Breathless: A Little Mermaid Retelling

by Megan Linski

  Isa grinned. "I've been a good girl lately. I think he worries I'm behaving a little too well."

  Adrian laughed. Isa steered the boat, but Adrian came up behind her and put his arms around her, wrapping them tightly against her form as she held the wheel.

  "It's this way," Adrian said. "No one but me knows where it is."

  Isa grew warm inside at Adrian's comforting form around her. He steered the boat with her until land disappeared and he told her to drop anchor.

  "It's here," he said, and he handed her goggles and a snorkel. "I come out here all the time. It's beautiful. The best part is I don't think anyone has found it yet."

  Adrian dove in. Isa fitted the goggles to her face and followed him, leaving the snorkel in her hand for now.

  What Isa saw beneath the surface took her breath away. A coral reef stretched on for miles below, a dazzling display of rocks and sea plants that were green, blue, pink, purple, and an assortment of other colors. The reef touched the ocean floor hundreds of feet below the surface and went on for as far as she could see. Adrian gestured for her to follow, and she did eagerly.

  All kinds of fish swam in the reef. King mackerel swam next to red snapper, and there were swordfish that were as big as she was. Crabs scuttled along the coral next to tuna, catfish, grouper, and even blowfish. Isa counted a few stingrays swimming majestically up and around the towers of coral. She even saw a few dolphins swimming in the distance.

  It was an entire world of its own, and nobody on earth even knew it was here. Nobody, except for her and Adrian. Isa saw in the reef fish she'd only heard of and that the aquarium hadn't caught.

  Adrian and Isa swam to the surface. When their heads broke Isa had to gasp for breath, she'd been holding it for so long. "Aren't you worried about sharks?" Isa asked. She knew there had to be tons swimming about, this far in the ocean and with so many fish around.

  "Sharks won't bother us. Trust me," Adrian told her.

  Why, because you're some king of the sea? Isa decided to trust him. If he and his merman powers were enough to keep sharks at bay, it was good enough for her.

  Isa noticed that Adrian had trouble swimming in the water… like he didn’t know how to use his feet. His spine slithered up and down in a wave-like motion instead of staying still, and his legs and arms floundered. He was barely keeping himself afloat.

  He obviously doesn’t know how to swim without a tail, Isa thought. She kept a close eye on Adrian, to rescue him just in case he went under. After all, she wasn’t sure if the poor guy still had gills.

  Adrian and Isa snorkeled along the surface to look down at the reef, occasionally diving to get a closer look. Once Adrian grabbed her hand and took her under, close to a school of fish. He kissed her underwater as the fish swam around them. Isa quickly had to swim to the surface, to recover her breath from such a beautiful moment.

  As the day grew late Isa noticed a gray shape bobbing along the surface of the water. "Hey." She nudged Adrian. "What's that?"

  Adrian peered over her. "That's Moona," Adrian said. "She's my friend."

  Cautiously, Adrian approached the figure. Isa dipped underwater for a second to see that the creature was a manatee.

  What was a manatee doing this far out? They liked the warm water near the shores. The manatee swum closer until it was between them. Her big black eyes were lovely. She seemed gentle but swam around Adrian in a way that made Isa think she was jealous.

  "You can pet her," Adrian said. "She won't mind."

  Moona's tail rose out of the water to slap down, and the splash hit Adrian in the face.

  Isa reached out to touch Moona before she pulled her hand back at the last second. Manatees were endangered creatures and weren't to be messed with.

  But then Moona did something unexpected. She floated forward and wrapped her fins around one of Isa's legs, giving it a light hug.

  "Look!" Isa cried in excitement. "I think she likes me!"

  If Adrian could do backflips in the water, he probably would've. "That's a relief. Moona's not very nice to people she doesn't like."

  Isa noticed the thick white scars lacing across her back. "Boats," Adrian said when he caught Isa looking. "She's been hit by them a few times."

