I didn't need anyone playing matchmaker for me, least of all a sixteen-year-old girl.
I grasped a hold of the rope that formed the backdrop for the netting surround and pulled myself upward. I was a little dizzy when I got to my feet from a combination of lingering weakness and unsteady footing on the flexing net underfoot. A strong hand grasped my forearm and helped me steady my footing.
My eyes met the eyes of the woman who had saved all of us, "Thank you! Thank you for saving us!" I said trying not to be too mesmerized by the charming smile that she gave me as she half ducked her head in embarrassment at my thanks.
Her voice was throaty and had a rich accent to it, "We have not received visitors to our sunken world that I know of ever before. It is my honor to have been of help to you."
She was a mixture of bashful beauty with an underlying cheerfulness of spirit that washed over me like a soothing balm over an old wound. I blinked a couple times as I realized how badly I was losing control.
I asked the first thing I could think of and it came out terribly, "Your black?"
I could've slapped myself, but instead of taking offense at a perceived racial slur she laughed and responded with, "As are you", she said giving me a thorough going over with her eyes.
I held up a hand apologetically, "What I meant was, I thought the Whale People were all white."
She smiled at me charmingly in a way that said I was off the hook. She had a very gracious demeanor about her that I found addicting the more I was exposed to her.
"The Whale People are one people. Many are white, some are black, but light chocolate babies and black babies with blue eyes are born every day. To survive out here we must be a family who shares and gets along with each other. The Whale People are a people of equality and mutual respect as all people should be regardless of color or previous ancestry. Do you not agree with this?" She asked speculatively.
"I do agree!" I quickly affirmed.
"I'm just surprised that former slave masters would willingly view people of color like you and I as equals."
She smiled richly, "Survival has a way of breaking down such barriers. We all bleed the same color out here Mister………?" She asked, as she cocked her head to the side inquisitively.
"Eli." I said trying not to lose any more control then I already had in just a few minutes of being in this woman's presence.