A Merman's Tale

Fates: Chapter Twenty-Nine

Seirra

      It had started raining.

      I stared out the shop’s window as droplets decorated the glass and blurred the faces of the people who hurried to get out of the downpour. A frown crossed my face as I raised my chin to look up at the sky. The heavens showed no sign of giving the sun a chance to shine the last of its rays. Dark, enormous clouds covered what was supposedly a vast expanse of the blue sky.

     I sighed.

      The rains had come unannounced—the only hint being the darkness that fell too early in the afternoon. And then lightning sliced through the clouds, immediately followed by a loud boom of thunder that caused several squeals of surprise from the people in the streets. I had been lucky to be indoors when the first of millions of heavy raindrops suddenly (and rather furiously) began to drown Grasveld Aisles.

      The beach was my original destination after bringing Hannah home but for some reason, I roamed through the sidewalks aimlessly until some purpose had clicked in my mind. Slowly, I found myself seeking the place that held so much of my memories with Margaret. Thus, I had pulled the door of Books and Covers and trembled inwardly when I heard the chimes together with Amanda’s monotonous, “Good afternoon!” 

      She had gaped a few seconds before blinking rapidly. I smiled, aware that I always had that effect on women of every age. Most of them, I eventually found out, had been rather captivated by my eyes.

      It had been the same with Margaret.

      Although on both of our ‘first’ meetings, I knew that I had also rendered her thoughts and feelings into chaos. I remembered the way her eyes widened with confusion and the way she held her breath in wonder.

      Truth be told, she had done the same to me.

      I had wandered towards the shelf farthest from Amanda’s post and since then, had browsed through the volumes as if reading each title’s synopsis was a vital part of my mission in the bookstore. Amanda didn’t seem to mind and when it started raining, it became obvious that she had already forgotten that I was still there.

      The chimes rang for the fifth time since I arrived an hour ago; startling me into dropping the book I was holding. My years of warrior training had sharpened my reflexes and I caught it before it touched the floor. I realized that even though I had been looking out the window, my mind had been somewhere else. I turned towards the person who just arrived but it was her voice that I heard first.

      And it sent my thoughts into pandemonium.

      “Yes, yes, Robert. I got home safely. Drenched but safe.” She paused to listen to the person on the other end of the line. “I know it’s half-stupid but I needed to talk to Seirra. I know that he knows something. I need him.” There was a hint of worry in her voice but her last sentence had startled even her.

      She said she needed me and it was enough to make me heady. I smiled to myself and continued to listen.

      “I gave up after waiting for him for an hour. He didn’t appear at the beach, God knows why. And then it rained. I already told you what happened after.”

      Margaret had stopped by the door and was nodding as if the conversation had become exasperating. Trying to keep the annoyance from her voice, she went on to assure him that nothing was wrong.

      “Goodness, Rob. It was just a little rain. Stop worrying. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” And then she hung up.

       I knew that there was no way that I could let her believe that I had come here to see her (she might think that I was stalking her) and so I immediately came up with a plan. I walked towards Amanda, careful not to look in Margaret’s direction, pretending to be the customer that I should be.