The Secret Lives of Fish Ch. 4
Whit sat in the rolling desk chair that he had pulled up to the side of the tub. Sharon had run home for a minute to grab some things to make them all dinner. The Wheatly's were off doing their respective things and he was grateful for the time alone to watch over his son. His son who looked so much like a stranger now.
They had heard Cody scream from the bathroom and all had rushed in to make sure he was okay. Whit had rushed in first to see his son collapse as he passed out. His tail had been twitching sporadically with scales flaking off here and there. The tub was drained and Sharon had instinctively moved past her husband to fill it again. The water slowly revived Cody's tail, healing the scales that had flaked off and also where his hands looked oddly rubbed raw.
Now Whit watched as his son still slept, his head below the surface, the occasional small bubble slipping from his lips to the surface. How did that work, anyways? Cody didn't have gills yet he breathed water just as easily as he breathed air. He shook his head and turned back to the book he had been reading. A few minutes passed when the water sloshed in the tub and he glanced over.
Cody stirred out of his blacked out unconscious state. He had dreamt he was racing a blue whale, stumbling over his own tail as they darted in and out of the under currents. Now he blinked up at the soft yellow light that filtered briefly to him in the cold tub water. He pushed himself up the best he could, he breaking the surface, and water splashing around him.
"Son?" His dad put his book out of reach and then rested a hand on his shoulder.
Per old reflex Cody opened his mouth to say hi, but his vocal box remained unresponsive. All that came out was an embarrassing low moan of a sound. He looked down at his tail and frowned.
Watching his son, Whit let it finally sink in that there was more differences with his son than they had originally thought. Not only was he half fish, but his voice seemed to have left him.
"Cody," he shook his shoulder lightly to get his attention. "Son, it's okay. We'll figure this out."
Shaking his head, Cody finally looked at his dad. He concentrated on projecting what he'd been trying to do before he had passed out. Him putting his hands together and then his tail being replaced by legs. Only it hadn't worked. His head ached as he watched his dad's eyes widen. He had apparently gotten his message.
Images flashed into Whit's head, surprising him. This was how Cody had communicated with them earlier. It was also how His birth mom had communicated with them when she had come to take Cody home.
"It didn't work?" He looked at his son's silver and blue tail. From what Cody had showed him, he'd been trying to change back to human. He didn't understand how that worked, but it seemed the young merman had some sort of idea.
Sighing, Cody nodded and let his once again scaled hands splash back down into the water.
"Oh." Whit was at a loss for words. If it hadn't worked, did that mean Cody was stuck as a merman? He didn't want to admit it, but Whit didn't have any idea what they were going to do if they couldn't get him human again.
After a few awkward moments of silence between the two, Cody slipped back under the water and shut his eyes. He had seen the small look of uncertainty and disappointment that had shown on his dad's face. If he hadn't felt so out of place before, he definitely did now. What had he done wrong? He thought back to what his mom had told him. Hold his hands together and let the energy surge throughout him. He had known it would hurt, but he hadn't expected to have felt like he was being torn in two. He didn't know if he would have the desire to go through that experience again.
But what was he to do if he didn't? Jess would have told Sam by now that he was back and she would want to see him. He wanted to see her too, but not like this. Not when he couldn't speak to her or sit at their favorite carnival restaurant. He could barely handle the looks his family was giving him. Having Sam look at him in the same way would be more than he could take. He needed to figure this out and he needed to do it quick. Shaking determination back into his mind, he sat back up once again and stared at his dad.
His already pounding from the previous effort, he projected a strong idea into his dad's head. It was him and his mom holding his shoulders, keeping him in place, while Cody once more tried to start the change. If his parents were there to hold him in place and encourage him, he thought he could have the strength to go through with Hopefully, this time, to get it to work as well.
Whit nodded in understanding as Cody rubbed his head from the effort of projecting his thoughts to him. He was going to try again, but he needed help.
"Got it," he nodded again. "As soon as your mom gets back from shopping, we'll try it."
Cody smiled and then let himself slide back down to rest under the surface. He was achy and now had a migraine. Maybe he'd wait until after he'd had one of his mom's home cooked meals. That would give him the energy he'd need. His eyes drooped closed and his slipped into a light restless sleep.
