The Maidening Ceremony

Chapter Three - Scene 1

Arilya's friendship with Finley was the one bright spot in her life. She never had a friend before; having Finley to joke around with helped her forget the coldness of her parents at home. It did not matter to her that he did not enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed his. All that mattered was he did not push her away.

"Have you thought about your training, Finley?" Arilya asked as they raced around the Community. The two were entering the last phase of their education and the Council of Elders had begun a series of meetings with their peers to discuss career placement.

"A little, not much." He swung around a giant rock and jetted past her.

"Wait up!" Arilya kicked her tail vehemently and caught up with her friend outside the Elder's Cove. "What have you thought about?

Finley ran a hand through his hair. "I like to laugh. I like making other people laugh."

"You want to be a performer?"

"Maybe. It could be fun."

"I think that is a great idea. I am surprised, though. I thought you would want to be a hunter."

"There was a time when I thought that."

"But you changed your mind? Why? You were brave enough to go after that shark, you are certainly brave enough to be a hunter."

Finley shrugged.

"You were. You saved my life. No one else in the Community would have done that." Arilya was right. No one else in the Community would have saved her from the shark. Not even the healer, Damien, who spent his life taking care of sick merpeople.

"I did not do it because I was brave."

"Then why did you?"

Finley moved around her, swimming towards his cave, ready to be rid of her for a little while. He hoped the reason she followed him around all this time was not because he saved her life. He did not save her because he was brave or because he liked her and wanted to be her friend. He saved her because he had to. Because if he had not, it would have been his fault when the shark ate her. He knew no one would blame him. There would not have been a soul in the Community who cared if the shark ate Arilya, and they certainly would not have held it against him or Viola for pushing her through the border. But he would have held it against himself.

"I do not know. Look, I have stuff to work on. For school."

"I can help."

"I do not need help. Thank you, though. I will see you later." Away he went.

The older Arilya got, the more it bothered her when Finley blew her off. It irritated her the way her classmates picked on her red tail and made chomping motions with their hands anytime she passed by, but she dealt with it. She ignored them as much as possible, but Finley's rejection was different. It meant something. Because he knew her in ways the other merphen did not. No one else knew how much she craved her parents' approval. No one else knew exactly what to say to make her laugh. She enjoyed being with him even more than she enjoyed entertaining the infant merphen. And why did it hurt her so much that Finley did not ask about her own career aspirations? Something was wrong with her for caring so much.

"Shaz, Dalphen, I am home," Arilya called out as she entered her parents' cave.

"I have a show," Shaz said, coming into the large parlor at the front of the cave. She selected a drape of purple mermaid hair and slung it across her shoulders.

"Do you have a minute to talk before you go?"

"No." Shaz departed with her usual flair, flinging her drape over her shoulder so quickly it whipped into her daughter's face, and the rapid pumping of her tail left a trail of bubbles in her wake.

Arilya went in search of her father. "Dalphen, are you here?

"Arilya, do not bother me right now," his voice drifted to her from his chamber at the back of the cave. Arilya ignored his tone and swam towards his room.

"I really need to talk to someone. Can I come in?"

"I just said to leave me alone. What the hell is wrong with you, girl?" Dalphen flung the curtains at the front of his chamber shut. With her married off, there was no one left at home for Arilya to talk through her feelings with, so she swam to her own chamber and lay down to think.

Her father was right – there was something wrong with her. She was different. Different from her classmates. She was nothing like her parents or her sister. And apparently, she and Finley were different, too. Why did she care about her parents when they found her to be a nuisance? Why did she care about Finley? No one in the Community seemed to care about anyone or anything, yet all Arilya did was care.

What had she done to deserve being ostracized from the rest of the Community? First the red tail, now these feelings. Why could not she just be normal? All she wanted was to fit in. Finley did not care that he was all alone, but she did. She really, really cared.

****