The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [77]
Thoosa piped up, "I picture a cloud of squid ink!"
"Very good. And you, Achelous?"
"I picture an upside-down basket on top of my mean thoughts."
Merrow smiled. "Lena? Do you have a particular image that works for you?"
"Yes," said Lena. "I picture a curtain falling over my private thoughts."
"What's a curtain?" asked Thoosa.
"Oh," said Lena. "You don't have windows. Well, see ... okay, let me explain what a house is. On land, humans live in these things called houses. And windows are—"
"Selena," interrupted Merrow. "Let us talk of houses another day. These children are a bit young to comprehend human dwellings. We teach those concepts when they are older. I believe I know what you mean by a curtain, and that image will work quite well for Clouding." He continued on with the lesson. "Lealiki, what do you picture when you want to hide your thoughts?"
Nix appeared at the edge of the school circle, and Lena did not hear another word her grandfather said.
"Shall I teach you to find food?" he asked. His voice was quiet, but Lena felt the pull of his presence like the tide feels the moon.
She dropped a mental curtain over her own thoughts: I can't believe that gorgeous merman wants to be with me.
"May I be excused, Grandfather?" she asked.
Merrow nodded, and Lena swam quickly to Nix's side. He took both of her hands in his large ones. Warmth spread from Lena's fingers all the way to her toes.
"I shall expect a great bounty for my evening meal," Merrow called after them, and they laughed.
Nix released one of her hands but kept hold of the other one, and they swam slowly away from the village. "I confess my offer is made out of self-interest."
"Oh?"
"If I teach you to find food..." He looked at her slyly. "We will have time alone together."
"That's brilliant," sighed Lena.
As they foraged for abalone, Lena did her best to explain how humans acquired food.
"The food is already packaged," she said. "And sold in—" But there was no word for stores in their language. "...in public centers."
"Circles?"
"Um, no. In public buildings. You've seen human buildings, yes?"
"Yes." Nix loved to travel and had seen many human coastal towns, wearing his sealskin cloak as a disguise. "So workers gather the food from the ground and carry it to the centers?"
"Yes!" said Lena. "Farmers grow the crops, harvest them, and sell them in stores. I mean, public centers. Other people raise—" Again, there was no word for livestock in their language. "...certain animals for food. And of course," she said, smiling, "fishermen catch fish for people to eat, too."
"Does no one forage? As we are doing?"
"Well, not really. Some people do. They go out picking—" She thought of berries and mushrooms. "Um, foods that grow in the ground," she amended. "And some people hunt and kill animals for their own families. But most people just buy their food at the ... public center. Using money."
"Ah, yes, money," said Nix. Lena had already explained the concept of money to him. "I like foraging," he said. "Wondering what the sea will yield ... discovering a nest of turtle eggs or a new kelp forest. It must be strange to see so many kinds of food arrayed in one place, and never to know the people who provided it."
Lena smiled. "It does sound strange, when you put it that way. But we have so many, many people on land. Not like the village, where you know everyone."
Nix slowed in his swimming. "It seems a miracle, does it not? That you, from the wide world, should come to our small village." He spoke as if he still couldn't quite believe it.
"No, it's not a miracle," said Lena. "This is my mother's home. It was inevitable that I would come here."
"But you were separated for so long! What if your father had removed you from the town of your birth? You and Melusina might never have found each other."
"True," said Lena, shivering. "I only wish we had found each other years ago."