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| Is a self-sculpture still considered a selfie? |
They ducked in and out of the water all day until sun started to slip below the horizon. "Have you seen a more beautiful sunset?" Coral asked Abalone.
Abalone shook her head. "I wish I could paint," she said, not for the first time. "Then I could capture it." She had, briefly, tried to paint, but if she tried underwater, the paint just went everywhere, and if she tried above water, she inevitably got her canvas wet and smeared the paint.
"You could always take a picture," Pearl joked. They had found a waterproof camera once, but when they tried to take it home, the pressure popped it open at the seams and they'd had to bring it back up to leave on the beach.
Abalone splashed her sister and Pearl splashed back. Soon, they were all playing again and Abalone forgot her frustration for a time. They didn't notice how quickly it was getting dark until a fat raindrop splatted against Coral's head.
"Time to go," Coral said, looking up. "This one's going to be a doozy."
"More material for your art," Pearl joked with Abalone.
"I suppose," Abalone replied, frowning. She saw a small boat right before they dove underwater. "Did you see that?" she asked, pointing.
Coral and Pearl followed her finger. They all saw the bottom of a small boat, already rocking in the waves.
"We really shouldn't," Coral started.
"But you know she's going to anyway," Pearl replied. They both looked at Abalone.
"You don't have to help," Abalone replied, shrugging a little.
"Well, here we go," Coral said, swimming toward the boat. "Do you think we can just push it to shore?"
"Maybe. If we're fast," Abalone said. They got to the boat quickly enough and got it turned so it started heading to shore.
Suddenly, oars descended into the water around them. Pearl dodged out of the way. "If I get another bruise from helping you with this..." she began.
"It's a lot better than having another person dead," Abalone finished for her.
Coral sighed and continued pushing the boat, although from a different place so she didn't get hit.
With the three of them pushing and the person above them using the oars, it looked like they were going to make it to shore in time. Abalone could tell from the ripples around them that it was raining really hard now and she could only imagine what it was like up there. She was so intent on pushing the boat that Abalone didn't notice the huge wave rearing up behind them.
The boat went up the wave and crashed into the trough below it, losing an oar, but nothing else. They weren't so lucky with the second wave. The boat went up and landed sideways. A person hit the water hard.
"I'll get them. You right the boat!" Abalone yelled.
"Why?" Coral asked.
"There might be someone else in there," Abalone told her, swimming away.
The waves were black, lit up by the occasional lightning flash. In one of these flashes, Abalone saw the body she'd been looking for. She grabbed them and pushed her way to the surface. When they broke the surface, Abalone saw how intense the storm had become. The rain chilled her almost instantly and she couldn't imagine how cold the human with her felt. Still, she pulled the shore closer to her with each stroke of her arm.
Finally, she felt the sand under her tail and Abalone dragged the human up on the shore. She noticed the human was a man. And he wasn't breathing. Her mind racing, Abalone pressed down on his chest hard. She tilted his head back, pinched his nose, and breathed into his mouth. Abalone had wondered what it would be like to get up close and personal with a human, but this was not what she had in mind.
She kept pushing on his chest and breathing into his mouth until finally, water shot out of his mouth. He coughed and Abalone pushed him onto his side to help the water come out more easily. Now he was breathing, but he was shivering. The storm had died down to a mere drizzle, thankfully. Abalone realized she would have to warm him up. "Damn it," she muttered.
Abalone had to slip back into the ocean several times and back onto land again before he finally stopped shaking. Abalone relished her time in the water as she watched him. There was a town nearby. Someone would probably come out to check the beach and see what the storm had washed up and Abalone had no wish to be discovered. She had seen how cruel humans could be without realizing it. She waited in the water until she saw someone walking that way. Abalone splashed noisily back into the water and watched from below as the person approached the man on the beach. This was another man and he roused the man on the beach. The two of them walked away together, one man supporting the other. Abalone sighed. She could finally go home and get some sleep.
Hours later, after Abalone no longer felt so exhausted, she met up with Pearl and Coral again. "Did you get the boat to shore?" Abalone asked.
"Yes, but there was no one in it," Pearl replied.
"Did you save the human?" Coral asked.
"Yes," Abalone said. She briefly described what had happened.
"Goodness. Humans take so much care and looking after," Pearl said at the end.
"They really do," Abalone agreed. "I'm glad we're more sturdy than they are."
"You would have had similar problems if you'd been trapped on land," Coral pointed out.
"True," Abalone conceded. She shrugged. "Either way. We did our good deed."
"Yes we did," Peal replied. "So, we'd better goof off for several days to make up for it."
Abalone laughed and agreed.
A few weeks later, Abalone was floating in the ocean, watching a wedding that was taking place on a pier that jutted into the water. She had seen several weddings here and had learned how to avoid the photographer's lens. Even if they got her face, it would look like someone had gone swimming and spied on the wedding. Abalone loved the music and dancing that followed, often on the beach nearby, but there was something solemn yet joyful about most weddings that pulled her to them.