  "You poor thing. I'm sorry." Isa held out her palm, and Moona brushed her whiskery lips across Isa’s fingers before she turned and floated away. The manatee gave Adrian a peculiar look as she went, though Isa thought she was just imagining things.

  The sun was growing lower in the sky. Isa was tired from being in the water all day; and she was certain that Adrian felt worse due to all his poor swimming. Adrian said, "Let's go back."

  "I don't want to," Isa said. "It's so incredible out here. I want to stay forever."

  "Maybe one day, we will." Adrian guided Isa back to the boat. He helped her on once he'd climbed aboard, and Isa drove the boat back to land.

  She caught Adrian staring at the expanse of water behind them. "You miss it, don't you?" she asked. "The openness of the sea."

  Adrian held on for a moment before he sighed. "I didn't think I would. But I actually do."

  Neither of them had discussed what he was. Before this moment, Isa was certain Adrian had no idea she knew the truth.

  Now she wasn't so sure. But every minute, every second they spent together was bringing them closer. And it hurt Isa that he kept hiding secrets from her.

  As they rolled at a lazy pace back to shore, Isa felt a rough bump, one that shook the boat. She brought it to a screeching halt and looked down, trying to see what she'd hit and hoping it wasn't poor Moona.

  She only witnessed it for a second. He was there, and then he was gone. It was a man, a thin-faced one with a goatee. There was a flash of tentacles... then nothing.

  "Adrian, I think there's a person down there," she told him. He was already at her side and looking very pale.

  Isa said, "I think we should go down and investigate."

  "No," he said immediately. "It was probably just a reef you hit."

  "I saw a man's face, and tentacles," she said slowly. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't a squid. We should just put on our snorkeling gear and take a look."

  "It was nothing, Isa." For the first time, he snapped at her. "You're seeing things. Let's just go back."

  Isa knew she had to be quiet. Adrian's reaction had only confirmed whatever she'd seen hadn't been a squid at all. Someone in the ocean was watching them.

  Isa decided it was time. Tonight she'd confront Adrian about being a merman. From there, she'd see where they stood.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Adrian

  Stavros was watching them. That Adrian was certain of.

  Adrian wasn't worried about Poseidon looking for him, because it wasn't unusual for him to slip off for days at a time. They'd gotten in a fight, so his dad probably assumed Adrian was just mad at him. He wouldn't know his son had left until it was too late.

  But Stavros was a different story... he had a seahorse in this race. He couldn't keep track of them on land, but once they were in the ocean, his uncle's eyes were on him. That meant he would have to keep Isa out of the water as much as possible for the rest of the time he had with her. A nearly impossible task, seeing how much she loved the sea.

  He knew taking her out to the reef would be a risk. But he'd wanted to share his favorite place with her so badly. He hoped they wouldn't be there that long, but they'd been out for hours. Stavros had probably been lurking around for some time, seeing how close Adrian was to achieving his goal.

  But Adrian didn't know if he was. They'd kissed a few times, yes, and she'd been impressed by the reef, but love hadn't even been mentioned. Adrian didn't even know if it was on the table.

  He loved Isamaria. But did she feel the same?

  Her uncle wasn't too happy when they returned with the boat, but he didn't yell at her. It seemed Isa had a way of charming everyone she met. She treated that gift like a curse instead of a blessing.

  "Hey, Adrian," she asked
when they hiked back to her car. "I have a request."

  "Name it," Adrian said. He'd do anything to win her over at this point.

  "I want to sleep on the beach tonight," she said. "Have a bonfire, maybe grill some stuff. The sound of the waves helps me think, and sleeping under the stars just sounds... romantic."

  It did, kind of, but Adrian wanted to know what she was getting at. "I'm cool with that," he said. "There's a spot I know where we won't be bothered."

  Gathering supplies took longer than either one of them thought it would, because when they got back Adrian wanted to play his Atari a bit more, and while grocery shopping they couldn't agree on what to grill. Isa wanted hamburgers and Adrian, of course, insisted on fish, so they agreed to disagree and got different things.

