Introductions:
She stopped as a pack of wolves circled around me. They started to whisper among themselves. I heard one of the women ask if I looked familiar. Nobody knew. I cleared my throat & they looked at me.
"Are you trying to tell us your name, child?" a man asked.
I glared at him, bow still posed. "I am no child. To answer you, I can't remember my human name."
"What other name could there be for a child like you?" the man asked.
"I am no child. My name is Matsouka. It means 'wild one'. What are you doing on my island?"
"Your island? This island is in national waters. Anybody can come here," the lady in green said.
I was puzzled. "What are 'national waters'? Who are you?"
The lady in red stepped up. "My name is Ruby. This lady in green is Shauna. The man in blue is Gary. And the man in yellow is Matt. National waters is…well its part of the ocean that anyone can be in. Do you mind if we take your picture? To show to our friends back home?" she looked toward her friends & turned back, but we were gone. No one had seen where I had gone to so they went back to the boat.
The Coast Guard had pulled up beside the boat & was talking to the pilot when the four humans returned to the boat.
"Here are my friends now. You see nothing wrong here."
Ruby was the first to speak up. "Officer, did you know that there is a girl living on that island?"
"You met Matsouka did you?"
"You know of her? How did she come to be on this island? What I mean to say is, how did she end up here?"
"Don't rightly know, but she won't leave. We tried to get her off, but the animals, she's tied to them. Linked to them I should say. Get outa here before we tow you back to shore. Don't go back on the island."
"If the island is in 'national waters,' then we have the right to be on it. Why can't we go back on it?" Shauna asked.
"You wouldn't want to become Matsouka's next meal would you? Didn't think so. Matsouka likes to be left alone. She's barely around us humans. Hasn't been for a while."
"Well what about her parents? Do you know where they are? Have you tried to get in touch with them?" Gary asked.
I had paddled out to the boats quietly & unobserved.
"If my parents had really cared about me, they would have come looking for me when I disappeared 10 years ago. You think I wanted to fall off the cruise ship? I hated them for not coming back to look for me. So I got over it & made friends with the animals. Killing them may be mean, but I needed blankets, clothing, & food & I thanked their spirits like the Native Americans did. So just go back to your big city life and forget you ever saw me. And if you do tell anybody about my island, I will kill them if they come looking for me, understand?"
The Coast Guard looked at me. "Now don't be making any threats Matsouka. Just go back to the island & we'll be in to talk. Go on now!"
I left knowing it'd be a couple hours 'til they'd be able to get to shore. The current would soon be against them. I hid the canoe in the small cove, hidden by brush, trees, logs, & giant boulders. I went back to my home. The Coast Guard officers knew how to get to there. They would probably have building materials with them. I needed to move to my new home, a cave to keep better dry. Winter was coming & I didn't want to be freezing.