Chapter Text
“Alberto, get back from there! What did I tell you?”
Alberto scuttled away from the edge of the water as his father’s boat pushed into the cove. “Dad, guess what I found--”
“What did I tell you?”
“‘Stay away from the water.’ But I just wanted to show you--”
“And what if it hadn’t been me coming to the island?” Bruno hopped into the shallows, dredging the boat up onto the shore. “What if it had been one of the fishermen from the town?”
“I was back far enough, I didn’t even get my feet wet.”
In response, Bruno kicked up water as he stomped onto the beach. A splash caught Alberto across his legs, revealing scaly knees and shins. “Back far enough, eh?”
Alberto quickly shook off the droplets to dispel the scales and webbing between his toes. But it was too late. His father already had him by the forearm and was dragging him back up the hill.
“How many times do I have to remind you? One little splash is all it takes. And then what do you think happens when they see you?”
Alberto knew the answer. He’d heard the lecture often enough. But he kept silent.
“Your mother didn’t listen to me, and look how she ended up. Sometimes I swear you’re trying to wind up like her. Why would you want to do that to me?”
“I don’t!” said Alberto. “I’m sorry, I just…”
They’d reached the base of the tower. Bruno sighed and ran a hand across the stubble on his chin. “I know. And I’m sorry I yelled. But no more taking chances, ‘Berto. Stay in the tower next time, yes?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Up you go.”
Alberto clambered up the mish-mash of ropes and planking that served as a ladder, his father right behind him. As soon as Bruno made it to the solid landing, he kicked off his sodden boots, slung himself into his hammock, and draped an arm across his eyes.
Alberto tried not to be disappointed. That was the ‘don’t-bother-me-I’m-tired’ posture. But he’d been patient all day and Alberto couldn’t just go to sleep and wait until tomorrow to find out. “Dad?”
“Hm?”
“Did you...bring anything from the human town?”
“What?” Bruno peeked out from under his elbow.
“Was the bakery open this time? Did they have any of those bread rolls--”
“Alberto, don’t pester. I didn’t have time today.” Bruno rolled over in the hammock. “If you’re hungry, eat some of the rations.”
For a moment, Alberto considered letting the matter drop. But the stash of human rations had run out two days ago, and he was getting tired of diving for nothing but kelp and minnows. Besides, he wasn’t really supposed to be going in the water, even on the south side of the island away from the human town.
“I can’t,” said Alberto. “They’re all gone.”
Bruno sat up. “You used them up already?”
“I tried not to,” said Alberto. “Remember you promised you’d get more last week? But then you said the store was closed every day when you checked.” Sometimes Alberto wondered how his father managed to not be bored every day in Porto Rosso when so many of the places he talked about visiting were always closed.
“‘Berto, we’ve talked about this. You have to stop being so rash and wasteful.”
“I wasn’t! I split them into little sections like you showed me. Even littler ones than normal, so they’d last longer.”
Bruno heaved a sigh, and Alberto knew he’d disappointed him yet again. It never seemed to matter how hard he tried, or how well he followed the rules.
“I’ll get some tomorrow,” Bruno said. “Now please, no noise. Let me have some peace.”
As quietly as he could, Alberto climbed up to his own hammock. He thought of his little hidden stash of items at the base of the tower. Swimming and diving weren’t allowed, but after the rations ran out, he’d had to. In the end, that was what had helped him finish his collection. There were tons of human things sunk in the water. Just dropped and abandoned.
He’d wanted to show his dad tonight, but maybe tomorrow morning would be even better. Alberto closed his eyes and tried to sleep, determined that this time his dad really would be impressed.
----
He woke up early, as usual. While Bruno was still snoring, Alberto sneaked down the ladder and retrieved his items.
He’d found a straw hat, an oversized coat with three remaining buttons, and two mismatched boots. The coat and shoes had been sitting for a while to dry out. The hat was still a little damp since he’d only found it yesterday, but that didn’t matter as much. He dressed and, once everything was settled properly, headed down the boat.
To prove that he was still being good, he deliberately left the boat beached where it was. He climbed inside while it was still on the sand and sat on one of the wooden benches. He wasn’t sure how long he would have to wait, but he didn’t mind.
For a while, he watched clouds and counted seagulls. After that, he picked up one of the oars and pretended to row. He called out orders to an imaginary crew and fought off a kraken that could camouflage itself as an ordinary boulder. Soon he was rocking the boat back and forth to throw off the pirates that were trying to board him when--
“ Alberto! ”
He turned.
His father was charging down the hill, his face red with fury. “Get out of that boat!”
Before Alberto could move to obey or even call out a word of explanation, Bruno grabbed him by the collar and hauled him over the rim. Alberto sprawled, face down in the sand.
“I’ve said it, over and over, and I don’t know why your head is so thick you can’t seem to understand. Stay away from the water, away from boats, away from--”
“I just wanted to show you!” Alberto scrambled to his feet. “Look, I found all this, so I’m ready. I thought I could--”
“Found this? What do you even think this is?” Bruno swiped the straw off Alberto’s head. “It’s not a hat! It’s a basket that people carry. On their arm. Do you know how stupid this makes you look to a human?”
Alberto watched, stunned, as his father threw the basket to the ground and stomped it flat.
