Alabaster Island_The Mermaid Curse

by M. S. Kaminsky

  “Well—”

  “Promise me. Promise me you won’t.”

  Finally he sighed and nodded. “Okay, for you, I promise. I’m sorry our night had to end like this. That’s not what I wanted. I thought it would be fun…”

  We arrived at the juncture where I’d continue on back home and he’d leave to face his Dad. Even from here I could see roving flashlights at the dock, around the cabin, up at the lighthouse, and in the town square.

  “Dylan!” I heard the sound of his Dad’s voice shouting. He sounded far more angry than worried.

  “Looks like there’s trouble waiting,” Dylan said, with a sigh.

  My mind was all mixed up. I felt sad that what started as a wonderful night had ended this way. Not smooth luck. Bad luck. The usual bad luck but this time I’d brought it to Dylan, who I cared for and had fallen in love with. And to my parents who had shown me every kindness

  “You won’t want to go to the Outlands with me after this, do you?” Dylan asked.

  “Well,” I said. How to explain to him how badly I wanted to go with him, but how scared I was to hurt him further.

  “After this horrible weed trip, I wouldn’t blame you. I feel awful about it. I dunno what happened.”

  “It’s okay.” Getting high with him had not been fun, but what happened afterward had been far worse.

  Dylan paused. “I wanna be honest with you. There’s a reason my Dad has never brought me here. Why he always takes my bro, Scanlon. He considers me kinda, I dunno irresponsible or something. A trouble magnet he calls me.”

  “Like bad luck?”

  Dylan gave a sideways smile. “That’s a buzz kill…more like interesting luck. I think we make our own luck.”

  I smiled. “I wish I could believe you.”

  “But I can improve. For you,” he said grabbing my hands. “I will. I mean I promise. Like, turn over a new leaf. A new start. I’m talking bunk. I need water. What I’m trying to say is, you’re something special, Marei. This trip here, it’s everything I wanted. It’s been a total blast. And I want the adventure to continue. You deserve better than this place. I'm guessing no matter what our life is like it won’t be boring. Right?”

  I smiled. “Yeah.”

  “We’re leaving first thing tomorrow. My Dad’s nervous another storm’s coming…I can try and stall him but…”

  “Dylan, I can’t,” I said.

  He looked away and went silent for a minute. Then he nodded. “I understand. I screwed up tonight.”

  “It’s not that…it’s me. I’m the one who messed up.” I thought of Merma and wished I could tell him. How would I explain what happened to my mom? Her precious scroll. The costs had become too great. I was hurting people I loved.

  Dylan drew me close. His heart beat strong against mine. His shirt was damp but warm from his body. He smelled of salt, ocean wind and Dylan. I tried to memorize every scent and sensation and hoped I’d never forget. Off shore, far in the distance, I saw the lights of a ship pass by the island, leaving without me.

  “You’re shaking,” he said as he held me tight. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “I’m just scared.” He stroked my face and kissed me on the temple.

  “Me too,” he admitted. “And I’m crazy sad to lose you even though we just met. Think about it. Please. I’ll hold Dad off tomorrow as long as I can.” He turned to go.

  “Wait, Dylan, promise something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Be careful. Don’t go near the water’s edge tonight…or at all until you leave. But especially not tonight.”

  He paused, and I saw more questions in his eyes, but he nodded.

  “Yeah, sure. I promise. No doubt I’ll have my hands full with my dad, anyway.” And he put his fingers to his lips, kissed them and left. I watched him walk way. Forty-eight steps until he disappeared into the darkness. Lucky. And I hoped he would have a lucky life. Without me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  All the lights were on when I got home. I entered the kitchen. Marlow stood with my mom and dad. He lunged toward me.

  “Where is it?” Marlow shouted. I didn’t expect Mom to involve him but maybe she’d had no choice. Marlow shoved me up against the wall and searched my pockets.

  “Stop it!” Mom pulled at him. “She doesn’t have it! The scroll won’t fit in a pocket.”

  “Marlow, we’ll handle this!” Dad came at him from the other side. Marlow backhanded Dad, smashing his jaw. Then he grabbed me again, yanking Daniel’s quartz stone and the ring from my pocket. They clinked to the wooden floor and rolled under the kitchen table. He released his grip, and I fell.

