Gordon wandered along the beach, sighing contentedly as he watched the fading sunlight glinting on the water. No matter how many times he saw sunset on Tracy Island, he never grew tired of it. He rounded a corner and clambered over the rocks leading down to the most inaccessible part of the beach - Gordon's brothers rarely came down here, which right now was just fine with him. He perched on a rock and sat down, listening to the soft hiss of the waves, watching as the great orange sun sank slowly beneath the waves.
Suddenly Gordon caught sight of something that made him stand up, stifling a shout. He could have sworn he'd seen someone swimming out there! Probably just a seal, he thought, sitting back down - goodness knows, there were enough of them round here, especially this time of year. He watched for another hour, letting his thoughts drift away, relaxing for the first time all day. He glanced down at his watch, and sighed, getting up. He'd promised Grandma he'd be back in time for dinner, but he really didn't want to leave just yet.
The sun had almost completely disappeared, and Gordon smiled as he saw familiar sleek forms clear the water, falling back with barely a splash. That was another sight he never got tired of seeing - the dolphins always came here at sunset, and Gordon tried not to miss it when he was home. He got to his feet, and with a last glance back at the water, walked back up to the house.
He was quiet that night at dinner, and his brothers picked up on it.
"What's eating you, little brother?" asked Scott, smiling.
Gordon looked up, startled. "Huh?" The rest of the family laughed.
"What are you thinking about? You're miles away!" grinned Virgil.
"I was just thinking about ..." He hesitated, knowing that they would laugh at what he thought he saw. "When I went down to the beach this evening, I was sitting on the rocks and I thought I saw someone swimming in the sea."
Alan laughed. "I think you've spent too long on Thunderbird Five, Gordo, you're seeing things!"
"Well, I dismissed it as being a seal or something, but the more I think about it, the more certain I am that it wasn't." He shrugged, and grinned. "I probably am seeing things. It's not possible for anyone to get that close to the island and us not know about it."
Later that night, Gordon was still thinking about what he'd seen and something occurred to him. He half-remembered something - had Grandma told them a story when they were younger, perhaps?
"Hey, grandma," he said, going and sitting next to her on the sofa. "I was just thinking about one of the stories you told us when we were really little ... I can't quite remember it. Something about the seals ..."
"Oh, I know the one you mean!" said his grandmother. "My, but that is an old story - one that my own grandmother told to me when I was little." His grandmother settled herself into story-telling mode, and Gordon watched her.
"You know that my grandmother, and my mother came from Ireland. My mother and grandmother only moved to Kansas when my father was offered a job out there. This is a story my grandmother swore blind to her dying day was true - about the seal women off the north coast of Ireland. She called them selkies." Gordon's back prickled at the way his grandmother said that word - almost reverently.
"There's an old saying that she told to me many times - that when the angels fell, some fell on land and some fell in the sea. The ones that fell on the land were faeries, the ones that fell in the sea became the selkies. The way she told it, these selkies were common enough off the coast where she lived - the fishermen would come home and tell of them after their day's work, and my grandmother could sit and listen. Her father owned the tavern, you see, so she was in the perfect place to hear all these fishermen's tales. They all swore that these selkies were different from the seals that were so common out in the sea, but when my grandmother asked them how they were different, they would say that they didn't rightly know, t'wasn't something you could put your finger on.
"These men told the stories of how these selkies were seals that could take off their skins, revealing a beautiful female form underneath. Many a mortal man fell in love with these beautiful women, but they loved nothing more than the sea - not their husbands, not their own children. The only way you could get one of them to stay on dry land was to capture their skin, by theiving or trickery. As long as you kept it hidden from them, they would stay, and made good wives and mothers, so it's said, living brief lives on land - all these women died young, their yearning for the sea so powerful it wore them down. They never stopped grieving for it.
"But if they should get their skins back, nothing could keep them from the sea. They'd leave everything on land, leaving their husbands and lovers behind to pine away and die of grief for their beautiful selkie bride. It's said that the children of the selkies yearn for the sea, unable to go to it. They're stuck between the two worlds. If there's truth in those tales, you have selkie blood in you for sure!"
His grandmother laughed, but Gordon hardly heard it, his imagination caught in the tale of these beautiful seal women. He kissed his grandmother's cheek swiftly and went to bed. His dreams were troubled by the sound of laughter beneath the crashing waves.
