Light at the Beginning
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: I don't own TLM or the nursery rhyme.
Only Silver
"It's silver," Ariel murmured, staring at the water droplets on the glass.
"It's water, Ariel," Eric explained, wrapping his arms around the former mermaid.
"It's came from up there," she said, eyes clad on the thunderclouds passing through. "Water falls from the sky."
"Yes, it does, honey," Eric whispered in her ear. "When I was little, we even had a rhyme we used to chant."
"Us too," Ariel admitted, blushing a bit.
"You first," Eric teased.
Ariel recited from memory:
"Great star, shining above,
Let the currents move pass our homes;
Strengthen our hearts to endure the tides
Till the great whales glide on home."
"Sounds more like a prayer than a child's nursery rhyme," Eric told her.
Eric's words stung Ariel more than he knew. "My mother taught me those words just before she died," Ariel told him angrily.
"I'm sorry," Eric apologized.
"So what's your rhyme, Eric?" Ariel asked him.
Eric laughed. "Let's see if I remember how it goes..."
"Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day,
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain,
Never show your face again."
"That's awful, Eric, though I have to admit, I am confused by something," Ariel said.
"And what confuses you anew, my little sea maid?" Eric teased.
"Is your name really Johnny or Eric? Where's Spain? And that's an awful thing to say to water falling from the sky. It can't help doing what it was created to do."
Eric laughed. "Ariel, that's more than a few somethings!"
Ariel folded her arms. "Well, start with the first question, human."
"As you wish, mermaid," her husband retorted, grinning cheekily at her.