"Jay Lake - A Mythic Fear of the Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lake Jay)

***

In the end I could neither pray to Granddaddy nor thank the sea. It was a thing
bigger than me, bigger than anything in the world should be. My father had to hoist
me onto his shoulders and carry me down, I was so taken by my fear, though climb
pick-a-back terrified us both. I was past caring.

Step by step we walked into town in the deepening dusk. People smiled from
porches, then turned away at a slight shake of DaddyтАЩs head. I mostly watched my
feet kick the brittle-veined ghosts of leaves out of the way. It was easier than meeting
disappointed eyes.

By the time we reached our own yard with its ankle-high forest of pumpkins
and squash, Mom must have had the news. There were no lanterns lit, and though I
could smell cake fresh from the oven, it wasnтАЩt laid out in celebration.

тАЬLittle Ozzie,тАЭ she said, then knelt down to hug me.

тАЬLies.тАЭ The first word IтАЩd spoken since leaving the ear, and it made my
mother burst into tears.

тАЬHeтАЩs too young,тАЭ Daddy said from behind me, his voice rough. He reached
for my shoulder, that gripping hug, but his hand faltered and it became a soft slap.

тАЬThis is something we all do, honey,тАЭ Mom whispered to me. Her voice
shuddered like a wood saw.

тАЬIt canтАЩt...тАЭ I couldnтАЩt answer her. I took a deep breath. тАЬIt canтАЩt be true.тАЭ
Visions of an impossible silver immensity filled my head. Like a puddle, grown to
overwhelm all of existence. тАЬThe sea is too ... big.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩll put him to bed with some strong tea,тАЭ she told Daddy, talking over my
head is if I were already nothing.

***

After that the grown-ups were kind to me, kind they way they were to the
Boordma twins. I hated it. Miss Kermand suggested I spend more time in the library.
If I came and went from school at odd hours, no one threw apples or walnuts at me
in the street.

I read about water. Rain, and streams, and the ecology of ponds. Slowly I
worked my up to bigger water. If there was a thing as impossible as the sea in the
world, it must be in the library.

And it was. Pelagic Argosy, by Wolfe Jeanison, a book that drove me to the
dictionary time and again, full of prophecy and portent. And weirder books, A Gift
From the Sea, for example, that spoke of tide pools and beaches and island shores.