Shark Girl

I strolled down the boardwalk, nibbling on my ice cream, watching the world go by. Most people are busy during the summer, sometimes too busy to notice a teenage girl, but everywhere I went, I was followed by people’s attention. Their admiration. Their fear. Sounds like too much? Yeah. Being me is exhausting.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Only one new message. Halmoni. My Grandmother.

Don’t be late, Summer. Your parents are going to come home in an hour with your brother. I flicked the phone off. One hour. One hour left. Plenty of time to worry. 

The sun glared down at me and the shore’s heat scorched through my flip flops, tickling the soles of my feet, but I didn’t mind. I loved the beach. 

I trudged along the boardwalk, enjoying the packed sand, making footprints in it with every step. The beach was bare, except for some women trying to keep their children from sneaking off and men wearing cargo shorts. Same as usual.

But it wasn’t just any usual walk down the coast. Not for me.

Eyes followed my stride, gossip pouring out of people’s mouths. Is that the Asian girl? The one who swam with the sharks? Or, my favorite, Is that Shark Girl? 

I wanted to scream. Tell them that I could hear. That I wasn’t deaf. Anything. But I stayed silent. Words would only make it worse. Instead, I settled down on an empty mound of sand, ready for some peace. Of course, that didn’t happen. A little girl started to walk up to me.

“Do you want to play Marco Polo?” She asked. I looked up in surprise, kind of annoyed. The girl was four or five years old, holding an enormous beach ball under her arm. “My Momma says I shouldn’t play with strangers, but she’s not here. So do you wanna play?” She stuck out her bottom lip. I chuckled.

“Sorry, I don’t get in the water.” She frowned.

“Why not?”

“Because I just don’t.” I hissed, crossing my arms over my chest impatiently so she would bug off. She didn’t. Instead, she looked up at me with curious eyes.

“Are you afraid?”

“No.” 

“Are you not allowed to?”

“No.”

“Then why don’t you come play?” She moaned, her eyes brimming with curiosity. I groaned as a sly smile started to creep onto her face. “Does it have something to do with the sharks?” My heart started to pound, as my head slowly nodded.

“Yes.” I croaked. The girl began to whimper, caressing my arm. 

“You don’t have to be afraid.” She assured. “The people who run the beach got rid of them when some kids almost got eaten.” Her pigtails bounced with every word, as she inched closer and closer. Darn, leave me alone, kid. I started to back away, but to my other side was the ocean. Oh no. I was surrounded on all sides.

“I know,” I said slowly. “I know that they got rid of the sharks.”

“Then why don’t you get in the water?”

“Because I was one of those kids.” I whispered, bringing my knees up to my chin. I had already said too much. Way too much. The girl’s smile began to fade.

“What?”

“It was me. The kid who survived? That was me.” I squeezed my eyes shut, memories floating into my mind. I could still see them. Those jaws. Shark jaws. I started to shudder. The doctors said I would forget, eventually. But my sister was dead. My brother would never be the same. How could I let it go? The girl looked at me with curiosity. 

“What happened? How did she die?” Her look was intriguing. Familiar. And somehow, the strings in my heart pulled in the direction of doing it. Telling her.

“It was a beautiful, summer day.” I began. The girl crossed her legs and looked at me with her big blue eyes, ready to know what happened. Ready to know how my life had changed. I took in a breath. You can do this, Summer. “We had come here for the summer, to stay with our grandmother. Mom and Dad were out running errands, and my Halmoni was asleep, so I was alone with my big brother, Nick. He was twelve. And my little sister, Sophia. The baby. We weren’t allowed to leave the house, but we got sneaky about it.” I smiled. Good times. “Nick had been bent on getting out of the house that day. He wanted to go down to the beach and splash in the waves. But I didn’t think it was a good idea.

“What if Halmoni tells?” I asked, pointing a bored nail down the hallway, at her bedroom. Nick had been pacing the house like a caged tiger, yearning to be set free.

“We’ll be back before she wakes.”

“What about Sophia?” Sophia had been drooling all over her baby seat, giggling every time Nick passed her. 

“We’ll take her with us,” He said, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘Unless you’re too scared,’ Our relationship was like that of any other siblings. We loved each other to the core, but it was always a competition. Who was the fastest. Who could bring home the most A’s. Who could eat the most nachos. I looked up to Nick, and I hung on his every word, so in a few minutes, we were on our feet, strutting down the boardwalk. It was the kind of summer day that just made you feel perfect, loved, the sand squeezing the sores of our feet like a massage machine and the sun hugging us with all its love. Nick was a few paces behind, balancing Sophia on his shoulders, and I was skipping, a few paces ahead, smiling at everyone who crossed my path. The day felt perfect. Like nothing could go wrong. 

“Wait here,” Nick called out. 

“Where are you going?” 

“To rent out a boat. Dad gave me some money when we got here.” 

I huffed. Why hadn’t Dad given anything to me? But I didn’t want to be called out for being a sour-puss again, so I stayed silent.

