All The Mermaids In The Sea

by Robert W Cabell

  “I have to go through the great water link on a man-ship to meet the queen, Slammer. You and Jumper can’t come with me safely, so you must stay here.”

  “The man boat is dangerous! Very dangerous for Princess!” Slammer did a back flip in distress.

  “Not for me, Slammer. I grew up with mankind, and I’ve seen this kind of ship before. Besides, no one will look for me on a cruise ship. It will save me months of swimming, which could also be very dangerous with all the ships out there looking for me.”

  Slammer thought about it and asked her, “Is Princess sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Pearl stroked his beak gently.

  “Jumper and Slammer will miss you Princess,” Jumper squealed.

  “I’ll miss you too, but I have to go.”

  Pearl kissed them and hugged them all good-bye.

  She wrapped the snoozing Echo in some seaweed to keep her moist and comfortable, placed her at the bottom of her net bag, turned, and swam to the ship. A few moments later they saw her rise up silently on a column of water, right to the level of one of the small man-boats clinging to the side of the giant ship. They were the only ones who noticed her slip inside.

  The Panama Cruise

  Pearl lay quietly in the lifeboat. Everything had gone perfectly. It took a while to dry off in the cool night air with no sun to warm her tail, but eventually the change happened, and her legs were back as good as new.

  She slipped into her bathing suit bottoms and looked like any other teenage passenger. Her hair was a bit of a problem, but she really couldn’t bring Echo out of her net bag to help, so she solved it by weaving sections of her hair on both sides of her face into two long braids, pulling them back behind her neck, and weaving them together. It was a style she had seen in one of her fairytale books that she had always wanted to try. Her hair was now much more manageable, and she still felt like a princess.

  After she’d dealt with all the transformation details, she found a life vest in the boat. Using it for a pillow, she curled up to take a nap.

  When Pearl woke she could hear the sounds of other ships, lots of activity, and people passing by the lifeboat giggling and talking in several different languages. Then she smelled the food.

  Oh my gosh, it smells wonderful! She could smell waffles, sausages, maple syrup, and many different kinds of muffins. Suddenly Pearl was so hungry, she wanted to scream. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed land food, and then she realized she hadn’t eaten since before the tuna net incident, almost twenty hours ago, and she felt even worse. She felt nauseous with hunger she was so empty. Healing Sandy had taken a lot out of her. She was never going to last sitting in the dark, under a tarp, starving and smelling all that food! Besides, the air was getting terribly stuffy now that the sun was up and beating down on the tarp that covered the lifeboat.

  Pearl was sure she could blend in with the passengers. She was wearing a conservative swimsuit, and she had her bag, her camera, and her expensive diving watch. She looked like a regular tourist. If she snuck out for some food at the buffet, no one would think anything of it.

  So, that’s what she did. She listened carefully to make sure no one was near before she peeked out from under the tarp, and then she quickly slipped over the side of the lifeboat, and jumped down onto the deck. It took all of ten seconds.

  An hour later she was stuffed to the gills—literally—with fresh strawberries, waffles with maple syrup, sausages, and quiche Loraine, all topped off with some delicious hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. Oh, it was lovely. Pearl sat down in a deck chair, closed her eyes, and leaned back to tilt her face to the sun.

  “So, how’s our little mermaid today?” a man’s voice asked Pearl, making her sit up so fast she nearly fell out of the chair. The voice came from a young man in khaki shorts and a white polo shirt. He was smiling down at her, gripping a large camera that was hanging from a strap around his neck.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, miss,” he said apologetically. “I just saw that you’d bought one of our Little Mermaid swimsuits and wanted to know if you’d like your picture taken. It’s no charge if you don’t like the picture. I post a copy on the board by the main dining hall, and if you like it, it’s eight dollars for a five-by-seven and twelve dollars for an eight-by-ten.”

  Pearl trembled inside, desperately trying to appear calm as she listened to his sales pitch, all the while gauging the distance to the railing and estimating how fast she could hurl herself over the side.

