| 10:23a |
@@@@@Then, slowly, it changes
back againIt's
@@@@@Then, slowly, it changes
back againIt's been that kind of dayAnd
haven't they known this kind of day was coming?
Haven't they seen it in Libbit's haunted eyes? Nan
Melda knows; even Daddy knows, and he's not here
all the timeToday he's in Tampa, and when they
look at the greenish-white horror that's almost
upon them, they know that Tampa might as well be
the far side of the moonThey are on their own
Tessie grips Lo-Lo's shoulder with cold fingers
What about the rip?
But Lo-Lo shakes her headThe rip is good! The
rip will take us to the boat!
There's no more time to talkThe frog-thing is
getting ready to leap againAnd they understand
that, while it cannot be real, somehow it isBetter to chance the waterThey
turn, still holding hands, and throw themselves
into the caldoThey fix their eyes on the slim
white swallow swinging at anchor close to them
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Surely they will be hauled aboard, and someone
will use the ship-to-shore to call the Roost
"Netted us a pair of mermaids," they'll say"You
know anyone who wants em?"
The rip parts their handsIt is ruthless, and Lo-
Lo actually drowns first because she fights harder
Tessie hears her cry out twice
Then, giving up, her sister's name
Meanwhile, a vagary of the rip is sweeping Tessie
straight for the ship, and holding her up at the
same timeFor a few magical moments it's as
though she's on a surfboard, and her weak
dogpaddle seems to be propelling her like an
outboard motorThen, just before a colder current
reaches up and coils around her ankles, she sees
the ship change into -
Here's a picture I did paint, not once but again
and again and again:
The whiteness of the hull doesn't exactly
disappear; it is sucked inward like blood fleeing
the cheek of a terrified manThe
brightwork dullsThe glass in the windows of the
aft cabin bursts outwardA junkheap clutter
appears on the decking, rolling into existence
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