  “What?” he said, staring at Daniel's treasures. “Where did you get those?”

  Mom helped me up, her eyes big brown and watery. She didn’t look angry, just very sad.

  “Bug, where is it? Where’s the scroll?” she said, clutching my hands.

  “Merma took it. She wanted to look at it, but she stole it.”

  “Merma?” Marlow said. “Who the hell is Merma?”

  Mom sighed and closed her eyes.

  “A…a mermaid,” I admitted. “That’s what I called her.”

  “So it lived?” Marlow mumbled. “Is that what’s been tormenting me? Those items of Daniel’s left on the shore…” he trailed off. I thought back to the Daniel’s t-shirt at Marlow’s place. It must have been Merma.

  “Torture you? Why?” I asked.

  “Because they are evil creatures! Creatures of the Ancient One,” Marlow hissed.

  “No. Because you tossed that child into the depths as an infant and left her for drowned!” Mom said. “And if you hadn’t, Shianne might still be—”

  “Stop it right there,” Marlow said. “Tomorrow I’ll have you all banished. Scum.”

  Mom’s eyes lit up, and she turned and slapped Marlow hard across the face. My entire life, I don’t think I’d ever seen Mom mad. It was terrifying.

  “Get out,” she said. Then whispered something in Lemurian I couldn’t understand. Marlow dropped his eyes and rushed from the room, slamming the door.

  “Will he banish us?” I asked.

  “Not likely,” Dad growled, massaging his jaw. But he looked at Mom with worry in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry.” I fell into her arms. “I’m bad luck. Everything I do is unlucky. What’s wrong with me?”

  Mom caressed my head. “Sweetheart,” she said to my dad. “It’s overdue. We can’t put this off forever.”

  When Dad returned, he had his dental kit.

  “I don’t need a check-up!” I protested.

  “This isn’t a check-up.”

  And he put on a pair of rubber gloves and put his fingers in my mouth. “Wider.”

  I felt pressure as something released. When I closed my mouth, tears crept along Mom’s cheeks.

  “This isn’t how I wanted to show you this. But…you’re so willful. So like me. I can’t think of any other way.”

  “Show me what?” I asked, my voice sounded strange. And my tongue hit up against sharp edges. Instead of the usual smooth front teeth, there were a series of jagged points. My stomach roiled.

  “What did you do to me?”

  “Dad took out your bridge,” Mom sighed. “To reveal your actual teeth.”

  I ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I had teeth like Merma.

  “What am I?” I shouted. “What’s going on?” Just yesterday I’d planned a life with Dylan. Now it seemed a laughable joke. The silly fantasy of a monster.

  “I’m a…mermaid? But I have legs.” Uncontrollable shivering overtook my body.

  “You’re half Lemurian. Plus you were raised on land. I haven’t been able to translate the part of the scroll that shows how to change states. But you have the capacity for a fin, I’m quite sure.”

  “I don’t want a fin! And so you’re not my parents?”

  “I’m your biological mother,” Mom said. “But you don’t have a father in the strict sense.”


  “That’s not true,” Dad said with fierce pride. “You are my daughter and always will be.”

  “Well, I meant in the genetic sense. Bug, you were born from an egg. One of two mermaid eggs I found hidden on the island. Swallowed and hatched in my belly. Birthed same as a regular child.”

  “So am I like…Merma?”

  “That poor girl was Shianne’s daughter. Born from the second egg,” Mom explained. “But when Shianne had her, Marlow was so horrified he drowned the child. Or so he thought. Shianne jumped down the well two days later. But we hid you, pretended you were a natural born girl.”

  “That’s why I was the only child born on Alabaster Island?”

  Mom nodded. “Alabaster Island is the origin of all mer creatures. None other can be born on these rocks. And this island holds many other secrets still, I’m sure. Mer creatures aren’t inherently bad. Shianne and I wanted to prove that if mer-folk were raised with kindness, they wouldn’t become evil. You’re proof that the Mermaid Curse can be ended.”

  “I don’t know what that is and I don’t want to know.” I clutched my face with my hands.

