Sailor
I waited for Marinley on our dock. She surfaced with a playful smile on her face, waving at me.
"You're early today." I told her with a smile, helping her out of the water.
I don't think she needs my help but I like that she does it anyways.
I like holding her hand.
"What did you want to show me?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"First, can we go see Simon?"
We walked in step to my house, talking about everything. I lead her up to my room, hoping it was kind of clean. I'm not a messy person but I do tend to be lazy at times. I was relieved when we walked in and it was decent.
Willa must've been in here.
Simon perked up and started whining when he saw her. She rubbed all over him and was making low noises that had him making noises back.
Marinley stood and looked around my room, staring at the posters on my wall, the pictures hanging up of me, Willa, and Clary, and then stopped at my collection-my most prized possessions-my stones and shells.
Back in seventh grade Lyra had found jade in a cove we went to with our class. She had found two stones, so she gave one to me. And then it became it a thing-collecting different stones and gems. She helped my collection along the most, but I love my stones.
She seemed to like them too.
"What's that?" She asked, pointing to one.
I walked over and looked where she was pointing, at a peacock stone. So I told her what it was.
"It's pretty. You like stones and shells?"
I nodded, I really did. "Yes. Clary got me most of the ones in my collection, but they're my most prized possessions. I love collecting them."
She nodded, then smiled up at me. "Are you ready to go?"
I wanted to ask where, but I like surprises.
"Yes, let's go!"
We walked back down to the dock with Simon in tow, and then thought of what Willa and I had talked about.
"How would you feel about changing Simon's name? I just don't think it suits him."
She looked at him and ran her hand down his back, he licked her hand in response. She pondered for a few minutes before a smile took over her face.
"What about Strover? It means strong in old Mer." She suggested, and I thought it was perfect.
"I love it."
She leaned down and make noises again, Strover making them back.
"He likes it too."
"So what did you want to show me?" I asked, stepping closer to her.
"Plug your nose." She said with a grin, and then suddenly I was airborne.
And then I hit the water.
Marinley jumped in after me but I was too terrified to even move.
I can't swim!
What do I do?!
I started trying to reach the surface but my thrashing around only made me sink further down.
It was then I realized I needed to breathe.
Marinley grabbed me and put her mouth to mine, but instead of kissing me she blew air into my mouth.
I'd rather have a kiss but I'm not saying no.
My lungs filled with air and I was calm, calmer than I should be.
I hate the water-I can't swim-so why am I not panicking?
Marinley pulled away and I saw a slight shimmer in the water before I could really breathe and see.
Woah! How did she do that?!
"How am I breathing?"
Oh my god I'm talking too!
How is that possible?!
"It's a spell. It gives you certain abilities for a while. You're basically a Mermaid, just without the tail."
It was then I noticed she was wearing a mask. I couldn't see before, but now I can.
Why is she wearing it?
"Why did you cover your face?" I asked, getting closer to her.
"Because if you see my face...I don't know I just don't want to freak you out. I don't look like the Mermaids that you see on the television."
I reached forward and pulled it away before she could stop me, staring at her. Her eyes seemed bigger and wider, her nose had sunken into her face except for a little bump with two small almond shaped holes. Her lips were bigger and rounder, her ears gone and replaced with little silver fins that moved in the water.
Her breasts were covered by silver scales that matched the ones on her tail. The scales were also on her forearms too. Her tail was long and slender like her but shimmered so beautifully in the light it was almost hard to look away.
She didn't freak me out at all. She looked badass-what a Mermaid is supposed to look like.
Not those half naked ones they portray in movies.
She was a real Mermaid.
"I think you look fucking awesome."
I don't swear often, but I felt like it was a good time to.
Marinley swears like a sailor (hahahaha), but I like that about her.
I like a lot of things about her.
"Really?" She asked, suddenly seeming insecure.
I nodded and touched her face, brushing my fingers over her lips and touching her ears.
She giggled and moved her head, giving me a dirty look. "Don't touch my fins that...what's the word you humans use? Tingle? It tingles."
I think she meant tickles.
Do I correct her?
No. I won't.
I think it's cute.
"Sorry. Seriously, you look awesome. You're what a Mermaid should look like."
Marinley looked away with a smile on her face, then turned back to me with a grin. "Come on, I still want to take you somewhere."
