Free Cerulean (One Thousand Blues) by Anna Kyss Page B

the song that was playing. I try to stroke the strings faster, then slower, but the pretty melody never appears.
    “Stop teasing her.” Jesse turns to me. “You have to learn how to play. There’re chords and different notes and all to memorize before you can make music.”
    “I can teach you, if you like.” Captain takes his instrument back.
    “What is the purpose of this song?” The whales carry valuable information from afar. The dolphins help us to communicate in a land without air. What is Human-song for?
    “The purpose?” Captain smiles. “You underneathers! It ain’t got no purpose besides sounding pretty and helping us pass the time.”
    An archaic word comes to mind: entertainment . In the A.W., humans spent time and money on creating ways to have fun. Some people’s specialties focused entirely on pleasuring people. In the learning pod, entertainment sounded so strange. But here, listening to Human-song, I finally understand.
    “Well? Would you like a lesson?” Captain offers once more.
    “I—I think I will just listen.”
    They begin playing again, and I let the song roll over me: the ups and downs of the melody, the underlying beat—so similar to my heart—and the voices of everybody singing. Human-song is beautiful.
    Danny walks over and pulls Sydney up by her hand. He spins and twirls her to the tune of the song. In the bright light of the moon and the flickering glow of the lanterns, she throws back her head and laughs.
    Jesse sets his instrument down, then sits next to me. “Do you like dancing?”
    “Dancing?”
    He points to Sydney and her partner. “You’re staring at Danny and Syd. I thought you might like dancing.”
    Another new word: dancing . “We do not have… dancing… in the waters.”
    He grins at me. “I get to be your first dance partner?”
    “I am not sure how…”
    Jesse pulls me to my feet. “Think of the fun I’m going to have teaching you.”
    Fun . Such a powerful word, but so easily tossed around up here, where smiles and laughter and joy seem part of everyday life. Jesse still holds my hand and he begins to move—his feet, his body, his arms—to the beat of the music. At first, I am pulled with him. Later, I watch and mimic his movements.
    My body revels in the fast motions. Unable to swim, my muscles have felt cramped and tight. This movement feels so good. Without warning, Jesse spins me outward, then draws me back. I sigh as the song ends, not ready for it to stop.
    Jesse leaves me to whisper something in Captain’s ear. Captain pauses the Human-song to stare at Jesse, then he shrugs and begins to stroke the cords once more. The song slows; the melody is more drawn out.
    Jesse grabs my hand again, but this time, he rests his other hand along my back, pulling me close. He sways to the soft melody. Jesse still smells of the ocean, of home, and I place my face closer and sniff deeply. His lips lower and brush against my hair.
    Our movements remind me of seahorses, swimming in unison with bodies wrapped around one another, and I freeze. The seahorses’ connected swim is their mating ritual. Is this dancing a human mating ritual?
    My cheeks burn as I pull away. “Thank you for the lesson.”
    Jesse stares at me and runs one thumb down my cheek. “My pleasure.”
    The sky twinkles and glistens. The moon hangs low. Stars—too many to count—fill the remainder of the vast nighttime space. There are bright stars, twinkly ones, and some almost too dim to see. The moon and the stars, Human-song and dancing—my mind rings with all the wonders this day has held.
    I stare long into the night, watching the stars dance across the night with a backdrop of music and laughter and joking.
    Questions still plague me. Why would the Authority keep this beauty and joy from us? Why would he deny us the Surface?

 
~Tropical~
    13
    The next morning, Captain calls, “Let’s get our rig back to shore.”
    The boat is sailing home… toward Land . I will finally get to see