  It was past eight o clock and the summer sun was setting when they finally made it back to the beach. Adrian took her to his secluded spot by his cove and started a fire while Isa laid a collection of pillows and blankets all around. She burned charcoal on the portable grill they'd brought, and when the grill was finally hot enough Adrian tried to show off and told her he'd do the cooking.

  That was a disastrous idea. The fish and the burger were both blacker than the charcoal when Adrian got through with them. Isa laughed and took over, making dinner herself. By the time they finally ate the moon was rising and stars had already dotted the expansive navy sky.

  "It is so peaceful out here," Isa said, sighing with contentment. She inhaled, lied back against the blanket, and said, "There's nothing I love more than the smell of the sea. It's like you can almost taste the salt water."

  "Nothing?" Adrian smiled.

  "Maybe the feel of a board, and riding a wave." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I don't need much. Despite what everyone says about me being high maintenance."

  "What do you want out of life?" he asked curiously

  "A shack on an island. One where I'm preferably left alone," she said under her breath.

  Adrian moved closer to her. "I don't think you mean that."

  She put her head against his shoulder. "Don't take it that way. You're different, Adrian. You're not like anyone I've ever known."

  "Isn't that a good thing?"

  "It's a hell of a good thing. I'm happier for it." The fire crackled, and she said, "But Adrian, I think I need to ask you something."

  Was this it? He hoped she didn't ask if he loved her. He couldn't tell her that. "What is it?" he asked, heart pounding.

  Isa swallowed. "I know what you are. And I don't think it's fair for you to hide it from me anymore."

  Adrian was in full-on panic mode now. "What do you mean?"

  "Don't play dumb. I saw you change the day at the docks. You're a merman."

  Adrian's innards bottomed out. "I'm..."

  "Please don't lie." Isa turned to face him. "I get why you wouldn't tell me. I mean, it's kind of crazy, isn't it? But I really want to know more about you. I know it was you that day I saw you in the water on my uncle's tour boat, and I've figured out the only way you could’ve saved me after I nearly drowned that day was if you could swim better than a human could. But we've been in the water all day and I haven't seen you change once. What's going on?"

  Adrian swallowed. "Okay. You figured it out, I'm a merman."

  Isa's face went from certain to unsure. Disbelief crossed her eyes, like she couldn't believe her crazy theories were actually true. She pointed at the water. "Show me," she said. "Show me your tail."

  "I can't," he said. "It won't work."

  "Are you playing a prank on me?" Isa's face grew slightly pink. "Because if you are, it's really messed up."

  "No." He grabbed her hands. "I swear on my life, I'm telling the truth. But I can't change back right now because I made a deal with someone to become human."

  "Why would you do that?" she whispered. "You had everything. You were mythical. You could live in the sea forever. Why would you want to come on shore and be with humans?"

  "Because," Adrian started, "after I saved you, I really wanted to spend more time with you. And the only way I could do that is if I had legs, not fins. In my mermaid form I can change into a human for a short time, but it wasn't enough. A few hours goes by like seconds when I'm with you. I needed more time."

  "When you were naked on the beach... did you just change then?" Isa wondered.

  Adrian nodded. "Yes. Moona brought me to shore. She saved my life."

  "Who..." Isa hesitated. "Who did you make a deal with? Was it that person I saw in the water today?"

  "Never mind," Adrian said. "They're far away from us now."

  Isa seemed very wary. "Adrian..." she said slowly. "What did you have to give up to be with me?"

  "It's not important," he said quietly. "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. But just trust me that I did it for you. You know the stories of Poseidon, the god of the sea?"

  "I'm not familiar with much Greek mythology," she said. "But, yeah."

  "I'm his son."

  Her mouth dropped open. "No way."

  "I swear that it's true. And I know this sounds insane right now, but you have to believe me."

  Isa stared at him with big, green eyes. Adrian was certain she was about to slap him across the face, call him a liar and leave him stranded on the beach, but all she said was, "Okay. I believe you."

  It was like a harpoon had been ripped out of his chest. "Thank you." The words came out in a whoosh of breath.

