Spirits of Ash and Foam (21 page)

First Shaman was old and wise and knew the cause. “It is Aycayia,” he said.

Aycayia was the most beautiful woman in the
cacicazgo
. Every man desired her
.
And not simply the strong, young warriors. The little boys desired her. Old men desired her. Husbands desired her. Even women desired beautiful Aycayia. First Chief said, “Show me this Aycayia.”

So Shaman brought First Chief to view Aycayia from afar. They approached the
bohio
where she lived with her six sisters. When the sun rose, First Sister emerged from the
bohio
. And she was beautiful, and First Chief said, “So this is Aycayia. I see now why the men fight over her.”

But First Shaman said, “That is not Aycayia. That is but her eldest sister. Wait.”

And Second Sister emerged from the
bohio
. And First Chief said, “Ah, yes.
This
is Aycayia. She is even more beautiful than her sister.”

But First Shaman shook his head. “That is not Aycayia. That is another sister. Wait.”

And so it went, as Third Sister and Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister emerged one by one from the
bohio
. And each was more beautiful than the last. But none was Aycayia.

Finally, Aycayia herself emerged. She pretended not to see First Chief and First Shaman, allowing them to watch her bathe.

The moment he saw Her, First Chief was enthralled. And even old Shaman was not immune to the curve of her hip, the fullness of her breast, to her raven-dark hair and the light in her eyes.

And when she began to sing, her voice was so beautiful that First Chief said, “This Aycayia must be mine. I will kill any man who seeks to take Her from me. And I will make Her my queen!”

And First Shaman turned upon him. “No! I will call on First God, and he will strike you down and give Aycayia to me.”

And thus Chief and Shaman, the First Friends of the Taíno, were ready to slay each other over Aycayia.

Thankfully, the old crone Guanayoa appeared. She said, “First Chief, this Aycayia is no woman for you. She is First Witch. She robs you of your will to rule wisely.”

And further Guanayoa spoke, “And Shaman, do not call on First God, for Aycayia's magicks are so powerful that no less than First God would love Her. And using His power, she would bring an end to all the First Days.”

Guanayoa's words did not break Aycayia's spell, but the men's heat abated. And Guanayoa was able to lead Chief and Shaman away from Aycayia's
bohio.
With time and distance from her spell, First Chief and First Shaman regained themselves and were First Friends again.

“What must be done?” First Chief asked. “If she remains here, every man will kill every other man.”

“That is Aycayia's desire,” Guanayoa said. “She seeks to destroy you all.”

“Aycayia must be banished from the
cacicazgo
,” First Shaman said. “Else this First Witch will triumph.”

So it was agreed that Guanayoa would take Aycayia far away.

Fourteen Warriors were placed in seven canoes. They were blindfolded, so they could not look upon Aycayia. And their nostrils were plugged with rubber gum, so they could not revel in her scent. Aycayia was led to the First Canoe. She was bound so she could touch no one. And she was gagged so her voice could not enthrall. For Aycayia's magicks were so powerful, all the senses must be thwarted.

Aycayia's Six Sisters sat in the six other canoes. Guanayoa sat beside Aycayia and guided the blind warriors far away to Punta Majagua. There, Aycayia, her Sisters and Guanayoa were abandoned. The Fourteen Warriors were instructed to row toward the heat of the setting sun with their blindfolds in place. Only when night had fallen could they remove them and find their way home.

Guanayoa, Aycayia and her Sisters built a new
bohio
. And for a time there was peace, as Aycayia was forced to care for old Guanayoa.

But Aycayia would not be thwarted. She worked her magicks, singing to the First Men of the Taíno from afar. And each of the Fourteen Warriors answered her song. They sat in their canoes and put blindfolds on again. And they remembered their First Journey and crossed through the darkness in the same manner.

The Fourteen Warriors found the
bohio
of Aycayia on Punta Majagua. They found Aycayia bathing with her Sisters. She smiled at the Fourteen Warriors and sang them a song that taught them that only the strongest might have Her. Thus enthralled, each Warrior did battle against friend and brother. And by nightfall, all Fourteen lay dead on Punta Majagua.