She was startled when she finally realized that the man whose life she'd saved was in the audience. He wasn't sitting in the first row, which probably meant he wasn't related to the bride or groom. Now that she had seen him twice, Abalone was curious about who he was. What was his name? Did he often go out in a rowboat in a storm? Fortunately for her, the reception was on the beach right next to the pier. Abalone was able to watch the reception, and dance in the water to some of her favorite songs. Eventually, she heard someone else call the man she'd saved and she learned his name was Daniel. Daniel was telling what his listeners thought was a tall tale about how his boat had brought him back to shore by itself and how he had miraculously washed up one the beach after being thrown out of it.
"I wonder if I should tell him that I saved him," Abalone thought with a smile. The few times she had saved humans from the ocean, she had never talked with them afterwards. This was the first time she had seen one of them later. It was strange. Abalone spent the rest of the reception enjoying the party while stealing glances at Daniel. What kind of man was he? It was hard to tell from here, but he bragged a little too much for Abalone's taste. Eventually, the party ended and Abalone swam away.
Now that Abalone, sort of, knew someone on land, she wanted to go up and visit. She was curious if it had been worth it to save Daniel's life, and she wanted to paint and get good at it. Abalone told Coral and Pearl all of this.
"But it's so dry up there," Pearl pointed out.
"Are you really thinking of doing this?" Coral asked.
Abalone tipped her head a little. "I'm not sure. I'd just want to try it out, you know."
Coral nodded. "But you know going up there even for a little bit will cost you."
Abalone thought about the sea witch. She had never met her, but she knew the sea witch could do anything with her magic. "All adventures have a cost," Abalone replied slowly.
Pearl shook her head. "Just let us know before you go up there so we don't go looking for you."
"Of course!" A few of Abalone's friends had gone onto dry land. Some of them stayed there, but most of them came back. A few days later, Abalone decided she had to try it as well. She told her sisters before she went to the sea hag.
Pearl's lips had thinned to a line, but she had nodded. "Be careful," Coral said, hugging her.
"Of course," Abalone replied. Then she set out. The sea witch's house was a long ways from everything. No one wanted to piss her off, so everyone gave her space. Unless they were asking her for something. Abalone swam until she saw the kelp garden, swaying in the tide. Taking a deep breath, she swam into it, heading straight forward until she reached the clearing in the middle.
The sea witch was beautiful and Abalone had not been expecting this.
"Hello, dear," the sea witch said.
"Hi," Abalone stuttered. "I'm Abalone, um."
"I'm Grace," the sea witch replied with a smile. "What can I do for you?"
"I want to go up on land," Abalone said, the enormity of her request now weighing her down.
"Very well. What will you give me in return?"
"Excuse me?" Abalone had thought the sea witch would simply name something outrageous and Abalone would be forced to comply.
"What would you like to give me in return?"
"I didn't bring anything."
"The best gifts come from you."
Abalone was quiet, thinking.
"Maybe you could tell me why you want to go on land," Grace said.
So, Abalone began with her desire to paint and ended with her curiosity about Daniel.
"Hm," Grace replied. "So you just want to go up there for, maybe three days to see what it's like?"
"Yes," Abalone said. That should be enough time to learn to paint, at least generally.
Grace nodded. "Very well then. Give me your voice."
"Excuse me?" Abalone had been lulled by Grace's calm demeanor, but now she was fully alert.
"It is the proper price. You have a lovely voice and I will trade you a human body for it."
Abalone considered. She knew sign language existed, although she did not know any. Still, it should be easy enough. There were always people painting the sunset. She could just find one of them, pick up a brush and look at them questioningly. Right?
"Do you keep my voice forever?"
Grace shrugged. "You can have it back once you give me back the human form. I'll come collect it from you at the end of the time, unless you decide you want to keep it. Then, I'll keep your voice."
Abalone thought for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. It's a deal."
Grace smiled. "Excellent. Hold still." She reached out and put her hand on Abalone's throat. Abalone felt something getting pulled out through her skin. Then, her gills began to seal up and her tail began to split in half. Grace pulled her up and up as more and more things changed in Abalone's body. Abalone twitched and tried not to gasp so she didn't choke.
When it was all done, she was on the beach with Grace in the water next to her. "I put some clothes next to you," Grace said, but it wasn't her voice. It sounded like Abalone.
"Thank you," Abalone tired to say, but nothing came out. She shook her head and settled on a deep nod instead. Breathing was weird, but manageable. After all, she breathed above water sometimes.
"I'll meet you back here in three days," Grace said in Abalone's voice. "Good luck."