I stopped and looked around, taking a second to figure out that I really was underwater and I was okay. I know that I'm safe with Marinley and she won't let anything happen to me.
Maybe that's what made this so easy.
Marinley started swimming but I didn't know what to do. She turned to look at me but stopped when she realized I wasn't following.
"Well come on." She said with a sigh, taking my hand and pulling me through the water.
I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Everything was different now that I could see. I could see ahead for what seemed like miles.
We must've been swimming for about a half hour-pretty quickly I gotta say even with me as deadweight she still swims pretty fast-before we finally made it to a giant rock.
I'm looking at it, trying to figure out why she would want to show me this.
A giant rock is so special?
"Don't look at it like I'm crazy, it's a door." She takes my hand again and swims down, under the rock-and suddenly we're in a paradise.
I swear on my life we were in the middle of the ocean staring at a rock with nothing else around for miles.
But now-now I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
The bright coral stood taller than I did, in vibrant hues of every colour you could think of. The fish were equally as brilliant, swimming around the sea weed and other plants so beautifully it was almost like looking into a kaleidoscope.
Dolphins, turtles, even manatees floated around without a care in the world, knowing they were safe here. Everything seemed to shimmer and sparkle like in a fairytale. It was like a whole different world down here.
How was that hidden under a rock?
"This is Illumia Cove. At night everything glows like...bioluminescent I think is the word humans use. It's the most romantic place in the world. And the most sacred. Only mated Mers can come here at night. But I wanted to show you part of my world-how beautiful the sea really is. I want to change your view of my home."
I was looking around in awe of what I was seeing. I was probably the only human blessed with this experience so I had to drink it all in. If I ever get to tell Clary about this one day I want to be able to give her all the details.
"This is..amazing." I finally got out, still taken aback by the beauty before me. "How is it hidden?"
"Mers with magic put a protection spell over it. Animals here can't be found on radars or be caught in nets. Any net or anything that's not supposed to touch it gets destroyed. It's to protect this place. It's the only one of its kind. Mers from all over the world come here. You're the first human to ever be here though."
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A whole ecosystem hidden from the naked eye. And I'm the first human who got to experience it. This is amazing. It can't be real. There's no way it's real. Places like this don't exist.
And to think that at night everything glows...I can only imagine how much more beautiful it would be. I know I'll never be with Marinley but if by chance we do end up together I want to come back at night and see it for myself.
Especially if Marinley's at my side.
She took my hand again and lead me to a patch of sand that was bare of anything and pat the sand beside her. It made the perfect spot to lay down on.
We were laying back, just watching the animals moving above us when she started humming. Her humming got louder, and then she began to sing.
And god did she have a hypnotizing voice.
I was in a trance myself.
You are lost along the coast
You don't know where to go
You hear us sing
You stop and listen
You ignore the stormy skies
You ignore the roughest tides
As she sang louder, she gathered the attention of every sea creature around. They began swimming in synchronised patterns, twirling and spinning around, diving deeper and then shooting up towards the surface like they had months of practice. Like they knew what she was going to sing before she sang it.
The tides are rough
Your time is up
The water laps at broken wood
But you're feeling at peace as you should
You feel no pain
You float along the rough terrain
A few turtles rocked back and forth, their fins flapping in sync as they barrel rolled through the water. The fish formed colourful tunnels that expanded like tornados, none of them missing a beat. Crabs were making patterns in the sand, eels were floating around like ribbons, seahorses twirled around the green stalks, and dolphins swam in figure eights. It was like they had planned this.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
You see the light
But do not fright
The moon will hold you tonight
It is your time
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
When she finally hit the last high note, they all blew apart and like fireworks slowly came to a halt before returning to whatever it was they were doing before.
I looked at this wondrous creature beside me, who's shown me something another human has never seen, who's put her whole trust in me when she doesn't know me.
What did I do to deserve this?
"Oh my god, this is just too beautiful. I can't believe what I'm seeing I can't believe-I can't believe you showed me this. I think I've just fallen in love with the sea."
Marinley smiled huge, leaning over and hugged me.
She felt nice in my arms, like it was where she belonged.
"That's all I wanted."
We went back to laying on the sand, when I remembered what I was supposed to do today.
