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business—just a means to get here.
I’d yet to just enjoy my new form. I reached down to unclasp my
bracelet and realized Brigid still had it. No matter, I could get
it back from her later.
    My anklet thrummed, sending tingles up my
leg. “How do I Change? Do I have to dive in first?”
    Ula shook her head. “Just like you turned
back into your human form, you visualize it. See yourself as a seal
and you’ll be one.”
    I closed my eyes and did as she said. The
world shrunk and reshaped. When I opened my eyes, Ula towered above
me. I barked impatiently, and she laughed.
    “I’m coming!”
    The image of Ula as a girl blurred and
shifted until a small seal with red fur lay before me. I thought
I’d never seen her in Selkie form before, but I was wrong. I
spotted her several times when I lived in Peggy’s Cove. I just
didn’t know it was her.
    She turned and scampered across the rocks,
sliding into the water with grace. I followed close behind, clunky
and unsteady. Gracefulness must come with time. Or not. I sure
didn’t have it in my human form.
    The light filtered through the water and
highlighted the ocean floor. With my enhanced vision, I didn’t need
it. The underwater world shone crystal clear. All my senses
excelled here. Schools of fish swam by, and I caught the subtle
nuances in their coloring. A crab scuttled along the sand, and I
heard the click of his claws. With air, scents came through smell.
Under water, they were experienced through taste. My senses picked
up fish, kelp, and other things I couldn’t yet identify. Each scent
was sharp and unique.
    Ula rolled as she passed me, a shimmer of
bubbles in her wake. I mimicked her moves. The awkwardness I
experienced on land vanished here. I cut through the water with
smooth, strong movements. The rightness of it settled in my heart.
I flowed with the tides.
    We played for a while, twirling and flipping
with weightless delight until the cold hand of fear gripped me.
What was wrong? I sought Ula. With relief, I spotted her just a few
feet away. It took a moment to really notice her though. She was
frozen in fear. It wasn’t my emotions I felt—it was hers. Why was
she afraid?
    I had my answer a second later when a large
shadow passed by me in a blur. It moved fast, but I caught the
flash of white underbelly topped by dead, gray skin. A shark!
    The shark ignored me and went for Ula, the
smaller seal. If she didn’t move, she would be shark bait in
seconds. My heart skipped as her panic bled into me. She couldn’t
move; she was too scared.
    I had to save her. I swam for the shark and
butted its side with my head. Skimming around its tail, I sped away
before its jaws could catch me. I made it angry. It pursued me,
closing the distance. While the water was clear, I didn’t know the
landscape yet. Were there places to hide like underwater caves? I
discarded the thought as quick as it came. Too late for that. The
beast was almost upon me.
    I tensed and prepared for the impact, but
instead of the shark, I was pushed aside by another seal. Obviously
male, it was at least twice my size and light gray. It wasn’t my
dad. I knew what he looked like. Who was it? My uncle Padraic?
    The seal attacked the shark head-on. He
slapped it hard with his tail and rammed into its underbelly. The
shark moved to strike again, but before it could, the seal rammed
it, rolling it over. The shark paused for a moment, and then swam
away. Apparently, we were not a dinner worth fighting for.
    The seal stood guard until the shark
vanished into the distant darkness. Only then, did he turn and swim
to me. I had the strangest feeling that I knew him. He motioned for
me to follow, and we swam back to where I left Ula. She was no
longer there. Had she gotten out of the water or had there been
another shark? Praying she was safe, I swam toward the surface.
    When my flippers touched dry land, I
visualized my human form. My human form in jeans and a tank top.
While grateful to the male Selkie