Abigail and the Seamonster, pt. 1

Part 1 . Part 2 . Part 3 . Part 4 . Part 5 . Part 6 . Part 7

ABIGAIL WAS A GIRL who lived with her mother and father in a house beside an enormous lake. One of Abigail's favorite things to do was to sit and look at the lake. She loved to see the different colors in the water. Sometimes, during the middle of the day, she would look out the window and see the water as blue as the sky. Other times, in the morning or in the evening, the lake was so purple and mysterious that it made her think about all the things that must be down under the water. Sometimes the water was as brown as dirt, and sometimes it was even green.

The lake was so big that she couldn't see the other side, not even when her father took her up on the roof to sit and watch the sun set. Once she asked him, "Daddy, how big is the lake?" They were sitting next to each other on the roof, hugging their knees to their chests. The lake was purple with streaks of orange and red from where it reflected the colors of the sunset.

He thought about her question for a moment, then said, "I don't know, honey."

"Have you ever been to the other side?" she asked.

"No, I haven't," he replied.

"Has anyone?"

He smiled at her and ruffled her hair with his hand. "I know one person who has."

"Who?"

"You haven't met him, yet," he said. "He lives in the lake."

Abigail's mouth made an O in surprise. "He lives in the lake? How does he breath?"

Her father laughed. "I don't know that either, honey. You can ask him when you meet him."

"When will I meet him, daddy?"

"When he wants you to meet him."

This made Abigail grumpy. She wanted to meet the man who lived in the lake now. She thought he must be one of those grownups who came over to her house after she and her brother went to bed, one of the ones who stayed up laughing with the lights on in another room while she laid beneath the covers in the dark and wondered what they were talking about.

The next night her parents had some friends over. After she and her brother went to bed she could hear them in the living room. She couldn't sleep, thinking about the man who lived in the lake. She thought I know he must be in there, right now. She wondered what he might look like. A man who lived in a lake must walk around wet all the time. She imagined him sitting on the couch, dripping water everywhere while he told stories about fish and underwater caves and things he found on the lake bottom that people threw out of boats. Things she wanted to know about.

Abigail couldn't take it any longer. She had to meet him. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed out into the hall with her favorite stuffed animal tucked under one arm. The voices got louder as she got closer to the living room. Light spilled out of the door to the living room into the hall. She held her breath, then peeked around the corner.

All the grownups were sitting around in chairs or on the couch. They were laughing like someone had just told a joke. Her father had his guitar out, leaning against his knee. The man who lived in the lake wasn't there; she didn't see anyone who looked even slightly damp, let alone dripping water. Her mother looked over and saw her looking around the corner of the door.

"Abigail!" she said, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Abigail nodded. All the grownups were looking at her and smiling. She felt very shy.

"Do you want a drink of water?" her mother asked.

Abigail nodded again, and said, "Yes, please," like her parents had taught her to say.

After her mother got her a glass of water she took Abigail back to bed. As her mother was tucking her in, she said, "You know that you should get a drink of water before you go to bed."

Abigail said, "I just wanted to see the man."

"Which man?" her mother asked.

"The one who lives in the lake. Is he in there?"

Because the lights were out she couldn't see her mother's face clearly, but Abigail knew her mother was smiling because of the sound of her voice. "The man who lives in the lake? Did Daddy tell you about him?"

"Yes," Abigail said.

"No, he's not here tonight. Not exactly," her mother added.

"What does 'not exactly' mean?" Abigail asked.

"I can't explain, sweetie," her mother answered. "Go to sleep. Sweet dreams." She kissed Abby on the forehead and left the room.

It took a long time for Abigail to fall asleep, but when she did she dreamed that she was walking on the bottom of the lake with the man who lived there. He had a stringy gray beard and wore a tattered brown suit. They talked for a long time. Bubbles came out of their mouths when they said anything. He showed her all the different fish who lived in the lake and told her their names, but when she woke up she couldn't remember any of them.

# posted by Daniel at 8:42 PM.

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