Splashing

Eric stood on the diving board, bouncing slightly, the wind touching his bare skin as he gazed into the pool. Fiona hovered in the deep end, her face only peeking out above her nose as her hair floated lazily around her, waiting for Eric to jump. The scales which had plagued her earlier were gone, but the revelation and its effects still lingered like the late afternoon sun above them.

“Stop judging me. I’m gonna jump,” Eric said.

“Why are you hesitating then? You think it’s gross to swim with me now?” Fiona asked, a slight bit of fear still in her heart.

“Hell no. But come on. It’s weird! I’ve got a lot of stuff I wanna know! My brain can’t shut all this off instantaneously, you know,” Eric said. “Like for example, can you breathe underwater?”

“You forget me nearly drowning when you pushed me into the lake last summer…” Fiona growled, remembering the lake, the dock, the shock of the cold water.

“I thought you were ready to jump! I am not litigating the lake situation again!” Eric said, pointing accusingly. “Okay, so, how weird does it get? Like, do you lay eggs?” A ball flew through the air and smacked Eric in the head, causing him to tumble off the diving board and into the pool.

“Ask me about laying eggs again,” Fiona grumbled as Eric emerged from the water, sputtering and gasping.

“I apologize. I forgot I was arguing with a redheaded terror…” Eric said, grabbing onto the side of the pool. He laughed slightly. It all felt so normal. But he knew it wasn’t. “Hey, were you actually worried I’d be afraid of you?”

“I dunno. A little…” Fiona said softly, doing the inward cringing thing she did when she was uncomfortable. “Like you said, its big.”

“Come on. Even if you were a big lizardy egg laying weirdo, you’re my big lizardy egg laying weirdo. I’m the only one who can stand your psychopathic mood swings for a reason,” Eric said.

“They’re not psychopathic! They’re adorable!” Fiona said, splashing him with a wave of her arm.

“You were a monster way before the scales popped out, you red haired demon! If you’re wondering how I’m dealing with this so well, it’s because I’m used to you being a creature!” Eric shouted back, his bigger arms hitting her with a much bigger wave. They began to laugh harder, feeling freer and lighter as they settled back into the normal routine. However, inside the kitchen, at the window looking out onto the Hailey backyard, Fiona’s parents watched them with worried eyes.

“They seem okay,” Ellie said cautiously.

“Of course they are. Eric is a good kid. He’s been her little knight in shining armor since they were five and he jumped in to stop the older boys from stealing her ice cream,” Mickey said, a slight smile cracking his beard.

“You mean before she growled like a feral cat and headbutted the lead boy in the crotch?” Ellie asked, her own smile growing wide.

“Yup! Fiona is your daughter alright!” Mickey said, the proud papa look covering his face. “Still…we do have a problem.”

“Two,” Ellie sighed, turning and walking back to the cluttered kitchen table where her tea sat. “First, will Eric keep our secret? There is a reason we guard it so closely.”

“The legend of Great Aunt Aggie and the betrayal which almost got your whole family killed, yes, I know,” Mickey said, walking to join her at the table. “And I know you see the similarities in the story.”

“Childhood friends, an accidental discovery, a promise of secrecy, hoping his human kindness would hold out,” Ellie said

“It’s not the 1800s anymore, Ellie. The boy won’t try to capture her and sell her off like Aggie’s guy did,” Mickey said, trying his best to make his construction worker voice sound soothing.

“I don’t believe he will. But he’s young. They both are. They’re not emotionally equipped for this,” Ellie said.

“So we watch them, like when I let a newbie drive the bulldozer for the first time,” Mickey said, leaning back in his chair, exuding self confidence.

“This is like letting a five year old drive it,” Ellie sighed. “But you’re right. All we can do is watch and help.”

“So what’s the second problem?” Mickey asked. Ellie looked at him nervously, then pulled her skirt up a bit. A few scales were sticking out of her leg.

“The medicine isn’t working well on me, either,” Ellie said softly. “We need to go to Scotland, and soon. But these scales aren’t what bothers me. Mickey…why isn’t it working? I can’t help but think, what if after so many hundred years we’re developing an immunity to it? If our methods stop working, you know what…”

“Don’t. Don’t even…” Mickey started.

“If we don’t get our Loch Ness bath and have it reverse the transformation, we’ll remain in our alien forms. Locked into monster bodies. Forever,” Ellie said, her fingers lightly trailing along the scales. “If the medicine isn’t working, what if the loch doesn’t…”

A splash came from outside, followed by laughter. Both of the Haileys stared at the window, glad for the moment the kids didn’t know how dire their future might be.