"Bjei…"
The whisper drifted through the water again.
"Come and meet your father."
I stopped breathing.
My father?
I looked at Shawshank.
He had gone completely still.
"What did it mean?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
"Shawshank."
His jaw tightened.
"Keep moving."
"No."
"Bjei, we need to go."
"You just heard it too."
"I know."
"Then tell me who my father is."
He looked at me.
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"You've been hiding things from me since I got here!"
His expression softened.
"I know."
"Then why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
The answer surprised me.
Shawshank stepped closer.
"Not yet."
I stared at him.
"Then why are you protecting me?"
"Because I don't need you to trust me to keep you safe."
Before I could respond, another scratch echoed through the darkness.
Scrape.
We both turned.
Scrape.
Something was moving behind the stone walls.
I grabbed Shawshank's arm.
"What is that?"
"I don't know."
"You said you knew everything about this place."
"I never said that."
The scratching stopped.
Silence.
Then something slammed against the wall.
BOOM!
I screamed.
Shawshank pulled me against him.
"Don't make a sound."
I pressed my face against his chest.
His heart was beating quickly.
For some reason, that made me feel safer.
We stood there silently.
Then a low growl passed through the water.
The sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.
I lifted my head.
"Is it gone?"
Shawshank listened.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because the water stopped moving."
I looked around.
He was right.
The water had become completely still.
Then I noticed something glowing behind him.
A tiny golden object lay on the ground.
I moved toward it.
"What is that?"
Shawshank turned.
"Don't touch it."
Naturally, I touched it.
The moment my fingers closed around it, a sharp pain shot through my hand.
I cried out.
The object fell.
A bright flash filled the tunnel.
And suddenly, I saw a woman.
She was standing on the shore.
She was young.
I knew her immediately.
My grandmother.
She was holding a baby.
Me.
My heart stopped.
Beside her stood Angela.
My mother looked much younger.
They were arguing.
I couldn't hear their words.
Then my grandmother handed the baby to Angela.
My mother began crying.
The vision changed.
I saw my grandmother walking toward the sea.
She turned around one final time.
And she said something.
This time, I could hear her.
"Protect her from the kingdom."
The vision disappeared.
I stumbled backward.
Shawshank caught me.
"What did you see?"
"My mother."
His eyes narrowed.
"What else?"
"My grandmother."
"What did she say?"
I looked at him.
"She told my mother to protect me from the kingdom."
Shawshank became silent.
"What?"
He shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Why?"
"Because your grandmother was the one who wanted you to return."
I frowned.
"She wanted me here?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she tell my mother to protect me from it?"
"I don't know."
I looked down at the golden object.
It was shaped like a tiny seashell.
"What's this?"
Shawshank picked it up carefully.
"A memory shell."
"A what?"
"It stores memories."
"So that was my grandmother?"
"Yes."
I stared at the shell.
"Can I see more?"
"Probably."
"Then show me."
"Bjei…"
"Please."
He hesitated.
Then he nodded.
He placed the shell between his palms.
The water around us began glowing.
A new vision appeared.
My grandmother was standing inside the palace.
The queen was in front of her.
They were arguing.
This time, I could hear them.
"You promised me," the queen said.
"I promised you nothing."
"You gave birth to something that belongs to the sea."
My grandmother shook her head.
"She belongs to herself."
The queen's eyes became cold.
"You cannot hide her forever."
"I don't need forever."
My grandmother smiled sadly.
"Only long enough for her to grow."
The vision suddenly changed.
My grandmother was crying.
She looked directly toward me.
And somehow, it felt as if she could see me through the memory.
"Bjei…"
I moved closer.
"Grandma?"
"If you're seeing this, then the sea has found you."
My eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
She touched her chest.
"There are things your mother could never tell you."
I whispered,
"What things?"
The memory began fading.
My grandmother's final words echoed through the tunnel.
"Do not trust the queen."
Then everything disappeared.
I stared into the darkness.
Shawshank was silent.
"What does all this mean?"
"I don't know."
"You keep saying that."
"Because I don't have all the answers."
I looked at him.
"Do you know one thing?"
"What?"
"Why the queen wants me?"
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
"What?"
"You carry something she has been searching for."
My stomach tightened.
"What do I carry?"
Shawshank looked at the golden mark on my ankle.
"The bloodline of the sea."
I stared at him.
Before I could ask another question, the tunnel suddenly shook.
A distant bell began ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Shawshank's face changed.
"What now?"
He looked toward the palace.
"The queen knows we've seen the memory."
"How?"
"The shell belongs to her."
My heart sank.
"What do we do?"
He took my hand.
"We run."
We started moving through the tunnel.
Behind us, the darkness began filling with voices.
Hundreds of them.
Whispering my name.
"Bjei…"
"Bjei…"
"Bjei…"
I held Shawshank's hand tighter.
Then one voice rose above all the others.
A man's voice.
Deep.
Familiar.
And somehow, impossibly close.
"My daughter."
Shawshank stopped.
I stopped with him.
Neither of us moved.
Then the voice whispered again.
"I've been waiting for you."