Gil
Ihaven’t felt this nervous since the first time I swam to the mortal realm. I was seven years old, and it was farther than I’d ever gone on my own. The curiosity of what was out there pulled me toward the rippling light. Well, curiosity and a dare from my older sister Goldie, who said I wasn’t brave enough.
I was too—and I was determined to show her I wasn’t a guppy anymore. Now? The nerves of young-me resurface, bubbling up with every breath I take.
As I swim past the sunken coves, I should see sunlight rippling off the water. Instead, my view is obfuscated by clusters of fish near the surface, their shadows dappling my face.
Plop!
It can’t be.
As if being thrown with force, a small orange ball plunks under the water, leaving a powdery residue in the wake that’s promptly gobbled by the swarming fish.
Cheese balls.
My mind races. There’s no way this is a coincidence, and like a lovestruck guppy, I swim. The fish flee as soon as I approach, their desire to not become dinner larger than their hunger.
The surface is littered with more and more cheese balls, like fluorescent orange snowfall under glass. And there she is—at the top of the rocks like so many years ago.
“Please.” I hear her voice and rise from the water. I meet her wide eyes, scooping the soggy snacks up in my webbed hands; ifshe’s here to recreate the first time we met, then it’s a good thing I still remember my part.
“Want some?” I ask, and the sound she lets out is both a laugh and a sigh of relief.
“You’re him, aren’t you?” she says, her voice soft. She stares down from her perch, like a songbird. “Gale?”
What?
“Gale,Gale?” I repeat. Come to think of it, she did always have a funny way of saying my name. I always assumed it was a difference in accents and not—
“You thought my name wasGalethat whole time?” I shout. This is the most romantic moment of my whole damn life, and she’s calling me the wrong name.
“Oh my God.” She gasps, hands covering her mouth. I shake my head, watching the smile creep up on her face. “In my defense, your mouth was very full when we met.”
There’s a beat of silence between us as a grin on her face spreads into something wild and untamed.
“You’ve always been Gil…” she says the words slowly, with intention, as she moves closer.
We stare at each other as I nod. She stands at the edge of the water, so still and quiet apart from the sound of nature all around us. She reaches up to pull off her cover-up, revealing pale, freckled skin with patches of pink on her elbows and knees. Her swimsuit is white with puffed sleeves and a skirt that barely hits her upper thighs.
She looks like she’s wearing a damn wedding dress, and I can’t take my eyes off her.
Marina—gorgeous Marina—rushes toward me, her hair trailing behind her like the curl of a pink ribbon.
She stops short once she’s knee-deep in the water, and I sink down to my shoulders. I’m completely unable to discern the wide-eyed way she’s looking at me.
But if she was still afraid… would she be waiting for me?
Marina reaches forward with shaking hands, hesitating before her arms return to her sides.
“I’m sorry,” I say, “I should have told you right away, it’s only—”
You can’t want this.
“You’re—” Marina whispers, her eyes intently combing over every inch of my face. I wince in anticipation of what her next words may be. “—so beautiful,” she says,
I must have misheard her, but her lips are upturned, and her hand is touching my arm.
“You don’t have to humor me, darlin’,” I say, sinking deeper into the water. “You’re flawless and I—”
