by Susan Fodor
In the photo, tears welled in Sophia’s eyes and George looked terrified; it was the most heartbreaking photo I’d ever experienced of people I knew. I couldn’t imagine anyone photoshopping photos like that, it was too cruel. I felt an overwhelming sense of grief over Daniel’s illness, and his parents’ loss.
“This was the day you fell overboard,” I said sadly, holding the photo out for Daniel to see.
“The day they threw me overboard,” Daniel corrected in disgust, flicking the photo onto the bed.
“I know it seems implausible, but you were drowning on land; the only place you could breath was underwater,” Sophia defended. “Dr. Conneely convinced us to set you free; we couldn't keep you in the pool forever. We did what we had to...”
"You threw me into the sea!" Daniel yelled, incensed.
"We had no other choice," Sophia replied resolutely. "You were dying on land. For the last few days you kept saying, 'I need to be near the sea, return me to the sea.' We couldn't just drop you in the bay where everyone was watching, so we took you out in the yacht and did as you requested."
"So you want me to believe I became a mermaid?" Daniel scoffed.
"I think the technical term is merman," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.
I was no expert in spotting a lie, but I knew that Sophia was telling the truth. The evidence of the impossible was in my hands, while I didn’t think Daniel was a merman, something weird had certainly happened.
Daniel grimaced in his attempt to quell a smile.
"You're my son," Sophia said quietly, shooting me an appreciative look. "Apart from that I don’t care what else you are."
Sensing her anguish, Daniel softened. "I'm sorry, it's all so..."
"I know," Sophia replied, delicate teardrops sliding down her face. "Everyone forgot about you, Daniel, like you'd never existed." The words were filled with insurmountable sorrow, my eyes misted in empathy. Whatever had happened to Daniel had torn Sophia’s world apart, but without the truth they couldn’t be a family again.
"Time helps people heal," Daniel responded gruffly, disconcerted by his mother’s pain.
"No I mean totally forgot," Sophia reiterated, heavily. "Dr. Conneely told us to tell the coast guard you fell overboard, so that there would be a story to cover your disappearance. The coast guard returned after an hour and couldn't remember why they'd left. I sent them out four times with the same results before I realized that your illness or enchantment or whatever it was, made people forget you. Your own father forgot he lifted you over the edge of the yacht; everyone forgot except me." Sophia allowed the tears to flow freely, the agony of carrying the secret of Daniel's disease breaking over her in waves of grief. I felt Sophia’s pain and confusion, mingled with my own disbelief and turmoil.
"I'm sorry," Daniel said, hugging her. "I just need some time to process everything.”
"We have time now that you're back." Sophia smiled through the tears.
"Thank you for telling me." He sighed, but he didn’t seem grateful.
Daniel saw the turmoil on my face and asked, "Are you OK?"
I felt like I'd had a turn in the tumble dryer. "It's pretty weird," I admitted.
Daniel and Sophia laughed at my simple declaration.
"Tomorrow we're going back to Melbourne, and this will all be in the past," Sophia said optimistically.
I was grateful for Daniel wanting an early night because I didn’t feel ready to sit and have a deep and meaningful discussion about what we’d discovered. In the quiet of my room I debated whether the Essos had a crazy gene, and if this was a psychotic break, but that didn’t account for the photos.
I pulled out my phone and googled Daniel Esso. Countless news articles and gossip spots flashed onto my screen. The most recent articles concerned his return, while the older ones briefly mentioned his disappearance; there were so many sites and articles documenting his bad boy ways that my head swam.
Daniel had changed, but what had he become, was he still human? I needed to know where he'd been for the last two years. I googled mermaids and found endless pages about mermaids being enchanted humans or sea anomalies, but none talked about humans suddenly turning into mermen like Sophia claimed Daniel had. I shook off the argument that he was a mythical creature; it was more likely that he’d undergone some sort of genetic mutation.
