Serenitatem

Chapter 10

Elle wished that Maretown was with the times so she could just type in her last name and hit search. It would have saved her from the paper cuts she received rifling through files.

At least they knew how to alphabetize, so there were only about a dozen boxes of C's to look through to find Cereni, Margaret.

"Why do we need to know your mother's last name?" Tal had asked.

"Because we can find her file and any records on her," Elle explained crossly, handing him a box. She didn't tell him that she had no idea if the marriage certificate would be there. If her father had lived here, what if he had it under his name instead? Then she'd never find it.

The two sat in silence as they searched for the file. Elle was hardly glancing at the names as she feared the security guard would come in any second and say their time was up. After ten boxes, her fingers had several paper cuts, her hair was sweaty and hot against her neck, and her head hurt from reading too fast.

Pulling open at second to last box, heart beating, Elle scanned the names and froze. She saw four files labeled "Cereni," one for each grandparent, one for Uncle Axel, and her mother's. Without a word to Tal, she ripped the file open and scanned the top document. "Born July 15th, 1979- this is it!" she shouted.

Tal scurried over, a big smile on his face. "Great! What does it say?"

Hands shaking, Elle flipped through the papers and found her parents' marriage certificate. Margaret Cereni and-", she reread the name, " SekkinUnknown." She frowned. "Why doesn't he have a last name? It does't make any sense!" Elle jumped to her feet.

Tal shrugged. "What's the big deal? I don't have a last name."

Elle stared at him. "You don't have a-? Never mind." She jogged out of the room and found the security guard.

He beamed at her. "Find everything you need, miss?"

Slightly breathless, Elle handed him the certificate. "My- my father's last name is unknown. How could someone not have a last name?" She was nearly in tears. So close!

"Well, there are some people who do not have a last name for historical reasons or it was the way their family issued their birth certificate," the guard answered. "Some people would then legally make their last name the same as their first name, but it wasn't the case here it seems."

Defeated, Elle returned the document to the box and left without Tal. She stormed down the street, not really caring where she was going. Sekkin. A first name. What good was that?

"Hey wait!" Tal caught up to her, panting strangely hard for only jogging a few yards. "You forgot the bike!" He caught her expression and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," Elle growled, frustrated. "Everything was a total waste of time!" She turned and walked away ignoring Tal, who followed her like a lost dog. She was so foolish she could figure it out, like it was a fun mystery or something. Well, she wasn't Nancy Drew or Sherlock Holmes. She was just Elle. A girl with a broken family and a weird boy who wouldn't leave her alone.

She was so distracted at scolding herself, she didn't realize she was at the pier until the harsh cries of the seagulls reached her ears once again. All around her was a bustle of activity. Fishermen were cleaning their boats, hauling in catches, and talking amiably to one another. Elle wrinkled her nose as the odor of fish reached them.

Tal, who was seemingly immune to the stench, was staring in open-mouthed excitement at everything around him. His head was swiveling like a periscope as he tried to take it all in at once. As if suddenly remembering she was there, Tal turned to Elle excitedly, "We're so close to the water here! Its so amazing!"

Elle failed at hiding her annoyance. "Yeah, its a pier. Haven't you seen one before? Next you'll be shocked that the water is actually below us too."

Tal's astonished expression at the wood beneath them confirmed this at once. Elle was trying to figure out how to get back to the house when she spotted Uncle Axel a few yards down the pier. He was leaning over the rail of his boat, talking to one of the fishermen as the latter was waving his arms around and pointing excitedly out into the water.

She jumped as Tal spoke right into her ear. "Isn't that Axel over there on his boat?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

"Maybe he can give us a ride around the coast! Let's go ask him!"

Before Elle could protest, the boy was sprinting down the pier. She had half a mind to leave him, but grudgingly followed him. As silly as Tal was sometimes, he was actually willing to spend time with her and be nice, unlike the snobs that graced her school back home.

When she reached them, Tal was looking eagerly between the boat and Axel as the animated fisherman was still talking, ignoring his presence completely. Finally, Axel raised his hand. "Enough, Clark. I'm not changing my tour route so you can go mermaid hunting on my boat okay?"

Elle jerked her head in the direction of the two men, suddenly interested.

Clark wasn't giving up. "I swear by it! I saw one off by the riptide rocks. It looked like it was trying to get to the other side, but it dove deep when I tried to get closer."

"What did it look like?" Tal asked quickly. As if someone has flicked a switch, the light was gone from his green eyes and a shadow had crossed his face.

The fisherman didn't notice the change in his demeanor and launched right into it. "Well its skin was dark, which is why I didn't almost see it against the rocks, and I think its tail was gray, or silver I guess. No coverings at all, and its hair was short." He closed his eyes. "You know what? It might have been male."

"Really?" Axel snorted. "You're full of it, Clark."

Tal didn't look like he thought so. He took a few steps back, looking sick. "What's the matter with you?" Elle asked, concerned.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Finally, he gasped, "Nothing."

And he ran off.