While Albert, Jerome, and Jack were upstairs, the remaining party continued to look out the large windows of the sitting room and admire the view.

“I suppose it will be enjoyable to watch the variety of boats and ships passing by the island from here,” confessed Augusta, though she was clearly still not a fan of the room’s décor.

William smiled. “Yes! And if you come and sit over here…” he walked to one corner where a pale blue loveseat was placed, “you can actually see Phoque King Light well. May be something fun to watch at night!”

“William, dear,” said Minnie, “you had mentioned something about a playroom for Horace being renovated nearby the main sitting room so I’d have somewhere to put him when I wanted to enjoy the view. Where is that?”

She did her best to look pitiful and weighed down, if her infant son was suddenly twenty pounds heavier in her arms than he had been moments before. Sophia rolled her eyes; her stepmother did not notice but her aunt flashed her a knowing grin.

William clapped his hands together. “Why, yes, my dove. I had asked the interior decorators to go with a seahorse theme in the playroom- I am curious to see what they’ve done with the space. If I recall the floorplans, the playroom should be right this way.” He began to walk off, followed by his young bride.

Augusta looked to her niece. “Well, Sophia? Aren’t you coming? Don’t you want to see how terrible that room’s decorations are?”

Sophia shook her head. “I have no intention of ever going into that playroom,” she answered.

“Well, not even once to look?”

“I don’t intend to be in any space that woman and her offspring occupy more than I have to,” Sophia replied, “I think I’ll just wait here.”

Her aunt sighed. “I understand your feelings, my dear, but that woman is now part of our family whether we like it or not. And don’t blame a son for his mother, at least not until we’ve seen what he grows to be.” She began to walk off after William and Minnie. “I’ll tell you all about the room later,” Augusta called over her shoulder, “I’m certain it will be hideous.”

As Augusta left to join the others, Sophia continued to stare at the rocky beach and ocean below, lost in her thoughts of how things came to be as they were now.

Her beloved mother had died not three years earlier from a terrible sickness; her father had sworn to his wife he would never remarry but had been beside himself with grief and loneliness in the days following. No doubt Minnie, then a mere raisin salesgirl on the corner before the Dilly Bear Factory entrance, had picked up on the wealthy man’s vulnerability and love of dried grapes. She had used her feminine wiles to worm her way into his affections. Minnie wasn’t an unattractive woman, but she was, as far as Sophia could see, the classic gold digger. Her father, however, was smitten and would hear no criticism, assuming his daughter’s dislike of his new flame was merely because she too missed her late mother. So Minnie and William were married and Minnie became pregnant and gave birth to a son all in a quick succession. Horace William Dilly was now the male heir to the Dilly fortune, as Minnie liked to constantly remind all, to cement her place and legitimacy in the family. It was easy for Aunt Augusta to say not to blame little Horace for anything, but to Sophia, that baby’s existence meant her father’s once certain affection towards her as his long-time only child had been usurped. It wasn’t so much that Sophia minded a sibling- she was, after all, nineteen years old now; a grown woman hardly concerned with the happenings of a baby. But that her father paid mind to what Minnie said, when she pushed him to consider shifting his will as to recognize her child as the more valued solely because he was the little boy her father had never previously had. Her father had loved her mother, Sophia was certain of it- that Minnie was trying to change everything and erase her father’s promises to her mother…that was despicable.

Sophia let herself get lost in the crashing waves below. “That woman is now part of our family whether we like it or not,” echoed in her mind. Aunt Augusta was sadly right, though Sophia did not like to recognize that.

Suddenly, something odd caught her eye, distracting her from her brooding about her family situation. It was hard to make out, but there appeared to be some kind of motion on the beach below, just behind some of the larger rocks. What was it? Sophia stepped a few feet closer to the window for a better view.

She squinted and waited, but the motion seemed to have stopped. Perhaps it was just the way the waves had broken that played tricks, she supposed.

But then, to Sophia’s confusion and horror, an unfamiliar form abruptly rose up from behind the stones. It had the physical build of a person, albeit one that was on the small side. Yet, while it stood like a man, it was coated in spotted gray fur; its head was almost like a seal, as were its limbs. But it appeared bipedal- that was very un-seal-like.

Whether or not it knew it had been observed, the creature suddenly shot off across the beach, running not unlike a marathon-runner might race towards the finish line. It was freaky and unexpected and Sophia could not help but feel a flush of shock raced from her head to her toes.

“Ahhh!” she exclaimed, unable to control herself and likewise unable to speak any clearer. “Ahh! Ahh!”

“Sophia?” The voice of Albert came from behind her. He had dropped off the luggage and returned to join his family where he had last seen them. Finding his not-biological cousin in a tizzy caught the young man off-guard.

“Ahhh!” Sophia cried again, and pointed towards the window at the beach.

“What’s wrong, Sophia?” Albert approached the window to observe, but by then the strange creature had disappeared behind more large rocks on the other side of the shore.

Sophia pressed herself against the glass trying to spot the horrible sight once more. “There’s…there’s something on the beach, Albert!” she finally managed to speak, a tremble to her voice. “It…it was a seal…but…a man…but…a seal…”

“A…sealman?” Albert asked, trying to be sympathetic but not exactly sure what Sophia was babbling about.

Sophia nodded emphatically, her eyes remaining in the general area of the beach where she had seen the creature dart.

“What’s going on?” the voice of William called as he entered the room, Minnie, still carrying Horace, and Augusta following with uncertain expressions. “We heard screaming, is everything alright?”

“It’s…Sophia, she says she saw something,” stammered Albert as Sophia continued to press her face into the glass. If a seagull had looked down as it flew by that mansion on the cliffs it no doubt would have found Sophia’s smushed face against the window an amusing sight.

“ ‘Saw something’?” her father repeated, “What did you see, Sophia?”

“A sealman!” she answered emphatically, “it’s behind that rock!”

William looked at his daughter and then looked to Albert. “Did you see a sealman, Albert?”

“No, sir, I saw nothing.” Once he spoke Albert almost felt guilty for not saying otherwise- it was true that he hadn’t seen anything, no, but no doubt now Sophia would sound crazy and that was the last thing he wished on his beloved cousin.

“Albert, it was there! I swear!” Sophia turned to look to Albert with a pained appearance that both made him blush by nature of making direct eye contact with her and filled him with shame that he couldn’t confirm what she had seen.

Sophia turned to the rest of the family, a craze look to her. “It’s there!” she repeated, “it’s on the beach!”

William tried to look behind his daughter but saw nothing unusual about the rocky shore and ocean outside.