Fins

by Ashley L. Knight

  There wasn’t anything else for me to do, so I just followed him to his silver Porsche and we returned home in silence.

  Chapter Five

  Now What?

  I’m not going into detail about the funeral. It was horrible. I don’t know why people say things like, “It was a wonderful service, just lovely.” The whole time, I sat staring at the shell of a person who used to be my dad and wanted to scream, “That’s not him! He’s not dead. Who is that person?”

  The house was dead without him; the life of the place, sucked out. Mom and Tammer took care of everything. The realtors swooped in and Mom hired one of them. The cattle didn’t belong to Dad, so they would remain on the property for the remainder of the summer, getting fat until they would be shipped to Nampa for slaughter. Mom gave our horses to the workers who helped Dad run the place all year.

  The whole thing took five days. Five days and everything was taken care of. They hired a moving company to go in and pack everything and put it all in a storage unit for me, supposedly for when I went to college. Five days and my life in Idaho was over. I’d probably never return. The sadness clung to my heart like a lead weight.

  Mom kept asking me if I was all right and I just kept answering yes. It was starting to get annoying. No! I’m not ok. My whole life’s been turned upside down and I don’t know which way to face! At least I didn’t lose both parents and Tammer was being very nice asking me time and time again what he could do to help me. I needed to apologize to him but I decided it’d be better to wait until we returned to Florida.

  We flew back the same way we came – first class. The flight attendants practically slobbered all over Mom and Tammer. The beautiful people always got treated well. I stayed in my area and kept my headphones on. Everyone got the hint.

  It was well past midnight, by the time we got back to the mansion. Mom asked me if I wanted to stay in the main part of the house. I told her no - that I needed some alone time. She said she understood, so I stayed in my room. For a week. I hardly ate and I didn’t get up from my bed. Everyone kept checking on me and trying to feed me.

  When I slept, I didn’t dream. When I ate, I didn’t taste. I barely remembered showering. My routine turned into sleep, wake up, pee, sleep, wake up, eat, pee, sleep, wake up, stare at the wall across my bed, sleep.

  Then I got a visitor. I was just waking up, when I felt the bed move. I sat up in fright, but it was only Naira sitting at the end of my bed. She looked like she’d grown, but that would’ve been impossible.

  “Hi,” I croaked, falling back into the pillows. “What are you doing here?”

  “Mama says you’re sick,” she said.

  I peered through one eye. I wasn’t going to get used to her being so grown up for such a tiny body. “Yeah,”

  She twisted one finger. “You’re not sick. You’re sad.”

  “Ah,” I said.

  “I make you better.”

  “Oh yeah?” I chuckled. Her innocence was cute. “How are you going to do that?”

  Crawling forward on the bed, she knelt next to me and reached for my face. She placed her tiny hands on my temples.

  “Close eyes,” she instructed and I obeyed, humoring her.

  I felt nothing but I kept my eyes closed. I could hear her breathing lightly. Then, I felt a warmth come from her hands. It started in my temples and seemed to slowly melt up over the top of my head, down my neck, over my shoulders, and continued until it ended at my feet. Then she removed her hands.

  “Open,” she commanded.

  When I opened my eyes, she was smiling at me.

  “What did you do?” I asked, almost too stunned to speak.

  “You fine now,” she said, sliding off the bed and scampering out the door.

  I rolled my eyes and turned on my side, facing the wall. It would be nice to still see the world as children did. That was impossible for me now. I felt as if something had changed inside me and things would never be as simple as they once were.

  After a while, I felt bored. I had to do something, so I got out of bed and had a long shower. The water felt so good - warm and comfortable. I wanted to stay in its loving embrace, so I turned off the shower and ran a bath. The bath had the same waterfall-like faucet as the sink, but it had four of them – one on each side. In no time at all, the bath was full.

