Fall of 514AV, 60th
Silana couldn’t swim. It didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the Blue Grotto. There were walls to hang off, very few other Symenestra present, and from where Silana sat it didn’t look all that deep. Her feet hung in the cool water and sent out ripples along the surface. Beneath it Silana could see the shimmer of colors off the stones like little stars or another world hiding under the surface that (if she could swim) she could jump in a travel too. If she stared long enough they made constellations underwater, same as the one on her back.
As if drawn by her minds stories Silana crawled farther into the water until she was submerged from the waist down. Goosebumps ran across her body at the change in temperature. It was strange to feel herself floating, weightless in the water but without the danger of falling. Silana gradually sank herself deeper in to the water, gave her head a quick dunk and crawled back out. She sprawled along the stones, lulled by the melody of dripping water, waiting to dry.
--
Silana opened her eyes a few hours later to darkness. Her clothes still damp but her brain muddled. What time was it? How long had she been there? She sat up with a yawn, her hands flying to hair out of habit. She collected her hair into a ponytail and working her hands until she'd gathered everything. Then with her right hand she held the ponytail, the left began to twist her hair at the bottom until Silana could feel it twisting under her right. Silana released the hand holding the ponytail and wrapped the hair around itself until it formed a bun. She held the hair and tied it in placed. It was tight, the water made her hair ratty, pulled on the strands and sent small pains along her eyes. Silana ignored it.
She shook off her sleep and looked around, it seemed empty now. Everyone working unlike her. She sighed. Silana had more days off than any other Nest worker she knew. They’d told her anytime the surrogates seemed stressed she was not to come in until she had more experience. She understood why, injuries were easy enough to sustain there (whether to her or to a surrogate) but it was hard. She wanted to be doing something to help them.
The young Symenestra shook her head to throw away the thoughts. Stressing wouldn’t make her a good worker for the next day. Perhaps she’d just take another dip. Silana look around again then grinned. With a little giggle she jumped into the water. Bubbles and red clouded her vision. Her shirt twisted around her arms and for a second Silana panicked. Her hands groped the water blindly for a ledge of some sort to pull herself out.
