In Sea-Salt Tears is a short story written by Seanan McGuire and published exclusively on her website. It spans thirty years of Elizabeth Ryan's relationship with the woman she knows as Cousin Annie.
Wound it with sighing, girl, kill it with groans;
Or get some little knife between thy teeth,
And just against thy heart make thou a hole;
That all the tears that thy poor eyes let fall
May run into that sink, and soaking in
Drown the lamenting fool in sea-salt tears.
—William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus
Author's Summary[]
It was 1972, and a teenage girl named Elizabeth Ryan thought her world was coming to an end. The daughter of two Selkies, Elizabeth had just been passed up for a skin. But when a mysterious cousin who calls herself Annie appears, Elizabeth finds other things to think about...
It can be easy to forget that worlds don't wait for heroes before they begin. It can be easy to forget that things happened before the lights came up and the story started. This is one of those things that happened: this is one of those tales that slipped through the cracks. It is the story of a girl named Elizabeth, and a girl named Annie, and what they were to one another, in the sight and sounding of the sea.
Maybe it isn't fair. But fairy tales never really are.
Plot[]
Part 1: Summer 1972
After Daisy receives a skin, Liz, Mathias, Tempe, and Colin are mourning her absence from their group of friends. A stranger named Annie joins their campfire in the dunes, and they talk about what it means to be a Selkie without a skin.
Part 2: Fall 1974
Annie visits the group for a second time after Tempe receives her skin. Mathias has moved back to Canada, where he has a better chance of getting a skin after the death of his brother. Liz and Annie take a walk and kiss by the sea, and Annie promises to see Liz next time a skin passes.
Part 3: Spring 1980
Colin receives Tempe's skin after her untimely death. Liz is heartbroken to be passed over yet again. Annie meets her on the beach, and takes her on a dinner date that turns into more.
Part 4: Summer 1987
Annie invites Liz to come live with her in San Francisco, away from the Ryan household. Liz struggles to find a job, but they settle into a life together. After about a year, Liz asks about Annie's parents. Annie describes how both her parents left, and Liz promises to never leave.
Part 5: Winter 1993
Liz's mother calls San Francisco- she has decided to pass her skin on to Elizabeth, if she wants to take it. Liz is two years from the age cutoff. She discusses the call with Annie, who declares that if Elizabeth goes to Half-Moon Bay to take a skin, she should not bother to come back. Liz leaves the next morning on the 8:30 Greyhound. Her mother takes her to the sea. In her boat, she learns what Selkies are and must make the Selkie's Choice. Elizabeth finally goes to the sea. She sees Annie watching on the distant cliffs. After her celebration, she goes back to San Francisco, but cannot find the apartment she and Annie shared.
Part 6: Summer 2002
Liz's father, head of the Ryan clan, dies. Liz takes over his position as head of the clan. Along with all the usual rights and responsibilities, she learns the final secret that the clan heads keep: that her Annie, the unclaimed cousin, is actually the sea-witch, come to ensure the covenant is kept. Liz looks into Annie's eyes and knows that she will never be forgiven for choosing the life of a Selkie.
Characters[]
- Elizabeth Ryan
- Luidaeg, as Annie
- Mathias
- Tempe
- Margaret
- Colin
- Daisy
- Colin's mother and father
- Elizabeth's mother and father
- Lenny, maitre d' at the bistro near the Mill Rose Inn
- Diva, Liz's daughter
- Isla Chase
- Claude Anthony
- Joan O'Connell
Mentioned Only[]
Places[]
- Half-Moon Bay
- unnamed Italian restaurant near the Mill Rose Inn[1]
- Mill Rose Inn
Mentioned only[]
- Disneyland
- Haunted Mansion ride
- Muir Woods
- Puget Sound
- Monterey
- Golden Gate Park