Aquifer by Jonathan Friesen

Author:Jonathan Friesen [Friesen, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780310731849
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2013-08-08T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

21

I walk toward the shimmering water, my face tight, my fists balled. Strange; all around me is talk and freedom, but my face has become what I hate about those above. I feel bound.

Perhaps there is more Topper in me than I thought.

It takes some time to pass through the Dwellings, skirt the outdoor market, and reach the Aquifer, but soon I stand on its shore, peering out at the underground sea. On my left, a group of children squeals and plays in the sand. But the man I seek wouldn’t be found near them.

I turn my back on the children and walk. I pause, kick off my shoes, and feel the sand squish between my toes. It is cool, like the Shallows. It’s in my memory.

“Well, Old Rub, this would be a place you’d like to see …”

There he is.

Seward sits alone on a stony shelf overlooking the water. I pad toward him, climb up beside, and plunk down. He neither nods nor turns, and we sit in the quiet.

The squawk of seagulls interrupts the moment. How did they reach this place? The birds round us, begging for handouts, but soon realize we aren’t in the mood and fly off. I peek at my uncle. I don’t know where my mate is, but he’s far from here.

Finally, he speaks. “What’s the difference, lad? Tell me, between where we were and where we are?”

I pick up a stone and skip it into the sea. “Are you kidding? Is anything the same? Salt water, freshwater. Amongus, no … Well, one Amongus. No freedom, total freedom, being wrinkle free.”

“Are you free? Am I free?”

“Not completely,” I say quietly, and exhale. “Birth still dictates what I will be, and I’m still Other.”

Seward glances down. “It be truth that above we are watched, directed, controlled. We have lost our souls. Most Toppers are no longer wild men. It’s why piracy isn’t about the gain.” He gestures toward the water. “But be we any different here? Is anything real? Take the sea; you could walk across it. It’s been tamed. Those clouds be the work of skilled hands. The air we breathe, the cool of the day — all controlled, directed. Hearts be free, but the body is trapped in a forever of comfort and safe.”

He stares out again. “And to think I spent a life desiring this, Massa’s world. I knifed for it.”

Suddenly he grabs a rock and hurls it into the Aquifer. After a great splash, the water stirs, then ripples, then stills. “Does the true sea do that? Can I dent it?” Again, he hurls a stone. “Ripples be the same every time.” He gazes into my eyes, his on fire. “I’ll miss it, Luca. The wildness of life. The danger of feelings and sudden storms and shark attacks. I’ll miss life.”

I don’t know what to say, but inside, desperation grows.

“So, mate” — his voice quiets — “live on, safe and secure.”

“And you?”

“Only you know the path to the surface. I have no choice.

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