Page 70 of She Who Was Once the Sea

"Ehi! Signore! Si Svegli!" He was telling me to wake up, which made no sense, because I didn’t feel like I was sleeping.

I felt like I was dead.

The voice mumbled something, and another voice answered. "Magari parla inglese?" Maybe he speaks English.

Yes, I thought. That’s right.

But I couldn’t open my mouth to tell them.

Finally, I was able to pry my eyelids open, just a fraction.

"Inglese? Sir! You may not sleep here!"

How could I tell them that I didn’t want to be sleeping there? All I could see was their stiff blue pants tucked neatly into shiny black boots.

"Ha bisogno di aiuto? Sir, do you have need of help?"

Yes.

I opened my mouth to answer. My throat felt like it was made of sandpaper. "Where am I?" The words came out gritty, like I hadn’t had a drop to drink in days.

When I could finally look up, I saw them exchange incredulous glances.

"Sir," the first officer said. "Do you have need of help? May we bring you somewhere? The hospital, maybe?"

I shook my head. Sensation was returning slowly to my outer extremities, and I finally felt stable enough to force myself to stand.

They helped lift me, both of them looking like they’d rather be anywhere than dealing with what they perceived to be a drunk, nearly comatose American.

"I’m sorry," I said, trying to look around and take stock of where we were located. "I’m okay. Low blood sugar," I lied.

I wasn’t sure if they understood me, but they patted me on the shoulder and left, clearly relieved to be rid of me.

It was late. Or very early. The sky was dark, but I couldn’t hear the usual sounds of late-night revelers traveling from bar to bar.

I looked to my left and right and realized that I was on a side street near Piazza Centrale, not far from the central fountain…

And that’s when it all came rushing back to me.

Ordina.

The cave.

The witch.

Marella.

The sudden sensation of my blood hardening and stilling all at once left me petrified and trapped to watch as Marella and her sister fought the Stone Witch, watching as the witch crumbled to the ground at Ordina’s feet…

And then…

Nothing.

And then, I woke up here.

I started walking in the direction of the piazza, because I didn’t know where else to go, and something was calling me there.

As I approached, I heard voices. It wasn’t the usual banal chatter of tourists, but happy, excited exclamations. Laughter. Shock. Joy.