The next night, Gordon returned to the beach and watched for hours. He saw nothing but the waves - even the dolphins were gone. He returned to the house feeling oddly dejected, something that even Alan noticed.
"Hey, grandma, do you know what's up with Gordon?" Alan asked as he wandered into the kitchen to help her with the dishes.
"He's thinking about the selkies," his grandmother said vaguely.
"What?" Alan frowned,thinking I knew something about that ... He shook his head, the half-formed thought rushing away like sand between his fingers.
"About what, dear?" asked his grandmother. Alan frowned. This was too weird.
"Did you even hear that last conversation we just had?" asked Alan, smiling slightly.
"I must be getting old, dear," his grandmother said, kissing her youngest grandson's cheek. "What did you say?"
Alan shook his head."It doesn't matter," he said. "Don't worry."
A week later, Gordon was getting frustrated. He'd been down here every single night for hours, and not a sign.
"Where are you?" he yelled. "I know you're out there - Oh, this is stupid." Fuming, he spun round and made to go back to the house. He didn't notice the seaweed on the rock he stepped on, and felt his feet skid out from under him. He cracked his head on a rock as he fell and lay still.
He woke with a thrill of fear running down his back. Someone was gently touching his head. With the lightning quick reflexes born of a lifetime playing sport, Gordon twisted around and grabbed someone's wrist. Staring up into the dark, he saw an unnaturally pale face looking back at him, dark eyes wide with fear. Those eyes ... there was something wrong about them. Gordon stared up into them, enthralled. And the way the face seemed almost luminous in the dark ... Gordon stood up, letting go in a hurry, and the woman scrambled away towards the sea.
"Wait!" Gordon called. "Don't go!" She just smiled at him, and slipped away easily over the rocks. He saw her pick something up off a rock and cradle it to her chest. Gordon's skin prickled, and he heard his grandmother's voice again: "These selkies were seals that could take off their skins, revealing a beautiful female form underneath."
The woman turned back to him and Gordon saw her teeth flash in a smile. And then she plunged forwards and was gone with barely a splash. At once the pain in Gordon's head redoubled and he groaned. He turned away from the sea, fighting the urge to dive in after the strange woman, and staggered home. He never mentioned the woman again, but often his brothers would find him sitting on a rock, just staring out to sea with a far-away look in his eyes.
Suddenly Gordon caught sight of something that made him stand up, stifling a shout. He could have sworn he'd seen someone swimming out there! Probably just a seal, he thought, sitting back down - goodness knows, there were enough of them round here, especially this time of year. He watched for another hour, letting his thoughts drift away, relaxing for the first time all day. He glanced down at his watch, and sighed, getting up. He'd promised Grandma he'd be back in time for dinner, but he really didn't want to leave just yet.
The sun had almost completely disappeared, and Gordon smiled as he saw familiar sleek forms clear the water, falling back with barely a splash. That was another sight he never got tired of seeing - the dolphins always came here at sunset, and Gordon tried not to miss it when he was home. He got to his feet, and with a last glance back at the water, walked back up to the house.
He was quiet that night at dinner, and his brothers picked up on it.
"What's eating you, little brother?" asked Scott, smiling.
Gordon looked up, startled. "Huh?" The rest of the family laughed.
"What are you thinking about? You're miles away!" grinned Virgil.
"I was just thinking about ..." He hesitated, knowing that they would laugh at what he thought he saw. "When I went down to the beach this evening, I was sitting on the rocks and I thought I saw someone swimming in the sea."
Alan laughed. "I think you've spent too long on Thunderbird Five, Gordo, you're seeing things!"
"Well, I dismissed it as being a seal or something, but the more I think about it, the more certain I am that it wasn't." He shrugged, and grinned. "I probably am seeing things. It's not possible for anyone to get that close to the island and us not know about it."
Later that night, Gordon was still thinking about what he'd seen and something occurred to him. He half-remembered something - had Grandma told them a story when they were younger, perhaps?
"Hey, grandma," he said, going and sitting next to her on the sofa. "I was just thinking about one of the stories you told us when we were really little ... I can't quite remember it. Something about the seals ..."
"Oh, I know the one you mean!" said his grandmother. "My, but that is an old story - one that my own grandmother told to me when I was little." His grandmother settled herself into story-telling mode, and Gordon watched her.
