Following behind Wilder down to the beach, it seemed we were the last ones to arrive. Everyone was cleaning up parts of the plane and the luggage. Wilder's mother waved us over. He walked across the sand like it wasn't molten glass. I was trying to keep my feet off the hot sand as much as possible. I walked on the waterline and enjoyed the cold sand under my feet. They were piling up the luggage they were finding, and I remained hopeful that mine would be in there, too.
There was nothing really of value, a family photo, clothing, a few other things. It was mostly just clothing and keepsakes. They had emotional value, and that was it.
Wilder's mother pulled him aside and spoke hushedly with him. It clearly wasn't meant for me to hear. I stood there and looked off into the water, much like I had done on the beach.
Stepping into the water, it was still bone-chilling. I only went ankle deep. That was more than enough to be reminded of being deeper in the chilled water before. Turning to look back at Wilder, I saw someone walking on the top of the water; I wanted to do that so bad. It looked so damn cool. Walking down the beach, I got closer and watched. They perfectly timed each step they took. They saw me watching and approached.
"Hi, we haven't met yet. I'm Ocean." Her eyes were the same colour as the blue ocean and it made me chuckle.
"I'm Adler."
"I saw you before when the Chief brought you to see us dance and sing."
"Oh. I didn't see you."
"That's alright. Did you want to try? You looked so interested in my gift."
"Will that work?"
"Don't know until we try. No one has ever tried. You best take my hand to be on the safe side."
"Alright."
The worst case would be I get wet, best case, I would walk along the water top.
I timed my steps with hers. At first, water covered my toes, but then it didn't. It was like a solid surface under my feet and it was amazing.
"I've never been able to share my gift before. This is amazing!" She said excitedly. It was like I could feel her emotions flowing through the grip she had on my hand.
"I can feel your emotions, I think..." I blurted, and she pulled her hand out of mine in shock.
"Wait!"
I didn't even get to grab her hand again. The water swallowed me up and holy it was cold. My feet didn't even touch the bottom here. I struggled to get back up to the surface. Panic set in my chest again and I tried to calm down enough to focus on getting air again.
Breaking the surface of the water, I got a breath of air, and I had been swept out further than I had been before. I saw Wilder stripping down to nearly nothing. He was going to save me again. Using my hands to keep me floating, I went hand over hand. The water was quickly tiring me out, but that was because of the temperature. I knew this.
Wilder met me at the point where my feet touched the bottom. He wore a flat lipped expression, but I could feel his annoyance in the hand that grabbed mine and pulled me out of the water with him.
Standing on the beach, soaked, I shivered as I tried my hardest to apologise.
"I'm sorry, I know you are annoyed with me! I didn't mean to fall in! I really——"
"How do you know I'm annoyed with you?" his eyes narrowed, making them the most animalistic I had ever seen them.
"When you grabbed my hand, I felt it. I felt her emotions, too. That's the reason I fell in."
"Your gift."
"Maybe I don't know, But I really am sorry! I really didn't mean to fall in."
He turned without saying a word, and I panicked, grabbing his hand. I heard him pull in a breath and he touched his chest right where I felt my panic and he tore his hand out of mine. He looked relaxed again the minute he was free of my grip.
"Come along. We have work to do."
He dressed again, pulling his dry clothing over his wet underwear. He didn't complain, rather he just said nothing at all. Not until he told me to say right there while he went to speak to his mother again. The whole hand deal was what I thought it was about. I kept my hands covered with the soggy sweater sleeves. I wasn't a fan, but it was better than causing him any more problems.
I picked up a bag and carried it over to the pile, setting it on the top and went back to looking through the pieces that had washed up. There were a lot of plane pieces on the beach now. When I looked back at Wilder, Ocean was there to speak with his mother and the feeling of dread filled me.
It was like he must have known too; he looked up, his eyes locking with mine. I tore my eyes away from his and back to the task at hand. Liv, the woman that seemed to be close to the Chief, touched my arm.
"Don't worry too much about what happened. It's not the first time, and it takes time to adjust to life here. Wilder isn't used to having someone he needs to keep alive. He has been alone for a while. He has always been rough to manage his emotions, too. I wouldn't take it to heart. I know you are just trying."
"You act like you have known him for a long time."
"I have. His mother and I are together. I helped raise him."
"I wondered if maybe you two had an intimate relationship. I saw the love in your eyes when you looked at her."
"Yes, since before he was born."
"I touched him and I knew his feelings towards me. I did the same thing to the women, Ocean."
"You have found your gift."
"I don't want—-"
"Oh, don't say that. Each gift is special, and yours is no different. Believe in that."
She took my hand, and I felt her peaceful emotions. I hoped she could feel my emotions, too.
"You have a lot of panic and sadness." She said, holding both my hands now.
Wilder returned, and he looked less than thrilled. He helped me finish cleaning up alongside me. I covered my hands again, not wanting to accidentally touch his hand. He had a frown on his face, and I wondered if that was just his resting face.
By the time we moved all the bags to the Village, I was bone dry and really thankful for that. It took Ocean the rest of the day before she came up to me again.
"I'm really sorry I dropped you into the sea. It was an accident. I didn't even think about it. I was just in shock."
"Don't worry about it, it's fine."
"I feel terrible about it and I know Wilder is—-"
"You know I'm what?"
He seemed to come from nowhere, and she sighed.
"Nothing, never mind. I'll talk to you later, Adler."
She practically bolted away from him. I took it they didn't have a good relationship. And that was saying something, considering it looked like he avoided most of the others. I felt like I should say sorry again, but I just stayed quiet.
"Let's go. I have my own things to do."
Again, I followed behind him. He walked along the edge of the lake and cut long reeds. I carried them as I allowed him to set them down in my arms as he cut them. They were heavy, and he piled them on top of each other. Right up to my chin. He didn't stop, though; he got more for his own bundle.
He didn't tell me when we were done, he just started to walk off and I followed behind him. I set the bundle down after he held the cloth open for me. He pulled the furs off the floor until it was the reed mat on the floor. It was just a bunch of woven reeds, but they were crazy thick for being just plain reeds.
I helped him fold the furs, avoiding touching him still. He looked right at me again.
"I'm sorry I was annoyed with you. I know it isn't your fault about your gift."
"No worries, it's alright."
I smiled at him softly. I had done nothing but caused him problems and I think I would have been annoyed too. He made the mat so much thicker by weaving more reeds into it. He was quick at weaving new pieces into the mat, too; he was getting two or three new reeds into the mat a minute. I didn't even bother to ask if I could help; I knew I couldn't do it.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
He paused, looking at me, and then hummed.
"There is clothing out on the leather line that is dry if you want to go get them."
"Ok."
I took one of the woven reed baskets that were empty and headed outside. This was a simple task, and I knew where the line was. I knew there was no way I could mess this up. I just wanted to be helpful to him. After all, he was looking after me, even though he really didn't have to. I was sure there was somewhere else they could have put me, but he took me to his hut. He let me sleep in his bed, eat his food and drink his water. Everything he worked to collect.
I was beyond thankful, even if I didn't understand his motivation behind it.