The Girl Who Stole the TANIWHA'S Heart

Chapter Five: What the Weirdness?

I wonder what they'll say in my obituary. "Sixteen year old girl dies from her own stupidity. A shark came along and felt so sorry for her, that he immediately ate her to put her out of her misery." How cinematic of me. Or maybe, I'll just panic so bad that I'll drown before the blasted thing even reaches me. What will Mams write on my headstone?! Here lies my idiot granddaughter, whom I've managed to outlive. Oh joy. This day just won't let me catch a damn break. The sleek creature glided towards me. With a swift motion, it jolted its head to the left and bumped its body against my own. I don't know what in the hell came over me, but I reached out my hand and ran it over the skin of the shark. There was a tattoo by its left fin. It was familiar tribal ink; similar to designs etched on whale bone and shaped like a swirl jade. I was so mesmerized by the uniqueness of it. The waves, lines, and dots all almost appeared as if they were moving.

       The current picked up exceedingly. Some distance was put between the shark and I, but before I could close the gap, I was sucked under the sea. I blinked my eyes under water (a bad habit I have yet to shake) and saw something zoom past me. About a minute after, I felt the tiny after shock. I emerged at the surface and quickly began rubbing my eyes. "Aye!" Koro pulled my shoulder and faced me towards him. "Why do you do this to me? I don't understand you." I rolled my eyes. "I'm a girl Ko, of course you don't understand me." His grip tightened on my arm as he shook his head. When he opened his eyes, they looked stormy. I was confused. "I just wanted to clear my head," I spoke softly. I didn't have the energy to fight him. And to be completely honest, I didn't want to.

       After what seemed like FOREVER, he gave a huge sigh and turned away from me. "C'mon." He glanced at me, motioning for me to get on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and latch myself onto him. "I think we better skip Goat Island today. I've got somewhere I wanna take you anyways." I scrunched my face and tilted my head. "I thought I knew all your secrets!" He chuckled. It was hearty and full. "I've still got tricks you have yet to discover." I rolled my eyes once more. I decided it'd be best that I didn't talk about the shark. Besides, maybe I was going crazy and imagined it. Koro didn't ask about it, so doesn't matter. When we returned to the truck, I was sad to see his abs get cover up by his tshirt. We drove a ways away from Goat Island. Usually, whenever I get out of the water and immediately into a moving vehicle, I fall asleep...and this time was no different. I was blessed enough to have no dreams this time. Blissful rest.

       The engine was cut –startling me out of my slumber. We were no longer on the highway and the truck was parked in front of a chain linked fence. Men covered in dirt swung open a gate and walked out carrying all kinds of vegetables. I pushed open the door and hopped out to stretch my legs. Koro shuffled around the backseat, grabbing a purple blanket and his ancient, rich hazel nut brown ukulele. It has signatures from local musicians, a couple of diamond stickers, and a pair of brilliant azure eyes painted by yours truly. When he finished locking up the car, he stood next to me with his uk slung over his shoulder. "Here we go."

       We stepped through the gate, previously opened by the men whom I assumed were farmers. There were a few women wearing large hats scattered in different rows of vegetation. A couple of boys scurried past me, and I smiled at their playfulness. Abruptly, I was stopped by a tiny boy who ran smack dab into my right leg. "I'm sorry!" He mumbled, then sprinted away before I could tell him it was alright. Koro grinned, and stayed pretty quiet for most of our walk. "No one stopped us or even questioned where we're going. Isn't that kinda weird?" He smirked. "They know me," Koro explained, "I come here often." I raised an eyebrow. What does he do here exactly? We haven't really spoken to anyone here, so...where are we going... "Is this where you bring girls? To seduce them or something?" He let out a loud laugh and slowly shook his head. "I've never taken anyone here, Halion." My face grew a little hot. I was glad his back was turned to me. He would have given me hell about my pink face.