"You know that my grandmother, and my mother came from Ireland. My mother and grandmother only moved to Kansas when my father was offered a job out there. This is a story my grandmother swore blind to her dying day was true - about the seal women off the north coast of Ireland. She called them selkies." Gordon's back prickled at the way his grandmother said that word - almost reverently.
"There's an old saying that she told to me many times - that when the angels fell, some fell on land and some fell in the sea. The ones that fell on the land were faeries, the ones that fell in the sea became the selkies. The way she told it, these selkies were common enough off the coast where she lived - the fishermen would come home and tell of them after their day's work, and my grandmother could sit and listen. Her father owned the tavern, you see, so she was in the perfect place to hear all these fishermen's tales. They all swore that these selkies were different from the seals that were so common out in the sea, but when my grandmother asked them how they were different, they would say that they didn't rightly know, t'wasn't something you could put your finger on.
"These men told the stories of how these selkies were seals that could take off their skins, revealing a beautiful female form underneath. Many a mortal man fell in love with these beautiful women, but they loved nothing more than the sea - not their husbands, not their own children. The only way you could get one of them to stay on dry land was to capture their skin, by theiving or trickery. As long as you kept it hidden from them, they would stay, and made good wives and mothers, so it's said, living brief lives on land - all these women died young, their yearning for the sea so powerful it wore them down. They never stopped grieving for it.
"But if they should get their skins back, nothing could keep them from the sea. They'd leave everything on land, leaving their husbands and lovers behind to pine away and die of grief for their beautiful selkie bride. It's said that the children of the selkies yearn for the sea, unable to go to it. They're stuck between the two worlds. If there's truth in those tales, you have selkie blood in you for sure!"
His grandmother laughed, but Gordon hardly heard it, his imagination caught in the tale of these beautiful seal women. He kissed his grandmother's cheek swiftly and went to bed. His dreams were troubled by the sound of laughter beneath the crashing waves.
The next night, Gordon returned to the beach and watched for hours. He saw nothing but the waves - even the dolphins were gone. He returned to the house feeling oddly dejected, something that even Alan noticed.
"Hey, grandma, do you know what's up with Gordon?" Alan asked as he wandered into the kitchen to help her with the dishes.
"He's thinking about the selkies," his grandmother said vaguely.
"What?" Alan frowned,thinking I knew something about that ... He shook his head, the half-formed thought rushing away like sand between his fingers.
"About what, dear?" asked his grandmother. Alan frowned. This was too weird.
"Did you even hear that last conversation we just had?" asked Alan, smiling slightly.
"I must be getting old, dear," his grandmother said, kissing her youngest grandson's cheek. "What did you say?"
Alan shook his head."It doesn't matter," he said. "Don't worry."
A week later, Gordon was getting frustrated. He'd been down here every single night for hours, and not a sign.
"Where are you?" he yelled. "I know you're out there - Oh, this is stupid." Fuming, he spun round and made to go back to the house. He didn't notice the seaweed on the rock he stepped on, and felt his feet skid out from under him. He cracked his head on a rock as he fell and lay still.
He woke with a thrill of fear running down his back. Someone was gently touching his head. With the lightning quick reflexes born of a lifetime playing sport, Gordon twisted around and grabbed someone's wrist. Staring up into the dark, he saw an unnaturally pale face looking back at him, dark eyes wide with fear. Those eyes ... there was something wrong about them. Gordon stared up into them, enthralled. And the way the face seemed almost luminous in the dark ... Gordon stood up, letting go in a hurry, and the woman scrambled away towards the sea.
"Wait!" Gordon called. "Don't go!" She just smiled at him, and slipped away easily over the rocks. He saw her pick something up off a rock and cradle it to her chest. Gordon's skin prickled, and he heard his grandmother's voice again: "These selkies were seals that could take off their skins, revealing a beautiful female form underneath."
The woman turned back to him and Gordon saw her teeth flash in a smile. And then she plunged forwards and was gone with barely a splash. At once the pain in Gordon's head redoubled and he groaned. He turned away from the sea, fighting the urge to dive in after the strange woman, and staggered home. He never mentioned the woman again, but often his brothers would find him sitting on a rock, just staring out to sea with a far-away look in his eyes.