Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret

Chapter 1 The Middle of the Ocean

CHAPTER 1 

The Middle of the Ocean

Miri grew up not knowing she was different. You might wonder how that could possibly happen. The fact is, she didn't look all that different. She was a bit on the small side, to be sure, but that was all most people noticed.  

A few people noticed that she was a little clumsy. Like the time she did a pirouette in the cafeteria. One little bobble traveled all the way down the lunch line like dominoes, complete with flying trays at the end. Or like the time she flew through the kitchen and knocked a pitcher of orange juice off the counter. The floor was sticky for a month. Or the time she managed to fall up the stairs. Actually, that happened more than once. But things like that weren't Miri's fault. She was just naturally clumsy. Anyone who looked carefully would have noticed that her feet, while not big for her age, were rather big for her size. 

To tell Miri's story properly, we need to go back to the beginning. And to go back to the beginning, we need to go back to the middle. The middle of the ocean.

In the middle of the ocean, everything is blue. The water is a deep, ripply blue. The sky is a smooth, luminescent blue. Under all this blueness, the ocean hides its secrets. In the middle of the ocean, it is quiet.  

But on this, the last day before the summer solstice, into the quiet came the hum of a motor, and into the blue came a white boat. Foam peeled away from the prow like scissors cutting through fabric. A woman with red hair streaming out behind her stood at the railing. The woman's name was Stella Attwater, and Miri would come to know her as her mom. Stella held herself with a regal bearing, but like an octopus blending in among the corals on a reef, she was hiding a secret.  

The hum of the motor dropped in pitch. The boat slowed, came to a stop, and rocked gently on the waves. Stella stayed where she was, her hands resting lightly on the railing, looking out across the water. A man with dark wavy hair and a spring in his step bounded out on deck and crossed over to her. 

"There it is," he said as he put his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder, "home sweet home." 

"Not quite," she answered and remained rigid at the rail. "But almost."  

She sighed and relaxed against him.  

"Oh, Rick, I wish I could be sure we're doing right thing. I'm so terribly happy about it, but that's selfish of me." 

Rick straightened up and grinned down at her. "No more selfish than me wanting you for myself, and see how well that turned out?" He gave her a squeeze. 

Stella smiled back up at him. "I can't argue with that."

That night, a full moon peeked over the edge of the ocean and lit a watery zigzag path from the moon to the boat. Stella again stood alone on the deck. And waited. 

A soft breeze played with the ends of her hair. Gentle waves slapped a rhythm on the hull. The steadily rising moon broke away from the silver path that anchored it to the ocean and floated free in the sky. And still she waited. 

There was a gentle splash and a head broke the surface of the water. Stella bounced up and down on her toes and waved her arms. "Pssss, Nerina! Over here!" 

Nerina's head disappeared. Stella continued to hop excitedly on the deck as if she wanted to dive into the water, but something was holding her back.  

Nerina surfaced again next to the boat. A few shimmering drops clung to the top of her head and her wavy hair flared out softly on the surface of the dark water. She smiled up at Stella. "You came!" 

"Of course I came." 

"I was afraid you would change your mind," said Nerina. Her smile disappeared as her eyes searched the deck. "Or he would." 

"Never!" said Stella. "After all that's happened. That you still trust me..." Her voice choked to a halt. 

"Oh, Stella, don't be so dramatic," said Nerina. "Have you made any more progress on that treaty-thing? What do you call it? An ocean reserve?" 

Stella blinked rapidly to clear her eyes. "You know politics. Things move about as fast as jellyfish. We're hoping new data from this trip will help." 

"So you're staying around?" said Nerina sharply. Her voice escalated in alarm. "And diving?" 

"Just for a few days." 

"Is he diving?"  

Stella sighed. "Of course," she said. "And Rick has a name, you know. Really, it wouldn't hurt you - " 

Nerina cut her off. "Well, be sure you move out to the perimeter before you dive. They've been adding patrols." 

"Are the sightings increasing?" 

"Practically every day. " 

"And Father still thinks you can stay hidden?" said Stella incredulously. "Didn't you tell him - " 

One of Nerina's hands flew up out of the water with a splash to stop her. "Ever since you left, if I so much as mention leggers he flares up like a lion fish. He blames you for the increase in sightings you know." 

"That's not fair!" said Stella as she stomped her foot. "My leaving has nothing to do with it. For Neptune's sake, Rick and I are working on the ocean reserve to restrict diving. But even that won't keep leggers completely away. With scuba getting so popular, nothing can. You've got to make him see that." 

"You think I haven't tried? For some reason the more sightings there are, the more he buries himself in the sand like a skate, the more convinced he is that we have to stay hidden. The ironic thing is," Nerina's grin returned, "I imagine that you're hidden the best of all of us up there in plain sight. She will definitely be safer with you." 

"She? It's a girl?" 

In answer, Nerina lifted a large bubble out of the water with both hands. Water cascaded off it, and the moonlight illuminated the silhouette of a baby sleeping inside. 

"She's beautiful!" said Stella as she leaned out over the rail. Her arms reached out to take the bubble. "What's her name?" 

"Marina Lorelei Oceanus Poseidon." 

"That name's bigger than you are, little guppy," Stella cooed to the baby. The baby stirred, turned over, and snuggled down on her tummy. "I think we'll call you Miri." 

"Oh, for tuna's sake," said Nerina in disgust. 

Stella looked up. "What?"  

"Nothing, nothing," said Nerina. "I've got to get back. The patrols will be coming around again before long." She held up a delicate gold chain with a dangling pearl. "Here's her necklace." 

Stella reached down to take it and held on to Nerina's hand for a moment. "Dive safely." 

"I will," answered Nerina. "Walk safely. Or whatever it is you do now." She ducked down into the water. And with a flip of tail fins, she was gone.

Later that night, when the moon was high above the ocean, it shone down through the window of the boat and onto the baby sleeping inside the bubble. The baby squirmed and stretched. She opened her eyes and looked wide-eyed up at the moon. Then she reached out, with a single finger, to touch the moon. And the bubble popped.

Note from E.S. Ivy: I hope you're enjoying MIRI ATTWATER AND THE OCEAN'S SECRET. If you enjoyed this - I'd love to know by way of a vote or comment!

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