An hour later, we were pushing a boat out into the ocean. The life jackets were tucked into the edge of the boat, forgotten amidst all the excitement.

“Are you sure you can drive this thing?” I asked Nick, reaching out from the side of the boat to touch the water. It was silky against my fingers, like a river rock, smooth from years of erosion.

“Yeah. Stop being such a ‘fraidy cat, Summer.” My cheeks turned hot.

“I’m not afraid!’ I exclaimed, turning away so he wouldn’t see my embarrassment. Nick rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, right,” He muttered. I grumbled under my breath, irritated, and leaned out of the boat to watch the waves roll by, sticking my hands into the ocean to feel the wet sand. Sophia drooled. Nick grunted as he paddled. I smiled. It was the perfect time to get back at him for calling me a ‘fraidy cat’. So I collected a handful of seawater and flung it in his direction.

“Gross, Summer!” He put down the oars, spitting seawater out of his mouth. I snickered, not noticing the sly smile appearing on his face. “Don’t animals pee in the ocean? You touched animal pee!” I started to scour my hands against my jeans. 

“Liar!” I screeched at the top of my lungs. Nick laughed.

“It’s true!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!” I was about to get up and punch him, but before I could, there was a soft whining. I looked down. Sophia, who had been giggling all along, was suddenly sobbing. Nick reached down to comfort her.

“What’s wrong?” I gazed out into the ocean, to check if she had dropped her pacifier.

“Nick! Look!” I exclaimed. The beach was now a line in the horizon getting smaller and smaller as the wind pushed our boat farther away. I could suddenly feel my heart pounding against my chest. Nick grappled for the oars.

“Hold on, it’s nothing to worry about.” His jaw was clenched, and for the first time ever, I saw worry in his eyes. I whimpered.

“WAHHHH!” Sophia screamed, tears pooling out of her eyes.

“Summer, hold her,” Nick ordered, gruffly. I swaddled her in a blanket.

“Hush, Soph.” I hovered my hand over her head to shield her from the sunlight. Sophia screamed, pointing out towards the ocean, kicking me in the face, pulling on my hair. “What’s wrong with you?!” And that’s when I saw it. The fins, floating around the water, circling the boat.

“Nick!” I screamed, hugging Sophia to my chest.

“Shut up, Summer! I’m trying to work here!”

“Sharks!” Nick looked down, studying the water. He was holding his breath, a hand around his neck like he had already begun to die. Tears pounded at my eyes. There they were, the fins, moving around our boat. Ready to kill.

“Summer!” Nick screamed, lunging for my huddled figure, but it was too late. Their huge heads burst up into the boat, splitting the vessel into a million pieces. My brother fell into the chaos, away from me, right into their jaws. The shark’s jaws. Munchers like arrowheads, blood coating their teeth like they had eaten too many Ring Pops. I screamed, squeezing the chubby fingers in my hand with all the strength I had left. Sophia wailed. The beasts struck again, throwing their heads back and diving down into the depths of the sea, sending what was left of the boat flying, and me down into the ocean like a cannonball. I was still alive, but it wasn’t long before that changed. The shark looked at me with big, unfocused eyes, like a mad man’s. You’re gonna die, Summer. The shark stared, displaying its set of killer fangs one more time, it flipped its fin and lunged, using all the strength in its massive body to fire like a missile. Straight at me. I started whipping my arms and legs around in the water, like an octopus, struggling to get out. Slice. Teeth dug into my side, a sharp feeling biting into my neck. I jarred my eyes open, pain bleaching the color from my cheeks. Blood. Red, floating around in the ocean like food coloring, pooling up to form clouds. Clouds of blood. I could feel the liquid slowly slip out of me, only feeling numb when I should’ve been able to feel hands reaching down to save me.

“Golly, kid, you need a doctor. What’s your name?” My rescuer asked from above.

“I don’t think she can hear you.” Someone else said. A woman.

“Summer.” I sputtered, seawater and blood bubbling out of my mouth. “Summer Lee.”

“Well, I’m calling the ambulance.”  I could hear hushed whispers around me, so I closed my eyes and relaxed in the sand, letting it massage my tired limbs. Until I remembered. Nick. Sophia. Where were they? I cried out sharply.

“What’s wrong?’ The woman asked.

“Nick. Sophia. Where are they? Are they okay?”

“What?”

“My brother and sister. Sophia’s a baby, and Nick’s a boy. He’s tall but not taller than my dad. He said the water was animal pee. But it wasn’t.” I was ranting, puffing out as much as I could to numb the pain in my heart. I knew it. Deep down, I knew that they were gone. 

The man and lady loaded me into the ambulance and called my parents. 

I don’t remember much about the hospital stay, except my mother clinging to my pale hand, sobbing. After a few nights, the doctors discharged me.

I would be all right. Thank the Lord.

