The Maid and The Selkie

Part 12

The next time Macrae came, a month later, Elspeth made sure she was not the only one providing food. Elspeth hunted more than she needed to, gathered some of the fish she did not eat, and held them patiently.

Macrae seemed delighted to receive a gift in return from her ocean friend, but would not eat the raw fish.

"Oh, thank you, but-" Macrae closed her mouth when Elspeth held the dead thing closer to her face. Elspeth was confused. She knew Macrae knew how to eat. Maybe she thought it was... poisoned?

Elspeth took a big bite out of the fish she was holding to prove it was fine. Macrae appeared to go slightly green at the sight.

"No, Elspeth, you have to cook it."

Elspeth knotted her eyebrows. "Coook?" she said with a still full mouth. The word felt exceedingly foreign on her lips. A look of horror flashed on Macrae's face.

"Do you... Ok, just wait here." The Cloakless backed away slowly before running back into the forest behind her.

Elspeth waited, patient and curious, until Macrae came back with a bundle of wood. Then she watched, enthralled by her friend's movement

Macrae built a small circle of stones and piled her wood inside it, explaining every step as she went. "Don't touch anything inside the circle." Elspeth found this very difficult. Macrae grabbed a sparkling stone a small knife out of her packet and struck one against the other. "If you don't have kindling, the bigger logs won't light," she said as the "kindling" flared to light.

Galdur! Elspeth thought. Mother had alway told her Cloakless could not use magic. She reached to touch the fire; Macrae slapped her hand.

"You'll burn yourself!" Elspeth pouted. Macrae leaned back and observed her fire with pride. "Ok, give me a fish - no a new one - we have to - thank you - we have to clean it first."

Elspeth crouched next to her friend and watched her slice the fish, removing a setting aside all the things that Elspeth had always thought tasted the worst. She then skewered each fish on a stick and stuck them in the sand, leaning over the fire. Macrae repeated these steps until she had done it with each fish.

"Now we wait!" The Cloakless exclaimed. Elspeth pouted with more exaggeration and curled into a ball.

"Why must you always wait," she complained. Macrae giggled.

"Well, my Papa always said that 'good things come to those who will wait', and he was a very smart man."

The silence that followed was unbearable for Elspeth.

"Mother alway told me never to bother waiting." Macrae looked at her friend.

"Wait for what?"

"Her," Elspeth paused. "But I did not listen. I am still waiting. She would be furious."

"Oh," Macrae said quietly. "Well, that's ok. I'm still waiting for Papa to come back too." The silence was a little easier to bear after that. In the end, Elspeth had to agree that waiting for the fish was worth it.