Abigail and the Seamonster, pt. 6

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

I know I said this would be the last installation of A&TS, but the thing gets longer the more I write. Hopefully, though, this is the SECOND to last.

THE SEAMONSTER SWAM for what seemed a very long time. After awhile the bright blue surface of the water above them began to turn darker. Abby found herself growing sleepy. She tried to keep her eyes open--she was afraid she would lose her grip on the seamonster's neck if she wasn't awake, but finally her eyes shut and she drifted off to sleep.

She woke up to the sound of water streaming past her ears. She gasped, and shook herself awake. The seamonster's neck and head were stretching out of the water. She looked up and saw the sky was dark blue, streaked with orange and red from the setting sun behind them. Her house on the hill above them was white as teeth as it caught the last light of the day. They were home!

The seamonster lowered her slowly until she could slide off his neck onto the shore. She started to run up to the house, but then turned back toward him, suddenly shy, and said softly, "Thank you for showing me the lake."

"You're welcome, child. I had a good time today."

She paused before she asked her next question. She wasn't sure how to say it. "Will I get to see you again?" she finally asked.

He chuckled. "Yes, child, you will see me again. I have many other things to show you in the lake." She smiled and clapped her hands. "But," he added, more seriously, "Remember three things. First, you can only breathe underwater when you're with me. You'll drown if you try it on your own, just like your parents taught you when you learned how to swim. Second, wait for me. I hear you whenever you call for me, but I won't always come right away. Sometimes it might even be days or weeks, but I'll come. Be patient. And third, always tell your parents before you come to see me. Can you remember these things?" Abby nodded. "Good. Now go on home. I suspect you're hungry by now, and I think your mother is about to serve dinner."

Abby suddenly realized that she was hungrier than she had ever been in her entire life. She waved goodbye to the seamonster and ran up the hill to her house. She burst through the door and ran to the kitchen, where her mother was taking something off the stove.

"Hey, honey. Where have you been? Why are you wet?" her mother asked.

Abigail looked down at herself and realized she was dripping lake water all over the floor. "Mama! Mama! I went with the seamonster! He took me under the lake! There was a boat and fish and trees and, and--"

"That's great honey, but let me get you a towel." Her mother went to another room to get a towel, and Abby followed her, telling her about her day. She was hopping up and down she was so excited. After her father got home they set down to eat, and Abby talked about the seamonster all through dinner. Her parents didn't say anything but smiled while they listened to her talk and looked at each other from time to time.

Her father tucked her into bed that night. Her excitement had worn off, and she found she was sleepy. She nearly dozed off even before her father could finish tucking her in, and when he asked her a question she didn't realize he was talking to her. He shook her gently by the shoulder and asked her again.

"Honey, I'm glad you had fun today. What was your favorite thing that the seamonster showed you?"

She tried to think, but it was hard. "When we swam through the fish, I guess." She yawned, and then remembered something. "Daddy, how can you spell your name with numbers?"

"How can I spell my name with numbers?" He was teasing her, and she giggled.

"No, how can anyone spell their name with numbers?"

"I don't think you can, honey. That's not what numbers are for. Why do you want to know?" he asked.

"The seamonster told me that when I could spell my name with numbers he'd tell me how far it is to the other side of the lake."

Her father laughed. "Sometimes the seamonster has a funny way of telling people things. I think what he meant was that the distance across the lake can't really be measured."

"Oh. Daddy, how do you know the seamonster?"

"Same as you, honey. He introduced himself to me. Now it's time for you to go to sleep." He kissed her goodnight and left the room, turning out the light on his way out, but Abby was already asleep.

# posted by Daniel at 8:41 PM.

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