42-Failing Again

  Krahs, upon hearing the child's cry, shot out of the house, his heart hammering in his chest. The moment he surfaced, his blood ran cold.

  His little ones were in danger.

  Fear took hold of him in an instant. Echoes of old terrors flashed through his mind as he swam as fast as he could, ignoring the pain in his wounded tail. But no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t fast enough.

  His injured tail betrayed him, refusing to obey his urgency. He pushed himself, forced every muscle, but the distance between him and the children only grew.

  Desperation blinded him. He launched himself toward the surface, swimming along the crest of the wave, trying to reach them before it was too late.

  But it was all in vain.

  His little ones fell.

  The water swallowed them whole. Krahs screamed—a sound of pure terror—his voice lost in the roar of the waves.

  When he finally reached them, he gathered them up gently, holding them against his chest as if he would never let them go again. He felt the crushing weight of failure. He hadn’t been fast enough. He hadn’t been able to protect them.

  His body trembled as he clutched the little ones tightly. Fear and guilt burned in his chest.

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  He had failed. Again.

  Tears slipped from his eyes, sinking slowly until they became pearls on the ocean floor.

  Carrying the little ones, Krahs swam back home, placing them carefully in soft beds of seaweed.

  But then, his own body gave in.

  Pain exploded in his tail. His vertebrae locked up one by one, as if breaking under their own weight. He tried to move, but even crawling seemed impossible.

  And then… he collapsed.

  His body hit the floor with a dull thud. He bit his lips to keep from screaming, to avoid waking the children. Hours passed, and the pain remained. Not even sleep came to ease his torment.

  That was when someone appeared at the door.

  Nalu, the sea wolf, entered silently, carrying some fresh fish.

  — I saw what happened this morning… — she said, her voice heavy with sorrow. — I’m sorry I didn’t help. I… froze when I saw it all happening. But I gathered herbs and hunted to make up for it.

  She avoided his eyes, as if guilt was eating at her too.

  — It’s… it’s alright now, sea wolf… — Krahs murmured, his voice faltering.

  Nalu’s gaze shifted to the pearl-covered bed Krahs was lying on. Her expression darkened even more.

  Without another word, she started preparing the food. She cut the fish, separating the softest parts and wrapping them in medicinal seaweed. When she offered it to Krahs, he hesitated.

  — The children first…

  — You need it too. — Nalu’s tone left no room for refusal. — I gathered enough for everyone.

  Krahs blinked. It was rare to see her like this—so determined. Her usual shyness had vanished.

  Seeing that she wouldn’t take "no" for an answer, he took the food and started eating. The bitterness of the seaweed mixed with the fish almost made him spit it out, but he forced himself to swallow. He needed this.

  Then it was the children's turn. It was even harder to convince them to eat, especially Nexha, who made a face of pure disgust.

  But when he saw the concern in his father’s eyes, he stopped resisting and ate in silence.

  Thankfully, the children weren’t as hurt as Krahs had feared.

  They were scared, exhausted, but not seriously injured.

  The weight of terror began to ease in his chest. Finally, Krahs could breathe.

  And for the first time that night, exhaustion won over pain.

  He slept.