365 Days (Part 2) | ✓

234. Underwater

234. Underwater: Write about sea creatures, and under water life.

A side story to an epic fantasy series I wrote.

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We caused the storm. It wasn’t hard: We of the Isle are used to manipulating the weather to suit our purposes. It was I who first spotted the ship sailing arrogantly toward our crystalline shores. I am a half-breed; and although some still hold old prejudices against my kind, they cannot deny I serve my uses as a land-dweller. Mostly, I have found acceptance here, unlike all of the other places on the mainland where I have attempted to reside.

To add more injuries to the idea that anyone would dare approach the Isle of the Spectrum, was that the ship was familiar. I could not fathom why any ship would try to make more than one landing on our island. We repel anyone who ventures too near with tsunami-like waves and impossible visibility.

It was easy for me to dive into the water and morph into my other shape: my other half. I was part mermaid, and as I contacted the water, a surge of energy pulsed through my veins. Unlike some half-breeds, my legs didn't fuse into a sleek tail. It told me I was more human than mer, although I would never know the exact makeup of my blood. My parents had not stuck around long enough to tell me. However, smoothly interlocking scales creeped up my once-human flesh, and my toes became more webbed.

I was a good swimmer. I sped through the warm water toward the ship. Its hull was a black shadow over numerous shipwrecks -- all caused by us. Painted on its side were the words The Coral Knife. Silly humans, naming their methods of transportation.

The ship sliced through the water swiftly. I swam close to it, feeling as the the currents coming from its rapid advance push me back. I shouldn't have -- but I stuck my head above the surface, wondering what the purpose was for their visit. There always was a purpose, and after how the last deal went so badly, I doubted my people would be willing to entertain the occupants of this boat. These days the mer didn't even have audiences with their attempted visitors. They either accepted them or the people left -- if not of their own will, then of ours.

I could hear movement on board, and several male voices. They sounded quite young. That mystified me.

"Have you talked to Rosenthal?" a man asked. His voice was low and concerned.

It was a girl's voice who responded. In contast to her companion's deep tones, her voice was light and airy. "Yes, I have. She's still thinking the decision over."

"What do you think she'll choose?"

The girl hesitated. "I don't know. I doubt she does either."

For a minute they were silent, and the mermaid listening in to their conversation started to wonder if it was time for her to return to her people and alert them to the approaching vessel. Just a little longer, she said, and was rewarded for her patience, for the two she heard on the deck began to speak again.

It was the man who reopened the subject. "You know taking Rosenthal to Braedon will be dangerous, for both her and us."

"I know," the girl replied quietly.

"And I don't know what we'll do with her when we get back home."

"'Do?'" the girl repeated. "You make it sound like she's helpless. She can easily go find work, find a place to stay and build her own life without our help."

"She's a mermaid."

"Half-mermaid," the girl quickly corrected.

"Right. I know. It's just... I think it's better for everyone if she stays here. Among her own kind," the man said cautiously.

"Half of her belongs to the human race too," the girl said.

"The human race hasn't exactly been accepting of her mer half."

"Well, I won't try to influence her decision. She knows what she's doing."

"I hope so."

The half-breed in the water had heard enough. Another merhuman! Like her! Her heart pounded, right up to her throat. She had to get this Rosenthal to stay on the Isle of the Spectrum. She would do whatever it took.