  “I must say,” he continued, “you’re the best looking mermaid I’ve seen all day, and I’ve taken about thirty pictures so far. That suit looks really good on you.”

  “Thirty pictures of mermaids?” Pearl stared at him realizing something was either very wrong, or this guy was delusional.

  “Sure, we’ve been selling that bathing suit like hot cakes ever since the picture came out of that Pearl girl in Hawaii. Every girl wants to have the same bathing suit as the Little Mermaid!”

  Pearl suddenly laughed … and kept laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” The young man seemed slightly offended. “You obviously felt the same way too.” He huffed, indicating her bathing suit.

  “No, actually, I’ve had this one for a while.” She giggled again. “But I think that’s a great idea.” Pearl beamed a smile up at him, and he snapped the picture.

  “Wow, you really are beautiful,” he gasped, which made Pearl blush, and he snapped another shot of her lovely smile.

  “Wow, what cool tattoos,” he complimented, as he noticed the feathery blue lines running down her neck and over her shoulders. “They're very delicate. They look almost Asian.”

  Pearl glanced questioningly down at her shoulders and realized he was pointing at her gill slits. They were sealed closed, but there were faint blue crisscross lines on her skin that did look like pale tattoos.

  “Oh these, well, they’re … not tattoos.” Pearl shook her head.

  “Really?” He looked a little closer. “What are they, scars from something?”

  “No, not scars.” Pearl’s mind was racing. This guy was really cute, and she didn’t want him to think she was weird or something. “Well, they are kind of tattoos, but they’re … they’re just those … henna tattoos. The whole tattoo is fading away, but these lines are taking a bit longer.”

  “What was the tattoo? It must have been huge,” he said. Pearl realized that he was now looking at her closely and could see that the lines ran down her neck and behind her shoulders on both sides.

  “Oh yah, it was a big … big … web! A spider’s web.”

  “A spider’s web? Are you a ‘Goth girl’? You don’t look like one.” He frowned.

  It was getting worse. Now he thought she was one of those girls who ran around all dressed in black with body piercings and spiky, neon-colored hair.

  “No way! I’m into ballet and gymnastics, and I sing in the choir.” She giggled at the thought of all her hair sticking straight up and died magenta pink.

  “Ballet?” He smiled. “I’ll bet you’re a really good dancer. Was that for a production you were in?” He pointed back at the gill slits again.

  “Yes!” Pearl giggled with sudden inspiration. She was getting to be as bad as Jenna Ambers with the giggle stuff, but she suddenly understood Jenna a whole lot better.

  “I danced in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream last month.” And that was true. “I played Cobweb, one of the fairies. The tattoo was really just a makeup thing.” Combining the truth with a lie was really just like creative writing, and Pearl was really good at creative writing. She had a wonderful imagination!

  “My friend who designed my costume insisted that the outline of the web would last through all the performances. The henna has taken forever to fade away. I just cover it up with my hair and forget about it. I was so hot this morning I braided my hair to keep cool,” Pearl explained as she unraveled her braids so her hair would cover up the lines, “and I didn’t ev
en remember they were there until you mentioned it.”

  “Well, it looks cool, and you have beautiful hair. My name’s Mark, by the way.” He extended his hand to shake hers.

  “My name is…Miranda!” Pearl blushed and liked the idea of using her real mother’s name for an alias. It kind of made her a part of this adventure. “When do we get to the canal, Mark?” Pearl asked as she leaned back against her lounge chair.

  “Get to it? You missed the first part already!” He looked at her in surprise.

  “What?” Pearl sat up, startled again, and looked around her.

  “Yah, we passed through the last of the three locks on the Pacific Coast a half hour before breakfast.” Mark shrugged.

  “Then this must be Lake Gatun.” Pearl sighed disappointedly. “I thought we were still sailing down the coast.”

  “Well, now I know who was up late last night partying!” He wagged his finger at her.

