The Last Scale - Chapter VII.

Tereza Končelová

The following days passed probably the fastest in my life. They did not traipse boringly one by one at the same, non-bringing pace. Each one of them was different, each gave me new knowledge and skills. The locals were really as nice as I was promised. They not only fed me with excellent fish meat, but they also taught me all sorts of tricks or trained my breakneck expression and rewarded me with a treat for every success. So, little by little, my self-confidence grew. Soon, I didn't even think about the possibility of any of them wanting to hurt me because of my new determination. This mansion had now become my sanctuary, my center of safety. I didn't have to tremble with fear every second, I didn't have to worry about glances and pain. Here I had countless possibilities of hiding in the shadows, warmer nooks. And yet I preferred to look for company. I was losing my fear; both the induced and the natural.

The old man wasn't lying, Cass really came back. She tried to convey my wishes to the locals so that none of them would remain unfulfilled, occasionally dressing in such an elastic dark robe called a swimsuit and frolicking with me. She even sang to me sometimes. Her voice was not as beautiful as Britney's, but full of love and warmth, and that was enough.

One day, however, was even more unusual and immense than all the previous. Breaking, Cass would call it. Someone else got into my pool. Another of my kind.

Vipera. She couldn't be much older than me. Her hair was bright, blazing, like rust marks on the steps to my pool, her skin pale, almost unhealthy, like the clothings of those who erenow tortured me. It resembled a Koi carp a bit; but her tail, her scales, which should shine and glitter with all the colors of the rainbow, were dull, muddy brown. "Vipera got here when she was very young," Cass said with a wide smile. "I know how interested you were in your kind, so I tried to ask for you to meet one of it."

Uncertainly, with my breath held, I turned back to the newcomer. Vipera swam briskly toward me, with a light grace that I certainly couldn't imitate. But if she had lived a lifetime in open spaces like these, there was no wonder. She paused just ahead of me, emerged above the surface and tilted her head curiously. She was really beautiful. Suddenly, I felt inappropriately in front of her. "Greetings," I said nonetheless. I was aware of all my shame and curiosity going all the way to the bone. I didn't feel the sense of belonging I dreamed of at all.

She winced. My rough, poorly trained voice must have frightened her. Or maybe she just didn't like it. She plunged back into the pleasantly cool water. I glanced nervously back at my human friend. Friends, that is, as I was told, people close to each other. They help each other, they care for each other. By this definition, Cass became my first friend. Life is truly unpredictable... Now she was staring at me with her sparkling eyes, little dimples in her plump cheeks, and I didn't want to take this joy away from her.

So I dived to Vipera. As soon as I found myself underwater, our meeting suddenly became more personal. Only her, me, and the bubbly silence of the veil of crystal clear waters between us. Vipera's gills rippled. She closed her eyes and let out a long, incredibly high sound that seemed to emanate from her deepest core. The continuous whistling lasted for a few seconds. Finally, she looked at me as if waiting for an answer.

But I didn't understand.