by Casey Lane
She grabbed a bag of ice from the freezer and dumped it into the ice chest. “He isn’t coming tonight.” She filled a glass and took a long drink. “His dad is taking him on some father-and-son bonding trip.”
“Oh?” I took a bottle of water and went over to the window. “Sorry, Jess.”
“Me too. I know he doesn’t want to go, but he doesn’t need to take it out on me.” She stood beside me. “I’m going to break up with him for good this time.”
“No, you aren’t.” I said it without menace just like I always did.
“Yes, I—”
“Hellooooo, anyone here?” Carly appeared first, holding a bottle of something. She handed it to Jessica who put it on the counter.
“Hey, girl.” Jessica kissed her cheek as Gavin, Angela, and Sam appeared behind her.
“We come bearing gifts,” Sam said, putting a bag on the counter and taking out the contents, which included chips, pretzels, nuts, and other stuff.
I opened the can of nuts and poured them into a glass bowl. “Thanks,” I said popping an almond in my mouth.
“It’s weird seeing you here,” Gavin said, bumping his shoulder into mine.
“Hey, Ellora. Finally decided to be a rebel, huh?” Angela took some nuts from the bowl I’d just filled.
“I guess,” I said, opening the nacho cheese flavored chips.
Angela grinned at me. “Don’t worry, we won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“Unless you want bad,” Gavin said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“You’re insufferable.” Jessica punched him lightly in the arm.
“Ouch.” He laughed.
Jessica gave Gavin her flirty face. I couldn’t watch anymore. Those two would probably end up doing something they both regretted by the end of the night.
“Are we ready to go?” The captain appeared, his thin hair mostly hidden under his hat.
“We still have one more coming. Can you wait five more minutes?” Jessica’s gaze never left Gavin’s as she spoke.
“Of course, Miss Jessica.” He turned to leave just as Braxton walked in.
“All right. All right. Let’s get this party started.” He high-fived Gavin.
Jessica called out, “We can go now, Captain Carson.”
“Very good.” He nodded and disappeared from the room.
Within moments, I heard the engine rev and the boat lurched forward.
My heartbeat raced. It beat so hard I thought it would come out of my chest. I was actually going out onto the ocean!
“Want a drink?” Braxton sat beside me, clinking the ice inside his glass.
“I have one,” I said, holding up my bottle of water. Braxton was a few inches taller than me with dark hair, ice-blue eyes, and rippling muscles. When he noticed me studying him, he smiled bigger. “I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while.” He put an arm around my shoulders. “When Jessica told me you were coming, I didn’t believe her, but look at you. I was wrong.” He shook me lightly, smiling big.
“Here I am.” My mouth felt like there was cotton in it. I tried to swallow but my throat was parched.
Braxton chuckled and let go. “Why don’t you let me make you something stronger?” He indicated the bottles sitting on the counter as he tried to take my water.
I pulled it back. “No, thanks,” I said and stumbled, falling onto the leather bench next to the window. Guess I still wasn’t used to the boat’s movements.
Braxton laughed, lurching forward, and caught hold of the water bottle. He flashed me a cheesy grin before going over to the counter. Jessica, Gavin, and the others talked and laughed. Jessica turned on some music and soon everyone was dancing.
“Something with a kick.” Braxton sat beside me, handing over the thick-cut tumbler. It had amber liquid in it.
I took it, not wanting to fight with him, but it was apparent Braxton wanted me drunk. All sorts of alarm bells were going off in my head and my infatuation faded by the second. “Thanks.” It wasn’t a good feeling, realizing the guy I’d been crushing on for years had no substance. My stomach knotted.
What am I doing here?
Braxton sat back, smug, drinking from his glass and watching me. “Go on. It’ll help you relax.”
Not much got me rattled. I’d picked up my laid-back attitude from my dad. He didn’t force his expectations on me like my friends’ parents did. Or maybe it was because I didn’t hate my dad like some of them hated their parents. But at that moment I wanted to lose my temper with Braxton in the worst way.
