“Hi Dad!” I'd have cried. But not today. It made me sad, but this was part of leaving. I’d better get used to it or I’d lose my nerve. And I couldn’t let that happen. Along the way, I made a quick furtive offering to the wishing well. A white stone released into the silent void.
Not familiar with the land around Marlow’s home, I got lost trying to approach the supply house from the rear. Soon I wandered through a dark, tropical maze. Vegetation changed and grew increasingly dense as I descended to Marlow's side of the island. And as often was the case, the air was laden with a light, foggy mist and soon a drizzle of rain.
Confused, I almost tumbled head first over a ridge but eventually found the toolshed. There were no signs of Mayor Marlow. I tiptoed ahead and entered.
Grabbing a flashlight from the wall hook, I turned it on. It flickered to life with a weak, orange glow. On the far shelf lay a full range of tools and a tin that looked…nautical—it had a picture of a boat on it. I grabbed it and hoped for the best. But I needed epoxy too, Dylan said. And sandpaper. Just as I was about to step outside, Marlow walked around the corner and headed my direction. Holding my breath, I froze in the dark interior and watched him pass. He continued on.
Now the quickest way home would be to scoot past the rear of his house and head back over the ridge. Trying not to let the cans bang together, I made my approach. First, I darted through an open area and into the shadow of his home. There was only one window on this side, curtains drawn. I paused for a minute, catching my breath. As scared as I was, I realized I hadn’t felt this alive in ages. Not since Chloe, Daniel, Ethan and me played hide-and-seek long ago.
I crept ahead. When I reached the open door curiosity overcame me. I’d never been inside Marlow’s home. None of us had as far as I knew. Maybe he had sandpaper or epoxy somewhere? And Mom was right, I was nosy.
Slowly so as not to make any sound, I entered, allowing my eyes to adapt to the light. As my eyes adjusted, I gasped. Jumbles of old bottles, rags and items of clothing were haphazardly strewn around what I guessed to be the kitchen. It was so messy, I couldn't tell. The sink overflowed with cans, food boxes and cooking utensils. An ancient sticky bun lay mouldering under the table. Flies had laid their eggs in a bowl of batter he’d left festering.
Mayor Marlow dressed well and appeared extremely neat. He constantly lectured about food waste. How could his home be so different? My eyes roved over the various objects. Several empty bottles of alcohol and a few full ones. Alcohol was an adult treat that was carefully monitored.
I stepped further into the kitchen and beyond. In the living room the disorder seemed less than the kitchen, but it was still a shamble. Mounds of clothes, piles of paper and in the center, a desk with a computer. It had a black screen filled with green numbers. Even with my head for figures, they looked meaningless. Three letters followed by strings of random numbers changing up and down.
Focus. Needed to focus. He could return at any time. There was a bottle of some type of solvent thrown in the corner. I picked it up and grabbed it. A mattress lay on the floor. It had a soiled blanket and dirty sheets. I wondered if this was where Marlow slept? The room smelled of sweat and alcohol. I continued on to one of the other rooms.
This was the largest room and it was like stepping inside a different house. A big bed sat in the middle. Large, fluffy pillows lay against the headboard and the bed was immaculate. The comforter draped just so, not a wrinkle anywhere. A woman’s dress lay folded over a chair and several pairs of women’s shoes sat in front of the bed. There were several folded piles of boy's clothes. Daniel’s clothes. I walked closer.
On top was Daniel’s favorite shirt. Blue, short sleeved with an old style ship printed on front. It had been cleaned and laundered. I knew this shirt. Daniel burned easily, and he always wore a shirt to swim. This was the shirt Daniel wore the day he drowned. The last time I ever saw him.
But Daniel’s body was never found. What was his shirt doing here? A noise outside jolted me back to reality. Legs trembling. I crept out of the bedroom. No signs of activity. Darting past the front door I scurried through the kitchen and out the door.
