After dinner, Amaya walked Molly home. They kept a slow pace, to make the moment last, holding hands the whole way. Amaya had done a lot of thinking during the hours since they'd escaped from the siren's cave. Having almost lost Molly, Amaya realized how much Molly meant to her. She didn't know if she could leave.
Nervous and confused, Amaya decided to put it out there. "I've been thinking..."
"About what?" Molly tucked her flyaway fiery hair behind her ear with her free hand, so it wouldn't be in her face.
"Being here. Staying here."
"Oh," Molly gave away nothing, which was frustrating. Amaya had hoped to get some sort of reaction.
"When Kaelin convinced me to come back, I never thought I'd truly feel like I belong." Amaya said. "I never expected to want to be here."
"And you want to, now?"
Amaya ran her tongue across her lips, feeling self conscious. "I... think... maybe I could."
"Could stay? Or could want to?" Molly asked.
"Both."
Molly raised a single brow. "So, what would change that maybe to a yes?"
Amaya shrugged. She knew the answer, but she was afraid to say it out loud.
Molly pulled her to a stop near the base of the hill where the lighthouse stood. She took hold of Amaya's other hand. "Are you just gonna leave me hanging here?"
Amaya didn't quite understand the words, but the tone of Molly's voice was expectant, so Amaya had a feeling she knew what Molly meant. In answer, Amaya said, "I'd like to see if 'I might' could ever be 'I do.'" She hoped Molly would remember the words from the cave and understand. Amaya was not as good at communicating with speech. Thoughts were so much clearer than words.
Molly smiled. "I'd like to know that as well." She stepped closer so that they were only a few inches apart. "If you really want to find out for sure, you could always just come stay with me. Let Mr. Culver have his house back." Molly put an arm around Amaya's neck and pulled her into a kiss.
When they broke apart, Amaya had to ask, "Is it not too soon for that? I thought it took longer for humans to cohabitate. All of my sister's memories tell me as much."
"I don't know about anyone else, but after everything we've just gone through, I don't want to wait months... or years. If we're gonna try this thing, let's go all in." She leaned in to give Amaya a peck on the lips. "If we crash and burn, at least we can say we weren't afraid to jump."
Amaya wrapped her arms around Molly's waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. She thought about what Kaelin would say to her. Whenever Amaya was afraid, she'd always think about what Kaelin's response would be.
Amaya smiled, realizing that Kaelin would say exactly what Molly had. She placed a gentle kiss on Molly's neck before she pulled away to look into Molly eyes, which looked more green than brown in the orange light of the sunset. "Let's jump."
YOU ARE READING
A New Tide Rising
Fantasy[COMPLETED] After completing her task of going to ground to bring her sister back home, a mermaid - Amaya - is drawn back to the small island of Linda Cove to find a young woman with whom she had a brief encounter during her time there. She yearns t...
