Chapter Twenty

Letters

In the days following Richard's new life, he receives many letters to which he replies as quickly as he can.

Dear Richard,

I'm happy that you found a place to live. I was very worried about you for the past few days. It's different here without you. I miss you.

And you have your own room? That's not fair! Can I come visit you now? Or maybe live with you?

I am keeping up on my homework. Ms. Spinner is making sure I am, but she doesn't seem very pleased to be doing so. Also I found out a new way to have fun without you. I started teaching all of my younger roommates swear words. It's quite fun and I haven't been in trouble once yet!

Please reply soon

Love, Gemma

He smiles as he sets down the letter and writes his response.

Dear Gemma,

I miss you lots too. It's not the same here without you and I really miss the sound of your voice. But I must say that I'm feeling much better now. Living in the ocean is just what I needed. And no, you can't come live with me. The ocean isn't for little girls like you.

I'm happy that you're keeping up on your homework, but I'm a little disappointed in you for ruining those poor innocent minds around you. And where did you hear of these swear words by the way?

Until next time

Love, Richard

He sets those letter to the side and picks up the next one which just so happens to be from Peter. He peels open the envelope and pulls out the piece of paper that has only a few lines written on it.

Dear Richard,

I need your help. I don't know what to do. I can't stay here anymore, but I don't know where to go. I'm scared, Richard. I need help.

Peter

Richard thinks long and hard about how to answer to Peter. All he knows about Peter's predicament is that he has an abusive uncle who looks after him. Most likely the boy has been slapped around a bit and who knows what else has happened to that poor boy. He comes to a conclusion that will hopefully work.

Dear Peter,

Why don't you come here? It's better by the ocean. Less people. Less stares, if that's what you're trying to get away from.

Richard

Realizing that it's getting late, he sets aside the other letters and flips off his light. He has another long day of gutting fish before him. The routine is good to have and he welcomes it. It's good to have a steady routing again, a routine that he actually likes. It's much different from the work and routine in Seablite. His back isn't as sore and his hands no longer blister from shovelling muck. But he does have to trade in those bad things for other bad things. Such has instead of a sore back, he returns smelling like fish. Instead of blisters, he comes home with shallow cuts from when the knife slips in his hands. But the one thing that makes gutting fish much better is that he makes money while doing it. That's a much better deal than what Seablite offered.

Slowly the weeks pass by. Richard is slowly becoming a little more comfortable around these people. If they ask him questions, he will answer to the best of his ability. Rarely does he ask a question to someone else, but it's a start. These people aren't as bad as the ones in the stack cities.

His floor is littered with letters as the weeks go by. Gemma writes to him a lot, telling him about her day and about how she learned the swear words. Those letters make him smile. The others from his friends, however, don't make him smile. They make him frown and worry.

Peter hasn't responded since Richard sent the letter to him, suggesting that he come down to the sea home where Richard lives. Eli still hasn't written once to him since their escape. Richard is close to assuming that the worst has happened to the younger boy. Ace replies infrequently. Usually he sends a letter once a week and sometimes not even that. His letters are kind of odd though. In one letter, he will say how angry and scared he is. In the next he'll say he's okay and feeling better. Richard doesn't know which letter to believe.

Matt is probably the most successful out of all of them. He thanks Richard for all of his help, but he says he's doing fine now and probably doesn't need any more help. Richard is happy for him and doesn't send any more letters to him.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the nightmares. They still make it difficult for him to sleep and get his needed rest. At first he thought that when he arrived his sleeping problems would go away. That doesn't happen. In fact, he still lies awake for hours during the night. Despite the work, he just isn't tired enough to sleep. Sleep eludes him and until he figures out what's going on, he won't be able to sleep as he as he used to before Seablite.

After a night of lying in bed, he decides to leave his room and wander around, thinking that the movement will make him sleepy. He gets up to the first floor of the home. Someone is already up, he notices. The person sits by one of the large windows, huddled up in a blanket, looking out into the ocean that is lit up with a brilliant display of colour. Quietly, he moves closer to the window to see what is happening.

"Can't sleep?" the figure asks.

Richard stops. The person turns her head and faces him. It's Elsa, still dressed in her blue, spikey wig with matching coloured nails and makeup. Every day she has a different set up of clothes and makeup.

"Yeah, you?" he asks and sits down on the same couch as she, but on the other end.

She shrugs. "It's the one time when I can get away from everyone and just have some time by myself. Someone is always around here, but at night, everyone's gone."

"Oh." He suddenly feels like he's intruding on Elsa's privacy. "I can leave if you want me too."

"Don't," she says. "You don't have too. So why can't you sleep?"

He looks down at his hands and picks at his nails. "Why should I tell you?"

Elsa thinks about this for a moment and nods. "Fair enough. We barely know each other. I can understand."

Richard sighs. At least the girl isn't intrusive. He knew some pretty intrusive girls at the boarding home. "So what are you looking at?" he asks and stares out into the water that is glowing with flashes of red and white.

"Oh, just having some fun," she says and looks out. "Those are red devil squids. I like to coax them out of their homes and play around with them."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch." She pulls out something from the blankets and holds it up to the window. She pushes a button and the device starts to blink red and white lights in quick succession. "Now, we wait," she whispers.

Richard leans forward, looking into the murky ocean. Red and white lights respond to Elsa's device. They come closer until Richard sees a squid pass by real quickly. Another appears slowly and takes the time to eye them both with a large eye before shooting off back into the water.

"Aren't red devil squids the best?" she says and continues to stare out into the ocean. "Have you ever seen such a thing before?"

"No," he says. "I wasn't raised by the ocean."

"Neither was I, but I would think that after you spent a couple of months here, you would see something spectacular."

Richard shrugs. He may have seen spectacular things in Seablite, but he does not want to go back and remember any of that stuff. "I haven't seen many things yet," he lies. "I haven't been out into the ocean."

"You haven't?" she asks, sounding completely shocked. He shakes his head. "Oh, you have to go out into the ocean. We should go out this weekend."

"Wait, what?"

She nods. "I can show you around this weekend!" Elsa claps excitedly. "I've always wanted to show someone all the sights I've found on the ocean floor."

"I still don't-"

"We'll have to prepare, I guess," she continues, no letting Richard have any say in this. "You'll need a dive suit of course, and all the other dive gear. I'll have to check the mantaboards and see if they're working."

"Wait just a-"

"Oh I'm so excited now!" she squeals. "This is just perfect. I've been dying to have a good dive with someone. And what better way to show a newbie like you!" Elsa stands up and gathers her blanket around her. "I'll start planning tomorrow then. Oh, this is so great." She disappears down the stairs, continuing to talk to herself about the plans for the weekend. This leaves a very confused Richard on the couch.