“Arista? Are you in there?” Gavin asked.
Arista crawled over and cracked open the door. “Are they still out there?” she whispered.
“Who?”
“The birds,” she said. “Are they still out there?”
Gavin let out a laugh before he could stop himself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no one here but me. Come out and see for yourself.”
Arista opened the door the rest of the way to peek into the bedroom. Sure enough, he was right. There was nothing in the windows, although she did spot a white feather floating down in front of the glass. She timidly stepped into the bedroom and Gavin let out another laugh as he saw what she was wearing.
“Here, I bought you some clothes,” he said, pointing to a pile of shopping bags on the bed. “That way you don’t have to wear any more of my ridiculous outfits.”
Gavin left Arista alone to change. She pulled down the window shade and shrugged on the light blue blouse and jeans he had purchased for her. After stepping into a pair of sandals, she walked into the living room and joined him on the couch.
“So what did you mean about the birds?” he asked.
“They were everywhere,” she said, trying to explain without sounding as crazy as she felt. “Birds filled every window in this whole place, and they followed me. If I was in this room, they were on all the windows. If I went into the bedroom, they followed me and crowded against the window there.”
Gavin was smiling at Arista as she talked. “So are birds attracted to mermaids or something?” he asked with a grin.
“No, I don’t think so anyway,” she said.
Gavin continued to smile patiently at her.
“You don’t believe me about the birds, do you?” she asked. “Just like you don’t believe I’m a mermaid.”
“I don’t see how you can expect me to believe such ridiculous stories,” he said.
“Are they so ridiculous? Look,” she said, pointing to the window over Gavin’s shoulder.
There was a single, white seagull perched on the sill. It let out a loud caw. In a matter of seconds, birds covered the windows from top to bottom. There was nothing visible except for feathers, eyes, claws, and beaks.
“There must be something on the roof. Maybe another dead bird or something that’s attracting them here,” he said slowly. “Although, that is strange… I don’t think I’ve ever seen them do anything quite like that before.”
Arista’s heart raced again. The birds weren’t staring at Gavin, even though he was right next to her; she knew they were there for her.
“I don’t want to be out here anymore,” she said anxiously, getting up from the couch to head for the hallway.
She didn’t make it far before tripping against the small table next to the couch. Arista fell, sprawling to the ground. As she hit the floor, her necklace dropped out from behind her shirt. Its bright red center caught in the sunlight and twinkled, sending a red glow all around her face. As soon as the birds saw the crimson light they went into a frenzy, jumping up and down on top of each other, sending feathers cascading through the air. Some even pecked at the windows, trying desperately to get inside. Gavin scrambled from the couch to help Arista get off the floor.
“Come on,” he said. “Maybe we should head for the back.”
They stopped when they heard a loud crash behind them. A gull had managed to smash through the small pane of glass on Gavin’s front door. The bird flew straight through the room, aiming for Arista’s neck. She screamed as several others flew in behind it, fluttering in her face while clawing at her neck. Gavin tried to push them away from her, but more birds were flying into the room.
“We have to get out of here,” he yelled.
Gavin grabbed Arista by her shoulders, fighting off the birds long enough to pull her by his side. They ran for the front door and he pushed it open. Immediately birds surrounded them, all trying to reach Arista. She felt their feathers beating against her face and arms as their beaks pecked at her neck. She shut her eyes, afraid of sharp talons and beaks striking them. Gavin took her by the hand and quickly led her down the driveway.
After they’d gone far enough, Gavin pushed Arista in front of him. He turned around, waving his leather jacket in the air.
“Go on, run to the truck. I’ll try to keep them back,” he yelled, swinging his jacket in front of the birds in an attempt to startle them back.
Arista threw her arms up in front of her face and ran as fast as she could to the truck. She threw open the door and dove into the passenger side, slamming the door behind her. When Gavin heard the door close, he ran for the truck.
Birds flew into his head, but they were less interested in him than they were with Arista. They landed on the truck, some of them crashed violently into the windows trying to get inside. With feathers flying everywhere and several cuts on his arms, Gavin managed to get inside. He glanced at Arista, who watched as the birds pecked at the window.
“Hold on,” he said, throwing the truck into drive and turning the vehicle onto the road.
˜
{ Chapter 5 }
At first, the birds continued to follow them. Some managed to keep up enough to peck occasionally at the windows. As the truck gathered speed, the birds fell behind, leaving Gavin and Arista on their own.
Arista looked over at Gavin and noticed small cuts across the right side of his face. Small pools of blood appeared on his shirt where the birds had clawed their way through. Arista’s own arms, back, and face stung from similar cuts and scratches. Gavin kept glancing in the rearview mirror, making sure nothing followed them. Once he felt safe enough, he parked the truck on the side of the road. He reached behind his seat and pulled out a small first aid kit.
“It’s not much,” he said. “But it should be enough to take care of us for now.”
Arista watched as he opened the box, pulled apart bandages, and tore open small packets of creams and ointments to treat their wounds.