Guanayoa, the old crone, was one of only ten witnesses to the crime. She cursed Aycayia. “There is no land safe from your magicks, First Witch! But I have magicks too! First Magicks! And if no land is safe from you, then you will never be safe on land.”

Frightened, Aycayia and her Sisters fled to First Ocean, hoping to escape Guanayoa's wrath. They stumbled through the water, trying to reach the canoes of the Fourteen Warriors. But Guanayoa's curse reached them first. The Six Sisters were transformed into dolphins. And the First Witch Aycayia was transformed into a hideous manatee.

But the magicks of Aycayia the Cursed are still strong. And it is said, she can still become beautiful to lure men into the water with her song, never to be seen again …

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ORDER SIRENIA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

Primed and ready, Rain staked out the lobby and intercepted the elder Kims, who sent their kids ahead into the dining room. Mrs. Kim, with only the slightest edge of desperation in her voice, said, “Is everything okay? Are we still on?”

“Of course. I just want to make sure we're clear on … things.”

Taking the hint, Mr. Kim asked the going rate for a day's babysitting on the island.

Rain pretended to consider this on the spot—though, in fact, she had thought about little else since arranging the gig the night before. “Hmm. Three kids for about eight hours? I'd say a hundred and forty dollars'll cover it.”

He balked. “A hundred and forty?”

“Plus, I'll need expense money to pay for their lunch and dinner.”

Mrs. Kim said, “We'll be back in time to take them to dinner tonight.”

“Oh, well, then I'll only need twenty for lunch. But I need that in advance.”

Mr. Kim stared at his wife. She stared right back, giving him a clearly legible
do not mess this up
look. He agreed to Rain's terms.

Rain smiled, quite pleased with herself and more than a little relieved. The going rate on San Próspero for three tourist kids was twelve dollars an hour. At eight hours, that meant ninety-six dollars, but Rain had correctly estimated the Kims would go for the one-forty. If Rain also cheaped out on lunch, she could toss in most of the extra twenty. Add in the forty she already had, and just like that, the camera was paid for. Or it would be.
All I have to do is get through this one day, and all my problems are solved.

(Of course, it seemed to me Rain had a host of problems neither money nor a camera could possibly solve. The way humans prioritize has always confounded my sensibilities.)

Just to make conversation—and to move Mr. Kim's mind off the unexpected cost—Rain asked Mrs. Kim how she and her husband were planning to spend their day.

“We're going to a place called Smuggler's Cove,” Mrs. Kim said. “It sounds very mysterious and romantic.”

“It's very a lot of things,” Rain said. She felt a little guilty for not warning them away from the biggest tourist trap on the Ghosts, but she couldn't risk them canceling altogether.
And who knows? They might like it. Someone must. Or else tourists wouldn't go there, right?

The Kims entered the dining room to join their children at breakfast. Rain followed. Though Wendy, John and Michael had only been alone for a few minutes, their table was already a disaster area. Michael had spilled his milk, and some of it had splashed into Wendy's lap, causing her to throw a fit of the hissy variety. John thought it all quite funny, until Wendy picked up his cereal bowl and turned it over in his lap right in front of their parents and Rain.

This action was, perhaps, extreme, even for a Kim kid, and it was followed by a moment of stunned silence. Even Wendy looked a little shocked over what she had done. Then, inevitably, John erupted. Strangely, his tantrum seemed to be more about the ruination of his Lucky Charms than the dampness of his lower half, but that made him no less voluble. The adult Kims hustled their trio of demon children upstairs to change them into fresh clothes, leaving Rain behind to sponge up the mess and wonder what she had gotten herself into.

Minutes later, Kims and Kimlets were back downstairs. Fred Kim handed Rain a twenty-dollar bill to cover lunch, wished her luck, and got the hell out of Dodge with his wife.

Wendy, John and Michael stared up at Rain. John said, “She's not the one you said.”

Wendy crossed her arms huffily. “I know. I like the other one better.”

