Daughter of the Tide

Everyone in Bernig Has a Secret

My mother was a siren.

My father was a sailor. 

I am an ocean child.

And the winds

of the waves are calling, 

calling me home.

~~~

"What if I drop subtle hints about it?" I asked Ryan as we conversed over bowls of ice cream at Polly's. She'd reopened the store and the locals of Bernig had been in and out all day. A few days without her homemade ice cream had felt like years.

"And what if he actually knows something? What then? What if he asks why you want to know?" he asked me, spooning a big scoop of Chocolate Overload into his mouth.

"Would it be so bad if I told him?" I questioned, playing with my own bowl of ice cream.

"Yeah, that'll go over well..." he sighed, leaning back in his chair, "Ryan and I went out on his boat in the middle of the night and we think we saw a mermaid!" I looked around at the other customers and cast him a nervous glance.

"Ryan, keep your voice down," I warned him. "If he confesses to knowing something then I think it should be fine."

"He'll change the subject instantly," my friend shook his head, "to the fact that you went out on a boat and if you bring up the hand that tried to pull you in, he'll just think that you actually plummeted into the water again." My shoulders slumped as I took in his words. He was right, my father wouldn't be answering any questions after that news reached him. I ate a bite of my ice cream and let out a sigh.

"Maybe we should talk to some of the Bernig locals," I suggested. "People we trust, who will just see it as innocent questions."

"Like Polly?" he asked, scanning the shop for the cheery woman who'd donned on a bright pink dress for the new, colorful opening of her store.

"Yeah," I nodded as he spotted her and waved her over. She said a few parting words to the couple she was talking to and came over, smiling at us.

"Hey you two," she greeted, "how do you like the new paint job?"

"It's nice," I answered, "I think it suits you better than the old dreary colors. We sure missed your ice cream though."

"You two have had enough of my ice cream for a lifetime and yet I see you every other day," she laughed, "so what can I do for you?"

"We just wanted to ask you a few questions," Ryan told her. "About mermaids." Her smile faltered a little and she looked between us.

"What do you two wanna know about mermaids for?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"We're just curious about some of the legends that surround Bernig," I stated quickly, "do you know when the stories started?" Polly looked around her shop, checking on the other customers before she slid into the booth next to me.

"The stories started within the first year that Bernig was formed so I'm sorry to say that I don't know any of the original ones. However, I do happen to know a few people in this town that you could talk to about experiences," she told us.

"Experiences?" Ryan questioned.

"Well of course," she replied, "you'd be a fool to not believe in mermaids."

"Are you saying they're real?" I asked her. She looked over at me, meeting my gaze for a moment. I could have sworn that something flashed in her eyes, but she looked away before I could decipher it.