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It wasn't until morning when Cody felt up to trying the change again. His mom had gotten home late, not being able to decide what food to get at the store at home. What did mermen eat? Fish, he convinced her with thoughts later. Which was fine since she had figured as much. He'd tried to eat the cooked tilapia she'd prepared, but it had made his stomach turn and he'd ended up throwing it up. After that his dad had handed him a raw fillet and told him to not be embarrassed and to eat.
After dinner it was his mom who had suggested they wait until he'd had a good nice rest. The stronger he was, she'd reasoned, the better of a chance he had to change back. He'd agreed.
Now that they held onto his shoulders, keeping him in place in the tub, he was terrified this wasn't going to work.
"Cody, is everything okay?" His mom rubbed his back.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded, and brought his hands together. Both his parents increased their grip on him, holding his shoulders steady. Sparks flew from his palms and fingers, shooting across the distance, and combining. The energy grew and began to draw up his arms as it had before. His forearms began to itch uncontrollably and he wanted to pull his hands apart. But one glance at his dad kept him going.
The energy reached his waist where his tail began, and from there the pain started. He gritted his teeth and groaned, trying to keep from screaming again. Jess and Mr. Wheatly were already out for the day, but he didn't want any neighbors to wonder what was going on. The energy moved down past what used to be his knees and flowed to the end of his fin.
Energy flashed through him in a sudden burst, ripping an unbidden scream from his mouth and pushing him back into his parents. The water sloshed around them as his tail splashed, shrunk, and the scales fell away to reveal pale human flesh beneath. His tail split, knees forming with a sound of grinding, and his fin shrunk into feet and toes. On his arms his fins flaked away as the scales on his hands slipped off into the water around him. For all intents and purposes he looked completely human again, if not for the webbing that stretched between his toes and a smattering of scales along his spine.
His hands separated as the energy faded and he fell back into his mom's arms.
His dad wrapped a towel around him, not caring if it was getting wet and stared at his now very human son. Cody breathed heavily and didn't dare look down. His body ached and he felt a tug in his gut.
"Come on, let's get you up and dressed." Whit pulled up on his son's elbow.
Sharon stood back in the small bathroom, giving the two of them space.
Cody braced his arms against the side of the tub and tried to stand. His legs slid uselessly against the porcelain tub and he splashed back down. His knees were hopelessly wobbly and he couldn't lift his weight on them.
Whit braced him as his son slid back down. On the count of three he and Sharon lifted him up and held him steady as his feet slipped under him. Cody couldn't seem to hold himself up on his legs. They felt rubbery and almost numb. With slow, impatient steps and leaning on his parents, he stepped out of the tub and sat on the toilet, towel wrapped haphazardly about him. Sharon left quickly to get him some clothes from a bag in the living room while Whit drained the tub and started cleaning up the sloshed water on the floor.
Watching his dad, Cody didn't dare open his mouth yet. His legs being so unresponsive was not a good sign for how well the transformation went. He felt his legs, somewhat numb still, but his mind kept wanting to move them as he would his tail. Concentrating he worked on wiggling his toes and rolling his ankles to stretch. He knew his dad watched him out of the corner of his eye, but now that he was out of the tub it didn't seem so gawky.
Returning after a few minutes Cody, embarrassingly, let his parents help dress him. He was able to put the shirt on just fine, but he couldn't navigate the boxers and shorts. His legs jerked slightly from the effort and he knew as he finally sat there dressed and looking human, that the change back had not been a clean one.
No merperson was meant to become human again after they made the transformation on their thirteenth birthday. He was such an odd case, his long time on land being the only reason any of this was remotely possible. Cody knew he should be thankful that he was back, but he couldn't help but feel he was now no longer human or merman.
Once more his parents helped him to his feet and he nearly fell over as they tried to let him stand on his own. His knees locked and they had to catch him to keep him up. Both parents groaned as they helped him to the small living room where there would be more space for all of them to talk. The pudge he'd developed for the cold water of winter migration still clung to him and he found himself thick and awkward. He wondered, briefly, if it was blubber under his skin. How merman was he still?
The answer came shortly as his parents started peppering him with questions. What was it like underwater? How did he come back? Why was he so late? What had he learned while away?
From his mouth all he could produce was a low, raspy groan. The words were there in his mind, but there was a disconnect for getting them out his mouth. He cleared his throat and produced a more solid grumble that sounded like mom, but only if you were creative.
His mom and dad gripped hands as they stared at him. Pity. That's what he saw in their faces.
Cody felt his heart drop. He was mute.
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This was a hard one to figure out. Hopefully it makes sense. Let me know what you think!