  “Mermaids are born filled with wonderful, pure heart energies extremely large but extraordinarily delicate. They require love, care, gentleness and stability…or that beautiful energy can turn to its opposite. That poor mermaid girl. I can’t imagine her suffering…That’s the Mermaid Curse.”

  It was too much.

  “Shh, my love,” she consoled me as she continued to stroke my hair, still caked with bits of seaweed, salt and ocean debris. “You’re burning up. Let’s get you into a bath and then bed.”

  After my bath, Dad showed me how to snap the special bridge back into place. It comforted me to have my normal, smooth teeth again. Tucked into bed, the cool, cotton fabric felt delightful against clean, dry skin. My body trembled beneath the comforter and Mom brought me slices of mango and peppermint tea with honey.

  “Not so fast,” she said. “You’ll burn yourself.” I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was. The mint tea scalded the roof of my mouth, both hot and cold at the same time. Mom lay on the bed and held me close.

  “I was going to go with him. I wanted to sneak away with Dylan.” I confessed. “But not anymore. I was dumb.”

  “That’s okay,” she said. “That’s my girl. You’ll be alright. We’ll get through this.”

  “I love him Mom, I really love Dylan.” I buried my face in her shoulder and cried until I fell into a deep, feverish sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  When I woke up I still had a raging fever. I shuffled out of bed.

  “What time is it? Is there Assembly?”

  “You’re not going anywhere today,” Mom said. “And there’s another storm coming.”

  Exhausted, I forced myself to ascend to the top of the lighthouse. Eighty-nine steps. Unlucky. The little plane sat moored in the harbor, a bustle of activity. Although the sky sprawled blue above the island, dark clouds lurked on the far horizon.

  “Marei!” Mom called from downstairs. “Get back to bed. You should be resting.”

  I trained Mom’s telescope toward the docks. My heart lurched. Dylan helped load the plane, muscles rippling in a gray tank-top as he fought with a cumbersome crate. Hair disheveled by the ocean breeze, he paused and wiped his brow. Then he shielded his eyes with his hand and looked toward the lighthouse.

  Perhaps he wondered if I’d changed my mind? If I’d leave with him? The escape crate hadn't been brought down yet. It would be the last one loaded. Ben and Chloe no doubt waited for me behind Chloe’s house, wondering where I was.

  I had to say goodbye to Dylan. I needed him to understand I’d always remember him, even though we hadn’t known each other for long. Plus, he said he’d try stalling his dad. I didn’t want him doing that for nothing. For me to cause more trouble than I already had. Mom blocked me as I was heading out the door.

  “I need to see Dylan” I said, frantic that I’d miss the plane. “And I have to tell Chloe and to call the plan off.”

  Mom sighed. “You'll make yourself sicker.”

  “Please. I've got to,” I clutched her arm in desperation. Sighing, she nodded.

  I ran along the ridge taking the fast way. One thousand and forty-three steps when Chloe stopped me. Lucky.

  “Where were you? We’ve got everything ready! C’mon!” She grasped my hand and dragged me with her. In my delirious state I was too weak to fight.

  “Chloe…stop…” I kept saying. But I was too tired to do anything but follow the momentum of down…running down the hill, following Chloe, sinking, sinking, sinking. I fell.

  “Are you okay?” Chloe helped me up. “I’m sick, Chloe….”

  But Chloe's mission was to unite true love. When we arrived behind her home, Ben and Ethan waited. I hadn’t realized Ethan planned to help as well, but it made me happy.

  “Goddess where the hell have you been?” Ben whispered. “It’s gonna look kinda strange for us to be running with this crate. But we’ll nearly have to.” He motioned for me to get inside.

  Chloe had put plenty of extra cushioning in the box. It looked comfortable as far as shipping crates went. In fact, it seemed immensely appealing right now to lie down. To leave all my problems behind and be shipped off with Dylan. But I couldn’t. Alabaster Island and its residents were stuck with me and my un-smooth luck. I would not inflict it on the boy I loved.

  “I’m not going,” I said, unsteady on my feet. “I changed my mind.”

