Witheachpassingday,Tawera’s fascination with the lovely woman increased.His curiosity.His desperation to communicate with her.He stared out of the window into the early morning darkness, thinking, planning.Hoping.
The woman had scrubbed the salt, the sea, the stinky green plant off his outer shell, and he’d slowly dried.Then, she’d moved him from the small room in which water poured from the wall.His new position offered him a view of the sea and the upright black-and-white birds that waddled to and from the water.He recognized their clicks and honks and brays, but until the woman had found him, he hadn’t seen the creature that made these sounds.
This change brought new brightness to his world, and he savored his enhanced senses.Even better, the woman spoke, telling Tawera about her day.Small, inconsequential happenings, some of which mystified him.The lack of communication, however, frustrated him.He’d tried to send his thoughts over and over and over, but they never reached her.
The woman exited her sleeping room, dressed in a soft green garment that bared her long legs, and humming softly.From his position by the window, he couldn’t see her, but he’d learned her routine.She’d eat and prepare for her day, then dress in the strange outdoor clothes that made her resemble a man and leave.Sometimes, she returned for nourishment, while at other times, she stayed away for long hours while he amused himself watching the creatures coming and going from the beach.
“Huh,” she said, capturing his attention.“An email at long last.I’d wondered if Mum and Hana had forgotten me.”
Once again, her words mystified him, but he listened closely, enjoying her soft voice and the way it caressed his mind and calmed his angst.
“I’ll read it to you.”
Yes, he’d enjoy hearing more of her strange world, and he wished she’d stand in front of him so he could admire her beautiful body and study her strange, sometimes scanty clothing.Warmth crept through him, and Tawera welcomed the sensation because it meant he wasn’t entirely crazy.
“‘Dear Nyree, Hana and I are happy living in our new home.Manu and Jessalyn have made us welcome, and because the land is private, we enjoy the solitude, especially during the full moon.Ari came to see me at my job.’”Nyree paused, her voice cracking.She stalked into his range of vision, pale and perturbed.
Tawera had already overheard her angry mutters about this Ari-man.They’d been together, but something terrible had happened.Nyree had left her home to escape.In the days since she’d found Tawera and brought him here, she’d lost the tension in her shoulders.She’d relaxed and laughed more readily.She walked with a spring to her step, her hips rocking enticingly.
Now, the tension returned.Her smile vanished into a pinched line.Tawera wished to ease her stress, and frustration assailed him at his lack of agency.A strange cracking pounded in his ears, and Tawera feared his heart had fractured.He stretched outward, shifting within the confines of his prison.This woman had changed his drudgery to a more exciting life, even if he still struggled with his curse.
Nyree—he assumed that was her name from various conversations he’d heard—cleared her throat in a loud swallow.“I don’t know what Ari’s plan is, but I hate him visiting Mum or Hana.H-he’ll hurt them to get to me.They can’t see past his charm.”She paced the length of the room and back, her cheeks rounds of red and her hands fisted.“Mum and Hana think I’m an idiot for leaving him.They don’t understand.”
She stomped out of his sight and back, her limbs jerking, her hands yanking at her hair.She bumped into a table and righted the cup she almost knocked to the floor.
“He’s a monster.If he doesn’t get his way, his charm falls by the wayside.His temper takes control.Now I’ve pricked his pride by leaving, he won’t hesitate to strike against them.”
“He hit you?”
Nyree jolted, her eyes widening.She stared at him or rather his rock prison, and a frown formed on her sun-kissed forehead.“D-did you say something?”
“This man struck you in anger?”To Tawera’s disappointment, the words didn’t emerge with clarity, and when her expression remained impassive, his aggravation grew.His beleaguered heart shrank inward until the tight pressure had him wanting to roar his frustration, his disappointment.
What did he do to change his fate, to communicate with this intriguing woman?
She inched closer and ran a hand over his stone.He sighed at the gentle caress, and the force on his chest reduced, allowing him to take a full breath.Her eyes widened.“You’ve got a fracture.Maybe I shouldn’t have let you dry out.”
A crack?His rock prison had never suffered damage, not even when the sailor had dropped him into the sea.It had been the last time he’d seen the sailor.
Her finger gently traced an area on his front, and warmth emanated from her stroke.
“George, you’re such an ugly gargoyle.I wonder how you ended up in the sea.The internet told me nothing, but you intrigue me.”
Yes, she fascinated him too.Why did she call him George?Her taniwha status raised so many questions.Before his brother had cursed him to this endless existence, the taniwha numbers had been few.He’d never sought others, had never sensed others in his region.His mother had taught him to keep their nature a secret.She hadn’t wanted him to endure the persecution her parents had suffered when all they’d craved was a peaceful existence.
Nyree stepped away from him and returned to her letter.
“‘Ari told me he’d take you back if you apologized.’”Nyree scoffed, disgust ringing out in her derision.“He’s a two-faced monster.He’s worse than me, and I’m the taniwha.”
Tawera bade her continue because the more she spoke, the more he learned of this strange world.
“‘Ari mentioned a misunderstanding.He loves you and wants a future.Children.Family.Grandchildren.There were tears in his eyes when he mentioned how much he misses you.He said he’d gone to George Taniwha & Son to ask after you, and your cousin, Hone, manhandled him from the premises.They refused to tell him anything, so he approached me.Before we discussed the matter fully, Manu arrived and forced Ari to leave.Ari begged me to call him.’”Nyree paused and made the expression of a Maori warrior about to head into battle.“What a load of rubbish,” she spat.“Ari is a liar, and he’s trying to fool Mum.Perhaps I should’ve told her more instead of hiding the truth from her and Hana.”
She halted and ceased her muttering, much to Tawera’s disgust.He wanted details.
This Ari-man sounded brutal.Tawera had known some in his time—men who’d mistreated their wives.These warriors had cowered at the rear like sniveling children during a battle.They were cowards attempting to make themselves appear brave and robust by hurting those weaker.
Nyree gathered her belongings and turned off the machine she read from, as was her habit.She retreated, leaving Tawera alone and frustrated.He ached to speak with her.A shudder rolled over him as he recalled her caress.
