LEGEND OF THE MER
by
Sheri L. Swift
KINDLE EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Sheri L. Swift on Kindle
Legend of the Mer
Copyright © November 16, 2009 by Sheri L. Swift
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Cover Art ~ Creativindie Book Cover
Assistant Editor ~ Selest A. Swift
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 – SAFE HARBOR
Chapter 2 – MERMAID DAY
Chapter 3 – THE MER
Chapter 4 – THE GUARDIANS
Chapter 5 – THE PROM
Chapter 6 – THE MISTY BLUE
Chapter 7 – GRADUATION
Chapter 8 – FINDING LANA
Chapter 9 – CITY OF THE MER
Chapter 10 – FALLING IN LOVE
Chapter 11 – DARIOUS
Chapter 12 – THE UNION
Chapter 13 – THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Chapter 14 – ROSE OF THE SEA
Chapter 15 – THE BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE
Chapter 16 – DAMON
Chapter 17 – TALEI (PRECIOUS)
Chapter 18 – SIRENE & TRISTAN
Chapter 19 – BATTLE OF THE MER
Chapter 20 – JOURNEY HOME
Chapter 21 – THE REUNION
Chapter 22 – THE LITTLE PRINCE
Chapter 23 – THE BONNIE ROSE
Chapter 24 – KALOKI CHRISTMAS
PROLOGUE
In the mid 1700’s, Captain Jedediah Prentis sailed his ship (the Grey Wake) all along the East Indies trade route. Some say that he was more of a pirate than a merchant, with his ruthless ways. It was while on one of his many voyages that he came upon a Native American legend that told of an island that held the richest treasure and secret unknown to man. He later retired (at the age of 43) and bought an island in the Atlantic, off the coast of the Carolinas. Upon his death bed, he made his son and grandsons swear to guard the secret of the island and to always charge their male heirs to do the same. They agreed and have done so until this very day.
DEDICATION
To my creator God, who hears and answers the prayers of His children.
To Mrs. Perry and Mrs. Yonan and all other Creative Writing Teachers who encourage dreamers to write their stories.
And to my Mother, Daughters and Brother, who always believed in Mermaids.
Chapter 1
SAFE HARBOR
Lana didn’t mind living on Safe Harbor Island, for in fact, that’s what it really was for her. It was a harbor of safety from the peering eyes of the rest of the world. The island population was little more than 1,000. Only in the tourist season did they see an increase. In those days, Lana had the benefit of being the lighthouse keeper’s daughter and would find her sanctuary perched atop. She loved looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean. It had a calming effect and she could stare out for hours. Sometimes she would even catch a glimpse of a grey dolphin jumping out of the water. Lana would imagine that she was locked away in the white tower waiting for a rescuer to come. There she could pretend that she was anything other than what she was.
Lana had always been small for her age. She was also born an albino and had the milky-white skin. Her hair had been a lighter shade of blonde, but now at the age of seventeen it had turned completely white. Her eyes were not red as some are, hers were silver and grey. Aside from not being in the sun for too long, she could have lived with all of that. The things she hated most about herself were her webbed fingers and toes. She hid that fact by never going barefoot in public and by wearing her goth-style clothing that she made herself, including her (black leather) fingerless gloves. The only trade-off she felt she had gained in the gene pool was her heightened sense of hearing. However, that only allowed her to hear the non-ending jokes of her classmates. They had dubbed her the Island Vampire. It was hard enough being a senior at the only school located on the island. There were only forty-seven in her senior class. Looking so different from everyone else made her an easy target. Lana couldn’t wait for graduation, not that she had any plans for a future; she just wanted to not have to be around people so much. In six months, she would be free of school.
“Lana, make sure you take your slicker, it’s gonna be a wet one out later today,” called her father Cole Prentis.
“Okay Dad, thanks,” Lana said as she grabbed her rain jacket and headed out the back door.
~~~
As Lana headed towards her locker, she heard the whispers of the other students up and down the hall; they thought she couldn’t hear them.
“Someone said that she’s never had a boyfriend or even been on a date.”
“I heard that she howls at the moon.” They all giggled.
“I heard that late at night, on a full moon, her dad sits on his dock and talks to ghosts.”
When Lana reached her locker, she found an amateurish drawing of a vampire taped to it. Really! Can’t you guys get a life and grow up! She tore it off, wadded it up and threw it inside the locker slamming the door shut, then went to class.