  I walked down the steps into the water. This was the coolest bath ever. It made me feel like swimming. I swam to the area where I could lie down. Sliding into it, I was pleasantly surprised. The whole tub area seemed to be made out of a gel substance that conformed to my body when I lay in it. It was sheer heaven! If I could breathe underwater, I’d definitely sleep this way. My body was light and supported. I wondered if this was the way babies felt in their mothers’ tummies before they’re born.

  Stretching out, I closed my eyes and rolled my head gently around my shoulders. This was the life. I felt relaxed and content at that moment. Nothing could have dragged me from my bath. Sighing, I let my entire body relax.

  Dreaming. Finally. It’d been a while. I was lying on a beach, the upper half of me on the white sand, the lower half in the blue waves. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the glowing sun was generous in her warmth. I was wearing a brown bikini top that went really well with my skin tone. My hair was long and it spread out all about me in cascading waves.

  Looking down the beach, I saw someone walking toward me. As he got closer, I realized it was Thayde. He wore blue shorts. His beautifully tanned body set off his dark blue eyes. When he reached me, he smiled and stopped.

  “Hello baby,” he said and knelt next to me.

  “Where’ve you been?” I asked, feeling my heart racing in my throat.

  “I’ve been with Leigh,” he said and ran a finger down my arm. “She’s so happy we brought her.”

  For a brief moment I wondered who Leigh was, but as quickly as it came, the thought vanished, as I suddenly noticed that breathing was an effort. Pulling air into my lungs was difficult.

  “Are you staying with me?” I asked.

  He put one arm under my back and the other under my legs, lifting me. I realized my legs were not there. In their place was a beautiful golden tail. Thayde stood and held me close to him.

  “Always,” he said and kissed me, as he carried me into the sea. When he was waist deep, he pulled me underwater with him. A blue flash later, he had changed. Holding hands, we swam deeper into the sea.

  The dream was over. I opened my eyes. This was the second time since being in Florida I’d dreamed of this man I’d never met and I didn’t want it to end. I breathed in deep, but it was a lot harder than usual; it was an effort to pull the air into my lungs. Then I realized I was completely under water.

  Frantic, I clawed to the surface, gasping for air. I tried to cough out the water, but there wasn’t any in my lungs or throat. I was fine.

  I looked about me, afraid I was still in my dream or that someone had seen what had happened. When I realized I was alone, I looked back at the waves made choppy by my hasty ascent. Had I just been breathing, sleeping under the water? It was impossible, wasn’t it? Carefully, I stooped down and held my face just above the water. Did I dare?

  Slowly, I pushed my face in and waited, a bit afraid of sucking water up my nose. Hesitantly, I breathed in and pulled back in shock as I didn’t get a nose full of the liquid, but a nose full of air.

  In disbelief, I straightened and my hand flew to my mouth. This was cool, but really scary. I mean, who breathes underwater without scuba gear? No one! Well, not in real life anyways. I wasn’t sure what to do – run screaming out of the bathroom, drain the tub and get dressed, have a panic attack?

  Instead, I crossed over to the deep part of the tub and stood neck deep. If this was real, there could be no end to the possibilities. I ducked under the water and cautiously breathed in. Again, it was much more difficult than breathing normally, but I was doing it!

  A rush of emotions swept through me - fear, delight, anxiet
y, dread, and blissfulness. I stretched out and sank to the bottom of the bath. I turned over and looked up at the ceiling through the clear water. This was just how I had imagined breathing underwater would be. My dreams about it were completely right!

  I was so excited that I climbed out of the bath, ran to my armoire, pulled out a green bikini, and wriggled into it as fast as I could. Opening my door, I surveyed the pool area, and for once, Tammer wasn’t swimming laps. No one was around, so I ran up to the pool and dove in.

  It was extremely cold compared to my bath and took my breath away. At that point, I was relieved I could breathe underwater because I probably would have drowned again if I couldn’t. I sank down the twelve feet of the pool and sat on the bottom. The silky sand gently rose up around me as I touched it. The water didn’t sting my eyes the way my bath water did. I tasted the water and realized it was salt water. Nice touch, Tammer.

