Ondine Page #2

Save them for a rainy day.

We sell the rest.

We'll get something for these.

- We?

- Your share of the catch.

You did sing. Just don't go

around town singing for everyone.

Come on into the Co-op,

we'll get ten euro a pound.

I don't want to meet anyone.

You've met me.

You're the only one.

OK.

- How are you, Mary?

- All right, Circus.

- You've done well today, then?

- Yes, for a change.

- And they say there's no lobster left.

- They do.

- Thank you very much.

- Lovely.

- Can I help you, Circus?

- Tracy, would this go near you?

- You want me to try it?

- OK.

It's a bit tight around here.

- At least you're not invisible.

- What?

Nothing. I'll take it.

- For who?

- Just for Annie.

- This would never fit Annie.

- It will someday.

- What do you think, Circus?

- I think that's not my name.

Sorry. Da.

- Do they give you a hard time?

- No, they're jealous.

How many of them have their own

set of wheels? Motorised wheels.

- What are we doing?

- I was going to drive you home.

- I'll race you.

- Annie...

- Yeah?

- Go on so.

- So, what's the story?

- Oh, she sings.

Who sings?

The woman in the story

I told you about.

- With the fisherman?

- Yes.

She sings to the

fishes and he catches them.

- You sure you're not dreaming, Da?

- Dreaming?

Yeah. You sure this isn't

some weird wish-fulfilment thing?

- Where did you learn words like that?

- I go to school.

- And I didn't?

- No. Let's be honest, you didn't.

- You move your mouth when you read.

- Is that bad?

No, but it means something.

So she sings, does she?

Yeah. A song in a

language he has never heard.

- That would be Selk.

- Selk?

A kind of seal talk.

- Do you know why she sings?

- Why?

That's the way they

communicate underwater.

- They don't speak, they sing.

- So the lobster hear her singing.

What lobster?

What I mean is, under the water

they hear her singing?

- The denizens of the deep.

- Are you sure?

- She's a seal. She's not human.

- She looks human.

- In the story?

- Yes, in the story.

- Whose story is this?

- It's mine.

- You're making it up?

- Yeah. For you.

- What're you planning for the weekend?

- Practising my new wheels.

Curious.

- Got you some things.

- Things?

- Messages.

- Messages?

Yeah, food and stuff. Even girls from

the water... You need to eat, right?

You need clothes.

Need to... tie their shoelaces.

Curiouser and curiouser.

- You know my size?

- Tracy in the shop.

She looked like... your size.

Thank you.

- Can I...

- What?

- Can I clean up this place?

- I suppose.

- How long are you staying?

- Depends, I guess.

- On what?

- On you.

On me? It depends on me,

you can stay forever.

- Forever?

- Forever.

Happily ever after.

Once upon a time.

I've been...

telling my daughter a story.

A fairytale.

What's the story, Da?

That's great. See you, Deirdre.

Hi, Annie.

God, you've a load of books there.

- I'm researching.

- Researching what?

Something on seals, is it?

My name's Syracuse,

and I'm an alcoholic.

I've told you before, Circus, that

confessional is not a chapter of AA.

Well, there's none in this town, Father.

I've been sober two years,

seven months and 18 days.

This is where they all clap, Father.

- Did you see that in the movies?

- Yes.

- Thank you.

- So, tell me.

I had a dream, Father.

I'm at his funeral and she's beside me,

and I'm panicking again.

Maybe you still want to be with her.

No, I'm panicking because

I'm back with her.

Can't happen. She's still drinking.

All I want is Annie.

Perhaps you need

to talk to someone, Circus.

- It's Syracuse. And I'm talking to you.

- No, I mean a counsellor.

I could put you both in touch

with one if you'd give me permission.

You have no permission.

I only talk to you because it's secret.

Well, whenever you feel able to,

tell me and I'll set it in motion.

Until then...

try to control your feelings.

Anything else?

I suppose there is.

- Yeah, I stole.

- Oh, dear.

- What did you steal, Syracuse?

- Some ladies' clothes.

Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear.

I don't like this at all, Syracuse.

- This is a bad development.

- It's not what you're thinking, Father.

- There was a reason.

- What was the reason?

I stole them because I was

embarrassed to be seen buying them.

- What did you want them for?

- They were for this girl I met, Father.

A girl? Where did you meet this girl?

I pulled her out of the water in my net.

- In your net?

- In my fishing net.

- You're joking, surely?

- No, not joking.

Dreaming, maybe. But sure I went back

to my boat this morning and...

...there she was.

And did she spend

the night in the boat?

- No.

- No?

- So where did this girl sleep?

- I'm not telling you.

- No. I can't force you to, can I?

- No.

- And you can't tell anyone, either.

- No, my lips are sealed.

But you'll keep me

informed of developments, Syracuse?

Definitely, Father.

- So, will I see you at mass on Sunday?

- You know you won't, Father.

I suppose I do.

You only avail of the confessional...

Because there's no AA chapter

in this poxy town.

You wouldn't say a couple of Hail Marys

on your way out, would you?

- What are you reading, Annie?

- For school. Selkies.

Selkies? They're a Scottish thing.

This one isn't.

Curiouser and curiouser.

What's that?

What Alice said to the White Rabbit.

- Come again?

- Curiouser...

...and...

...curiouser.

- See. I knew you were real.

- I was real?

- Yes. I knew it wasn't a story.

- What wasn't a story?

- The fisherman. The girl in the net.

My da told me a story about you.

- Your dad is Syracuse?

- Yeah, the fisherman.

So, do you have magic powers?

- Do you?

- You know I don't.

OK. You don't.

- Can you make me better?

- Better?

I'm sick. I've got kidney failure.

Didn't he tell you?

- What's your name?

- It's Annie.

Annie.

- I'm Ondine.

- Ondine.

I'm examining you for webs.

Well, do I disappoint you?

Ondine is French, isn't it?

What's a French selkie doing here?

- Who said I was French?

- You got lost, did you?

Yes. I suppose I did get lost.

- You cold?

- Suddenly.

Because you're on land now.

Your natural habitat

is in the water, you see.

- You seem to know a lot about me.

- Yes. I've been reading...

...researching.

- Want to come inside?

If I walk across the threshold,

you might put a hex on me.

- What's a hex?

- It's bad news, a hex.

Maybe underwater feels better.

- Better than what?

- Some days I'm sick all the time.

Does it feel better underwater?

- I'm not sure I know what you mean.

- Oh, come on.

Let's not try and fool each other.

We both know the truth.

And if we're not straightforward,

there's no point in being friends.

So we're to be friends, then?

We could be.

If we play our cards right.

So I need you to be specific.

Does it feel better in that

home of yours under the waves?

Well, it... definitely feels different.

And I know you don't

talk down there. You sing.

Yes. Singing travels better underwater.

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