A Merman's Tale

Margaret: Chapter Twelve

     Hmph. Those two would be dead long before they see their grandchildren, I thought as I imagined how I would chastise them should I ever get around to it.

     My friends would call me meddlesome but I didn’t care. I never liked cigarette smoke. It was a bad habit of dad’s and I never got used to the overpowering smell that always surrounded him. I loved him all the same but I always thought that if the fire hadn’t killed him, the cigarette would.

     The two rounded the corner of the street and disappeared from my view. Just as I began to look for another focus for my observation, Seirra turned around and caught my attention. He grinned and lifted a small paper bag that was probably filled with bread as well as two bottles of C2 iced tea.

     I smiled and waved at him. He quickened his pace and as soon as he was beside me, began to enumerate the things he bought.

     “The lady was even kind enough to add two more donuts,” he finished.

     “Ha! I’m sure she did that because you charmed her into it,” I teased as I began to eat my dinner.

     He took a bite of one donut and swallowed before he said, “You know, I’ve never met a woman so obsessed with my charm.”

     “Excuse me?” I exclaimed, aghast at the possibility that what he said was true. “I’m not obsessed. Just…well, amazed. That’s all.”

     He exploded in laughter. I glowered at him then slapped his arm to let him know his mocking didn’t suit well with me.

     “Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” He gave me a lopsided smile as he apologized so I wasn’t sure whether he was being sincere or not. I looked away and took the bottle to my mouth. “But you see, your ob—amazement is just too obvious. It makes me wonder if you’ve fallen in love with me.”

     Could you remember how painful it was when water enters the wrong pipe? I couldn’t even describe how much agony I felt when Seirra said that last sentence. For a moment, I thought the iced tea would kill me.

     “Are you alright?” Seirra worriedly asked me as he patted my back.

     It took me several coughs before I could finally breathe properly again.

     “I’m fine now,” I assured him. “I was just…careless.”

     Sheesh, that choking incident was enough evidence that what he said was most certainly true. Honestly, it was as good as telling him “I love you” out loud. And I hadn’t even fully admitted it to myself.

     Until now.

     God, how could I let it happen?

     This was exactly the same thing as Grampa’s story. Worse, he couldn’t let himself love me because he had a duty to his homeland. He needed to find Marina, bring her back to Aquania, kiss her then ultimately marry her.

     Stupid, stupid, stupid.

     He continued to pat my back and the concern on his face almost made me cry.

     “Are you sure?”

     “Yup.”

    Seirra exhaled a sigh of relief. “Really, I see no reason why you could have accidentally choked yourself to death. Unless of course…” His head turned sharply at me, knowing eyes boring into mine. “You are in love with me, aren’t you?”

     “Shut up,” I told him as I broke our eye contact.

     I saw his eyes narrow even further. “You are.”