I’d seen a wolfman on TV, who had abnormal amounts of hair on his body. I googled real life wolfman and found that the disorder was called, Hypertrichosis. It could start at any time in life. Maybe that was what had happened to Daniel? His body had undergone a genetic mutation and he’d been in the sea for a time. He had recovered and come home. Without any more information, I had to accept him the way he was or break up with him.
I contemplated ending our relationship, and getting the inevitable out of the way; he was bound to wake up soon and realize we were desperately mismatched. The very thought of not kissing Daniel again, or holding his hand or listening to him tease my romantic comedies, left me feeling desolate. I could live without Daniel; it would hurt like having my wisdom teeth removed without anesthetic, but it could be done. I dispelled the thought, knowing that even if I could live without Daniel, I didn’t want to.
For better or worse, somewhere along the road, I had fallen in love with Daniel. I had loved him when I pulled him from the water and he was comatose. I had loved him when he was in foster care, strapped for cash and unsure of whom he was. I had loved him when I found out that he was Daniel Esso, son of an environment murderer. I loved him even if he was a merman, with a weird genetic disorder. I wanted to be with him as long as he wanted me around. As the birds began to sing before sunrise, I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and drifted into fitful sleep.
In my dreams I was drowning when a huge fish captured me in his strong arms and carried me to the surface. My oxygen-starved lungs cried out for air, as we broke through the surface of the water. Daniel was a merman and he wrapped his silver fish tail around me possessively.
"Your tail matches your eyes," I complimented, stroking the solid scales.
Daniel threw his head back laughing, and then we were in the cafeteria. Daniel was sitting across the table from me, with Miranda perched on his knee.
"Then she said, 'Your eyes match your tail,'" Daniel recounted. The whole table laughed, even Jaimie.
"What a silly girl." Miranda giggled, kissing Daniel.
I woke up with a renewed sense of foreboding. I knew deep inside myself that school was going to become increasingly unpleasant. Miranda no-doubt had discovered Daniel’s heritage, and she would be out for his heart. If that wasn’t enough pressure, at any given moment Daniel could remember the last two years; it could be nothing or earth shattering. I made a conscious effort to ignore those things and look forward to getting home.
Flying into Geelong airport seemed to make us all more relaxed. Driving around Corio Bay soothed me; it was the ultimate sign that I was home. The grey horseshoe-shaped running track rimming the turquoise bay made me wish I was a runner, but the longing was never compelling enough to convince me to actually run consistently. Being a taut runner on Corio Bay was a romantic notion that I hoped would eventuate, like being a globetrotting novelist.
Daniel was happier and more relaxed having learned the truth. He cradled my hand, greedily intertwining his fingers with mine. We were happy again.
As the autumn break continued, we helped Mum and Sophia begin to furnish the Esso seaside mansion, and we kissed in every room in Daniel’s new house as a teenage christening. My life fell into a peaceful routine, but I couldn't shake the gnawing feeling that something bad was about to happen.
When school returned, Miranda was waiting. She stood in the school hallway, a tide of students flowing past her, as she tapped her designer shoe on the olive-speckled linoleum. It was unusual for her to be without her posse, but I had decided that I wasn’t going to give into Miranda’s bullying; I would enjoy being Daniel’s girlfriend.
“You
can dump Daniel,” Miranda instructed, holding up an unfamiliar document, “or I can post this where everyone can see it.”
“Post it.” I ignored the document, pushing past her like she didn’t exist.
I would live to regret that decision.
coup
I was getting my books out of my locker when I began to feel like people were staring at me. In the weeks since I’d rescued Daniel I had gotten used to people staring, but this feeling was entirely different, it made the hair rise on the back of my neck.
“OMG, Mya!” Tammy ran up to me and hugged me, on the verge of tears. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?” I asked, genuinely confused by the storm brewing around me.
The students parted as Daniel stormed toward me; his jaw was set in such a hard line I worried he’d crack some teeth. “We need to talk.”
“You guys talk,” Tammy said, empathetically fluttering away.
I gathered my books as Daniel began to usher me toward our next class.