  Running down to the dock I heard the whine of the plane’s propellers revving. By the time I arrived, it was too late. The little plane maneuvered out between the rocks and picked up speed on the open sea. She gracefully took to the air and circled around in the blue sky, taking a pass over the island.

  I swung my arms wide. “Goodbye Dylan! I love you! Goodbye!” shouting as loud as I could. Dylan's hand waved vigorously from the plane’s window. The aircraft banked left and headed out to sea and I fell hard to my knees, shivering with fever and grief. When the seaplane became smaller than a tiny speck of dust on the horizon, Ben came and lifted me up. He brought me home where I ended up back in bed, passed out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  My fever broke and the next day I attended Assembly.

  “We must be vigilant!” Mayor Marlow shouted at us in the Assembly room. “These creatures will do whatever they can to destroy us.”

  He paced back and forth with a loaded pistol. He’d forced Ben to carry his bow with him everywhere and it was slung over his shoulder as he sat next to me. Gone was the animosity that plagued Ben and I earlier. It was replaced with a quiet wariness but at the same time mutual respect.

  With every word from Mayor Marlow I felt another pang in my stomach. My tongue explored my bridge for the thousandth time. I was one of the creatures he spoke about. Mom figured Merma would be long gone, having gotten what she wanted. Nevertheless, the island’s residents were on full alert. Every night Dad manned the lighthouse, arcing its light over the ocean, searching. No one was allowed in the water, not even during the day. When Ben and Cunningham went fishing, Cunningham used his rod while Ben sat poised on the edge with his bow, scanning the water for the mermaid.

  “What does she look like?” Ben whispered to me. Word had quickly gotten around that not only had I seen the mermaid, I’d somehow allowed her to steal the scroll. Needless to say, I wasn’t the most popular girl on the island.

  “If I’d thought all this through, maybe I would have left after all,” I told Chloe and Ethan who still stuck by me. “You should have,” Chloe said. “We had the plan ready to go. I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

  “I probably won’t either!” I laughed, and she looked at me strangely. But something had shifted in me. Despite, or maybe because of, all the tough times and my new secret, I felt more…solid. Now I understood a bit better why I was so sensitive, the reason I lost touch and walled myself off from reality from time-to-time. And even my count
ing rituals made more sense. Anything to distract myself from my overwhelming feelings.

  But those rituals were slowly being replaced with something I hadn’t had much of in my life. A sense of humor. I was becoming more like my mom. And maybe more Lemurian. Looking back, ironically it was that new found sense of humor that led to Mayor Marlow’s death.

  Dad warned me not to play with my bridge, but the allure was irresistible. My actual teeth were so sharp and I couldn’t stop inspecting them. One night, Mom and Dad went down to the village to meet with Marlow, or so I thought. I stood in the bathroom mirror examining my new choppers. Now I knew why I loved fish so much. But it was an adjustment, I had to admit.

  It was hard not to see Merma’s face in mine, although we actually looked quite different. My features were much softer, more refined. In fact, even with the teeth I don’t think I was being too generous to say I looked gentle, even attractive. Kittens have sharp teeth too after all. Why couldn’t I still be adorable? I chuckled. A floorboard creaked.

  When I turned, Mayor Marlow stood in the kitchen doorway staring into the bathroom, horror on his face. I scrambled for my bridge, but fumbled and it clattered into the porcelain sink. Anyway, it was too late. He knew my secret. Snarling, he raised his pistol. I slammed the door and locked it. Then I ducked as a bullet tore through wood sending splinters flying onto the tiled floor.

  “Open up!” he shouted, and the door trembled in its frame. My eyes darted around the room but I didn’t have any way of defending myself. “Mom! Dad!” I shouted. But they were down in the village. I ran to the window and pushed out the screen.

  Shoving myself through, I dropped to the ground outside and made a run for it. I turned just in time to see Marlow exit and chase after me, his face purple with fury. A bullet whizzed past and I stumbled. As I got closer to the village I saw that there were lights on and commotion everywhere.

  “Maybe it went that way!” I heard Cunningham shout in the distance. “Search by the docks!” Kassandra replied back. Merma must have returned. Rounding the bend I nearly plowed into Ben. He grabbed me.