The only class Lana enjoyed at school was physical education. It was kind of ironic because in most of the activities she had always been excused. The really funny thing was that Lana had lived most of her life on the island and didn’t know how to swim. Her mother had drowned when Lana was three and it so freaked her father out that he never allowed her in the water. What Lana enjoyed most about this class was the Director Rose Perry. She was a kind woman in her mid thirties with long dark hair and blue eyes. Lana always liked her. She was so different from any other teacher she ever had. She treated Lana as if she were more of a friend and never brought up her physical challenges. Lana felt she was the only person she could talk to about anything. Her father wasn’t much for talking, especially about Lana’s mother, or Lana’s challenges.
“Lana, before you go for the day I was hoping to talk with you,” called Miss Perry as the class was leaving.
“Sure, what’s up?” Lana asked.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to know if you thought any about what you might do after graduation.”
Lana shrugged her shoulders and said, “Don’t know.”
“Have you ever thought about going to college? You know, you are a pretty bright kid,” said Miss Perry with a smile.
“I don’t think I could ever do that. It’s been hard enough just getting through school here,” said Lana timidly.
“Well, think about it. Sometimes we just need to take a risk in life. Which reminds me, how would you like to do something brave to end your senior year? How would you like to learn how to swim?”
“Wow, I don’t know about that one. My dad gets pretty freaked out about me and water.”
“Well, I was thinking that I could give you private lessons after school in the pool here,” said Miss Perry, ignoring what Lana had said about her father.
“You know, I really would like to do something brave. I don’t think my dad would mind if it was in a pool; although I wouldn’t want to tell him. I’d just like to surprise him one day,” said Lana somewhat excited by the idea.
Miss Perry patted Lana on the back and said, “Good, how about we start tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. I can let my dad know I’ll be late.”
~~~
It was hard for Lana to lie to her father, but she knew she couldn’t tell him that she was taking swimming lessons. Instead, she told him that she started a new study group that was going to meet each day after school. He was so glad that she was finally making friends that he encouraged her.
The next morning, Lana packed the only swimsuit she owned. It was a faded black and white one piece that she had for the past three years. She
hadn’t really worn it that much and was glad that it still fit, although she wasn’t sure she liked being the smallest girl in her senior class. Lana got dressed and put on her thick eyeliner, dark lipstick and then her dark sunglasses and started to head out the door.
“Lana, I’m glad you like to make your own clothes and all, but do you think you could ever wear another color besides black?” her dad called out from behind his morning paper.
“Bye Dad, love you too.” Lana smiled and swung her book bag over her shoulder and went out the back door.
It was hard to get through the full days schedule. She could hardly believe that she was so jazzed about learning to swim. You’d think it would terrify her (most things did), but it didn’t. She wondered; will I be able to swim in the ocean one day? Lana had always wanted to. She decided that she better just take one day at a time.
Miss Perry saw Lana come out in her suit and asked, “Are you nervous?”
“Yeah, a little.” Lana gave a slight smile.
“Well, before we begin, I’m not going to let you get in my pool like that,” said Miss Perry with raised brows and she handed Lana a box of wipes.
“What do you mean?” Lana asked confused.
“Miss Lana Prentis, I won’t have you wearing all that make-up in my pool. You’ll turn the water black.” Miss Perry grinned with raised brows, “And don’t forget to remove your brow ring, jewelry is not allowed in the pool.”
“Oh, sorry,” Lana said taking the wipes with her to the changing room. Wow, this is gonna be rougher than I thought.
Lana quickly removed her make-up and brow ring. Then she returned to the pool.
“Now that’s better. I always knew there was a pretty girl under all that goop.” Miss Perry said with a smile.
Lana felt like bolting and forgetting the whole thing, but what Miss Perry had said about her doing one brave thing before she graduated kept her nerve.
It felt so good to be in the pool. She couldn’t believe how comfortable she was with Miss Perry. Lana didn’t even catch her looking once at her fingers or her toes. Miss Perry kept focused on Lana’s face and giving her instructions. It was easier than she thought it would be. In no time, she was dog paddling and then really swimming. It was like she had always done it.
“Wow Lana, you’re my best student. Who knew you could swim so well?” Miss Perry said amazed at how quickly she was getting it.
“I know I didn’t,” laughed Lana. She got so brave that she began to swim even faster and went from one end of the pool to the other without Miss Perry.
“I do believe that you could be an Olympic swimmer, if you put in the practice.”
“Now I think you’re going too far,” said Lana with a half grin.
“Lana, I’m not kidding, I think that your unique hands and feet give you an advantage that we others don’t have,” said Miss Perry sincerely.
“Cool, you mean I might actually be good for something?” Lana laughed once more, but inside she felt a sense of pride for the first time. How I’ve wasted these years, I could’ve enjoyed it sooner. Maybe not, I wasn’t brave enough to try before. Maybe this was the perfect time after all. Lana knew that she would continue with the lessons and would swim in the ocean one day, no matter what her father said about it.
