The Daughters of the Sea (On Edit)

For A Child of the Sea, to Long is to Reach for Tragedy's Hand (Pt 1)

"What are you doing?" Jonathan asked during his latest visit.

"Hmm?" Selena turned to him for a bit and then capped the inkwell. "Oh, I am making a study guide for beginners." She showed him the papers she was working on. The letters of the alphabet were paired by their capital and smaller versions, written neatly in a line. It reminds Jonathan of grade school.

"Okay. . . but it didn't really answer my question."

"It's for the girl. She seemed willing to learn to read when I mentioned it to her," she replied as she tacked the papers on her desk into a neat pile. "I have no experience in teaching, so I prepared some things to help with the learning."

After that night, when the girl fell asleep as Selena combed her hair, she became more amiable to her. She still hissed at anyone who tried to get close to her and would try to bite the hands that would try to touch her, including her father when he visited on the second day. But she seemed to not mind when Selena did it. It frightened many of the maids and troubled poor Neni greatly. At least when Selena is present, she could chastise the girl for trying to cause bodily harm to others.

Jonathan huffed and leaned by the desk. "Don't you think you're spending far too much time with that girl? It's been five days, and I've barely seen you leave your house."

"Has it been that long?"

"See?" he pointed. " Why do you have to spend so much time with that girl anyway? She's been hostile from the day she woke up."

"She acts better to you compared to the maids."

"Not my main point!"

Selena blinked a couple of times before turning to look at her friend. ". . . Why do you seem so bothered by this?" Has there been any problems she's not aware of? Jonathan looked at her with widened eyes before diverting his gaze, refusing to say anything else. When she was about to prod him further, the town bells rang, signaling that it was already nine in the morning. Selena then gathered the materials she was working with, with Jonathan helping after another few moments of sulking. Together, the two of them went to the strange girl's room, only for them to find said girl sprawled on the floor with her face pinched in pain.

"Are you alright?" Both Selena and Jonathan hurriedly put down their things, with Selena helping the girl sit up straight. "Did you fall off the bed again?"

The girl did not answer, only glaring at her legs. Ah.

"Is it still painful for you to stand and walk?" Selena asked. There are no signs of injuries on her legs, and her motor response seemed normal when she did some tests (she made a personal note on that: stand a good distance away from the patient, lest you want to get kicked in the face). Despite looking healthy enough, the girl could barely take three steps before collapsing, face wracked in pain. At least her improvement is fast, and she could now walk around the room at least once before it became too painful. Selena was concerned, of course. But she is also very much curious. It looks like quite an interesting case.

"Will you let us help?"

The girl blinked at them but made no indication of rejection. Selena took it as an agreement and helped the other stand up, her legs shaking slightly. Truly fascinating. It could be a psychological trauma, but she had no way of testing that hypothesis. How would she even go about proving it? Maybe she could convince the girl for some tests.

"Uh, Sel?" Jonathan called to her. "You're expression's a little. . ."

Selena cleared her throat. "I've brought something," she said as she went to grab the papers. "As you seem to enjoy rummaging with all the books I initially brought here, I thought you'd enjoy them better if you know how to read them." The girl perked at that, probably remembering the last time they talked about it. Her eyes lit up, curiosity and eagerness visible. It was a look that Selena preferred on her, as she looked much closer to her age than the blank, haunted look she often had whenever she looked in the direction of the window, gazing into the open sea.