At the top of the ridge I paused to rest. My right hand had a painful mark where one of the can’s handles dug itself in. Now I wished I’d spent more time in Marlow’s house. Maybe I’d been mistaken about the shirt. Or perhaps Daniel owned more than one? Marlow adored Daniel, spoiled him in fact. Even Daniel had admitted as much. Marlow only changed after Daniel drowned, becoming bitter, reclusive and mean. To think this meant anything sinister was ridiculous. I needed to remain focused.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Someone’s in a cheerful mood this afternoon,” Dad commented as I washed dishes after lunch.
“Me?” I said. “Why?” I had more reason to be anxious than cheerful.
“All during lunch you've had a smile.”
I hadn’t realized it, but Dylan definitely made me happy, even with my recent worries and challenges. Unsure when he planned to come help with the boat, I wanted to hurry.
Leaving earlier than I needed to, I took the long way up the ridge and back down again, hoping to avoid anyone who might ask awkward questions. The cans were hidden in two large canvas bags.
“Just mangoes!” I’d say if someone asked. There were even a few ripe ones on top, in case they were hungry. I felt proud. I was taking action and putting my plan into motion. Today, I imagined telling Dylan how I snuck to Marlow’s and got the repair materials. I hoped he'd be impressed by my bravery. I'd mention Daniel's shirt and ask what he thought. Or maybe that would make me seem crazy.
As I walked, I recalled Dylan’s kiss and the sensation of his hands in mine. Warm, firm and strong. Around the corner and over the ridge, motion startled me. For a minute I thought it was the mermaid although I was far from the water’s edge.
Instead, Ben stood hidden in the bushes with Chloe’s brother, Carlson. They’d stripped their shirts off and Carlson had his arms wrapped around Ben’s waist as he pulled their bodies together. They kissed passionately. I watched, at first fascinated. Dylan flashed through my mind. His lips had felt so soft.
Then, everything became clear. I’d messed Ben’s plans up as much as he’d messed with mine. If he’d gotten paired with Chloe, everyone including Carlson and Tricia would have lived in Chloe’s large family home. Not a perfect Binding for anyone, but I supposed it was the best they hoped for. Ben was as much a victim of Alabaster Island and its customs as me.
I hesitated. Part of me wanted to leave them alone. To not to disrupt their bubble of love however temporary it might be. But I had to think of myself. Dylan told me he knew engines but little about repairing a damaged hull. I cleared my throat.
Chloe’s brother saw me first. He broke away from Ben, gasping. A red blush traveled from the top of Ben's forehead, down his neck and even to his arms. He fumbled with his pant button, struggling to do it up.
“Hey,” I said. Ben looked at me and swallowed hard.
“Hey,” he mumbled.
“So. I thought you might want to help me after all,” I continued. “You can fix boats, right?”
As I told Ben what I needed he wore a pained, pinched expression. All the bravado, the macho tough guy faded away, replaced by a scared boy.
“What you took is a start, but you need cardboard to mold the fiberglass patch and strong tape too,” he explained. “You won’t be able to do the repair without those. We’ll grab everything and come back.”
I headed toward the water. Now I was excited. Ben had agreed to bring the materials I lacked. Dylan would arrive soon to help fix the engine. Before long the boat would be seaworthy and I’d be ready to leave. I took a deep breath. It was the right thing to do. Closer to the shore I pushed through the vegetation and walked along the rocky outcropping that led to the inlet.
“No, no, no!” I cried as I arrived. For a moment I couldn’t believe what I saw. But the evidence lay right in front of me. The boat was destroyed. Giant go
uges had damaged the fiberglass frame. It looked as if someone had taken an ax or a sledgehammer to the vessel. I ran closer.
Her whole top section had been smashed, the prow broken and shattered in a hundred different places. Sinking to my knees I buried my face in my hands. Even with the little I knew about boats, it was obvious what I looked at was not a boat any longer. It was wreckage. Nothing to salvage. My hope at getting off the island were gone. I sat on a rock, weeping.
Sometime after, Ben put his hand on my shoulder. “You alright?”
“Someone destroyed the boat!” I shouted, “It’s ruined. There’s no way I’ll fix it now.”
“I’m…I’m sorry.” Ben stammered.
“Did you do this?” I shouted.
