more her insides twisted with guilt and regret. Pearl had made a choice. She wouldn’t take a human, but she wasn’t going to allow Kaito to perish either. Daryah was a coward in that way. Even when it came to her betrothed who Daryah connected with long before her ceremony, she had wanted her tail more.
Pearl could care less about her tail. She no longer belonged with the troop, but she wouldn’t allow Kaito to die because of her change of heart.
The only thing she had to figure out was how to get between Kaito and her mother. Her duty was to take Kaito the moment Pearl announced her decision. If she could draw him away from the troop, she could force her mother and the others to listen. No one would die for her.
The possibilities of her plan filled her mind until she arrived at Mrs. Jones’s house. She rang the doorbell, shifting on her feet. Her time as a human was limited, but she didn’t take any of it for granted. Once she reached the water, her legs would be useless. With a plan, she hoped she’d create some advantage or else she’d suffer the same fate as Daryah.
The door opened. Mrs. Jones poked her head outside, squinting. ‘Pearl? That you?’
‘Yes,’ she said, stepping forward. She shoved the bag toward the older woman. ‘I’m leaving. I wanted to return this and thank you for helping me.’
Mrs. Jones turned around, shuffling inside. ‘Come in before you raise my heating bill.’
Pearl chewed on her lip, debating on dropping the bag and leaving without another word. But unlike with Ben, this was her chance for a proper goodbye.
Mrs. Jones sat at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. ‘This has been a trying day.’
‘Why?’
Mrs. Jones looked up at Pearl. The wrinkles around her eyes and mouth more pronounced than Pearl remembered. Perhaps it was her lack of makeup. ‘I’m sick, child.’
Pearl slid into the chair next to her. ‘Do you need a doctor?’
Mrs. Jones let out a sound from deep inside of her. If she wasn’t smiling, Pearl might have thought she was hurting. ‘No medicine can help me. I’m just taking it a day at a time now.’
‘What about your daughter? Why doesn’t she come home to help you?’
‘I don’t need help. Besides, Monique needs to live her life. I’m not going to allow her to waste precious time to take care of an old woman. I’m perfectly capable.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Mrs. Jones winced, squeezing her eyes closed. ‘It took a lot for us to raise the money to get her to college. Having her come back now to watch her mother wither away? That’s not right.’
‘I’m sure she’d want to be with you.’
‘I know she would. That’s why I didn’t tell her.’
‘She doesn’t know?’
Mrs. Jones shook her head once. ‘As I said, I won’t allow her to waste her life on me. I sacrificed everything to give her the world. I’m not going back on that because I’m lonely. Soon enough I’ll join my husband in heaven. Together we can watch our baby girl flourish.’
Pearl wasn’t sure how to take the information. It wasn’t as if she ever planned to come to land again. But having Mrs. Jones as a kind and untouchable woman in her mind had given her strength. Now, she knew those humans she’d met would suffer the same fate and leave those who loved them behind.
As much as Daryah’s banishment hurt Pearl and the others, it wasn’t sadness that kept her in their minds. It was anger. When any of the troop perished, they returned to the ocean as feed for other animals. The cycle of life continued without mourning.
Pearl remembered the hurt on Carolina’s face when she spoke of her sibling dying inside of her mother. Years later, it still affected her.
That was the difference between her kind and the humans. Even though it hurt to think of Mrs. Jones leaving the world, she left behind a piece of herself, which would live on.
‘I’m sorry,’ Pearl said. ‘I wish I knew.’
‘Why? It’s not as if you could have done anything.’
Tears filled Pearl’s eyes, enough to overflow down her cheeks.
‘Don’t cry over me. I’ve had a good life.’
‘I don’t want to leave,’ Pearl said.
‘Then don’t. I saw how you and Ben Barros were toward each other. Is there a reason you need to leave?’
‘My family. This trip has a time limit.’
‘The trip where you have nothing with you?’
‘I told you, my boat—’
Mrs. Jones smoothed her hand over Pearl’s arm, squeezing lightly. ‘If there’s one thing you need to know about my family and me, it’s that we’ve lived near this water for generations. We have a long memory. You aren’t the first nude woman to arrive on shore without a solid story of her past.’
Pearl shoved away from the table, shaking her head.
