by Xequina
“Look at this.”
The screen opened, and in a minute, a video started up. A man with a scraggly beard came on. He had crooked teeth and wore a three-cornered hat and one gold earring. A little microphone was attached to the collar of his authentic-looking blue pirate coat. He was standing in front of a lake.
“Ahoy, Ladies and Gentlemen. I be Pirate Andy Kydd,” he said. He sounded like a pirate. “Today I’m investigating rumors about a mermaid who is said to be living in this very lake.” He pointed at it.
“That’s Lake Meredith!” Reggie said.
I caught my breath. Oh no!
“Spring last year brought a series of storms that ravaged this quiet seaside hamlet of Luna Beach,” Pirate Andy said. The video showed scenes of huge waves and flooding that had been on the news. Pirate Andy narrated: “Many a sea creature was washed ashore, the poor critters.”
Next was some footage of people putting stranded fish back into the ocean. Then the camera showed Pirate Andy sitting at a computer. He wore a red kerchief on his head and a stripped T-shirt. Using a voice-over, he said, “I established a website back in 2008 where people can post mermaid sightings. Over the years, some people had very interesting tales to tell.”
The camera showed a close-up of the same mermaid site I had posted to months ago.
“Just after the storms, someone from Luna Beach posted to this site, claiming to have found a mermaid baby washed up in a puddle. This person provided specific information about her, then mysteriously vanished from the site.” The camera did a close up of Pirate Andy, looking directly into the camera. “If Sea Bee is watching this, I beg you, please contact me through my website. I would really like to speak wi’ ye.”
My mother was just now coming into the living room, bringing a plate of cookies, and I was glad she hadn’t heard that. She stood behind us to watch. Pirate Andy was at the lake again, walking toward the camera as it moved backward. I could see Dragon Tree Point in the background.
“Now people are saying a mermaid is living in Lake Meredith, which is located in Luna Beach. Several people claim to have seen the mermaid or something fishy, harr harr—if you’ll excuse the pun! My question is: just how did that mermaid get here?”
Next, the camera showed children playing with chicks and baby rabbits.
“Many parents get animals as presents for their children,” Pirate Andy narrated. “This is good; it teaches little laddies and lassies about nature and responsibility.”
I was glad because it seemed like Pirate Andy was changing the subject.
“Sometimes, when the animals grow up, they become too much for the child to take care of,” he said. The camera showed grown geese and chickens, and a big fat white rabbit in a crate. Then the camera showed some large turtles sunning on rocks. I knew it was Lake Meredith again because I’d seen them there.
“Some of these creatures are pets that were released into the wild when they got too big,” Pirate Andy said. “This is not a good practice.”
He talked about how many of these animals suffer, starve, and die. He also explained how they upset the ecological balance of natural habitats.
“I thought he was going to talk about our mermaid,” my mother said.
“Our” mermaid?
“He’ll explain,” Reggie said, grabbing a cookie.
Next, Pirate Andy was standing on the shore by the bird refuge, throwing feed to them. The camera panned to show the islands in the background, and then the large pen where lots of wild birds that had been injured were kept. There were chickens and several large white geese in the pen among the wild birds. I had seen them of course, and I always wondered why farm animals were in there.
Then the camera cut to a large lawn that was behind a nearby community college. Black-and-white bunnies were eating grass. The person holding the camera started walking toward them. The bunnies all started running away and you could see how many there were.
“These rabbits have successfully learned to survive, to the point that they’re proliferating rapidly,” Pirate Andy said. The camera turned up to the sky where we saw a hawk flying around over the rabbits. “This attracts predators, who sometimes feed on rare, wild birds in the refuge that we’re trying to protect.”
Another close up of Pirate Andy looking into the camera. “Is it possible that the person who found the baby mermaid, released her into Lake Meredith when she got too big for a home aquarium?”
I caught my breath and glanced at Reggie and my mom, but their eyes were glued to the screen. Of course, they didn’t know I was the guilty one. Next, Pirate Andy was at the ranger’s station, interviewing the same lady ranger we had talked to.
“No, I haven’t seen the mermaid myself, but people have reported seeing something unusual in the lake,” she said. “I wasn’t convinced until I saw this.”
The camera moved up to a large bulletin board with drawings of the lake with a mermaid, done by children. In the very center was a photograph. It was the same one with Kitty, Bambi and me in our mermaid costumes, except it had been blown up, and our faces were blurred out by the camera. I didn’t know that Kitty’s mother had given a copy to the rangers!
“That’s you and your mermaid friends at Halloween!” Reggie shouted. “Isn’t that cool?”
No, it wasn’t one bit cool.
There was a big red cutout arrow pointing at the spot behind us where Mermary was swimming underwater. Underneath, someone had tacked a sign that read, “CAN YOU SEE THE FOURTH MERMAID?”
When the picture was small, all we could see was Mermary’s general shape. In the blown up picture you could see the head, arms, long tail, and fins very clearly, even if it was still just a shadow.
“Looks like a mermaid to me,” the ranger said.
I glanced at my mother. She had a look she gets when she knows someone’s trying to pull a fast one on her, so I knew she didn’t think it was real.