Abalone grabbed the clothes next to her and saw it was a dress. That was a relief. She wasn't sure she wanted to handle wearing pants just yet. Abalone slid the dress over her head and slowly tried to stand up to drop it over her. The dress dropped over her and Abalone fell back into the sand. Legs were hard.
"You all right, girl?" a man called out.
"Of course it's Daniel," Abalone thought, mystified. She nodded and tried to get her legs under her.
"Hey, woah," Daniel said as Abalone tumbled down again. "How drunk are you?"
Abalone looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.
"I see," Daniel replied. He crouched down next to her. "Can I give you a hand?"
Abalone nodded. She grabbed his hand and let him pull her upright. He wrapped her around around his shoulders and put his arm around his waist.
"Do you need a doctor?" he asked.
Abalone shook her head. She was sure this body was human on the outside, but she wasn't sure how thorough Grace's transformation was.
"Let's get you something to eat, then," Daniel said, steering her toward a seaside cafe.
They got settled and, after a bit of haggling where Daniel discovered Abalone was a vegetarian, they ordered food.
"So, where are you from?" Daniel asked.
Abalone shrugged and gestured vaguely East.
"Mainland, huh? I'm born and raised on this island. I can show you around, if you want."
Abalone wondered how long it would take Daniel to notice that she hadn't said a word. As it turned out, it took a long time. They had gotten about halfway through the town before Daniel asked, "You don't say a lot, do you?"
Abalone shrugged and shook her head. She was just glad she had figured out how to walk by now.
"That's all right. I like quiet girls," Daniel said with a leer.
Abalone rolled her eyes. Well, she definitely had an opinion about Daniel, but she supposed it wasn't a waste to save his life. Besides, she wanted to see what it was like to be intimate with a human, and she was pretty sure Daniel would deliver that to her. Sooner or later.
First, though, they had to get dinner, which he paid for, and then go to a club and dance. Here, Abalone missed her tail. Dancing on legs was so different. She felt clumsy where dancing was usually so fluid for her. Fortunately for her, Daniel had quickly gotten drunk and seemed not to notice.
"Hey, baby," he slurred. "Better come back to my place."
Since she had been waiting for this, Abalone left the club with him. This time she was supporting him. He gave loud directions to his apartment and they finally got inside. He didn't waste much time before he mashed his mouth onto Abalone's. After that and some awkward pawing at her chest, Abalone decided she didn't care what the rest of this was like. She didn't want to do it with him. She pushed him away.
"Wassa matter?" Daniel asked. "I'm too good?"
Abalone shook her head and walked to the door.
"Don't walk away, baby," Daniel told her.
Abalone shut the door behind her and headed down the stairs. She would need to find somewhere to spend the night. She ended up on the beach which, coincidentally, was where a concerned woman woke her up the next morning.
"Are you all right?" the woman asked.
Abalone stretched and nodded. It had been a warm night, so she felt fine. Then she noticed the woman was holding a paint brush in her hand. Jumping up, Abalone, pointed at the woman's canvas and grinned. She was painting the sunrise.
"Thank you," the woman said. "Are you not able to talk?"
Abalone shook her head and shrugged.
"I guess you're used to it," the woman replied. "Well, my name is Rose. I suppose I can't ask you for yours?"
Abalone suddenly wished she had learned how to write like the humans did. She could have written her name in the sand. She shook her head.
"Well, I can't call you girl. How about Betty?"
Abalone had no particular objection to that. She shrugged and nodded.
Rose laughed. "You seem pretty easy going."
Abalone smiled. Then she pointed at the canvas again and mimed painting. Then she held out her hand to Rose and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Rose looked at the canvas and looked at Abalone.
Abalone pointed at the brush.
"Do you want me to paint?" Rose asked.
Abalone shook her head.
"Do you want to paint?"
Abalone nodded and grinned.
Rose smiled. "I think we can manage that. I've only got one easel, but I've got another canvas." She looked at the sunrise for a moment. "Can I paint for a bit while you watch? Then I can teach you."
Abalone nodded and smiled. She settled back down on the beach while Rose turned back to her canvas.
It was quite awhile before Rose was done, but Abalone loved watching the painting come alive under Rose's brush. Somehow, the woman knew just how much color to add and where to make the picture shine. By the time she was done, Abalone was on fire with impatience.
Rose handed her the brush, and Abalone tried to make a small bird in the corner. It was a mess. "This is going to be harder than I thought," Abalone thought, sighing in frustration.
Rose smiled. "It takes time," Rose said. Then she began teaching Abalone how to paint. By the end of it, Abalone was able to make basic shapes, but she felt like anyone who could write could do that.
"Do you have anywhere to eat?" Rose asked when they were done.
Abalone shook her head.
Rose bit her lip. "My sister always said I took in too many strays, but do you want to stay with me for awhile?"
Abalone only had one more day. It was disheartening to realize that. Three days was really not enough time to find out much of anything. Abalone nodded at Rose and smiled.
