Seashells

1: From The Deep

From the moment she was born, Adrianne was warned of the shallow water. She was a dweller of the deep, her mother would remind her. In the shallows, they were feared.

But the shallows were so beautiful! With corals in vibrant shades of reds and oranges, with fish that looked like a swaying field of flowers, with blue-tinted clarity in the water and sparkling sand. Adrianne found it hard to resist. Her world was that of darkness. It was the place death and decay dwelled, where the murky bottom was littered with pale bones and creatures from nightmares eked out their existence.

Adrianne wanted to escape. She wanted to swim in the sun-heated waters of the shores, and she wanted to live with beauty.

But she was feared; she was a creature, not a mermaid. She was not written about in storybooks, she was not drawn, she was not in the corner of sailors eyes while they were at sea. She was just as much of a mystery as her home. Her parents always told her as much in hopes she would lose this silly dream of hers, when they would scold her for daring to swim to the far reaches of her watery abyss.

She had tasted the saltwater of the shallows, though. She had seen what it was like, and she could never go back to what she had known for seventeen long years.

On the day of her eighteenth birthday, she escaped her hell. She swam until she could no longer find the strength to beat her tail through the water, and she swam further still. She swam until the rays of the sun could shine through the water and the blackness turned from black to green to pristine blue. She stopped only when her head of red hair poked through the surface of the water and she could feel the sea breeze on her silver face. She opened her eyes, reluctantly in case it was all a dream, but when she saw blue sky above and the glare of the sun forced her to look down, she smiled. Adrianne had done it.

But her smile faltered when she heard a gasp from afar. She looked up, panicked, scanning the water for the source. Her eyes settled on a girl not too far from her, with sun-kissed skin and a nest of black hair. She swum over to Adrianne, and as she swam her tail peeked above the water. Her scales were an emerald green, and shimmered with such brilliance in the sun that Adrianne was mesmerized. This did not happen in the deep waters of her home. They were not two feet apart from each other when Adrianne came to her senses. She ducked under the water, but not quick enough to make an escape. Her arm was held fast by the other mermaid, and despite her struggle and short protest, she was pulled above the surface yet again, face to face with eyes as brilliant as the tail they complimented.

"Let--," Adrianne began.

"Let me see your eyes," The other mermaid interrupted, and stared into Adrianne's eyes with such a ferocity that Adrianne could do nothing but allow for it.

The other mermaid smiled. "You're from down there, aren't you?" She said, and retreated. "The deep water."

Adrianne nodded. "How can you tell?"

"I see it in your eyes," answered Marlowe. "There were others from down there too, a while ago. They had the same looks."

"What's your name?" The other mermaid asked suddenly. "They have names down there, don't they? Mine is Marlowe."

"A-Adrianne."

"Incredible! You swam from all the way down there to up here?! It's against the rules, you know. We're not supposed to mix with deep water mermaids."

"N-neither are we," Adrianne whispered. "With shallow water mermaids."

"And yet you're here! Did you run away? All the way here?"

"Aren't you... afraid?" Asked Adrianne, shrinking into the water.

"Afraid?" Asked Marlowe in turn. She shifted closer. "Of course not? You're beautiful, why would I be afraid?"

Adrianne's eyes widened at the remark. "Beautiful? But I'm--"

"Sorry- was that a bit much? You are, though. Look at that hair! It's practically blood and it's marvelous!"

Adrianne shrunk even deeper into the water at the remark. Her cheeks felt warm all of a sudden from the compliment. No one had ever said anything about her hair before- though perhaps that was because there was no light to see it by. Marlowe took the opportunity to examine her further.

"Your skin, too! It's sparkles, like the water."

"P-please," Adrianne began. She could not decide whether or not to thank Marlowe or push her away,

"And your tail matches your hair- why, I've never seen anything like it!"

"Yours is also lovely," Adrianne commented, but she didn't realize it was said aloud until Marlowe stopped circling her. "I-I mean!! I'm sorry-"

"You really think so?" Marlowe said, after a short silence. She swam to face Adrianne, and there was a gleam in her eye. "No one's ever said that to me before- green's pretty common among us. Thank you!"

Adrianne did not show it, but she was smiling. Perhaps her parents- everyone in the deep- was horribly mistaken about the mermaids in shallow water.

"You've come a long way to get here, didn't you? I'll show you around!" Marlowe exclaimed, and grabbed Adrianne's hand. "There's so many colours here, you have to see it all!"

"Colours?" Adrianne asked.

"Oh yes! Greens and pinks and blue, there's lots of fish here! Coral! And shells, shells most of all! I make jewelry out of them, you have to see!"

"That sounds lovely," Adrianne replied to her eagerness. There was a smile on her face, her first genuine smile in a long time.

"You can help me make some! I'll teach you how. I leave them on the sand for people to find. Come on!" Marlowe exclaimed, excitement abound. She dragged Adrianne under the surface, the cold water waking her up. Marlowe began to swim, and Adrianne followed, but not with reluctance this time. The mere mention of colour washed away all her timidness. She was in a new world now, a world with a kind and lovely new friend, and a day of sunshine ahead. It was going to be a dream come true.