He raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like you’re…” I shrugged. “Like you’re thinking about something…”
His jaw clenched. “Like what?”
“I don’t know.” I tilted my head and smiled, not knowing why I found this amusing. “Like you’re thinking about me?”
He exhaled slowly and ran a hand over his face. “Maybe. We need to talk.”
I nodded. “We will.”
And then he was studying me, his gaze moving to my lips, my hands, and I became even more self conscious. Was he studying my eyes? When would he ask about it? Or would he? The thought made my stomach twist. What would he say if I told him the truth about my eyesight?
A muscle ticked in his jaw and my heart skipped a beat. “You should rest,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“You too.” I don’t know what overcame me, but we’d never spokenplayfullylike this before. It was the first time I felt… in control. Like he really didn’t know what to do around me, like there might be something deep inside of him that had feelings forme.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking.
But still… for whatever reason, it thrilled me.
The next day,I suggested we take a walk along the beach to help Alaric get his strength back. Maybe I also hoped he would tell me whatever it was he wanted to say the previous night.
He slept in awfully late, a testament to the after-effects of yesterday’s long walk. But now, walking barefoot along the white sand beach, I couldn’t help but notice just how alive and healthy he looked. His warm tan, his dark hair, his toned arms–it was all such a stark difference to the first time I saw him.
The waves lapped playfully along the shore, the sun shone in the sky, and the mist and splashes of whales portrayed a beautiful sight in the distance.
Alaric put his hands in his pockets while I carried asmall basket to collect shells and sea glass I found along the way.
He was quiet, his jaw set, like he was thinking again. After I picked up a fewpukashells and showed him, I looked up to see him studying me, not the shells. “Why were those children chanting about you yesterday, Malia? Is that why you were crying when I found you?”
Oh.Is that what he wanted to talk about?
My heart sank. “Maybe… People like to find someone to tease and fear. It just happens to be me.”
“Why would they even come up with a chant about you eating children?” He frowned. “That’s so… revolting.”
My heart sank further, as if it wasn’t already buried in the deepest part of the island. I shrugged and kept walking. Before Alaric could ask more questions about my being a witch, I pointed to the distance.
“Look.”
Humpback whales breached in the sea, causing white splashes that misted away in the wind. Their tails were beautiful as they dove up and down, water shooting from their blowholes.
“I used to think the whales sang just for me,” I said. Alaric stood next to me, close enough now that his arm touched mine. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms. He folded his arms and watched the whales.
“When I was little, I'd sneak to the shore in the mornings and sit for hours, listening,” I continued, not sure why I was sharing this with him. What did he care? Yet I said it anyway. “They were... the only ones who weren’t out to hurt me. I loved listening to them and imagined that they cared enough to listen to me too.”
Alaric looked at me. “You’re always someone worth listening to.”
My breath hitched and I quickly looked away, allowing my curtain of hair to hide my face from his view. The waves continued to beat against the shore, rushing past our ankles. My heart pounded, and it took me a moment to respond.
“There are nights I wonder why I’m still here. Why I was spared. I feel like a ghost of someone I was meant to be. I feel like… just... leftovers.”
Another whale breached, twisting so one moment we saw its white underbelly and the next its deep blue back. I blinked fast, knowing I should stop talking. I was making a fool of myself and proving the very fact that nobody cared to listen to me. But I wanted to finish my thought anyway, because what if? What if Alaric didn’t mind listening to me?
“But when I hear them. The whales… I wonder—maybe Akua didn’t forget me. Maybe He kept me here for a reason. I just... haven’t seen it yet.”
Alaric stepped closer, carefully, as if any wrong move might shatter me. Now we were facing each other and my heart was pounding so loudly, I was sure he could hear it.