  Isa stared at him. "Did you really want to be on land that badly?"

  "I wanted to be with you more than anything," Adrian confessed. “I couldn't do that without making a sacrifice."

  "I'm sorry you miss the ocean. Is it permanent?"

  "I don't know." Adrian hoped she wouldn't press for more. "I guess we'll see."

  Isa was silent for a moment. She stared out at the water. Adrian thought that she was imagining him with a tail, swimming among the waves.

  “You have powers. You made the people at the party forget what you did that day, and you can communicate with fish.”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “But I find my powers are getting weaker the longer I stay on land. It’s hard for me to even talk to Moona now.”

  The statement gutted him. Isa looked at him like she was sorry for him.

  "Do mermaids get married?" Isa wondered aloud.

  "We have mates," Adrian said.

  "I bet your dad isn't too happy you picked a human," she mumbled glumly.

  "I don't care what my dad thinks." He grabbed her chin. "I just care about us. I came on land to be with you. That's all that matters."

  "How could you give up the entire ocean to be with me? I don't get it," Isa said. She looked frustrated.

  "One day, you will." Adrian kissed her. "Can we stop talking about this? I don't want to mull over the past. That's behind me. I want to talk about what's ahead."

  Isa still seemed hesitant, but she said, "Okay."

  The rest of the night was spent pointing out constellations, and Isa unsuccessfully trying to teach Adrian how to cook after both of them grew hungry for a late-night snack. Although he was relieved to get all that off his chest. Adrian felt like the pit of nervousness in his gut had grown larger than before rather than shrunk.

  There was only one more day left. If Isa didn't tell him that she loved him by midnight tomorrow, he'd lose her.

  This was his last chance.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Isamaria

  Isa woke up the morning of the Seaside Ball in a sour mood.

  She shouldn’t have felt that way, because she’d woken on the beach, the sun was rising and Adrian was next to her, but still, there was an aching feeling in her chest that was really telling her not to go.

  Just stay with Adrian. Eat junk food. Go somewhere fun. Blow it off, her mind repeated over and over.

  Every time she thought about it she had this rotten feeling. And Isa wasn’t sure it was just her personal resentment against the ball. It was like… her
instincts were telling her to stay away.

  She checked her phone. Already, there were a million texts from Shelly and Harbor about the ball and if she was going tonight. She knew if she didn’t show up they would be disappointed. Not to mention even though her father was out on business, he’d blow his top if he found out his daughter was a no-show at the premiere event of the year.

  She didn’t know. She still had to think about it.

  Her mind was still whirling with the reality that Adrian was a merman. This was too much information to take in. If merpeople existed, what other kinds of creatures were out there in the world? Did dragons, werewolves, and fairies exist, too?

  Isa decided that for her, personally, she had hooked up with a merman. And no matter how Adrian had reassured her that this was permanent, she knew him being human had to come at a steep price. She wasn’t sure whatever Adrian had gotten himself into was over yet.

  Isa had the idea that she and Adrian should go to Orlando. Enjoy the theme parks, go shopping, maybe do a bit of clubbing. They could avoid the Seaside Ball completely.

  Her chest settled when she thought of this, and Adrian woke up beside her. He blinked a few times. Isa smiled when she saw his bright blue eyes spark as they settled on hers.

  “Hey,” she whispered. She bent down to kiss him. “How are you feeling?”

  Adrian rubbed his chest. “A bit… weird to tell you the truth. I don’t know why.”

  “Me too.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, then Isa said, “I was thinking today we should go to Orlando. It would be fun— we could even get a hotel for the night.” Or forever… and never come back.

  “Sounds good.” Adrian sat up. “You sure you don’t want to go to the ball?”

  Isa opened her mouth to respond, but then she heard, “Isa!”

  She whipped her head around. Running down the shore were Harbor and Shelly.

  Dammit. She should’ve known her friends would come looking for her at the beach if she’d never responded.

  “Woah,” Harbor said when she noticed Isa’s blue locks. “You want to look like an alien?”