“Of course not!” he said indignant. “Until you told me I didn't know about it.”
“You’re just sorry for yourself!” I shouted and he flinched. Carlson stared at the ground sheepish.
“Listen, now you know everything,” Ben said. “We can make it work out, right?” he asked, his voice desperate. “I’ll be good to you, I promise. And Carlson will be good to Tricia. No one needs to know.”
“And Honey Moon Island?” I asked. “Will I be sleeping in the dirt outside?” I shot back his harsh words.
Ben flushed. “I’m sorry for being such an ass.”
“Why don’t you tell Marlow about you and Carlson? Maybe he’ll understand and unbind us?”
“Mayor Marlow?” Ben’s mouth twisted in disdain. “Not him, never. I've considered it, believe me. Listen, it’s okay. We’ll go to Honeymoon Island—”
“No, it’s not okay! I don’t want to go to Honeymoon Island…ever. I’ve fallen for someone. A boy.”
Not only had I not intended to admit it. I hadn’t even admitted it to myself, but it came out. And I knew Ben and Carlson’s secret so it didn’t matter.
“What boy?” Carlson asked.
“The boy from the boat. Dylan,” I said, heat rising to my face.
“Right,” Ben said. “Yeah, he’s handsome.” Carlson glared and gave him a sharp punch to the shoulder. Ben blushed. “If you like Outlanders.”
“Why don’t you go with Dylan?” Ben asked. “When he leaves.”
For a minute my heart lifted. Why didn’t I? They’d fix the plane soon.
“Marlow would never let me. Neither would my parents.”
But that wasn’t what bothered me. What struck me was that I wasn't sure if Dylan wanted me to go. After all, he knew about my plan to leave. If he wanted me on the plane, he would have at least offered to try. But he’d never mentioned it. Now I felt foolish.
“No, I doubt I'm going anywhere,” I sighed. “The whole idea of leaving the island was crazy. We are prisoners here.”
Ben chewed his lip.
“I won’t snitch and we can have our understanding,” I said, but my voice shook. It wasn't fair. Ben would have his secret love and I’d be alone. But worse, without Dylan. Even though we'd only met a day ago, I couldn’t get him out of my mind.
Ben and Carlson made a show of trying to work on the boat, but it was pointless. It irritated me to have them around. A whole different side to Ben emerged. Funny, playful even, at least with Carlson. They were a cute couple, like a big friendly dog and a puppy. Eventually I lost it.
“This is a waste of time!” I said. Now I was sad and angry that Dylan hadn’t come. It didn’t take much to persuade them to scram. Soon I was alone. There was no reason to hang around, not for the boat. Except for Dylan.
“Where’s your friend?”
The mermaid lounged on a large gray boulder near the shore. This was the first time I’d seen her entire body. She wore the same t-shirt. Her scales were a rusty brown and looked patchy in places, like a fish with a skin disease. I couldn’t locate the point where she transitioned from skin to scale because it was covered by her shirt. I was curious what it looked like, but I didn’t dare ask.
“Which friend?” I asked.
“The boy. You know who I mean. And shouldn’t you be fixing your boat?”
“Can’t you see it’s destroyed?” I said.
“The ship comes in five days.”
“Yes, I realize that,” I said. Mermaid girl was getting on my nerves.
“Where’s the Goddess you talk about in your meetings? Can’t she help?” The mermaid asked.
“What meetings?”
“Over there,” she motioned back toward the square where we gathered for the outdoor Assemblies.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Our Goddess? Oh, she’s…everywhere…you can’t meet her. She’s like an idea…sort of. And no, she won’t fix my boat.”
“Why are you smiling?” she asked.
Because your questions are odd. I wanted to say, but kept silent.
“Since you don’t have a name, what should I call you?” I asked.
“What do I look like?”
“Well, a Mermaid. That’s what you are, right? So I dunno, how ‘bout…Merma?”
She clapped her hands together and giggled.
“Yes, call me…Merma!” she said and then flipped off the rock and dove underwater, blowing bubbles while her t-shirt trailed behind.
“Perhaps we can help each other?” she suggested from further out in the ocean.