Next, Pirate Andy was in the front of a small motor boat in Lake Meredith. With him was another ranger, this time a man, wearing a hat. They were jetting out over the water. The ranger was talking about sometimes going out to the little islands to check on the birds and make sure everything was all right on the islands. He pulled up to the side of one of the bird islets and idled the engine.
“I noticed this opening some time ago. Natural erosion created this space by washing the dirt away from the tree roots.”
We couldn’t really see much; it looked like an overhang, with roots from a tree over the water. Then the ranger got a flashlight and shone it up inside. The camera got really close. You could see there were old bottles, corroded utensils, pieces of pottery, mostly broken. They were lined up neatly on shelves that had been fashioned out of mud and boards wedged into roots. There were also two waterlogged dolls, both stained from being in the water. With a shock I realized this was Mermary’s cave!
“There wasn’t anything inside here the last time I checked, say, six months ago,” the Ranger was saying. “No one’s allowed on these islands except me. So how could these things have gotten in here? Who could have arranged them like this? I was bamboozled. Then people started talking about the mermaid.”
The camera did a close up of him looking really amazed, even scared in a way.
“The mermaid is real,” he said.
“There is a mermaid cave, just like I figured!” Reggie said excitedly. “We just couldn’t see it from where we were!”
Next the camera followed Pirate Andy walking up to a small group of people with signs that said, “Protect our Mermaid!” and “Keep the Mermaid for Luna Beach!” Others had clipboards, and people were signing it. Pirate Andy asked one of them what it was about.
“We’re collecting signatures for laws to protect our mermaid, and so that no one can take her away from Lake Meredith,” the spokeswoman said. “We got the idea from Scotland, where they have laws that protect Nessie, the Loch Ness monster.”
The pirate turned to face the camera again.
“The Save Our Mermaid group was formed by citizens of Luna Beach because news of the mermaid has begun to attract many people, some from outside of Luna Beach. Some of whom believe she should be in a place where everyone can see her. As it is, she’s only been glimpsed in Lake Meredith by less than ten people as far as we know.”
Ten people? Had that many people really seen Mermary?
In the next scene, Pirate Andy was walking on a dock to where a man and woman were putting equipment on a boat.
“I understand you’re going out to look for the mermaid,” Pirate Andy said.
“That’s right,” the man said. “We have a special sounding instrument that sends back images of what’s under the water.”
The camera zoomed in on strange looking instrument with lots of dials and buttons and a computer screen. He demonstrated how it worked by putting a funny looking hose down in the water. After a moment a sort of picture turned up on the screen. Even though it was just a line drawing, you could see there was a tire, some cans and bottles, a board and a boot in the water. Then a little fish came into the picture and swam through.
“This is a picture of what’s in the water underneath our boat right this very minute,” the man said. “This instrument has been used with great success at deep levels in the ocean. Lake Meredith at the deepest point is only thirty feet. If there’s a mermaid here, we’ll find her.”
Pirate Andy looked into the camera. “I’m an experienced scuba diver, and I’ve gotten special permission from the mayor of Luna Beach to search the waters of Lake Meredith. With me will be two marine scientists who have agreed to help me locate this rumored mermaid.”
“What will you do if you find the mermaid?” someone asked him.
“Well, us old Sea Salts have a long history with mermaids. I swear I saw a mermaid once, and I’m determined to see one again. If I find the mermaid, I’m going to catch her if I can. Here in Lake Meredith, she faces danger from pollution and vandals, risks injury from propellers or hooks, and even kidnapping. I know the mermaid will be very happy living at the Marineland Aquarium in southern California. For one, the weather is better there. She’ll have a safe place to live, clean water, and plenty of food. She’ll also have a team of trained workers to watch over her and tend to her every need.”
The screen showed footage of sunny Marineland, with big tanks and seals and killer whales. The Marineland Aquarium was a place for big water shows. I might never see Mermary again! I was so upset I could barely listen to Pirate Andy, who was still talking.
“Keep a look out for my next show, ‘The Search for a Mermaid.’ This is Pirate Andy Kydd, signing off now.”
“Well, this is exciting for Luna Beach, isn’t it?” my mother said, smiling.
“It sure is,” Reggie said, taking another cookie.
I didn’t want any. I felt sick. Holding the cookie in her mouth, Reggie started typing again.
“Let’s look at Pirate Andy’s mermaid site,” she said around the cookie. The web page opened. “I found this website a few months ago.” And of course, it was the website I stopped visiting.
“Let me show you the posting Pirate Andy was talking about.” She started paging down. I wanted to tell her to stop, I was afraid my mother would guess I had visited the site without her permission.
“Look, here’s the posting he was talking about, from someone in Luna Beach.” Reggie looked at me. “Do you think Sea Bee is a girl?”
I shrugged and didn’t look at Reggie or my mother. Why did Reggie want to know?
I was so relieved when my mother finally said, “All right, girls, if you’re finished with the computer, I need to get back to work.”
Reggie jumped up from the computer.
“Sooner or later, someone’s going to find that mermaid!” she said.
That’s what I was afraid of!