  The fish in the tanks that paralleled the pool walls swam to the end closest to me, watching my every move. I swam to the nearest tank and stared back. They were so funny, hanging in mid-space, jaws agape, clustered together like a herd. A herd of fish. It made me laugh out loud and I realized I could hear myself under the water as clear as a bell. It was awesome!

  A huge splash startled me and as I whipped around, I saw a green flash among the bubbles that surrounded whoever had jumped in. When the bubbles lifted, Mom was there.

  “Hello Morgandy,” she said. “I see you’ve already learned you can breathe underwater!” Her beautiful long hair fanned out around her head. She looked angelic.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “Have you tried phasing?” She did one of those dolphin-like moves and was quickly in front of me. Grabbing my hand, she twisted herself around me. “No, you haven’t.” She stopped and taking both hands, asked excitedly, “Do you want to try?”

  I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. “Huh?”

  “You know, phase – change your legs into a tail.”

  Whatever, just how was I supposed to do that?

  Obviously, she took my hesitation as a yes.

  “Ok! It’s really easy,” she explained and swam around me, positioning herself just behind my side. “Focus on phasing. Think about nothing but your tail. Breathe in deep, close your eyes, and feel the golden warmth of your power to phase in your mind. Once you’ve built it up, release it down your entire body and your legs will change.”

  Normally, I would’ve said no way, but hey, I was already breathing underwater! Closing my eyes, I focused on what I wanted and imagined a golden orb in my head. Strange enough, I could almost feel the warmth of it, and when I released the orb, a huge amount of warmth and energy flew down my body. My legs felt as if they were on fire for a few seconds, and then there was no pain.

  Opening my eyes, I looked down. My whole body, from the waist down, was a golden tail. My bikini bottoms floated past me and I screamed.

  “No, no no!” Mom shouted over my screams. “It’s all right! You’re fine! Please don’t panic!” She pulled me into her embrace and I could hear her heart beating. “Sweetheart, that’s the quickest I’ve seen anyone learn to phase! I’m so proud of you!”

  I closed my eyes, afraid of looking down. Silently, I told myself it was all right to wake up now.

  “Morgandy!” Mom pulled me back. “Your tail is absolutely gorgeous! Normally, Halflings have white tails! Yours is just lovely. You must have some powers we aren’t aware of to have a golden one!”

  I felt her touch and I opened my eyes. She was running her hand down what used to be my thigh. “Oh honey, I can’t tell you how proud I am!” She repeated.

  “What do I do now?” I asked.

  “Now? Now you learn to swim!”

  It wasn’t hard at all. In fact, it was a lot easier to swim with a tail than with two legs. Of course, not having to come up for air every minute was nice too. Mom showed me the basics: swim like a dolphin, and I took it from there. In no time at all, I felt really confident. The fish in the tanks went back to lolling about and ignored us.

  I don’t know how long we stayed in that pool, swimming and laughing. I felt the weight of the world begin to lift off my shoulders. It was really hard to stay depressed. The terrible feelings about Dad’s death would probably always stay with me, but just for those few hours, I felt happier than I had in a long time. Whatever Naira did must have worked.

  Eventually, Mom said we needed to get out and talk with Tammer, as he had a few things he wanted to go over with me. When I asked her what it was about, she simply answered, “School.”

  Ugh, I hadn’t even thought about it. It was the beginning of August and school couldn’t be far off.

  “So, how do I get rid of my tail?” I asked.

  Mom swam up to the steps leading into the pool.

  “It’s usually easier the first few times if you’re sitting down.”

  Reaching the steps, I pulled myself onto one just below her. “Now what?”

  “It’s exactly the same as when you changed your legs into your tail. Only this time, concentrate on bringing your legs through instead of your tail.”

  I closed my eyes and calmed my breathing. Concentrating on having legs, I bowed my head and thought hard about the golden orb and how strange I felt as it covered my whole body. Instantly, I could feel it begin to form and within seconds it had rushed from the top of my head to my, um, fins. When I opened my eyes, my legs had returned.