“Here,” he said, gesturing at Arista. “I can get yours first.”
She scooted closer to him and he rubbed the cream into the lacerations on her arms. It stung at first, but she began feeling better. The deepest wounds ran along the collar of her shirt, where her amulet chain dangled on her neck. As Gavin treated her injuries, his fingers trailed across the scars on her neck.
“You really are a mermaid,” he said.
Arista nodded and looked into his troubled brown eyes. She hated causing him pain and confusion.
“But I don’t understand,” he continued. “Mermaids aren’t real. They can’t be.”
“We are real, but we rarely come to the surface,” she said, unsure of what to say to reassure him.
“So the stories sailors and fishermen have told of seeing mermaids, are those true?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered, shaking her head. “Some might be, but I doubt many of them are anymore. Some of the older ones are likely true. At least in my family, it’s against the rules to visit the surface, and no one has been on land for hundreds of years.”
“If that’s true, then how are you here?” Gavin asked, as he finished bandaging her injuries.
Arista hesitated. She still wasn’t ready to tell him the whole story, so she skirted around it.
“Haven’t you ever dreamed of doing something you’re forbidden from doing? Of going somewhere so fantastic and unbelievable, it may as well exist only in your dreams? My whole life I heard stories about the surface, about people and places and new things to see. Yet, we were told we would never see them, that it was too dangerous to come to the surface. So when I found a way, I took it — even though it came at a steep price.”
Arista stopped talking and gazed out the window. The spot where they parked had dense trees on either side of the road, obscuring their view of the lake.
“I didn’t realize how hard it would be,” she continued in a more subdued tone. “I hardly gave any thought about what — and who —
I was leaving behind, what I was losing. I was only concerned with what I would find. That it would all be worth it to see all these legendary places and things. Only, it hasn’t turned out quite as I had hoped.”
Gavin stared straight ahead through the windshield. Arista couldn’t imagine how many thoughts were racing through his head. She remembered first learning it could be possible to come to the surface, how that idea had turned her world upside down. That she could finally have a chance to find all the answers she sought. She thought Gavin must be struggling with some of those same emotions.
“So how… how was it possible for you to come here? I mean, you have legs now… I guess you didn’t before?” Gavin asked, stumbling through the question. “I mean, mermaids are supposed to have fins, right? That’s why I found you in the lake?”
“I couldn’t swim any farther. I don’t even know how far I went, but it felt like I had been swimming for an eternity. I wasn’t used to moving with legs yet and I couldn’t breathe underwater anymore. So, yes, that’s why you found me,” she said, with a small smile. “I told you I wasn’t lying.”
Gavin let out a laugh. “I guess I have to believe you now.”
“But really I’m here because of this,” Arista said, holding out her necklace. The deep red stone reflected the light of the setting sun, giving it the appearance of a tiny flame. “I think this is what those birds wanted.”
He reached out and touched it, his fingers tracing the cold surface of the stone. “So what is it exactly?”
“The bloodstone allows me to leave the water and walk on land. For thousands of years, mermaids freely traveled between water and land. Each possessed the necessary magic to switch back and forth at will between living in the water with fins or on the surface with legs. The transformation was supposed to be as easy as changing clothes. Some mermaids even left the water completely and lived out their lives on the surface, among people.
“Some humans resented us for our abilities, while others out of fear and hatred wanted mermaids eliminated. They searched the towns and the water, trying to find and kill us. So we retreated deep into the water. For a time, many mermaids still visited the surface. But increasingly, those who went up never returned. Many families, including my own, kept everyone permanently under the water and away from people. Since the ability to transform fell into disuse, everyone forgot how to travel to the surface on our own. There are a few who have learned how to create items, like this bloodstone, that amplify our power enough to allow us to change,” she explained.
Arista stopped talking. Gavin absently stared at the steering wheel, trying to make sense of her story.
“So the birds could tell you’re a mermaid? That doesn’t explain why they wanted your necklace or what they would do with it,” he said.
“Well, they might not be the ones who want it,” Arista said slowly. She struggled to remember the stories she heard as a child of the mermaids who disappeared. “Like I said, the necklace has my magic coursing through it. People aware of the existence of mermaids and our power would kill to get it. I think someone may have sent those birds after me to fetch the bloodstone.”
Gavin took a deep breath and shook his head with a crooked grin.
“You know, I just started my vacation,” he said. “I was on my way back from working in the city, ready to enjoy my time off, when we found you in the water. I never thought I’d be spending that time trying to protect a mermaid.”
“You don’t need to stay with me. You’ve done more than enough already,” she said feeling guilty. “If you take me into the next town I can make my own way from there.”
“Don’t you think it would be a good idea to go back, to your home, I mean? It’s obvious you’re in danger, Arista,” he said sounding concerned.
“I can’t leave yet. I risked my life to come here and once I go back…,” she paused. “I did break the rules by coming to the surface. And, there’s still so much I want to see here while I have the chance.”
Gavin turned and looked into her eyes. His own eyes gleamed brighter as a sharp look of determination crossed his face.
