Beneath The Waves

Chapter One

Ten Years Ago

I continued to pull out my clothes from the large suitcase sitting at the base of my bed. The plush comforter provided a nice layout for all of my outfits. With our family just moving from Phoenix, Arizona, I was trying to sort through everything. Most of our house had already been unpacked, however, like always, I pushed organizing of any sort away from my responsibilities.

There was a soft knock and my mom and dad's head poked through the slightly opened doorway.

"How's the unpacking going, kiddo?" My mom smiled as my dad ran over and picked me up, cradling me in his arms.

"Put me down," I laughed. "I'm nine years old! I'm too old for this!" He began to tickle me.

"Oh, but you're still my little girl!" He wrestled me on the queen sized bed until I gave up in a fit of giggles and him and my mom laid down next to me.

"So, you're the birthday girl! What do you want to do today to celebrate?"

A smile spread across my face as I crawled to the other side of the bed and held up my swim suit.

"Should we rent a boat?" My mom suggested. I nodded excitedly.

"Alright! Get ready! We'll meet you outside!"

I rushed to put on my swimsuit and flip flops. I ran into the bathroom and rummaged through the clutter until I found a hair tie. I flipped my hair around and into a fast ponytail and hurried outside.

My parents were still in the house, so I sat on the sand and looked out on the ocean.

My family and I had just moved to the Caribbean, specifically the coast of the Dominican Republic, for my dad's work. He was a new up and coming Marine Biologist. His well known reputation was starting to reach the farther corners of the world and finally made it out of the United States. It was a very exciting opportunity. I couldn't wait to finally live next to the ocean and somewhere so exotic compared to my previous home.

I smiled as I basked in the warm sun. The waves were crashing against the rocks, creating a peaceful, continuous sound. My tranquility was interrupted when I realized that the sound was increasing rapidly.

I jumped up and walked over to the large boulders where the sounds was resonating. I climbed up on top, being careful to not scratch my bare skin on the growing barnacles.

When I looked over the view of the rocks, there was what looked like to be a small tide pool. But I only got a small glance as salt water stung my eyes.

There was lots of splashing, so most of what I could see was white seafoam. I rubbed my eyes until the stinging stopped.

"Maya!" I heard my parents shouting for me and I turned to look at them. There was another large splash that hit the back of my head. I spun around, startled by the cool temperature. I stared closely at the water and saw a shimmer of different colors reflect across the surface and bounce off the waves.

"Maya! Get down from there! You could get hurt!" My mom ran over and picked me up and carried me in her arms.

"What were you doing?"

"There was something in the water!" I pointed towards the tide pool and didn't let my gaze leave the rocks.

"Come on, your father is going to the office to rent a boat while you and I start heading to the dock." She set me down on the ground and held my hand as we walked across the hot sand.

When we reached the harbor, my mom helped me buckle up the purple life jacket we had brought with us. I squirmed around, exciting to get onto the water.

I carefully walked down the center of the dock with my mom following closely behind.

Our rented boat was already in the water and my dad was getting it ready. My mom climbed inside and joined helping him.

I sat on the very end letting my feet dangle off, only inches above the water.

I laughed as I felt the dock move up and down in motion with the wake from passing boats.

"Alright, sweetie. Let's go!"

My dad stepped over, picking me up, and swung me into one of the seats. He started the engine and we slowly left the harbor.

After we passed some floating buoys, our speed increase, and within a few moments, we were flying on the surface of the ocean.

I sat at the very front of the boat, practically beaming. The mist blew gently in my face as I enjoyed the moment.

We continued to ride around in the boat for a good twenty minutes, enjoying the scenery. Soon enough, we were far out in the ocean.

"Look, honey! Dolphins!" My mom pointed down over the edge of the boat and at the water. I leaned up against the railing to get a good view.

Only a few feet beneath us, dolphins were leaping and splashing alongside the boat.

I couldn't help but laugh as I reached my hand through the bars in attempts to touch one but had no luck.

My mom got out her camera and began to take multiple pictures of the dolphins, ocean, and me.

My dad stopped the boat and allowed us to move with the motion of the waves.

"Come over here, Maya." My dad called me over holding a can of spray on sunscreen. "Time to re-apply. You don't want to get sun burned, now do you?" I spread out my arms and embraced for the cold impact of the mist.

"Alright, now don't touch anything for a few minutes so it can dry."

I walked back over to my previous spot at the front of the boat. I looked over the edge to see if the dolphins were still nearby and frowned.

I sat down on the seat, the sun heating up my body. I adjusted my swimsuit top underneath my life jacket, trying to make it feel more comfortable.

I looked at the back of the boat near the wheel where my parents were looking at a navigation system. I smiled, realizing this was a good moment to get a better view without my parents freaking out. I climbed up on the railing until I could see all the way down the side of the boat.

I looked back to make sure my mom and dad weren't looking but my attention was quickly drawn back to the water when I saw a shimmer of light. It caught my eye almost instantly and showed an aura of color in a flash. It momentarily blinded me, but that's when I saw it. It was too familiar to what I had experienced back at the beach earlier. But this time I got a better view.

The flash was caused by a colorful tail in the water that looked almost like a dolphin's.

I quickly ran to the back of the boat and put down the step ladder into the water and began to climb in.

"Maya! What are you doing?" My mother shouted and my dad rushed over.

I ignored their calling and looked at the water where I had seen the tail, but now I saw more. A large mass of red hair followed by the long trail of colors.

My dad suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the water and held me in his arms, my head perched on his shoulder. My eyes were glued to where I had seen the figure.

I moved my body around harshly, trying to loose my dad's grip, wanting to back in the water.

"Wait! Stop! Dad, let me go! I want back in the water! There was a mermaid!"

Beneath the Waves. Copyright © 2017. All Rights Reserved. Emily Kland.