  “Geez, you’re a fast learner!” Mom had already phased and was pulling on her sarong. “It’s incredible how easy it is for you.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, reaching for my bikini bottoms.

  “Well, a lot of times, when mermaids or mermen grow up not knowing who they are, there are certain problems they can encounter after they find out how to phase.”

  “Such as?”

  “Sometimes, they can’t phase back or sometimes they phase the instant they touch water, without meaning to. When that happens, it can be very dangerous.”

  “Why?”

  “If it happens in front of humans, it releases our secret. So then, Troen has to glide in and mess around with their memories so they don’t remember it happening.”

  I stood and dried off with a towel. “Troen?”

  “Troen is a very powerful merman. He’s almost like the Poseidon of the seas. He is the leader, but one never sees him. Just saying his name drives fear into some merfolk’s very hearts.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s the most powerful of us all. He’s incredibly fair – doesn’t play favorites. If wars or huge arguments occur among his merfolk, he will do something about it. That’s why most of us live in harmony or settle our problems ourselves. We don’t want Troen getting involved.”

  It was all sounding very fairy tale-ish, and normally I would have laughed at her, but after what had happened, I just soaked it in and nodded. Better to start to learn about your new world than stay in ignorance of it.

  Mom and I met Tammer in the living room. After she’d proudly told him how quickly I had learned to phase, he beamed at me.

  “That’s just incredible, Morgan!” He set down a glass of water and took Mom’s hand. “I’m looking forward to introducing you to the ocean. But please do me a favor. Don’t swim alone until after we’ve given you a few lessons.”

  “Why?” I felt like I’d got the swing of things.

  “The ocean is a lot different from the safety of the pool,” he explained. “Besides their being sea creatures you have to worry about, there are really dangerous currents that merpeople are taught to avoid from their infancy. Also, there are ocean liners, fishing nets, oil spills.”

  Tammer’s list grew so quickly, my head spun like a top and he grinned at me.

  “All this will be explained to you in time, Morgan. The best thing to do is to start simply – one thing at a time and go from there. For instance, we’d like to give you a choice. You’re entering your senior year, and we wanted
to know if you’d like to attend the private school here on the island or if you’d prefer a private tutor.”

  A private tutor meant being under house arrest. The last thing I wanted was to be cooped up in the mansion, nice as it was. I wanted to meet new people and make friends.

  “I’ll go to school,” I said hastily.

  Tammer and Mom nodded. “That’s just fine. We’ll enroll you in the Gulf Stream Academy. I think you’ll really like it. There are many children who attend the school and quite a few families are merpeople. Of course, it’s not known by the humans – we keep that secret safe and mostly keep to our kind. Tiesa’s family comes from a long line of merpeople. She’s a strange girl, but very kind. Her father is one of my best friends.”

  “She mentioned that. She said you guys go out fishing a lot.”

  He nodded.

  “I think it’s time for a celebration!” Mom interrupted. “How about we go out for dinner?”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Tammer added. “Why don’t we get ready now? Would you like that, Morgan?”

  I was starving. “That’d be great,” I said.

  “Tammer,” I said, and he paused, turning toward me.

  “I’m really sorry,” I hesitated. “You know, about being rude to you.”

  He nodded. “I know. It’s ok.” Smiling, he turned and followed Mom into their room.

  The Shell - that was the name of the restaurant we pulled up to. On the way there, Mom and Tammer explained that this restaurant was the only one that catered to merpeople. It was owned by them, run by them, and most of their customers were merpeople.

  Walking into the restaurant was like walking into an underwater fantasy. All that was missing was the water. It was spectacularly beautiful.

  Mermaids painted in vibrant colors were carved into the walls. The tables looked as if they were made from mother of pearl, while the seats were giant clamshells complete with soft turquoise cushions. Brightly stocked fish tanks separated each section from each other. Nets filled with starfish, seashells, and seaweed, all sparkling in silver glitter, hung from the ceiling. It was truly decadent.