“It’s still not safe for you to stay. At least let me come with you, wherever you’re going, to protect you and help if I can,” he said, taking her hand into his. It felt rough against hers. His hand lingered for a minute before traveling up to her wrist, where she had a long gash from the bird attack.
“You can’t be alone now, especially if someone is trying to get to you. Trouble will continue to follow.”
“As long as you’re sure, I wouldn’t mind having you with me,” Arista said, smiling at him.
Gavin moved his hand back down, wrapping it around hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Is there any way we can stop this person? I mean, do you know who could be coming after you?” he asked.
“No, and I’m not sure how to find out,” she answered with a sigh. “It would have to be someone still connected to old magic. People don’t believe in mermaids anymore, so I can’t imagine there are too many who know enough to find me.”
Gavin released her hand and leaned back in his seat, thoughtfully looking out the window. “Well, first things first, we need to find another place to stay. We can head back to my place in Chicago until we figure out what to do next.”
˜
{ Chapter 6 }
The sun was beginning to set as they continued driving on the highway. It lit the sky on fire, with reds and oranges clashing against the oncoming darkness and leaving the landscape in a sea of shadows. Arista took a slow, deep breath as she soaked in every second of the sunset. The display of colors seeping up from the horizon and across the sky was astonishing. Gavin glanced at her, surprised at her awe.
“There’s nothing quite like a good sunset, but you probably haven’t seen many, have you?” he asked.
“No, I haven’t and it’s amazing. I had only heard stories. Even though we don’t go on land, some mermaids occasionally sneak up to the surface to watch the sun rise and fall. They’d try to explain how the sky turned different colors, but none of their descriptions ever made sense. One of those things you have to see to believe, I guess,” she said with a pause. “Like a mermaid.”
Gavin smiled back at her. “Exactly, like a mermaid… or a giant octopus.”
“Oh no,” she said. “Those are quite real. I saw one once. They live deep in the ocean and we try not to go that far. But when I was young I caught a glimpse of one.”
Gavin laughed in astonishment and shook his head. “I can’t even begin to imagine all the incredible things you’ve seen. And to think that you’re impressed by a sunset, something I barely notice now.”
“It’s not just the sunset; it’s everything… even the things that people have made. We don’t have anything like this,” she said, gesturing at the truck they were in. “When mermaids traveled to the surface, they’d bring items back with them and we’d improvise them for use under the water. One of my friends has a magnifying glass he’s particularly fond of, and I cried for days when I broke the hairbrush my grandmother had passed down to me. I’m sure there are so many things I haven’t even heard of that would be so completely wonderful to see.”
She sighed and Gavin reached over to hold her hand. His warmth sent chills up her arm. “I promise to keep you safe and take you to see anything in the world you want to visit.”
Arista squeezed his hand as a sign of thanks and settled a little deeper into her seat.
For the most part, they drove in silence. It was a clear night, making it easy to see the stars shining overhead. All the lights fascinated Arista, even at night. More than the stars and moon, there were also streetlights, lights on passing cars, lights from houses, and even lights on the road signs.
The billboards were mostly for food or attractions around the Chicago area, which Gavin explained was still a couple of hours away. Arista’s mind wandered as she gazed out the window when one of those signs caught her eye. “See a REAL Mermaid,” it screamed in giant
neon blue letters. Arista gasped when it dawned on her what it said.
“Gavin, did you see that? We need to go back and get a closer look at that sign,” she said. She craned her neck to look out the back windows as it faded away in the distance.
“No, I didn’t. What sign?”
“It said you could see a real mermaid. What do you suppose that means?” she asked, her excitement spilling out in her voice.
“Well, I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ve never seen one like that before. Tell you what, we can pull off at the next exit and stop at a gas station to see if they know what it’s talking about, okay?”
“That sounds good,” she said, her face pressed against the window to look for another sign. “Do you think there could be a mermaid around here? Would it be up on a sign if it were true?”
“I don’t know, it seems like it couldn’t actually be real. You shouldn’t get your hopes too high. But then again, if someone told me I’d be driving a mermaid around, I never would have believed them either,” he said with a grin.
Arista nodded and laid her head back against the seat, closing her eyes. She hoped her journey might already have an end in sight. Gavin glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Although he had so many questions to ask, he didn’t want to overwhelm her.
“How is it that you can read?” he asked curiously.
“My mother taught me when I was young. Her father had taught her. Some families can, some can’t. Back when we lived in the ocean, our family’s cave had writing on the wall. My ancestors had spent a lot of time on the surface. They brought many items back with them, but also wrote about their visits in our caves.
“The oldest mermaid families tend to live in extensive cave systems in the oceans. Many of those caves have pockets of air and enclosed areas within them. They give us space to spread out and still have our privacy. Anyway, my ancestors did a good job at writing about their visits to the surface on the walls of the caves. As a result, my family knows how to read at least a little bit. It’s limited since they only used so many words in those passages."
Tangled Ripples Page 4
