Far from the Sea

The Change

Kai's had aspirations for the treehouse. Liesel tried to assure him that it was more than big enough for the two of them, but he'd hear no sense. The need to forage for more building materials necessitated daily trips into the forest.

"Wish we'd find another cottage," he said. "I'm almost out of nails."

"Why are we cutting down all of these trees if you've no nails to make them into anything?" Liesel moaned in reply.

He shrugged. "To be prepared, I supposed. Besides, what else have you got to do today?" When she shrugged, he added, "Thought so."

They followed the stream's path farther than before. The foliage changed. Gone were the dark pines, replaced with bushes rife with berries and flowering trees. It widened as they walked. A faint crashing sound could be heard in the distance. Intrigued, they continued on. The incline of the ground steepened until it suddenly gave way to air as the rock sharply terminated. Kai broke away to peer over the cliff's with Liesel close behind. "A waterfall?" she asked, short of breath.

"Yes, but look." He pointed down at a pool below that collected the stream's overflow. "So much water falling into it, but the surface is so calm. Barely a ripple, and only where falls hit directly."

"Strange." And it was strange. But beautiful all the same. The pool's glassy surface showed a perfect image of the trees that framed its edge, and in the middle, the sky and clouds. "Feelin' up to a swim?" she asked Kai with a reckless grin.

"Race you down," he answered.

The descent was rough. Halfway down, the ground crumbled unexpectedly. Kai wobbled, but remained upright. Liesel went down with a shriek. Her arms flew out to brace her fall and caught a jutting branch instead. Its barked scraped her elbow. She swore and pressed her hand to the cut to stop the blood, pushing Kai away when he offered comfort. "Nothing to fuss over," she said, quickening her pace toward the water. When she reached the edge, she peeled off her shirt and let her skirt fall around her feet. She dove in without caution, cutting a path through the cold heaviness before breaking for air. At the surface, she pushed her hair from her eyes and turned to see Kai standing on the shore wearing a lopsided grin. She raked her hand over the water to send a splash his way. "Are you comin' in or are you gonna stand there gawking at me like a loon?" she shouted.

Still grinning, he pulled off his shirt and trousers and waded in.

She swam to the center of the lake and turned belly up. Lying on her back with her eyes to the sky, she heard her father's voice echo in her memory: "You're a fine swimmer, lass. My little porpoise." When she was a child, he'd patiently taught her to swim in a small lake near their home. He stayed in close range, always ready to pull her from danger if she struggled to keep herself afloat. It was just another show of his determination to protect her from any of the world's dangers. How long had it been since she'd last enjoyed the comfort of his protection? Remembering sent a dull ache through her chest. Kai's voice penetrated her thoughts. "How do you do that? It takes everything I have to not drown."

With a sigh, she righted herself, treading water as she regarded him. "Don't know. Always been able to. Thought you'd be a better swimmer, seeing as you've spent so much time on a ship."

"Sailing's more about staying out of the water. If you've need to swim, somethin's gone terribly wrong."

"Fair enough." She glided to his side and took his arm. Pulling gently, she led him out of the shallows, feeling his constant motion beneath the water's surface and the tension in his muscles. "Hold onto me," she said. With little effort, she rolled both of them onto their backs and slid an arm across Kai's chest. With long strokes, she propelled them beneath the falls and onto a ledge of rock that protruded from the cliff. Kai climbed atop it, and Liesel followed. She wrung out her hair and realized that the scrape on her arm no longer stung. When she regarded it, she found none of the angry red flesh of before, but a thin white layer of skin spanning the cut. "It's healing? But how. I cut it not ten minutes ago."