The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler [22]
“That’s right, Shona.”
“So he came to Shiprock?” I asked.
“He did indeed.”
Shona bounced off her seat. “Did you meet him?”
Mrs. Tailspin nodded.
“Really? What’s he like?”
“Angry, loud, covered in gold — but with a certain charisma.”
“Wow!” Shona gazed at Mrs. Tailspin.
“The preparation took weeks,” she continued. “As you know, Neptune can become most unhappy if he is not presented with adequate jewels and crystals when he visits. Our menfolk went on daily searches under the rocks. We made him a new scepter as a present.”
“Was he pleased?”
“Very. He gave the town a dolphin as a thank-you.”
“So, did the meetings stop?” I asked. “Between the merpeople and the humans?”
“Sadly, no. They continued to meet in secret. I don’t know how they lived with themselves, defying Neptune like that.”
“And the marriage . . . ?” I asked, holding my breath.
“Yes, there was a merman. A poet. Jake. He married one of the women at Rainbow Rocks —”
Something stirred in the back of my mind; thoughts that I couldn’t quite grasp, like bubbles that burst as soon as you touch them.
Shona didn’t look at me. “What was his last name?” she asked, her voice jagged like the library walls.
Mrs. Tailspin patted her bun again. Tutted. Squinted. “Whirlstand? Whichmap? Wisplatch? No, I can’t remember.”
Looking down, I closed my eyes. “Was it Windsnap?” I asked.
“Windsnap! Yes, that might have been it.”
The bubbles turned to rocks and started clogging up my throat.
“And they had a daughter,” she continued. “That was when they were caught.”
“When exactly was this?” I managed to squeeze out.
“Let’s see . . . twelve or thirteen years ago.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“Gave themselves away with that. The silly woman brought the child to Rainbow Rocks and that was when we got him.”
“Got him? What did they do to him?” Shona asked.
“Prison,” Mrs. Tailspin said with a proud smile. “Neptune decided to make an example of him. He said Jake would be locked up for life.”
“What about the baby?” I asked, swallowing hard while I waited for her to reply.
“Baby? Goodness knows. But we stopped that one.” Mrs. Tailspin smiled again. “That’s what you’ll be doing when you’re a siren, Shona. You’ll be as good as that.”
Shona reddened. “I haven’t completely decided what I want to be yet,” she said.
“Very well.” Mrs. Tailspin glanced around the room. Mergirls and boys were still reading. Some were talking quietly in groups. “Now, girls, if there’s nothing else, I must check on my library group.”
“Yes. Thanks,” I managed to say. I don’t know how.
We sat in silence after she’d gone.
“It’s me, isn’t it?” I said eventually, staring ahead of me at nothing.
“Do you want it to be?”
“I don’t know what I want. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Shona swam in front of me and made me look at her. “Emily, maybe we can find out more. He’s still alive! He’s out there somewhere!”
“Yeah, in prison. For life.”
“But at least he didn’t want to leave you!”
Perhaps he still thought about me. Perhaps I could find out more.
“I think we should go back to the shipwreck,” Shona said.
“What? No way!”
“Think about it! Your mom’s dream, what Mrs. Tailspin said in the lesson. They might have gone there together!”
Maybe she was right. I didn’t have any better ideas. “I’ll think about it,” I said. “Give me a few days.”
“Wednesday, then.”
“Okay.”
“Look, I’d better be heading back.” I slithered over to the spiral tube.
“Will you be all right?”
“Yeah.” I tried to smile. Would I? That was anyone’s guess.
I swam home through the silent water, my thoughts as crowded and unfathomable as the sea.
“Are you eating that or playing with it?” Mom asked over the top of her glasses as I stirred my cereal, watching the milk turn brown and the flakes fade into a soggy beige.
“What? Huh? Oh, sorry.” I took a mouthful, then stirred some more.
Mom had the Times spread out in front of her. She flicked through the pages, tutting every now