The girl gets to her feet, takes a deep breath, and jumps with a ballerina’s grace into the dark, star-studded water lapping against the base of the rock. She propels herself with powerful strokes down, ever deeper, toward the dreaming shadowy spirits.

Then I see something else, another shadow, emerge from the darkness and, with movements reminiscent of a mermaid or a siren, swim silently in the direction of the girl. I kneel down in the swaying boat and try to shout, “Go away! Leave her alone!” at the shadow. I see the floating figure reach for the child’s foot and drag it down toward itself, snaring the girl’s calves in long, dark fingers. Long strands of hair wind themselves like creepers around the child. I see the girl contorting and twitching, but the figure simply entangles her even more firmly, and then the two of them sink down into the dark depths.

The child doesn’t attempt to break free. She gazes up at me, just as my father did while he was sinking into the sea all those years ago, with his eyes open, looking at me as the deep enveloped him. And I did nothing. Nothing.

My heart screams with fear, but I have to do it. I breathe in and dive headfirst into the sea. The water is cold, salty, and familiar. Down in the silent depths something is waiting for me. It raises its head and watches me as I attempt to plunge after the child.

The first cramp I feel in my calf is the cold clasp of a hand. I feel the tug of the undertow, pulling me out into the Atlantic and its thousands of miles of unbroken water.

The girl gazes at me and I can see her face and her sea-blue eyes merging into the waters beneath her. She has a look of desperation on her face, as if she cannot believe that it is not as she thought it would be. She seems to want to head back to the tiny dot of light above us and above the waves. My lungs and my head are burning. My pulse is hammering against my skull.

A second bout of cramp. I won’t have enough strength. I dive and dive, and when I can no longer feel my feet, my legs, my lower body, and my face, the creature that is holding the child in an iron grip and dragging it downward turns to face me—and I recognize her.

Her gaze is a blinking light in the darkness. A moment later I feel the pull. I’m incapable of following them any farther. I must breathe, I must return to the light! Only for a second and then I’ll try again. Again and again!