I hope she says yes.
"Do you know what prom is?" I asked.
She looked at me and grinned, nodding her head. "I've seen it mentioned in a few movies. It's like the dance of high school right?"
"Yes."
"Okay so what about it?" She raised a brow, waiting for my answer.
I hope I don't make a fool of myself.
I hope she says yes.
"I-Well I um...Would you like to go...with me?" I barley managed to get out, my intense fear of rejection growing within me.
She stared at me for a moment, almost looking surprised. And then she smiled. "Yeah sure. I've never been to one, it could be fun."
Holy shit! Pardon my language. I can't believe she yes! I'm going to prom with Marinley!
SHE SAID YES!
I can't wait to tell Clary! I'm going to prom with a Mermaid! A smoking hot Mermaid!
"Okay cool. I'm assuming you'll be in silver?"
"We can talk about that later. You get six questions today. Ask away."
"Where did you get that scar?"
I've been wanting to know that for days. Maybe this time she'll tell me.
"If I tell you, you have to understand that not all of them are bad. It's like saying every human is bad just because one person is an asshole. You have to be open minded."
I nodded, anxious for her to answer.
"So...I found a shark caught in a net-and I had to save him. Well, when I got close and started cutting the net with a knife, he got spooked and tried to attack me. He got me on my shoulder, until I told him I wasn't going to harm him. He released me and I helped get him out. He thanked me and we parted ways.
"I didn't know he was the King of Shark Ridge until he saved me from one his sharks saying I was a friend to them and I was not to be harmed. I've always been fascinated by sharks, even when I was a Nalea. I've read many books about them. But yeah, that's how I got my scar."
"You got bitten by a shark and you still associate with them? That's crazy."
She shrugged, still grinning. "Yeah. But they're not all bad. Trust me."
I did trust her, but this was something else.
My uncle died from a shark attack-I hated sharks. So why was she kind of changing my mind about them too?
"Why are you called Fin? Because of a shark fin?"
"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" She said sarcastically, clapping her hands together. "When I was a Nalea I made a shark fin out of some seaweeds and corals and wore it all day long. My Rientos would take me by shark territory and let me study them. That's...they...I lost them to a shark. A rogue shark. I'm sorry you don't want to hear this." She sighed and looked away.
I did want to hear more, but I wasn't going to press her for the information. She's clearly upset about it. I can't believe her parents died from a shark attack but she still wants to be around them. It makes no sense to me.
"How can you like sharks? After all of the bad things they've done?"
"Not all sharks are bad! Are you a cannibalistic murderer because Ted Bundy is?"
"Well...no."
"Exactly. Just because some sharks are bad doesn't mean they all are. Come on. I'm going to show you something else."
🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈
We had arrived at what looked to be a cave. She gave me a nervous look before whistling lowly. I figured she might be calling something, but that's when two sharks came swimming quickly right for us.
They barreled into Marinley, the three of them tumbling back a few feet as she laughed. She pet them as they rubbed themselves all over her, going in circles around her like they haven't seen her for days.
She faced me and smiled, nodding her head as they swam over to me to check me out. My heart was beating hard in my chest, and I could feel my anxiety peaking.
Was I going to die?
They circled around me, gently bumping me with their noses as Marinley nodded again and gestured for me to pet them.
So I did.
The shark in front of me rolled over and showed me her belly. I reached out with a shaky hand and pet her. The other one nudged her out of the way, wanting attention as well.
I couldn't help but to kind of laugh.
They were acting like cats or dogs, just wanting attention. But they weren't being aggressive. She was right again-not all sharks are bad.
"I thought you might be home-Why is he here? You don't want anyone knowing where we live!"
Marinley shrugged at her friend-well I'm assuming and hoping he's just her friend.
Not that I have a chance with her anyways you know, being human and what not.
But I was definitely jealous even if I didn't have the right to be.
"Quit bitching he's not going to say anything. Are you?"
I shook my head in response as I looked him over. Even if I wanted to tell Clary I wouldn't.
This was a secret I knew I had to keep.
And I would keep it until the day I died.
"I won't say anything."
Her friend narrowed his eyes at me, but nodded and smiled my way. "Good. We're fine then. I'm Eliyah, and welcome to our humble abode."