Instead, I ran. Up the stairs and out onto the deck. Once I reached the railing I threw the glass into the ocean, watching it splash as the boat breezed by.
“Was that necessary?” Braxton had followed me.
“Can’t you just take a hint?” I turned away from him, crossing my arms. I wanted to escape, but the boat held me like a prison. The irony of my predicament wasn’t lost on me. If I’d obeyed my dad’s one rule I wouldn’t have been in such a terrible situation.
“Hey. Hey. Hey.” Braxton turned me so that I was facing him. I stared out at the waves, refusing look at him. “I’m sorry. If I’d known you were such a prude I would’ve let you keep your stupid water.” His grip on my arms tightened.
I met his gaze then. “You’re hurting me, Braxton.” I ground my teeth as thoughts of pushing him over crossed my mind. But he held my arms so tight, I thought I might end up going over with him.
Braxton loosened his grip. “Sorry. I just wanted to party. Jessica said you were a lot of fun.” He chuckled sharply. “I think I need to talk to her about what fun is.”
“Maybe you do,” I said, trying to wrench from his grasp.
He pulled me close, so close that I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Why don’t you kiss me? I can make you feel good.”
I squirmed harder, fighting to get free. The last thing I wanted to do was kiss him. It broke my heart a little that my opinion of him had been so wrong. I could almost hear my dad scold me about the issues with teenage emotions. It’s a scientific fact that your brain won’t be fully developed until your mid-twenties. You made a rash decision because that’s what teens do. And on and on. He never got mad or yelled, just bombarded me with logical facts about why he knew more about me than I did.
“I feel fine,” I lied. “Now let me go.”
“Ellora, what did I do?” He leaned in, trying to kiss me.
“Get off.” I tried to shove him away, but he wouldn’t let me go.
“Hang on. Relax. I’m sorry.” He released me, stepping back. “You’re nuts.”
At that moment I felt kind of nuts. Crazy upset. And I wanted off the stupid boat. Just as I thought it, a large wave rose up. It was like a wall of darkness, blocking out the moon and the lights from the homes along the coastline. “Um, Braxton?” I turned to look for him, but he’d already gone back to the party. “Great.” The wave moved forward and began to crest. There was no way I’d get back inside before it hit. I put my hands up, trying to protect myself. Thoughts of my dad flashed through my mind. What would he think? Or do? It would devastate him if I drowned in the ocean the same way my mom did.
As the first droplets of water hit the top of my head, I felt tears fill my eyes. “Sorry, Dad,” I whispered. When the water struck me, I fell back, hitting my head against the metal rail. It felt like my skull split. Pain and sparkly lights exploded inside my skull, followed by eerie darkness.
Beyond the Ocean
When I returned to consciousness, I realized I was floating, my body keeping me vertical somehow. A quick glance down revealed that the bottom half of my body, my hips, legs, and feet had fused into a long and beautiful tail. It was crimson with flashes of fuchsia, the end long and gauzy.
I figured I must be either dead or dreaming. But the experience felt so real. I touched the tail, feeling its smooth scales. But it was more than that. It felt like part of me. I swished it back and forth. The movement sent me upward a beat
.
“What is this?” It occurred to me as I shaped the words that I was speaking, breathing, alive under the water. “I have to be dreaming.” I pinched my arm, hard. Pain radiated sharply through me and I winced. “Ouch.” It was impossible. If I wasn’t dreaming, then that meant I was dead. Right? Yet it seemed strange that in death I would choose to be a—
I couldn’t even say the word that had formed in my head. “No.” I pinched myself again. Then flicked my tail, which shot me upward. I broke the surface of the water with a splash. Straight ahead I could hear people yelling. They were calling my name and I realized they were searching for me. I’d fallen overboard. But I wasn’t dead. I was alive. “Hey,” I called, but faltered. How would I explain my tail to them? Still, I felt myself swimming closer.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I choked on a scream, turning toward the sound, and was hit with another shock. There was another girl in the water and she looked just like me. “What is happening to me?” Maybe I was dead after all.