Rose smiled back. "Well, then let's get some lunch. My treat."
Unlike lunch with Daniel, Rose quickly figured out that Abalone was a vegetarian and they spent the meal communicating, however sloppily. Abalone really wished she could write, or that she had her voice back. It was the easiest way to get to know someone.
After lunch, they went shopping and Rose bought Abalone another dress. Abalone tried to stop her, but it was obvious how much Abalone liked the dress. It was purple and shiny and the fabric was unlike any Abalone had seen before. Abalone knew Rose was trying to make sure she had something else to wear, but Abalone was only going to be here one more day. After shopping, Rose brought Abalone home.
Her home was beautiful. There was art everywhere, and there were several places Rose had just painted on the walls. Abalone loved it and was mad that she couldn't do the same in her house.
"It's definitely an artist's home," Rose said with a touch of pride.
Abalone nodded and smiled. She gave Rose a thumbs up.
Rose laughed. "I'm glad you like it."
Abalone saw a painted guitar in the corner and walked over to examine it.
"Do you play?"
Abalone shook her head and shrugged. She put her hand out and delicately strummed the strings. It sounded horrible and Abalone flinched.
Rose laughed. "I haven't played in awhile so I loosened the strings. I play a little. Would you like to hear some?"
Abalone nodded with a grin.
Rose tuned the guitar and strummed a few chords. She began to hum along. It was a song Abalone had heard at a few weddings, but Rose didn't sing the words, she just hummed.
When she was done, Abalone clapped and smiled.
"Thank you," Rose said, turning a little red. "I haven't played for anyone else in a long time." They spent the rest of the night laughing and exploring Rose's house.
Rose had a spare bedroom, and she offered it to Abalone. "There's only one shower, but you can use it first."
Abalone smiled and nodded. She had never used a shower before. She had figured out toilets already, thank goodness. She stepped into the shower and turned the knob. She was immediately in love with the sensation of the water dropping onto her head. She used some of Rose's toiletries, reading the instructions on each one. Finally, she stepped out of the shower and found a towel. She had seen enough people using them to understand how that worked as well. She went to bed clean and dry and finally understood how appealing that was.
The next morning, she and Rose got up early and headed out to the beach to paint the sunrise. After the sunrise, Rose taught Abalone to paint some more. Now Abalone could begin to paint the sea. It would have to be good enough. Abalone looked at the sun and realized her time would be up soon. Making a snap decision, she took Rose's hand, and tugged it a little.
"What?" Rose asked.
Abalone pointed down the beach to where she had agreed to meet Grace.
"You want us to go over there?" Rose asked, confused.
Abalone nodded and tugged on Rose's hand a little more. Then she let go and set off. Grace was probably a busy woman and it wouldn't do to keep her waiting.
Abalone walked through the water to get to the beach she needed, glad the dress Rose had bought her was short enough that it wouldn't get wet. She got to the beach before Rose and Abalone waited while Rose caught up.
"Is this your favorite beach?" Rose asked.
Abalone smiled. She held her hand, palm out toward Rose, telling her to stay. Rose sat down on the ground. Abalone smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Then she turned around and walked into the ocean. She almost missed Grace below the water.
Grace surfaced cautiously in front of her. "You know it was a bad idea to bring her here, right?" Grace asked, still in Abalone's voice.
Abalone nodded, wishing she could convey more meaning in that gesture.
Grace laughed. "Are you ready to come back, then?"
Abalone nodded.
Grace reached out her hand and put it on Abalone's throat. It had felt strange to have her voice removed, but it almost felt more strange to have it put back. Abalone felt her body changing, and she dove beneath the waves to make it easier on herself. The process was easier this time.
"Good luck with her," Grace said, her voice still sounding slightly like Abalone's.
"Thank you," Abalone replied. "For all of this."
"Of course," Grace replied. Then she swam away.
Abalone came back above the water and was startled to find Rose wading out into the water.
"Oh thank God," Rose said. "I thought you had drowned!"
"I'm fine," Abalone said.
"Oh good," Rose said. She started and looked at Abalone again. "You can talk?"
"Now I can," Abalone said. "You trusted me yesterday, and now I'm trusting you." Twisting herself, Abalone brought the end of her tail up above the water.
"What?" Rose asked. "What is that?"
"It's my tail," Abalone told her calmly. "I traded my voice for legs and I've just traded back."
"Oh," Rose said, weakly.
"But we can still be friends," Abalone said. "I just have to stay in the water when we talk."
"Right," Rose said.
"Are you all right?" Abalone asked.
"Sure. I just need to sit down."
Abalone and Rose talked for awhile and agreed to meet again the next day. It took Rose some time, but eventually she got used to Abalone's differences and ended up using Abalone as a model for some of her paintings. Abalone was so happy she had met someone other than Daniel on land.
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