Gifts from the Sea

Tehani pawed at the wet sand, making grooves with his toes. A wave rolled in and smoothed away his footprint. “I want to help,” he said. “But how are we supposed to fight monsters that are at the bottom of the sea?”

“If River and Hotaru were here, they could probably help,” Bryte muttered.

“That’s not fair!” Tehani protested. “They didn’t know anything like this would happen.”

Bryte threw another palm frond onto the pile she was making. She shot Tehani a devilish look. “Instead of a carnival, they’d rather be spending lovey-dovey time together.”

“Bryte!”

She giggled and bounded off to look for more fallen fronds.

Tehani gave a tolerant sigh and stepped out onto the rocks that were exposed during low tide. A lot of debris had washed up below Windan. He grabbed another load of driftwood planks and hauled them to the pile he was making on the beach. Tehani again wondered how this was going to be of any help to the kingdom under the sea. It wasn’t like he could swim down there. Nor was he a fighter. He wished there had been more collaboration between everyone. It was frustrating to be sent off to fetch supplies, but not given the greater plan.

He sighed and continued combing the tide pools, hoping his work would be of some help. At least it was a beautiful place to search. He continued adding washed up planks and chunks of drift wood to the pile. Occasionally he’d find a beautiful seashell of some beach glass, and he tucked his treasures in his bag. For a little while, he was able to have fun instead of worrying about everyone under the sea.

“Do you want to switch jobs?” Bryte called as she returned with another load of fallen palm fronds.

“Only if you do. I like this job.”

“Okay. I’m almost done, then I’m going to start shredding these leaves to make some rope. Join me whenever you’re done.”

The tide was mostly out when he started, but by the time he reached the other end of the beach, it was at its lowest point. He was lucky. This looked like a day with a particularly low tide. He decided to go back to the beginning and see if anything else had been revealed now that the water had pulled back more. A conch shell! Wow, it was beautiful. He lifted it and admired the rosy-pink center before tucking it in his bag. Then something else caught his eye. Something long wedged between the rocks. It was hard to pick out its shape under the ever-frothing waves, but he had a suspicion. He left his bag on the sand and waded out into the water. It was farther away than he thought. The water was so clear here. He had to paddle, and a wave washed over him, thoroughly drenching his ears. Well, no point in turning back now. He took a deep breath and dove. Another wave rushed overhead, pushing him back toward shore. He kicked, pushing against the surge. He hadn’t wanted to open his eyes in the ocean, but the wave had forced him away from his target, so he had to. The salt water burned his eyes, and everything was a blur. But there was a long shape protruding from the rocks. He shut his stinging eyes and wrapped his paws around the rod. It was stuck. And he was starting to run out of air. He braced his back feet against the rock and wrenched the object. For a second, nothing happened. Then it twisted loose and he tumbled backward. He pushed off the sandy bottom and kicked toward the surface. He sucked in air, gripping the cold rod between his paws.

“Tehani!”

He squinted toward shore to see Bryte swimming toward him.

“Are you okay? I saw you go under!”

“I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you.” He used his back feet to paddle toward her, which was difficult with the rod he carried.

“What were you doing?”

She swam alongside him until the two felt sand beneath their feet once again.

Tehani blinked his salty eyes and lifted the item out of the water.

“Wha- oooh.”

The two of them stared at what he held. A harpoon. It was old, battered, and starting to get rusty. A few barnacles clung to it. But It was still sharp, and some of the gleaming blade glowed through the rust.

“I thought it would be useful when we go fight those monsters at sea.” Tehani held it out toward Bryte. “This is for you. You’re a better fighter.”