Chapter 54
A Dire Warning
My mother dropped me off at school earlier than usual the next day, and as soon as she was gone I walked all the way to the Dragon Tree. I called Mermary.
“Hi, Camile! How are you?”
“Mermary, you’re in danger. People are coming to try and find you. There’s going to be divers using scuba gear to search the waters. Some of them are scientists. And others will be using specialized equipment to locate you in the water!”
“Like what?”
“A sounding machine that sends back pictures to a computer of what’s in the water.”
“Oh, is that what those people were doing,” she said, almost to herself.
“What people?”
“Well, three people were in a rowboat, and one of them had a long box with glass and a light they put down into the water.”
That didn’t sound like what I’d seen on Pirate Andy’s show. There must be all kinds of equipment people were using to see underwater!
“Did they see you, Mermary?”
“No. I stayed away from the light.”
“Were you really close to them?”
“No.”
“Maybe you should stay in your cave during the day time.”
“Stay in the cave? That’s boring!”
“I know, but—” I knew it wasn’t a good solution.
“How about if I just stay away from boats. I’ll hear when someone’s coming, and I’ll swim away from them.”
“I’m just so worried someone’s going to find you some day, then they’ll take you away.”
“I’ll be too fast for them. If they try to catch me in a net, I’ll cut my way out,” she said, pulling the knife I gave her from its sheath. “And if they try to get me, I’ll fight them.”
Her saying that only made me more upset, and sad too. She didn’t know what some people were like, how they would hunt her until she was caught, and probably use nets made of stuff she couldn’t cut through. Her little knife wouldn’t help her at all.
“I’m glad you’re doing your best to stay away from people. But we have to do something more so they never catch you.”
“Like what, Cammie?”
“I don’t know. I have to figure it out.”
Chapter 55
Worry
I thought and I thought for the rest of that week and I still didn’t know what to do. Should I just wait to see what happened? Should I trust Mermary to stay hidden and keep away from people? Maybe no one would find her.
But what if they did? I couldn’t take that chance.
I was so worried that I couldn’t concentrate in school. I got a D on a spelling test even though I’m an excellent speller, and I actually failed a math test. I was too upset to care. I thought of something else: if they caught Mermary, how long would she live in captivity, with so many people gawking at her, and scientists studying her and putting her through tests? Would the scientists want her to die, so they could dissect her to see what she was like inside, just like that movie? Mermary would be stressed and miserable, and maybe even get depressed. And it would be my fault, all my fault! I had committed the sin of selfishness.
Twice Sister had to get my attention because I was staring out the window at the lake.
The second time, Jeannie said, “Camile’s distracted by the mermaid.”
Some of my classmates giggled.
“Have you seen her again?” Emily asked.
Everyone was looking at me, so I shook my head and looked down at my geography book. I was too upset even to feel embarrassed. I felt like crying.
“I bet she has,” Allie said. “I wouldn’t pay attention to school work either.”
Before recess, Sister asked me to remain behind. I figured I was in trouble, and Sister was going to get after me. After the third grade teacher took both classes out to the school yard and I was alone with Sister, she asked me if everything was all right. I nodded, but it wasn’t true of course.
“Camile, you’re a very bright and gifted student. This is the first time all year you haven’t done well. Furthermore, you haven’t turned in any homework thi
s week.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll make it up.”
“Dear, I think something’s wrong. Can you tell me what it is?” She was being so kind that I started crying. She got a box of tissue and brought it over to me. I grabbed one and covered my face with it.
“Are things all right at home?”
I nodded.
“Is anyone bothering you? Are your classmates teasing you? Maybe about the mermaid?”
I shook my head. Actually, they did tease me, but it was nice teasing. To them, I was like a hero because I had “shown” them the mermaid. But I wasn’t a hero. I was a selfish liar. That made me cry even more.
“Has anyone bothered you at the lake?” Sister asked. “A stranger, perhaps?”
I shook my head again. Finally I thought of something I could say that would explain everything. I wiped my eyes.
“I’m worried about the mermaid. I saw a program on pollution, and how it kills fish and animals. I’m afraid that the mermaid might be living in a polluted environment.” This wasn’t a lie, because I was worried about pollution, and worried because Mermary liked to eat the junk food that people threw into the lake.
“Yes, I can see why that would be upsetting,” Sister agreed. “And it is a very big problem.” She talked some about pollution and suggested some things I could do, like join the town’s litter-pickup days. Then she said, “Have you prayed about it, Camile?”
I shook my head. I had been so upset, I never thought about praying.
“Prayer can help ease your soul when you’re troubled,” she said.
Just thinking about praying helped me to feel a little bit better. I took a breath. “Can I go to the church now?”
She checked her watch. “Yes, of course. I’ll take you.”
We went over to the church and entered by the side door. It was big and quiet as usual. I knelt down in front of Our Lady of the Lake. Sister knelt down next to me. I prayed a little bit, but mostly I looked up at the Madonna. Even though she was white and polished, she seemed alive. Her pretty face was gentle, and I trusted her.
Please, tell me what to do to protect Mermary, I asked her in silence. I kept staring at her. It almost seemed like she was smiling at me. I felt a lot better. We could hear the students coming in and Sister said it was time to go back to class.