“I thought you promised we’d never lie to each other!” Daniel confronted me as we reached the disabled toilet. He pushed me into the large cubicle and locked the door behind us. The scratched-up mirror reflected us in the middle of the room, the thick-rimmed toilet in the corner and the basin under the mirror.
“I haven’t,” I stuttered, totally confused.
“What’s this?” he asked, holding his new iPhone up to my face.
I read, “Guess not everyone wanted Mya--her parents sure didn’t. She was found in a garbage bin. ‘Adoption of Mya Belan finalized...’ Adoption papers.”
I took Daniel’s phone, sinking to the bathroom floor because my legs were too wobbly to stand on. I was generally a germaphobe, who never entered toilets without shoes, but the site in front of me brought me to my knees. My heart was beating in my throat, threatening to brew up breakfast.
I kept reading. “The date is six months after my birthday… I’m adopted…” I looked into Daniel’s eyes, confused.
“You didn’t know?” he asked, surprise and anger mingled in his response.
“I had no idea,” I yelped, reminding myself to breathe.
Daniel lowered himself beside me. “It’s posted on the school Facebook site,” he said gently.
“So, everyone can see it?” I asked, my stomach heaving into my throat beside my heart.
I forced myself to breathe in and out. Miranda’s face flashed into my mind. “THAT MOLE!”
“I don’t have to guess who you mean.” Daniel furrowed his brow. “You think she’d do this?”
I glared at him, unimpressed that he was taking that moment to defend Miranda.
“Fine.” He put his hands up in surrender. “Why would she do this?”
“Because she told me to break up with you this morning, or she would let everyone know my secret; I ignored her,” I spat angrily.
“She told you to what?” he said, his anger kindled.
“That’s why I didn’t tell you.” I sighed, overwhelmed with anger and confusion. “I just didn’t want to go to war.”
“Well, this means war,” Daniel replied, pulling me off the floor. “Are you OK?”
“Yes,” I nodded, despite my legs shaking. “I just wish my parents had told me.”
“You need to call your mum and let her look at the site,” he said, his mind working on a plan of action. “I’ll call my mum and get the lawyers on it straightaway. Then we’ll confront Miranda.”
I felt torn as the phone rang, wanting Mum to answer while dreading the conversation. “Mum?”
“Mya?” Mum asked, immediately worried. “What’s going on?”
“Are you near the computer?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“I was just checking my emails; are you pranking me?” she chortled. “Are you outside watching me?” She was no doubt looking around to see if I was there.
“No,” I replied, “I’m at school. I need you to log onto Facebook and check out the school page.”
I could hear typing and the mouse clicking, “What’s this about?” she asked, confused.
Mum gasped. “What is this, Mya?”
“Is it true?” I asked. “Am I adopted?”
“This is ... it’s ... Mya, I don’t want to do this over the phone. I’ll come and get you,” she said, grabbing the keys from the desk.
“You can tell me after school,” I told her. “What’s a few more hours after seventeen years? Anyway, Miranda wants me to leave. She wants me to crawl into a social hole and die; I can’t give her the satisfaction.”
“Miranda did this?” Mum practically screamed. “Makes sense. Her father was our lawyer...”
“Daniel’s going to ask his mum to get their lawyers on it, since the lawyers are out of town and not connected to anyone local,” I told Mum. Miranda’s father was one of the most respected lawyers in town, and it would take out-of-town lawyers to ensure that the case was handled fairly.
“I’ll call Sophia,” Mum agreed.
“Mya,” Mum said sincerely, “I meant to tell you; Paul loved you so much he just wanted it to be official.”
“You’re still my mum?” I sighed, feeling relieved that everything wasn’t a lie.
“Of course.” She laughed. “Honey, you’re never going to get rid of me; I’m your mother. I’ll explain the rest when you get home.”
“OK,” I agreed, hurt that no one had told me about my paternity earlier. I was desperate to go home and talk to Mum but I had things to take care of at school. If I went home Miranda would win, she would torture Jaimie and Tammy for being nice to me---I couldn’t let that happen.
