Seacliff

Chapter ninety-two: Stars and stories

2019

The silence weighed heavier in the dark. Yet knowing what followed, Aidan couldn't bring himself to break it. Fiona held onto him tighter, unquestioning despite his abrupt pause. He gulped, his fists balled in his pockets.

"The colony was gone when I went back," he murmured in the end.

"What do you mean, gone?" Fiona enquired when he wouldn't continue.

"Abandoned. Torched. Ruined."

His chest still constricted at the memory. It had been seventy years... Fiona's curiosity radiated off her, but to her credit, she didn't prod.

"Everything had been destroyed. The... the dwellings, the underground tunnel... No trace of the Elder, or Amaruq, or anyone else..."

He rubbed at his itchy eyes under his glasses.

"I tried very hard not to panic, and swam to Boston. I hoped, prayed that Pauline was in my flat there. She wasn't and... I never saw her again."

"Oh, Aidan... That's terrible."

"I loved her. I did. Perhaps not in the typical way that, say, a husband would love his wife, but..."

He sighed, the cold air singing his throat.

"Some of my fellow selkie spies survived the massacre and they found me in the city. Remember Amaruq's rogue little brother? Kallik, the so-called Mansa Musa? Well, the Soviets had approached him and offered him the chance to carry out whatever world-dominance plan he had in mind. Except... it didn't actually go to plan.

"They attacked the Mealy Mountains colony. It was a peaceful community, but it had been built to withstand a potential attack in case of discovery, so most of the residents managed to get away. We don't know if Amaruq and the Elder ever made it out, though, or got killed.

"You see, selkie bodies turn to literal dust once they die. So, we couldn't identify any of the remains. The Soviets, too, wanted live, workable specimens, and stopped the carnage before all their subjects were lost. All surviving selkies were taken prisoner. Nobody remembered seeing Pauline, so I assumed she must have been taken along with Kallik and his men. I joined the rescue mission, but I still couldn't find her."

Aidan tried to suppress a sniffle and failed.

"I spent years looking for her, but at some point, I had to make a choice between chasing ghosts and helping rebuild the community. Pauline and I were both only half selkie, so my bond with the baby wasn't that strong... I didn't feel the conception, I didn't feel the birth or anything else since, because I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. Until Saoirse stood right before me and I recognised that tingle I'd been ignoring all my life."

Aidan shuddered. Fiona didn't loosen her hold.

"Those of us who were left spent the next forty years trying to restore selkie secrecy. Thank goodness for the Cold War, otherwise that intel would have spread like wildfire. As it was, the various world powers that got their hands on that knowledge kept it to themselves and exploited it under lock and key. Most selkies either went fully human or fully seal. Careless shifting meant death, or worse."

A myriad of flickering stars glinted across the night sky, like eyes watching them from above. It'd be a freezing cold night, judging from the lack of clouds. Nevertheless, the sight warmed him. He'd always felt like the souls of those he loved became immortal celestials when they passed, looking over him, brightening his path, guiding his steps.

"Pauline was very good at keeping a low profile," he resumed, "that's why I could never find her. She and Saoirse lived as humans in hiding for decades. I returned to Scotland in 2010, and this is where Saoirse found me a couple of months ago. For a long time, Pauline kept the truth to herself. She thought it'd be safest. Frankly, I can't blame her. I just – "

"I'm so sorry," Fiona whispered. "I don't know what else to say."

"You mustn't say anything." He unhooked their arms and wrapped his around her shoulders, to pull her in for a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you for listening to my crazy origin story."

Fiona faked a yawn and he chuckled into her hair.

"You've always been a good storyteller," she admitted.

That statement made him all giddy. "And you're a great listener," he replied.

"I do have one question, though."

"What is it?"

"Why would Kallik side with the Russians? I thought he hated humans."

Aidan smirked. "That... is a very good question."

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Which it sounds like you haven't got an answer for."

"No, I do... I do have an answer, I just... I never really believed him until I met Saoirse and learned the truth about Pauline."

"Who, Kallik? What happened to him? You rescued him, right?"