Blood Runs Thicker than Water (The Shape of Water Fanfic)

Guardian Mermaid

I opened my eyes, panting and sweating. I look around my small room, scanning my surroundings. A small desk in the corner, a modern desk lamp perched on the wooden surface. Papers scattered messily and as always, unorganized. Posters hanging on the walls, not of boy bands or brands as other girls may have left over from their teenage years, but of high definition photos of jellyfish, sharks, and other beautiful creatures to decorate my walls.

I groan, sitting up in bed, still sweating. What a nightmare. I haven't had one of those in a very long time. I still remember his hands grabbing my arms, whispers of demon hissing in my ear. I shake my head, gritting my teeth. That was a long time ago. He wasn't here. He could never take my dignity or harm me again.

Deciding that sleep has definitely fled me tonight, I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and walk over to my desk, legs still leaden with sleep. I yawn and wince as I flip on the lamp light. Once I adjust to the lighting, I check my watch that I always slept with. 2:17 AM. Great, I thought. Well, at least it was summer break.

I plop into the slightly uncomfortable metal chair and scoot up to the edge of my desk. Buried under my mess of papers is a dusty, worn journal. It hasn't been written in for a very long time. I pick it up, fingering the ancient pages. I've had this thing since I was seven years old. I sigh, smiling slightly as I turn the pages back to the very beginning.

I didn't have anything better to do. So it was time to remember.

June 5th, 1997.

Today was a good day. Mommy took me out to my favorite spot in the river. There were a lot of ducks today on the river. They were really pretty. I went over to the lily pads . . .

The sun was beaming down on my face, bathing me in its beautiful warmth. Today Mommy decided to take me out to the river, to enjoy the day. There weren't any people in my favorite spot today, which I liked. Mommy laid down a blanket on the grassy bank and sat down, opening a book to read. I knew then that I could go exploring. Maybe my mermaid had a gift for me today!

Giggling, I ran over to a grove of lily pads, and stopped to admire the creamy white and blush pink petals on top. I stifled a gasp of delight when a mother duck paddled out from behind a semi submerged bush, a trail of ducklings lined up behind her. I had to be really quiet, or else I would disturb them. I quietly tiptoed through the muddy grass, going over to my secret cove. It looked at first like a wall of bushes and reeds, but if you parted the cattails in a certain area, there was a space behind them. I had discovered this hideout by accident, when I was trying to follow a school of minnows, and I was pretty sure I was the only one who had found it. Well, other than my guardian mermaid.

I crept into the cove. It was a magical nook, a little niche in the brushes that the water seeped into, creating a lagoon of sorts. It was too muddy in most places there to sit down, but there was my favorite birch log that I liked to sit on, and if I didn't want to get my boots too muddy, I made it an adventure by carefully walking on the log.

Little fish darted away from my boots as I waded through the marshes in my lagoon. I smiled, loving the wildlife here. An eastern bluebird chirped in the trees, and I observed it flit from branch to branch, before it noticed my presence and took off.

I let out an "oohh" of sheer delight when I saw the gift my mermaid had left for me resting on the end of my birch log. This time, it was a crown of braided reeds, but not gross muddy reeds. They were cleaned, smooth and beautiful. But not only that. Weaved into the vines of the reeds were lilies, the same ones that I had admired from the shoreline. I didn't understand how the flowers were woven into the crown so intricately, but I didn't think about it long. I examined the crown in my hands. The rough outer layer of the reeds had been carefully scraped away, so that the soft inner twine wouldn't scratch my skin. I laughed in happiness, bouncing up and down.