“My name is Tempest.” She studied me intently. “My mother told me I had a twin, but part of me never really believed her. Until now.” She swam closer, reaching out with fingers exactly the same as mine.
“Stay away.” My shock had turned to fear. I started to swim away, but had no idea where I’d go. If I swam to shore and climbed out of the water, what would happen to my tail? Was it permanent?
Tempest looked at me curiously, cocking her head to one side. “Did I do something wrong? I heard your desire to get off the boat, so I sent the wave. Isn’t that what you wanted? Mom says I take things too literally sometimes.”
“Did you give me the tail too,” I asked, hesitantly, while secretly studying her. It was like looking in the mirror. Everything was the same. She even had freckles.
“No, silly. You’re a mermaid. We all have tails. It goes with the territory.”
She’d said the word I’d been avoiding. “I am not a mermaid. Why would you say that?” The question seemed stupid given the long and beautiful tail keeping me out of the water with perfect precision.
Her brows furrowed. “You really didn’t know?”
I looked away. “This is my first time in the ocean.”
“I’m not surprised. I’ve been waiting for you for years. Our mom said I probably wouldn’t ever find you.”
“You keep talking about your mom like she’s my mom too, but my mom died.” My teeth started to chatter. Must have been shock because I didn’t feel cold.
“Dad said that she drowned, right?” Tempest swam in a circle around me.
I gulped, nodding nervously. “Yes, he did.”
“Mom told me that’s what he’d tell you. She told me not to get my hopes up that I’d ever see you, but I never gave up. I knew I’d find you someday.” She reached out to take my hand, but I pulled back.
I was having a hard time wrapping my head around her words. My mom was alive. And she was a mermaid? “So we’re, um, sisters? Or something?”
“Yes.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Obviously. We look like each other.” She flipped her tail out of the water. I could see in the moonlight that the color matched mine. “There’s no doubt about it.”
I had to agree. We did look alike, tails and all.
“And can’t you feel it?” She was suddenly in front of me, so close I could count each and every freckle on her face. They were identical to mine, except for one. I had an odd freckle just below my left eye. She didn’t have a freckle there. That gave me some comfort. We weren’t clones, not precisely alike, still our own person.
“What?” I asked the question, but I knew what she meant. From the moment she’d appeared, I’d felt a shift in my body, like finding a missing puzzle piece after years of searching, and finally putting it in place. It was almost like I could sense her thoughts, not hear them, but— “I do feel something, yes.”
“Let’s go, then. I want to tell you everything.” She dove under the water. I glanced back at the boat. Everyone was still freaking out that they couldn’t find me. Soon, they would send out a search party. And worst of all, they would call my dad. He would be devastated.
Or would he?
It occurred to me that the reason my dad hadn’t wanted me near the ocean was because he knew what would happen. I’d have to think about everything some more before I decided what to do with that information. He’d been keeping a secret. A big one.
I dove under the water, moving my tail like I’d been using it my whole life. It was weirdly exhilarating. All those years I’d been feeling out of place, like something was missing, and that was because it had been. My tail. I was a mythical creature, a mermaid. Even admitting it to myself didn’t make it feel more real. With everything that had happened: the wave knocking the boat and hitting my head, part of me still believed I was either dead or dying. But if that were the case, if I were on the way out of this life, there was no reason not to see where my delusions led.
As I swam under the water, I searched for Tempest and found her easily. I expected it to be dark as I went deeper, and it was, but I could still see. Without a doubt that had to be a mermaid ability, and I wondered what else this new body could do. Ahead was a cave. Tempest glanced back and waved me forward.
“Hurry up.” She went inside.
