Son of the Sands

Lake Vacation

"If the ocean can calm itself

so can you.

we are both salt water

mixed with air."

—meditation

~~~

I laughed as the wind whipped my hair around me, saltwater spraying my face as Ryan and I sped through the water aboard my boat. My dad sat at the steering wheel and my friend gripped onto the edge, not nearly confident in his ability to stand tall as we raced toward the eternal horizon. The sun was dipping towards it but hadn't yet begun to set. It warmed my skin and gave the air a nice welcoming smell.

When we finally slowed to a stop, I lowered my arms and turned to look at them, beaming. "I love it when we go fast."

"I know," my father chuckled, "why do you think I always push this poor boat to the limits when I drive?"

"Because Ryan's too afraid to?" I questioned, teasing my friend and giving him a playful glance.

"Hey," he retorted, "your dad paid for the boat, he can push it as far as he'd like but I'm not taking the same chance." I rolled my eyes at him and reached for the picnic basket we'd packed our dinner in; we'd planned to stay out to watch the meteor shower.

"Just admit that you're a tad wimpy," I commented with a shrug.

"I am not wimpy!" Ryan defended, "I am just... strategic."

I scoffed and splashed him with the simple wave of my hand. His mouth fell open and he lunged for me, grabbing my shoulders and backing me to the edge of the boat. I let him if only to lure him closer to the water.

"And what do you plan on doing, Mr. Strategic?" I asked him with a smirk. Ryan frowned a little and I reached forward, gripping his shoulders and spinning us so that he leaned up against the edge.

"Careful you two, we don't want the whole boat to roll over," my father scolded.

"Nerina, get off of me before I fall in!" Ryan complained.

"You're not going to fall in," I rolled my eyes but released him, stepping back to allow him to regain his balance. "I think I'm going to go for a swim before the meteor shower. Would you like to join?"

"The last time I swam with you, you took off and left me wading in the middle of the ocean," Ryan pouted.

"It was a joke, Ryan," I sighed. "But suit yourself." I slid my sundress from my shoulders, revealing my swimsuit, and headed to the edge of the boat.

"Careful, Nerina," my father warned, always cautious with me.

"I know, dad." I gave Ryan a little wave before dropping into the water, letting it wrap around me like a pair of familiar arms. I felt the thrum of magical travel from myself and out into the ocean, signaling my presence for all of the other mer to feel. I resurfaced, smiling up at Ryan and using my tail to splash him with water.

"You're something else, you know that?" Ryan asked me. I swam to the edge of the boat and gripped it, lifting myself up to look at him better.

"Of course I know," I replied, "I've been something else my entire life."

Another tail surfaced a few feet away for a mere second before sliding back into the depths of the water. I hummed to myself and dropped back down, my lungs and eyes switching to find my mother swimming towards me.