The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh Read Free Book Online Page A

she says, pointing to herself, “and this is Dai and Miki.” She waves to them offhandedly, and Dai gives me a wide grin. “We saw you in the alley making a silent racket, and we came to investigate.”
    Dai looks from Mask to me. “How is it that you know what she’s saying, Mask? Can you hear her?”
    â€œOf course I can’t hear her!” Mask says, exasperated. “Her voice is a magpie, after all. I’m just using my wits. What do you think a human girl like her, caught alone in an alley in the middle of the Sea God’s city, would ask? Who are you? What are you? Why are you here? What do you want? I’ve answered all of these questions. Nod, girl, if I’m right in answering at least the one you asked.”
    I nod.
    Dai claps his hands. “Ask the girl her name, Mask! She’s very pretty.”
    â€œHow would you know if she’s pretty or not? You’re just a little boy!”
    I ignore their bickering and latch onto Mask’s words. Her voice is a magpie.
    I wave my hands in the air to grab their attention. Placing my thumbs together, I move my fingers up and down, mimicking the flight of a bird’s wings.
    â€œI’ve got it!” Dai snaps his fingers. “I know what she’s trying to say.”
    I nod my encouragement.
    â€œShe wants to fly. Like a bird. Should we take her to the highest waterfall, Mask? We could push her off. Th en she could fly!”
    I gape.
    â€œNo, that’s not what she’s saying!” Mask cackles. “I knew your bloodline was inferior!”
    â€œTake it back, Mask! Say you’re sorry.”
    I lean upward on my knees and wave my hands, trying to keep the two of them focused. “How did you know my voice is a magpie? Did you see what happened to me? Do you know where they’ve taken my voice?”
    Mask and Dai give me blank looks. Or at least Dai looks at me blankly. Mask’s grandmother mask remains showing its beatific smile.
    â€œUh,” Dai says, scratching the bridge of his nose. “Do you know what she said just then?”
    Mask shakes her head. “We’re not mind readers,” she says kindly. “Neither are we skilled lip readers. Treat us as if we couldn’t hear you even if you were able to speak.”
    â€œMagpie,” I say, mouthing the word. Again, I lift my hands, making the shape of the bird, this time bringing it down in adramatic swoop through the air. It’s more like the flight of a falcon than a magpie, but at this point, I’m past worrying over the details.
    Dai points to my hands. “ Th at looks like a falcon.”
    â€œAh!” Mask exclaims. “I see now. Magpie, right? We saw Lord Kirin and that wily thief Namgi got your soul, trapped as a magpie in a cage. You need it back, otherwise the Sea God won’t recognize you as his bride.”
    My eyes widen. “You know I’m his bride?”
    She must gather an impression of what I’m asking, because she answers, “What else could you be? Th e only humans allowed to enter the Spirit Realm are the Sea God’s brides—the only humans that are whole humans, not the spirits of humans.” She points between herself and Miki and Dai. “Like us.”
    She tilts her head to the side. “You’re not dead, are you?”
    Even if I had a voice, I’d be speechless.
    â€œEvery human has a soul,” she explains. “When they die, they leave their bodies in the world above, while their souls travel down the river. Spirits are the souls of humans who’ve pulled themselves from the river, too stubborn to move on to another life. We linger here in the Spirit Realm, wreaking havoc and growing fat on ancestral rites.” She pats her belly, and Miki giggles.
    I stare wide-eyed at them. If what Mask says is true, then they are dead .
    â€œLet’s help her, Mask,” Dai says, wincing as Miki bites downon his shoulder. “I