All I wanted to do was hide in the toilets during breaks and in the back tables during class so I could get away, but Mum would never let me change schools. I had to deal with Miranda; otherwise the rest of my school year would be spent in the disabled toilets.
Daniel looked at me expectantly. “Dad is my adopted father,” I said clumsily. “Miranda’s dad was their adoption lawyer; Mum said she’ll explain the rest when I get home.”
“Are you OK?” Daniel asked, putting his hands on my forearms encouragingly.
“Only half of my whole life is a lie,” I tried to joke, but hiccupped instead as the tears started to spill over.
Daniel held me close.
“Call your mum,” I sobbed, pushing the phone back into Daniel’s hand.
Daniel reluctantly dialed the number with one hand while cradling me against his chest with the other. He told his mum what was happening, while I quietly whimpered. I tried to keep it together, but knowing that everyone thought I was a bin-baby was humiliating. Just when I was thinking that highschool wasn’t that bad—Miranda had made it unbearable.
“Your mum just arrived at my house,” Daniel said after hanging up. He wrapped both arms around me and kissed my forehead. “They’ll take care of it.”
We stood there for a long time. When we finally broke apart, I’d left a wet patch on Daniel’s blazer. By the time I’d pulled myself together, the morning was gone and the lunch bell had chimed to herald the part of the day I was dreading most.
“What if we just stay here?” I asked. I knew that I had to face Miranda at some stage but I really didn’t want to.
“We’re not hiding in the toilet,” Daniel said, taking me firmly by the shoulders. “We’re going to go out there and we’re going to win.”
I nodded and giggled. “I like this side of you.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, genuinely.
“For what?” I asked, surprised.
“For being angry with you, and assuming that you’d kept this from me,” he said, embarrassed.
“Why would I keep this from you?” I asked. “I’m a girl without secrets.”
“No, you’re a girl who enterprises on pretending you’re average, when you’re utterly amazing,” Daniel disagreed, giving me a look that made my insides feel like hot bubbling chocolate.
“Oh, shucks,” I smiled,
playing it up.
Daniel stripped off his blazer to hide the evidence of my crying. His muscles pulled on his crisp white shirt, as he stuffed the blazer into his backpack. The news had reached him so early that he hadn’t visited his locker yet.
I washed my face and examined my puffy eyes in the cracked mirror; I was not rocking a good look. The last thing I wanted to do was face Miranda, but hiding was not an option. I slipped my hand in Daniel’s and gave it a weak squeeze.
“Let’s do this,” Daniel announced.
The halls were full of hungry exuberant teenagers. They were as desperate for lunch as they were for the freetime to gossip and hangout.
I expected that Jaimie would be waiting for me at my locker, but she wasn’t. Skipping morning classes had convinced her that I had gone home. I was slightly relieved that she wouldn’t have to walk with me into the cafeteria, because that would have created alliances and discord. Even though I was furious at Miranda, I didn’t want to create a scene.
All too often I’d witnessed showdowns between Miranda and Tamara at the lunch table. They were excruciatingly uncomfortable; no one ever knew where to look, or what to do. I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Miranda’s acid tongue, or for the others to feel that they had to defend me at the cost of Miranda’s ire.
As Daniel opened the cafeteria door, I suppressed the urge to bolt back down the hall, collect my bag and finish the year through home school. It wasn’t an option, but it was a nice fantasy for a moment.
The cafeteria smelled of oil and desperation, the ultimate place where make-believe was enacted as reality. The cool kids pretending they didn't care, while laughing too loud and smelling like they fell in a vat of deodorant on the way to school. The smart kids wishing lunch away so they could get back to class and escape the lunch discomfort. The persecuted were scoffing their lunches, so they could retreat to the library unseen. The emo's plugged into their iPods so they wouldn't have to tolerate the drivel around them. I realized I wasn't the only one desperate to escape the high school holding cell. Food crusted the ceiling from rebellious inmates expressing themselves. The only area worse than the cafeteria was the gym.