“And this? This is a raincoat. No one would wear it in the sun!” He grabbed at one of the sleeves, yanking Alberto off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground once again. Bruno tore the coat off of him and tossed it into the water.
“You think this is what will make you human?” Bruno snatched one of the boots off Alberto’s feet and waved it in his face. “These don’t even have laces! ”
Tears were piling up, threatening to overflow. Alberto scrubbed at his eyes to keep them at bay. “But, I--”
“You think playing dress-up is good enough to hide your monster half? That it’ll make the humans accept you?”
“I...I just wanted...to come with you this time…”
“You can’t come with me! Ever!”
Alberto felt as if the air had vanished from his lungs. The tears should have broken loose, but instead, they seemed to freeze in place. He sat on the hot sand, feeling cold.
Bruno seemed to deflate. The boot dropped from his grip and thunked into the sand. He rubbed his temples. “Why do you do this to me, ‘Berto? Why do you work so hard to make me yell?”
“I’m sorry,” Alberto whispered.
Bruno snatched up the oar from where it had fallen and pushed the boat into the water. He turned his back on Alberto as he climbed in. “Go back to the tower.”
He paddled out of the cove and around the curve of the island without looking back.
----
To Alberto’s relief, his father returned just a few hours later. By that time, he had a new plan. One that would definitely work.
He’d recollected the boots and the raincoat and the basket. And he’d fixed the basket, puffing it back into its round shape. It still had a seam from where it had been stomped, but other than that it was very nearly back to perfect. He had the items laid out nicely in the tower, along with a few more bits and pieces he’d found washed up on the beach.
So when his father pulled the boat back into the cove, Alberto was ready. He waited patiently in the tower as Bruno unloaded some large crates from the boat and began to haul them one at a time up the hill.
“Dad, I’m glad you’re back,” said Alberto, when they had finally hefted everything up to the landing. He tried to slide one of the crates towards the wall, feet slipping as he tried to push something that was heavier than he was. “Oof. I’m really sorry, about earlier. I--”
“It’s all right,” said Bruno. He patted Alberto on the shoulder. “You just don’t understand about human things, that’s all. I forget sometimes.”
“That’s what I was thinking about, too,” said Alberto. “So, I promise I won’t hide any human stuff anymore. And I'll figure it out better, so I don’t make mistakes like this morning. And you can tell me all about it, so that--”
“Sure. But later. Hold this steady, will you?”
Alberto braced the crate while his father levered it open, revealing a stash of rations. More than Alberto had ever seen at one time. And there were three more crates. “Are all of these food?”
“Yup,” said Bruno.
“You must have got everything in the whole store!” Alberto hadn’t thought human food came in such large quantities. Usually, his father brought back a few tins of rations at a time. If the bakery was open, he might come home with two or three little bread rolls on a good day.
“Should last a while.” Bruno unhinged the lid on the last crate so that all of them were open. He began stacking them neatly along the wall. “Listen, Alberto, I’ve been thinking. I might not have been very fair to you earlier, and for that I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” said Alberto. “I should have asked--”
“I’ve been too stressed, hauling back and forth from here to town and back again every single day. It wears on me, and I didn’t handle it very well.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll do better, too--”
Bruno set the last crate in place. “I need some time to clear my head. To make sure I won’t lose my temper so much. That would be good for both of us, don’t you think?”
“Oh,” said Alberto. “Sure, I guess.”
“Good.” Bruno patted Alberto on the shoulder again and made his way towards the ladder. “You’re old enough to be on your own for a bit. I’m trusting you to take care of things, all right?”
“Um, all right.”
Bruno headed down the ladder. For a moment, Alberto just watched him go. A hundred questions suddenly buzzed through his head. He dashed to the top of the ladder and started to follow.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Bruno, looking up.
“I...well, what if--”
“We just talked about this. Can I rely on you or not?”
“Yes! I mean--”
“Then do it, Alberto.” Bruno hopped off the last rung and onto the ground. “Be good. Don’t leave the tower.”
So Alberto stayed on the landing, watching through the crumbled wall as his father strode down the hill and climbed back into the boat. He watched the boat shrink as it paddled further away, until it disappeared altogether.
-----
Alberto tried his best to do a good job taking care of things. He separated the human rations to make groupings for each day, week, and month. He stayed in the tower like he’d been told, for almost a week straight. He kept track of how many days passed.
This was all going to make for an excellent, organized report when his father came back. But as weeks went by, he thought maybe he had the time to do an even better job.
He began collecting as many human things as he could find. The more he had ready when his father returned, the quicker he would be able to learn. He found pretty seashells and gull feathers to decorate the walls and make the tower look more homey. He dove for kelp and fish more often, to have as many rations leftover as possible. He found an old kettle and collected his own firewood and made a proper light at the top of the lookout so that his dad could find his way in the dark.
And he waited.
One evening, he forgot to make a tally on the wall. He got up hastily in the middle of the night and scratched it as best he could with no light. In the morning, it was obviously crooked.
He could almost hear his father’s voice in his head, sighing when he saw it. “ Alberto, you’re so careless. Couldn’t you even bother to mark a straight line? ”
An apology leaped to the tip of his tongue. Alberto very nearly said it out loud. Then he clamped his teeth down and stamped his foot. “Quiet,” he said.
After that, the lopsided mark didn’t bother him quite so much.
For a little while.