A Merman's Tale

Margaret: Chapter Seven

     “Now, now,” Seirra answered with amusement. “No need to be so sarcastic, Margie dear. I was merely doing my job.”

     I rolled my eyes at him and ate the white meat without answering. If I’m not careful, this boyfriend-girlfriend fad will surely get to my head. And that would suck big-time. Fantasies were not meant to be real and not even a fateful meeting with a merman could change my view. I had never been in a relationship and eventually falling in love with him would just make my life miserable. I needed to remember which was real and which was not.

     “Anyway,” he said to fill in the short silence, “the reason I needed to talk to you right now has something to do with my mission.” He placed a chicken fillet in his mouth and chewed.

     “What about? You’ve found a lead? This early?” I asked. Now that was just…weird. He searched for Marina for eight years and never found her. Only a day went by since we met and he was about to say ‘Mission Complete’. I felt a sudden gloom wrap around my heart. It wasn’t something I wanted to feel so I took my notebook and doodled on it, while I listened to Seirra’s narrative.

     “Not much of a lead, though. The first thing I do when I search a city or town is to check the records on transfers or migrations at the city hall.” He took a sip from my canned pineapple juice. “I just found out that there were only about 63 families who transferred in Grasveld Aisles since nineteen years ago. I guess I ought to be thankful that this is only a small island.”

    “So we’re going to check on all of those families?” I asked him, already feeling tired about it.

     He gave a small laugh. “Of course not,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’ve already narrowed the number down to 34 families since they are the only ones with a nineteen-year-old daughter.”

     “Oh my god,” I commented as I massaged my head. Yes, that was about half the number, but that was still a lot of families. I feel a headache coming on.

     “Stop overreacting,” Seirra scolded me. “It’s not like I’m going to ask you to come with me all the time. And we’re lucky with 34 families. I’ve been to bigger cities and the search was a lot more exhausting that you would have imagined.”  

     “I guess. But how sure are you that those are the only people we ought to look for?” Marina could be anywhere. There was also the possibility of her not being registered or worse, she could be dead already. I shivered. The last option would devastate Seirra and his people. I sure hope that wasn’t the case.

     “They aren’t the only ones we have to check but looking for them is a good start,” Seirra clarified.

     “I see. What will you do if Marina’s not with all of those people? Shove that bracelet towards every nineteen-year-old girl that passes you by?” I asked him as I drank from our shared pineapple juice.

     He just rolled his eyes at my sarcasm but answered me nonetheless. “I don’t think I could charm my way into any other government records so we’re going to have to find her some other way. Any other way. If I have to sit in one place the whole day while waiting for the Ardus sword to react to one girl then I’m willing to do it,” he told me. He scooped some of my mashed potato.

     So that’s how he found out about those numbers, I thought to myself. He probably used his charm act every time he was on land. I took a deep breath. I shouldn’t even bother about it. “Okay. Maybe this search has too many loopholes but I’ll do my best to help.” I took the last piece of toasted bread. I was still hungry but I forgot to tell Seirra to buy food for himself so this kind of lunch will have to be enough until I could eat again after class. “And I’m sorry for the sarcasm.”

     “No need to apologize,” he assured me. “By the way, I’ll have to begin investigating those families and I might go home late.”

     So he was serious when he said I didn’t have to come all the time. “I see. Let’s hope it turns out well then,” I told Seirra with a smile. Then I remembered something that I should have asked moments ago. “Wait.” I frowned at him. “How are you going to investigate? Do you even know those people’s addresses?”

     He grinned at me. I was sure that this was the smile he used to get someone at city hall to show him the records. “My charm does not limit itself to mere numbers. The details, after all are what’s more important.”

     I gave him a laughing reply. “I knew it. Men like you are dangerous when you smile.”

     His grin went wider. “Of course,” he told me as he grabbed the notebook I was doodling on.

     “No!” I exclaimed, trying to snatch the notebook back.

     He had his thumb marking the page with my doodles and he looked at them while trying to keep my hands from taking my notebook.

     After a few seconds, he closed the notebook and gave it back to me. “You shouldn’t be singing. That drawing ought to be on a canvass,” he told me straight on.

     “Oh please. You think that way because I drew your face,” I answered him, sarcasm back in my voice. “And I love singing.”

     “Yeah sure,” he agreed. “But it’s obvious you have the talent for art.” I opened my mouth to defend my wish to be a real singer but he raised his hand to stop me. “I know, I know. It’s your wish and I’m not going to stop you from going after it. I just want you to think about your talents.” He nodded towards my notebook. “That will surely get you somewhere.”

     I looked at my notebook, thinking about what he said. Drawing was just a hobby and no one had ever seen my works except Grampa, and now, Seirra. The funny thing was that they both told me that I have the talent for drawing. I smiled to myself. If only I could sell my drawings in exchange for a singing career.

*****

     I forgot to ask him about the Huntres again. Maybe I should just get the information from Grampa.

     Or not.

     His past had become some sort of a burden to him and making him recall those things will only make Grampa more emotional. It would be better to wait for Seirra to give me answers.

     I was on my way home when I suddenly felt as if someone was following me. After looking around and finding no one, I continued walking but the feeling did not leave. My heart started thudding loudly. I know I shouldn’t be nervous. No one knows about my involvement with a mythical creature except Grampa. Whoever was following me could only be robbers or other street criminals. My footsteps unconsciously quickened. I tried to lose them by passing through crowded streets and taking the longer route home.

     They were still following me. I couldn’t make them lose sight of me. By the time I reached the end of the street, I realized my mistake. The only turn I could make here was towards Pearl Street which was filled with warehouses and abandoned buildings. The other end was back to Harbor Drive.

     I had no choice. I need to risk the short distance towards safety.

    I quickly scanned my surroundings and found a metal cylinder long enough for me to use against attackers. I ran to get it but before my hand could touch the cold metal, I felt a strong force pulling me away from my weapon. Before I knew what happened, I was thrown towards a pile of metal crates. Searing pain coursed through my head. No. It couldn’t even be described as ‘searing pain’. It felt like my skull was suddenly split into two with explosions occurring right afterwards. I gripped my head in hopes of keeping it in one piece.

    My vision blurred and I struggled to keep my eyes open. I finally got a glimpse of my attackers. There were three of them—all of them green, ugly people with fins. I could only think of them as Seirra’s people but they looked too horrible compared to him. One of them tried to snatch the Key of Saol from my neck but the moment he touched the Key, a scream escaped his lips and he dropped to the ground, dead.

     I could no longer stay awake. The urge to close my eyes had become too strong and the pain in my head was telling me to give up the fight and rest.

     The last thing I saw was another green person slicing the two remaining ugly creatures in halves.