Girl at the Bottom of the Sea by Michelle Tea

Author:Michelle Tea [Tea, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940450681
Publisher: McSweeney's

“That was great,” she said shyly.

“Angie likes to help out however she can,” said Menja, or perhaps Fenja. “She was in a some very bad relationships when she showed up here, and we helped her out of them.”

“We sure did,” said Fenja, or perhaps Menja. “With my very own hands I plucked three different males out of her. One had been latched onto her so long his eyes had vanished. Another had lost all of his organs.”

“It’s the anglerfish way,” the other Ogress said with a sad shrug when she saw Sophie’s surprise. “The males are parasites, they merge totally with the females—but poor Angie was really upset about it.”

“They were bringing her down,” the other Ogress nodded. “So we got rid of them, and now her energy is a lot lighter. She’s my favorite reading lamp.” The ogress reached down and gave one of the fish’s spines a little tweak. “Aren’t you, Ang?”

“Not so easy on the eye,” said Menja or Fenja. “But not much down here is. Wait until you see the frilled shark, if you haven’t already.”

“I don’t think I have,” Sophie said politely, waving to Angie as she swam away.

“Oh, you’d know it. Once you see a frilled shark, you never forget.”

“But enough with all that,” spoke the other Ogress grandly. “Please, dig in!”

Sophie was charmed by how small she was in the Ogresses’ world, walking across their dining table as if she had become a fairy, or Alice in Wonderland. The table was piled high with a mountain of dried fish, crusted in banks of salt, and salted tangles of sea greens sat in chunky bowls of carved-out salt. She watched in awe as the sisters grabbed fistfuls of fish, entire schools, and tossed them into their mouths whole like they were no bigger than sardines. Sophie ran around the table like a mouse, scavenging; she sought out the occasional stray fish that fell through the Ogresses’ fingers, dunking it in the dust that fell from their huge chunks of salt.

“This is so good!” the girl cried. It had been so long since she’d had anything but whatever raw sea creature she was able to get her hands on. To eat fish that had been salted and cured, plants that were seasoned—it was, to Sophie, the best meal of her life. She ate until her belly strained against the coral-and-rope fastening of her new clothes, and then she lay down on the table, laughing, her back against a giant jar of phosphorescent plankton, their green glow lighting her from behind. She felt overcome with gratitude for these loving giants, for Syrena, even for the anglerfish. “And these clothes you made for me. They’re—so cool.” Sophie looked down at herself again, gently fingering the soft strips of shark leather edging her pockets. “Thank you.”

“We are so glad you enjoy it,” said Fenja or Menja. The two Ogresses gazed down at Sophie, their hazel eyes catching the luminescence of the creatures swimming in the jar. “We have been waiting, like so many others, for you to come and stop the Invisible.

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