Page 92 of The Version You Hide

“Do I want to know what lurks beneath the surface?” she asks.

I snort out a laugh as I remove my shoes and step into the shallow end of the pool. “These guys are friendly, Kenz.”

“You sound sure about that.”

“I’m positive,” I say. She watches me with uncertainty, her arms crossed guardedly over her chest as I splash the surface of the water with my right hand. “Daisy! Cyrus!”

I hear her gasp as two large, shadowy figures surface in front of us. “Holy shit,” she curses. “They’re massive.”

I stride into the pool, the water lapping around the middle of my thighs.

“Should you really be wading into the depths of the abyss?” Her voice has become slightly higher pitched. “Like, really? Is that safe?”

“Sure. They’re gentle giants.” I swipe my hand over Daisy, giving her a rub, then turn back to Mackenzie. “Meet Daisy and Cyrus. The centre’s largest pair of stingrays.”

“Holy shit,” she says again, her hands coming to her mouth. “Are they dangerous?”

“Nah, they’re okay.” I stumble backward a little as Daisy pushes up onto me.

At 300kgs and almost four metres long, she has slightly more power behind her than Cyrus.

“Why do they look like they’re trying to smother you then,” she asks, her voice full of concern.

“They’re just hungry. And they love me. Don’t you boy?” I laugh, gliding my hands along Cyrus’s smooth sides. “Can you pass me the bucket?”

She hesitantly lifts the handle of the bucket, screwing her nose up at its contents as she peers inside. “Gross.”

I laugh at her reaction as I take the bucket, dipping my hand in to retrieve a large prawn. I hold it down into the water for Daisy to find. Mackenzie startles as Daisy flaps her body around in a frenzy, trying to siphon the food from my hand.

“They have to feel around for their food because their eyes are on top of their head,” I explain. “They can’t see it.”

I reach back into the bucket, this time pulling out a piece of squid for Cyrus. He flaps his body up and down, taking the food from my flattened palm.

Mackenzie bends down, peering closer to get a better look. “Is that why they keep flapping all over you like that? Because they’re looking for food?”

“Yeah, kind of. They actually have these electrical sensors around their mouth. They’re called ampullae of Lorenzini that help them sense their prey.”

Mackenzie’s head cocks to the side, her eyes narrowing as she raises one eyebrow. “Totally.”

“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “I tend to geek out over these guys. I just think they’re the coolest things.”

“That seems kind of like some weird evolutionary flaw,” she muses. “That they can’t see what they’re eating.”

“Well, it seems that way, but their eyes are on top of their head so they can still see their predators when they’ve buried themselves in the sand on the ocean floor.”

She smiles, her eyes softening, and for a moment, it makes me forget that she was ever sad. “Nerd alert,” she teases.

I chuckle, flicking water up at her. “You wanna have a turn at feeding them?”

“I don’t think so,” she responds with a wave of her hand.

“Come on,” I beckon. “Come and meet my friends.”

“You know, most humans make friends with other humans.”

“Yeah. Well, that sounds overrated.”

“Can’t argue with you there.” Her bottom lip disappears between her teeth as she contemplates my invitation and then a moment later, she throws her hands up in the air and kicks off her shoes. “Okay. What the hell.”

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