Rain offered, “Miranda and Charlie will meet us at the beach. They're probably there now.”

Michael said, “I don't like the beach.”

Wendy whispered loudly, “He's afraid of the water.”

“I am not!”

“Well,” Rain said, “I promise you we'll have a great time.” She didn't actually believe this, but it seemed like a worthwhile lie to smooth things over.

John asked, “Will the womanatee be there?”

“Anything's possible on the Ghosts,” Rain said, not really believing that either. (Though she should've.)

John shrugged. He was in. Wendy and Michael were also enticed. For the moment, Rain had peace.

Said peace was brief—lasting only until the kids realized they were
walking
to the beach and at last found a theme they could unify around: heel dragging.

Charlie, standing in the Próspero Beach parking lot with Miranda, was stunned to see Rain emerge from the Big Blue Beach Bus, dragging the three Kims and a large canvas beach bag. “You took the bus?” he asked incredulously.

“I
paid
to take the bus,” she growled. “Four dollars down the drain. I better get free shipping on that camera.”

“What camera?” Wendy asked with a suspicious squint to her eye.

“Never mind,” Rain said quickly.

“I want a camera,” John said.

“If John's getting a camera, I want one too!” Michael screeched.

Rain's head dropped. Charlie turned to Miranda and said, “It's gonna be a loonnng day.”

No kidding.

Michael was, indeed, afraid of the water, and as much as he loved that yellow plastic shovel, he had a real knack for dropping it, burying it, throwing it, etc. It was practically a full-time job for Rain just playing fetch, and I don't believe she enjoyed it quite as much as I would have.

John complained about the sand. He said it was too scratchy. Plus it tasted bad, got in his eyes, under his shirt, in his hair, swimming trunks, etc. Charlie was awarded the thankless task of trying to keep the boy sand-free on a beach.

A couple of college-aged girls were lying on their stomachs, soaking up the sun and listening to indie pop at a volume loud enough to bleed from their earphones. Wendy laid out her towel in emulation. Within minutes, Miranda could see that the girl was frying. “Wendy, didn't you put on sunscreen this morning?”

Wendy didn't answer. (The college girls weren't talking either.) So Miranda slathered sunscreen on Wendy's back and legs. Then the college girls turned over. So Wendy turned over, and Miranda slathered her front. Then the college girls went in the water. Wendy followed with Miranda as her shadow. Then the college girls came out of the water. Wendy came out of the water, and Miranda tried to get her to reapply the gunk. Then the college girls
left the beach
, and that was it. Wendy declared it was time to go, and Miranda was at a loss how to change her mind.

It was Charlie to the rescue again. He spotted Ramon Hernandez and Linda Wheeler playing tetherball at the top of the beach. Linda wasn't in college, but she was a “big girl,” and Charlie managed to convince Wendy and John to observe the older teens at play. Rain and Michael joined them, too, and soon all six of them were sitting cross-legged on the sand, watching the white orb swing through the air on its long tether, round and round the pole. Even with Ramon basically ruining any chance he might have with Linda by slaughtering her mercilessly, taunting her lack of skill to boot, there was an elegance to the circular motion that enthralled the Kim children and even their chaperones. When Linda stomped away—with a belatedly sorry Ramon trailing after—it wasn't hard to convince the kids to take up the game. In fact, it looked as if a little tether-tournament might fill the rest of the day.

John certainly enjoyed the planning stages. He used a piece of chalk and the pavement to diagram a bracket displaying who would play against whom and in what order. This required some negotiation, but it remained remarkably civil once everyone conceded Wendy could go first against Charlie (this combination being the closest she could come to copying the Linda-Ramon dynamic). But the planning wound up being the
fun
part, and once they started playing, it was all downhill from there.

Start with Wendy getting rope burn. Move on to John hitting it so high that a crying Michael could never even touch the ball. Mix in Rain attempting to intervene and taking a tetherball right to the nose. End with John stubbing his toe on the metal pole. Sixteen minutes into the tournament, all three Kimlets were either crying or trying very, very hard not to, and it was only 11:00
A.M
.