‘It’s fine,’ Mrs. Jones said. ‘To be honest, when I first met you, I almost allowed you to take me. It would have been painful, but quick.’
‘I would never.’
‘I know. You’re in love now.’
‘N-no, I’m not.’
‘There’s no need to lie to a dying woman. Besides, I don’t plan to cheat my time here. I’ll go when He says I’m ready.’
‘You knew about me, and you helped me?’
‘It was the Christian thing to do.’
Pearl fingered her necklace. ‘I don’t want to go. But I must.’
‘No one is forcing you to do anything.’
‘Someone will die if I don’t.’
‘Then you have to make a choice. It’s all life is. You can be whatever you want.’
As much as Pearl wanted to believe that, it wasn’t possible for her. If she stayed, she wouldn’t know if the troop would take Kaito instead of her. If she went home and convinced the others to take her, she would perish. Someone had to die.
‘Thank you, again,’ Pearl said, wiping at her cheeks.
‘You’ll make the right choice,’ Mrs. Jones said. ‘I have faith in you, Pearl.’
‘Pearlina,’ she said. ‘That’s my name.’
Mrs. Jones cracked a smile. ‘Pearlina. That’s lovely.’
‘Goodbye.’
‘Godspeed.’
*
Pearl left the house without a plan in mind, but her heart was full. She had made the right choice for her shortened life. A human would have the opportunity to live because of her.
The docks appeared in front of her, and she paused, taking in the vast ocean. She could swim to the break wall, but like Daryah, she wouldn’t have the strength to plead for Kaito’s life. Pearl needed a boat.
Peter’s boat bobbed against the dock, beckoning her. There was no way she’d be able to drive it, even if she didn’t take any bad turns.
A strange pull in her gut forced her to the water. The pearls were hot against her skin, or maybe it was the other way around.
Smaller boats were stacked at the edge of the docks. There were no other humans nearby to stop her. She tried to lift one of the boats, but it was much heavier than she realized. After finding a long piece of wood, she shoved it against the boat stacked under the one she wanted. She wedged it between the two and pushed several times before it broke free. It fell to the ground, and she leaped out of the way before she lost a foot. By going into the ocean, she was already at a disadvantage. She didn’t need to spend her last moments in pain from hurting herself.
Pearl dug deep, finding the strength to pull the boat across the lot and into the water.
A male human rushed after her when she returned for the oars. ‘Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?’ He lifted his brimmed hat off his head and scratched at the smattering of gray hair underneath.
‘Borrowing a boat,’ she said, holding the two oars across her body like shields. Pearl sized him up, wondering if she could take him down before he alerted more people to her presence. She couldn’t wait any longer.
‘Did you clear this with Jimmy?’ the man asked.
Pearl smiled, thinking of Carolina. That girl charmed everyone with a calm and gentle demeanor, even though Pearl knew the attitude under the surface. ‘Of course. I’m a college student, studying marine life. I’m working on a project, and Jimmy told me I could take a boat out for … research.’
The man eyed the mess she made of the other boats. ‘Where are you studyin’? I know most people in this town and have never seen you before.’
‘I’m staying with the Barros family,’ Pearl said, hoping the reputation Ben’s family had around town would help her. His name floated around her head before a stinging sensation pierced her heart.
It will all be over soon.
‘Oh, well I don’t want to get in the way of a guest of the Barros family. Do you need help?’ He started toward the water and reached for her.
‘No, um, no thank you.’ Syrene didn’t appear in the distance, but her warning rang as clear as it had earlier that day. If this human wanted to survive, he’d stay clear of her and the water, at least until she was a safe distance away.
‘Suit yourself,’ he said, heading over to stack the boats.
Pearl moved as quickly as she could toward the water with the heavy oars, which were both taller than her.
The boat floated further from her with each passing second, so she’d have to swim out there to reach it. The depth wasn’t gradual like the beach. The moment she stepped off the rocks, she kicked her legs to stay afloat. Sharp needles stung against her body. Her teeth chattered, hard enough to fill her head with the constant rattling. Over her shoulder, the man who had approached her left. She stopped moving for a moment, sinking slightly, and took a breath. The salty air clung to her lungs, filling her. There wasn’t much time left, so she held the scent of her home a little longer before hefting herself onto the boat.