  “I really wanted to see the locks work.” Pearl pouted up at him from her chair. It was quite a lovely pout, too.

  “Well, if you want to get a good view of the last series, you should go get a chair near the railing by one of the pools. We’re only halfway there, so it’s thinned out for the moment. This is the perfect time to grab a good spot.”

  “Great!” Pearl clapped her hands in delight, and Mark seemed pleased with her expression.

  “Why don’t you grab a couple of chairs by the big pool, on the lower deck, and I’ll try to join you and be your own private tour guide when we get to the locks. I’ve just got to have this morning’s pictures printed.” He held up his camera with a smile.

  “Sure, I’d like that.” Pearl smiled up at him, and he snapped another shot of her with all her long, flowing hair cascading over her shoulders.

  “Wait a second!” Pearl giggled again as she reached inside her bag for her camera. “Turnabout is fair play.” And she snapped a shot of him.

  “Hey,” he said with a laugh, “that’s my job!” And he snapped another shot of her.

  So they laughed and posed and took several more silly pictures of each other until he hollered, “Stop! Stop! I’m going to lose my job if you don’t buy half of these pictures.” He smiled. “I’ve got to get these back to the lab. I’ll meet you later by the pool?”

  “I’ll save you a chair.” Pearl waved at him as he walked away. She wanted to choke herself to stop it, but she giggled again. She couldn’t believe how much she reminded herself of Jenna Ambers.

  Wow, she thought, he must think I’m at least eighteen. Pearl had forgotten that her physical human body had matured when she’d transformed into a mermaid. He must be in college at least! So she laughed to herself triumphantly, snatched up her camera, and half walked, half waltzed as she followed the signs that led her in the direction of the pools.

  Poolside View

  Just as Mark had suggested, Pearl was able to find a couple of empty lounge chairs by the railing, next to the large pool on the starboard side of the ship. The view was excellent.

  She found a barrette lying on the deck and used it to clasp her hair together at the back of her neck and then strategically draped her hair across the front and back of her shoulders to cover the gills slit markings.

  Pearl still attracted a lot of attention with her beautiful figure and coppery locks that seemed to catch fire in the sunlight. No matter how she tried to look ordinary, she was a classic beauty.

  Oddly enough, it was the fact that she was wearing her—the—bathing suit that made her fit in. She walked through the crowd, passing girl after girl, woman after woman, and even a couple of baby girls, all wearing her “Little Mermaid” bathing suit. They all seemed to smile and wink at her saying, “I wish I could be a mermaid too,” as they passed each other. It was as if they were all in a special sorority.

  Well, Pearl thought, be careful what you wish for, ‘cause you just might get it! She knew this well after everything that had happened to her in the past few days.

  Once she got over the urge to laugh and the creepy feeling of being imitated, she was really relieved by the way her “camouflage” enabled her to mix in with the rest of the passengers. They immediately accepted her as one of them because of what she wore. Though when she thought about it, it was just like being back in junior high school.

  For now, she was stretched out on an umbrella-shaded chaise lounge, looking out over the railing, watching the lush green forest and the white sails of smaller boats floating past. A marimba band was playing on the deck above. It was all so lovely!

  The soft, warm breeze, the shade of the umbrella, and the floating parade of colors lulled Pearl into a sleepy daze. The next thing she knew, Mark was sitting down beside her. He set down a couple of colorful mini-umbrella drinks, shoved the towel aside she had grabbed to save his chair, and stretched out next to her.

  “Wake up, sleepyhead, or you’ll miss it all over again.” He laughed.

  “Oh, hi.” She yawned and sat up rubbing her eyes. “Are we almost there now?” Pearl smiled excitedly.

  “Stand up and look over the rail, Little Mermaid, and see the wonders of man!” He spoke in a deep, playful tone as he stood up and extended his hand to her.

  This time Pearl kept her giggles at bay and just flashed him a warm, confident smile, the kind of smile that cuts men off at the knees. Poised and graceful, she rose up and stood next to him.

