Daughter of the Sea

4. About Her Past

Amaya was wrong. It didn't happen very often, but with Kai, she was learning to expect the unexpected.

"I'm telling you, it's a squid," Kai said, trying to coax the reluctant creature out from behind a rocky outcrop.

"Hmm. It looks like a cuttlefish to me," Amaya countered.

"That's a great guess, except you're a couple of oceans off. The Caribbean doesn't have cuttlefish."

He had a point, which was rather annoying.

"Maybe it got lost during its annual migration? Climate change is a thing, despite what some people believe."

"What? Some people don't believe in rising sea temperatures?" Kai asked, his voice dripping in confusion. "Humans are so clueless about environmental problems."

Amaya opened her mouth to protest, but the squid chose that moment to jet away in a stream of ink. Unfortunately, her face took the brunt of the blast.

She coughed, trying to clear the murky water from her stinging eyes. Kai was too overcome with laughter to provide any help. She tried washing the smile off his face by splashing him, but the small crest of water slid harmlessly off his chest. Kai gave her a look that seemed to ask, Do you really want to go there? before slapping his powerful tail, drenching her.

"Kai!" she sputtered, dragging her waterlogged braid off her face.

He grinned mischievously, but his smile petered out when he caught sight of a plastic bag floating by her head. The shredded handles waved in the current like ghostly tentacles.

"It's sad, what's happening to the world's oceans," he said as he reached out, snagging the bag before it found its way into a hapless whale's stomach.

Amaya nodded in agreement. "I've heard about the floating patch of garbage in the Pacific. It's devastating to hear about, and I can't imagine what it's like for your people."

"Not all the reefs around the island are this nice. I could show you one of the less fortunate ones tomorrow," Kai offered. He smiled shyly, adding, "If you'd like to see me again, that is."

Amaya hesitated. Spending time alone with Kai sounded like a bad idea. Nevertheless, she found herself saying, "I'd love that."

His face lit up. "Great! Let's meet at the Coral Blanco reef. It's on the northern side of the island."

She nodded, committing the name to memory. Puerto Rico was a large island, but the reef shouldn't be too hard to find. The people working at her hotel might be able to help, and her friend Google could fill in any missing gaps.

Kai helped her swim to shore, although he made sure nobody was around before he did so. Amaya watched as he flicked his bleached blonde hair off his face, his eyes twinkling with mischievous delight. He gave a final wave before slipping beneath the waves.

~§~

Amaya had been in dangerous situations before. There was the time she almost crashed into a semi-truck when the steering broke in her father's rusty pickup. Then there was the unexpected cave-diving she'd done earlier this week, where she'd swam through a narrow crack in the cliff with a strange merman.

But this encounter took the cake.

"Mira este hermoso cabello," an elderly woman said as she grabbed a handful of Amaya's long, wavy hair.

She hoped the lady was commenting on her salt-encrusted curls instead of making plans for a kidnapping. The old woman didn't look like the murderous type, but one could never be too certain.