The enormity of being The Link hadn’t fully hit me until just then and I struggled to wrap my mind around it. Before, knowing I was The Link had been an inconvenience, but now, realizing that it wasn’t just about me anymore but the entire merpeople population really hit home.
“What are we going to do?” I asked. The sun was setting and I knew the water would grow dark as soon as the sun hid behind the mountains.
“We are going to face one of your biggest fears.”
“What’s that?”
“Swimming in dark water,”
Fear froze me in place. I did not want to deal with one of the hardest things I had to face right then and there.
“When you’re The Link, you must fear nothing. If you fear, you will doubt and if you doubt, you will lose. You cannot lose, ever.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Are you ready?”
“No.”
She smiled. “The fear of not seeing is not knowing what is there.”
“Yeah,” I gulped.
“You must force yourself to see.”
My look must have said it all.
“Merpeople are able to see in the blackest of waters.” She curled herself around me and placed her hands on either side of my head. “We can change our eyes to be able to see in the darkness. We call it The Sight.”
I recalled a year ago, watching Tammer surface in his pool and thinking I had seen his eyes white. At the time, I dismissed it as a trick of the eye – something I had imagined.
“They turn white?” I asked
“Yes. Focus on that and bring the power through. You will be able to see in the dark.”
Her hands were now warm, warmer than the cool water surrounding us. It seemed to help me focus and I closed my eyes, calming myself and pulling the powers through me. When I released the golden orb, instead of breaking from me, it melted and as I opened my eyes, the world had greatly changed.
I recoiled from the shock of seeing things so differently. Everything was black and white – like those old fashioned cartoons they didn’t color in. Aletheia smiled cocking her head.
“It’s a lot different isn’t it?”
“It’s freaky.” I stared at the world around me, astonished to be able to see everything from the tree stumps that covered the floor of the lake to the numerous fish swimming away from us.
“Yes, but now you can see!” She pushed the bangles back on her arm. “Do you feel afraid?”
I did. It was weird and being able to see everything was almost a sensory overload.
“Is it better not being able to see?” She questioned.
“I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “There’s a lot to take in.”
“We should practice swimming this way.” She swam downward. Seeing her looking like a cartoon made me giggle nervously and she looked back at me.
“You make a pretty cartoon!” I said, following her. I caught her smug smile as she turned away again.
Into the depths of the lake we swam, careful to avoid the downed trees and various snowmobiles and cars that had found their home on the muddy bottom. With the world in black and white, it was simple to see anywhere I wanted. The enormity of some of the fish in the lake caught me off guard. An irritated looking, eighteen foot sturgeon glided out of our way as we neared him.
I knew McCall’s Payette Lake was a glacial lake. I also knew the tales of Sharlie, a sea-like monster who supposedly made the lake its home. I was always taken with the idea that an elusive creature lived in the lake and once or twice when I had visited with my father, I was sure I’d seen something. Now, as we made our way along the bottom, my heart began to race in the anticipation of running into it.
Aletheia stopped swimming and faced me. “You have to calm yourself. Your heart is beating completely out of control! What’s wrong?”
“Just nervous. Have you heard about Sharlie?”
She nodded. “The tall tale is that there’s a hole in the bottom of this lake that leads to the ocean. Sharlie lives in there. Supposedly.”
“Is it true?”
“Why don’t we see for ourselves?”
Um, no. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Aletheia sensed my hesitation and placed her thin hand on my arm.
“You have to face your fears.”
“Yeah, well it’s not really the best of days to be doing this.”
“There are only a few fish and a lot of dead trees down here. That and a tractor or two,” she pointed below us at a decrepit tractor that looked as if it belonged in the 1930s. “I have no idea if the tales about Sharlie are real. It’s been my experience that most tall tales have no bearing on real life whatsoever.”
I didn’t answer. The times in my childhood I thought I’d seen Sharlie happened so long ago and now that I thought about it, what I’d seen could have been anything. Realizing this allowed me to relax and before long all my fear had subsided and I felt comfortable.