  The warmth of his touch was a bonus, and so they strolled hand in hand to the railing. Okay, it was only two steps away, but for a thirteen-year-old girl who’d never had a solo date with a real, nice hottie, those were two wonderfully big steps!

  “Do you know much about the canal?” Mark asked.

  “Hmmm,” Pearl began. “Well, I know that the Panama Canal, which is approximately fifty miles long, connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It was initially begun by the French in January of 1880 and later taken over by the United States. The good old USA had it opened and ready for its first customer in 1914, which by the way was the SS Ancon on August 15, 1914, and all completed at a mere cost of three hundred and seventy-five million dollars.

  “I also know that the canal uses a system of locks, each about one hundred ten feet wide by a thousand feet long, to systematically raise the ships eighty-five feet above sea level. They do this by filling each lock with fifty-two million gallons of water taken from Lake Gatun through a series of water culverts large enough to drive a train through. That’s why it only takes about eight minutes to fill up each lock.”

  Pearl watched the look of amazement spread across Mark’s face and suppressed another giggle as she continued. “The first part of the journey, which I must have slept through …” she let a little giggle escape on that comment, which made him laugh and squeeze her hand, “… was to sail through the channel up to the Mira Flores Locks, a series of two locks that raised the ship up to Lake Mira Flores, which is a manmade lake.

  “We sailed across the lake, and then passed through the Pedro Miguel Lock, a single lock that raised us up to the main level of the canal to the Culebra Cut. That cut, or canal shall we say, is about eight miles long, and as we crossed it, we actually sailed across the Continental Divide and under the Central Bridge,” Pearl shrugged at Mark with a sigh of regret, “which I also missed and really wanted to get a picture of.

  “But! Going on, after the Culebra Cut we merged with the Río Charges, a natural river, and sailed on to Lake Gatun. That was just about the time I was wolfing down my waffles and strawberries, which I have to say were terrific, and so was the sausage. Oh! Did I mention that for many years, Lake Gatun was the largest manmade lake in the world?”

  “No, but don’t let me interrupt the lecture,” he said in mock reverence.

  “Well then, young man,” she mocked back. “In layman’s terms, that means we are now in the home stretch! Once we sail across Lake Gatun into the Gatun Cut, we just have the last three locks that will lower us back down to sea level, at which point, we’ll proudly sail out int
o the Atlantic Ocean, all in about nine hours, start to finish! Oh! And the little engines that tow the ships through the locks on the tracks on either side are called mules.” Pearl smiled and did a little curtsey, and Mark applauded her effort.

  “Wow!” Mark gaped. “You really did want to see this, didn’t you? How do you know all that?”

  “I did a report on it last year in school. My dad was stationed here for three years with the Navy Seabees before I was born. He had so many great stories about it, I just wanted to learn more about the Panama Canal. So, I chose it as the subject for my history term paper.”

  “I’ll bet you got an A on that paper!” he laughed.

  “A-plus,” Pearl retorted with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, miss smarty,” said Mark raising his eyebrow back in challenge, “how about a swim?”

  “A swim?” Pearl responded in a tone of panic.

  “Don’t tell me my favorite Little Mermaid is afraid of the water?”

  “No! Of course not.” Pearl laughed, her own real laugh, not a nervous giggle. She was starting to feel safe and natural around Mark. “I, uh, I just don’t want to miss anything as far as the locks go.”

  “Well, we’ve got three more to go and about thirty minutes between each one,” Mark explained. “It’s really best to cool off in between them with a dip in the pool. The chlorine is a bit heavy, but it’s nice and refreshing.”

  “Chlorine?” she muttered. Oh, it’s a freshwater pool, she thought, and freshwater is okay and won’t change me, she remembered.

  “That sounds like fun,” Pearl agreed and relaxed at the idea of cool water on her body.

  “Then, the last one in the pool is a rotten egg!” Mark beamed as he whipped off his shirt and dove in the water.