Sea Lion Shores when the shadow comes to take me away

maman! val called again, this time desperate.

between them was a band of water which stretched around rosalyn like a ribbon. for all of its shallowness, to val it represented the pelagic deep.

his skin crawled in horror as he felt moisture at the bottom of his paws.

rosalyn seemed to rally, but the moment seemed fleeting. when she rose to her feet again val realized she was not there: that harangued, familiar look of distance overcame the face of the mother he loved so dearly.

it was an expression he had seen a hundred times, but its familiarity made it no less cutting to witness. maman. val insisted, dancing from toe to toe as he struggled to find his courage. around him the sea seemed to loom as if some predator, waiting for his final, fatal move. where did she go; would his voice find her in that silvery veil?

he leapt just as a whimper pressed from rosalyn's throat.