I had thought that I was lucky. But I wasn’t

“Where’s Nick?” I asked my mother as I slipped on my shoes. She bit her lip, nervously. “Mom, where’s Nick and Soph?” Panic rose into my voice. Could they really be gone? Mom slid her arms under mine, pulling me back onto the hospital bed, balancing me in her lap.

‘Sweetie, Sophia is with the Lord.’ She whispered. Her lips barely moved, but I suddenly felt the world coming down around me. Pain. Agony. Sophia, my little Sophia. She was gone. Forever. I closed my eyes, trying to see her face, feel her features. Remember her giggle. But it all suddenly felt lost. Gone. Forever. ‘And Nicky, he’s hurt. Very, very hurt.’ She explained. I buried my face into her blouse, covering it in tears, and above me, I could hear her crying, too. 

‘I want to go see him.’ I finally said. She closed her eyes.

‘Okay, baby.’ She led me to his room. My eyes instantly filled with tears. My brother, usually laughing, his cheeks full of color, was suddenly pale. His limp body was hooked up to a bunch of machines, and his eyes were closed, sweat brewing at his brow. 

‘Nicky?’ I whispered. ‘What’s wrong?’ His eyes didn’t open. I was about to leave when a splotch of red infecting his snow-white hospital sheets met my eyes. I slowly peeled the sheets off, until I could see his legs. Or leg I guess. Because one of them was missing. 

‘It’s time for you to go, Summer.’ Mom said, pulling me up to my feet. But realization had already hit. Nick would never be able to walk again. All because of that one boat ride. It should’ve been me, I thought. I should’ve died. I should’ve been hurt. It all should’ve been me. I couldn’t sleep that night. I couldn't sleep for years after that night. Because Nick would never be the same. And neither would I.

I thought it was over. That we were all goners. But it wasn’t. Not yet. My brother was a fighter. He survived. He loved me just the same. And he grew up. So did I. But that day before the surgery, he looked me straight in the eye and said,

‘Summer, everything is going to be okay.’ I could see the fear in his eyes. I could feel his heart pulsing at the speed of light. But I somehow believed him. And he was right. Everything was okay. Is okay. Because we fought. Together.”  I took a deep breath and wiped the tears away from my eyes. They were pouring down my cheeks like waterfalls. The little girl looked up at me with a big expression, like somehow she had been enlightened. Like something had changed between us. Something special. “The only thing left was Sophia. No one ever found her body. But I still love her. And she’s still here with us.” The little girl grinned.

“I love you, too.” She whispered, before wrapping her chubby arms around me. I love you, too. The words echoed in my ears. I looked into her eyes, with a new light. Those big blue eyes. They weren’t brown, like Sophia’s, but they were the same. They had the same spirit. A ball formed in my throat. This girl. She was Sophia. 

Tell me. How did she die? The girl knew it. She knew it all.

My eyes filled with tears. 

My little sister had been born again. And she had found her way back to me. 

“Do you want to go play Marco Polo now?” I asked the girl. She cocked her head.

“But I thought you didn’t want to.”

“I do now.” I said. She grinned. Just like Sophia.

“This’ll be so fun!” And it was. It was the most fun I ever had.

…

“You’re wet,” Nick said, smiling. There was a laugh in his words. Like he was excited.  He raised himself from his wheelchair and plopped down onto the couch with a sigh. “What have you been doing?” 

“Swimming at the beach,” I said. His eyes grew wide.

“Swimming? But…” Wrinkles seeped into his forehead.

“Today’s a new day,” I whispered, before bringing out a black suitcase. He leaned back into the sofa. “Are you ready?”

“I don’t know, Summer.” He said, frowning. Like he was scared. I was scared, too. But I pretended that I wasn’t.

“You don’t have to be afraid, Nick. I’m here for you.” I murmured, holding his hand. He closed his eyes, tight, and nodded. My parents stood huddled in the corner, teary-eyed. Ready to watch their son walk again.

“Okay.” I opened the suitcase and pulled out a huge, prosthetic limb, tying it snug onto his stump. 

“A perfect fit.” I patted his thighs, smiling. He tried to smile back, but I could see that inside, he was unsure. About having a second chance. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.” I assured, holding onto Nick’s hand. He looked at me with big, nervous eyes before nodding.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” He stood up with a grunt and put one foot in front of the other. First, his good leg. Then his metal one. So on. Until he reached the edge of the living room. I could see his face twist in pain at every step, but he did it. He won. I cheered, pumping my arms up. My parents rushed forward to squeeze him in their arms. Halmoni stayed frozen in her chair, like she couldn’t believe it. I whooped and hollered until my throat was sore. My brother had taken his first steps in five years.

“I wish Soph was here to see,” Nick mumbled.

“She is. She is here.” I wanted to tell him about the little girl, about how Sophia had been born again, but he didn’t need to worry about that. Not now. 

“I did it. I won. ” He whispered, holding on to my hands. His cheeks were wet. So were mine. I laughed. He did win. He beat the sharks. And he beat the world. When I said this out loud, Nick laughed, smoothing down my hair.

“No, Summer. We beat the world.”