~~~
The months passed quickly by. The holidays came and went and it was like Lana was enjoying every day as if it were the first. She didn’t even mind staying home during the holidays and not having swimming practice. It gave her time with her father. He seemed to try harder to give her attention during these days. She always longed for his attention. He was a good dad. Most kids wouldn’t mind their dad not being around that much. Being a lighthouse keeper and helping out at the Marina kept him busy all year round; he seemed to like it, but Lana was left alone a lot. There was so much she wanted to ask him about her mother. He always got so serious and left the room whenever she tried to talk about her. Sometimes he would even go down to the Billows Bar and not come home for hours. Then when he did, he was usually drunk and Lana hated it when that happened, she would stay in her room and avoid him.
Lana was in the kitchen one morning making her dad coffee when he came in and stood staring at her, “Lana,” her dad said her name so strangely.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just that I haven’t seen you without all that make-up in a long time,” her father said still staring at her.
“Dad, it’s okay, it’s me. I just thought I’d do something different,” Lana said, a little uncomfortable with the look on his face.
“Sorry kid, it’s just that you look so much like your mother. I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all,” he said while grabbing a coffee cup from the cabinet.
“Really Dad you’ve never told me what she looked like before. Did she have white hair and silver eyes?”
“Yeah, she had your hair, skin, eyes. You could be her at that age.” Now her father was getting misty-eyed and solemn.
“Sorry Dad, I didn’t mean to remind you. It’s just good for me to know. Thanks for telling me,” said Lana as she kissed his cheek and headed out the door for school.
Cole Prentis sat at the kitchen table sobbing while he ran his hand through his black hair, “You can’t help but remind me little one, every time I look at you. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed. I’ll have to keep watch even more now,” whispered Cole as he stared out the window overlooking the ocean waves.
~~~
It was the beginning of April and Lana had become an adept swimmer. This afternoon, during her usual laps in the pool, the Island Chieftains swim team came in and saw Lana.
“Is that Lana Prentis swimming in the pool?” Jody Harper asked surprised.
“Why yes, it is,” answered Miss Perry proudly.
“I thought she couldn’t swim,” said Elaine Johnson.
“She couldn’t, she’s been taking lessons.” Miss Perry grinned.
Lana caught a glimpse of the teens and stopped her laps and swam to the side of the pool nearest Miss Perry.
“Lana, I have a favor to ask of you. Would you mind racing Mr. Jody Harper? Only a few laps,” Miss Perry challenged her.
Lana was shocked that she would ask such a thing, “Miss Perry, how could you. You know I don’t want to do this.”
“Miss Perry, I hardly believe that Lana could beat Jody, he’s the best on our team,” said Rick Taylor with a grin.
“Lana, will you take a risk?” Miss Perry asked with a grin of her own.
“I guess so, if Jody doesn’t mind,” said Lana feeling suddenly brave.
“Sure, it’s your loss. No boy, let alone girl, has ever beaten me,” bragged Jody. Then he hopped into the pool to adjust to the temperature and then Jody and the reluctant Lana took to the blocks and readied their position.
“Okay guys, when I blow the whistle on the count of three. One, two, three!” The shrill of Miss Perry’s whistle blew and Jody and Lana leapt forward diving into the water. None of the rest of the swim team could believe it as they saw Lana racing ahead by half a lap at the first turn. Jody Harper could believe it even less. By the second turn, as Jody popped his head up, Lana was making the third turn. Lana realized what was happening and she slowed her pace and stopped as she reached the wall.
“I told you Lana, you are that exceptional,” said Miss Perry with a smile.
“Wow Lana, you should be on our swim team!” Elaine shouted.
Jody swam to the wall breathless and said, “I agree.”
“Thanks, but I’m not sure I want to do that,” said Lana with a forced smile and then she quickly grabbed a towel covering her hands and went into the changing room. She had the overwhelming feeling that now she would be even stranger in the eyes of her classmates than she had been before. She really didn’t like all the attention.
The kids on the swim team did stop asking Lana to join them, but they had a new found respect for her and she did like that. They e
ven spoke to her in the halls and in the lunch room. That had never happened before, unless it was to tease her. She was even invited to a swim down at the pier on Saturday. She decided that somehow she would go and take her first swim in the ocean.
~~~
Saturday couldn’t come fast enough for Lana. She did tell her father that she was going to the pier with friends from her study group. He didn’t question it; she had been at the pier several times before. Only, she knew that he would never guess that she would be swimming.
“Hey Lana, glad you came!” Elaine called from the pier as she saw Lana walking up.
“Yeah me too, but I’m still a little nervous.” Lana smiled.
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