“Coming.” I followed a little nervously. A school of silvery fish swam around me, darting in front of my face. At the mouth of the cave, I moved to one side and peered in. Through the inky darkness, I could see Tempest as she pulled open a rock door. Light filtered toward me, making it easier to see. I swam forward, arriving quickly. I couldn’t help but be amazed by how comfortable I felt with a tail.
Inside I found Tempest sitting inside an enormous clamshell. “There you are. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind.”
Her words needled at me and I had to fight not to sound defensive. “This is all new to me, Tempest. I’m having my first experience with the ocean at the same time I find out I’m a mermaid. Part of me thinks this is a dream.”
She scooted over so I could sit beside her. “Sorry, I keep forgetting.” She played with the pearl bracelet around her wrist.
“That’s beautiful,” I said, pointing at it.
“Thanks. Mom gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday.” She spun it thoughtfully. “See, there are sixteen pearls. Mom collected one for each year. They are very rare, like me.”
My heart lurched with pain. “Will you tell me her story? It’s obvious you know more than I do.”
Arista’s Tale
Tempest sat up. “Mom is the youngest of eight siblings.”
“What’s her name?” Dad had never told me.
“Arista.”
“And how did she meet my dad?”
“Our dad,” Tempest corrected, settling against the back of the clam.
I nodded, clearing my throat. “Right.” I kept forgetting that part.
“Arista’s sister, Ariel left the ocean off and on from the time she was sixteen. She fell in love with a human and then became a great warrior.”
“Are you talking about The Little Mermaid?” I laughed before I remembered I had a tail and was sitting inside a clamshell. “Go on.” I clamped my mouth shut.
“Even though Ariel was younger, Arista looked up to her. She wanted to see what the human world was like. So, just as Ariel had, she made a deal with a sea witch, and got her legs.”
“Could she sing like Ariel? Did the witch take her voice?”
Tempest laughed. “All mermaids can sing. It’s our greatest gift.” She paused a moment. “And sometimes a curse, especially when you’re trying to stand out the way mom wanted to.”
“That makes sense, I guess.” I pulled a piece of hair around so I could see it and braided it anxiously.
“Does it?” She tucked her tail underneath her butt.
I shrugged, still braiding my hair. “Sure. Even on land, most people have a desire to stand out, to be unique.”
>
“Even you?” Tempest raised her eyebrows inquisitively.
“Oh, not me. No. I’ve always been fine with blending in.” I laughed, turning to face her.
“Interesting.” She proceeded to remove the braid I’d just put in my hair. “The witch cursed Mom, but it was different than Ariel.”
“What was it?” I watched a range of emotions from sadness to worry cross Tempest’s face. It was strange, like watching myself in the mirror.
“I’ll get there in a minute. Let me tell you in order.”
“All right.” I pulled my hair from her hands and tucked it over the opposite shoulder.
Tempest took the hint and clasped her hands together, resting them on her tail. “Once on land, she met Nathan.”
“Our dad,” I clarified, even though I didn’t need to.
“Right. And they fell in love. Married. They were together more than a year before Mom became pregnant with us.”
“Did Dad know she was a mermaid?” I tried to imagine my dad in love. What might that have looked like? I couldn’t picture it. He dated once in a while, but it was never anything serious. As I thought about it, I realized I couldn’t even say for sure he loved me. He took care of me, gave me everything I might need, including a great place to live, clothes, a car, and money, but I couldn’t remember my dad ever telling me he loved me.
“No.” Tempest shook her head, swimming over to a table tied to some rocks with kelp to hold it steady. She picked up a tattered old dress and spun in a circle while holding the material against her chest. “At least not until she became pregnant.”
I sensed the foreboding. “What happened?”
“The sea witch had cursed Arista to be without love just when she needed it most. Since she’d found and fallen in love with Nathan, she thought the witch’s curse hadn’t worked. But the moment she became pregnant, things changed.” Tempest shrugged.