“How?”
“Come in the water, I’ll show you.”
“Show me what?” I asked.
“How well I swim!”
“You have a fin, of course you swim well, I don’t need you to show me that.” Merma made me uneasy.
She pushed out her lower lip. “You’re boring.” Swimming on her back, she glared at me. “I told you, I swam with the ship. I swim out far all the time. Much further than you could ever go. I swam for thousands of miles after I escaped. Almost around the whole world.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She scowled. “Did I mention how boring you were? Probably everyone here is too polite to say it.”
Blood rushed to my face. In fact no one had ever said anything like that. It wasn't true. Was it?
“I’m not.”
“You are. Boring. Boring. Boring. Scared of everything.”
I shook my head, at a loss for words.
“Come swim, and I’ll show you how I can help.”
I took off my shirt and stripped to my underwear I waded into the ocean while she watched from a short distance. She stayed on her rock, a small smile on her face as she watched. Then in an instant, she grabbed my arms. Just in time, I gulped a mouthful of air and she yanked me beneath the surface.
Powerful muscles rippled along her back and water flowed out from the force of her fin. She leapt from beneath the surface to above the ocean and I gasped air.
“Stop!” I shrieked, but we went back under. It seemed like ages and soon the urge to breathe became irresistible. I inhaled water. It entered my lungs and a peculiar tearing pain seared through my chest. But my mind cleared as if I’d had a boost of oxygen.
When she dragged me limply to the surface, we were on the other side of the island, near Marlow’s. What would have taken hours, even if I could have done it, had taken her minutes.
I coughed up water. Waves of nausea coursed through me. The island flickered in and out of focus as if I’d lose consciousness at any minute.
“See?” she said, “I can get you to your ship. Easy. You okay?”
She swam further out. “Stop, please,” I gasped. The further we got from the island the stronger the nausea became. When I looked at my hands, patterns from the scroll traveled along my arms, yellow and blue symbols intertwining between the veins. Merma swam back, and the nausea faded.
“I feel awful.”
“Oh you’re just seasick. You’ll get over it,” she said. “See how far we are! Am I amazing or what?”
Merma was right. We were near to where the ships passed. With her help I wouldn't need a boat. This might work. Easier than struggling to repair wreckage.
“They're sure
to stop and throw out a rescue line. That's just what they'll do when they spot the poor, seasick girl lost in the ocean.” She messed up my hair. “That’s you I’m talking about. They’ll bring you on-board and feed you and give you medicine and food you’ve never dreamed of!”
She grabbed me again, and we raced around the island again. We arrived back on shore near the boat.
“So I'll take you in five days. When the ship comes,” she said.
I nodded as my stomach did a somersault. That was very soon.
“Okay, when you see the ship cross, make sure you're near water. It doesn't have to be here. It can be anywhere along the shore. And I'll come and find you.”
“That makes sense.” My voice shook.
“But I need something from you first,” she said.
“Umm, okay, like what?”
“The scroll.”
“The scroll?” I asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, not to keep. Just a quick peek,” she said with a shy smile.
“Why?”
Merma looked away as if she wasn’t certain whether to confess something.
“There’s something in the scroll…words…a sort of spell. That can help me.”
“I don’t know…”
“I’m sick. I’m dying.” She sighed and looked at me mournfully. What she asked would be difficult, but I felt pity for her. And if it helped get me off the island, I saw no major harm.
“Well, okay…if it’s just to look at it. How do you know about the scroll?”
“I have sharp eyes and big ears.” Merma smiled sadly. “Deal?”
I hesitated, but finally said: “Alright, deal.” Regret came as soon as the words left my mouth. Now that a concrete plan existed, doubts began rise. She gave her peculiar smile and dove into a breaker.
“Bring it tomorrow!” she cried as she resurfaced, eyes wet and gleaming.
Tomorrow? “Wait!” I said. But she disappeared beneath the waves.
As I turned back to the boat, I noticed that someone had spelled something out with tiny ocean pebbles. MISSED YOU! D XOXO
Alabaster Island_The Mermaid Curse Page 9
