You know those stories your mom would read to you when you were little? The ones about mermaids living in their mystical castle with whale size beds and gorgeous, long, purple, pink, green, or blue hair. Well, I'm here to tell you that that adorable story is a TOTAL stereotype! Trust me, takes one to know one. At least that was how it USED to be. This is how my story starts:
I was just another normal girl. Well, normal might not be the best word. I have always been a tad peculiar. Like, on a new moon I feel attracted to the water. But no matter how hard I try, its impossible to get in. Its like there is a force field or something keeping me away, it doesn't seem to affect anyone else though. Anyway, I was just sitting in my house watching T.V. when my mom came in.
"Sandy, the boardwalk is having free ride night," my mom said casually. "Why don't you go and have some fun? I mean, its only 6:30, why not call Nikki? I bet she will want to go somewhere tonight."
I sighed, this happened every time the new moon came out. I couldn't figure out why mom wanted me out of the house, and I didn't have the guts to ask. I wasn't afraid or anything, I just didn't want to seem foolish if it was just a simple coincidence that she asks me to go out every night the new moon was in the sky. "Sure mom," I said nonchalantly. "Let me call Nikki." I could have sworn I saw a small twinkle in her eye as she nodded and strut out of the room with a small jump in her step. I wasn't surprised by this though, every new moon I see the same unusual actions from my mother as if she's in on a secret and is trying to get to figure it out.
I reached for the phone and dialed my best friend Nikki's number. "Yellow?" she answered in a matter of fact tone. I groaned; she knows I hate it when she said that.
"Nikki, I told you never to say that again," I hissed. "Anyway, its free ride night at the boardwalk! Wanna come?"
"Yeah sure, I've wanted to try out the Mind Bopper! (It's a roller coaster Nikki's been obsessing over ever since prehistoric times.) It opens today!"
"Alright then, lets meet at the green dock." I said with vigor, the Mind Bopper is also what I have been obsessing over. Nikki agreed and we hung up. I grabbed my coat and yelled goodbye to my mom. Even for summer, there was a slight breeze that sent my dirty blonde hair dancing around my face. Oh, I forgot to mention, my name is Sandy as you heard previously. I have dirty blonde waves that cover my ears and fall down to a little above my elbows. I'm twelve years old and am slightly taller than other girls my age.
I sauntered down the sidewalk and waited at the green dock. Nikki was nowhere in sight. "Come on!" I whispered checking my watch that read 6:43. "The line will be unbearable if she doesn't get here…." My voice trailed off as I saw a strange object galloping through the breeze. All of the sudden, it stopped and just hovered over the dock. Fascinated, curious, and slightly frightened, I reluctantly stepped toward the object. Abruptly, it plunged to the ground! I knelt down and discovered it was a locket. It was an odd shape, sort of like an oyster shell. I struggled to open it, but it was sealed shut.
"Geez, weird position Sandy. I was expecting you to be standing or something," Nikki proclaimed. I hurriedly shoved the locket around my neck and down my shirt. It didn't feel like the right time to show Nikki, I had a bizarre feeling that I should keep it to myself, at least for now anyway.
"Oh umm, sorry I just uh heard a noise and was look through the cracks to see was it was," I lied. Nikki looked at me with a suspicious glance, but after a second or two she seemed satisfied with my answer. "Lets go," I said hoping to change the subject. We started off onto the boardwalk and the rest of the night was pretty normal. At 10:30 we said goodbye and went on our way. As I walked along the dock, I had the awkward feeling that I was being followed. As if in answer to my thoughts, I heard a SNAP! Swiftly, I spun around to see who my mysterious follower was. I heard a ruffle as I turned and realized they must have dived into the bush. A chill ran down my spine as I pondered over whether or not I should reveal the mysterious person. I gathered up my courage, slowly and cautiously I stepped toward the bush. With a hasty whip of my hand I moved away the branches of the bush. But to my astonishment, there was no one there. I ruffled the branches of the bush but still nothing-or should I say no one was there.
"My, how beautiful you've become," whispered a mysterious figure in a dreamy soft voice.
I twisted around to find an old lady with snow-white hair and as many wrinkles as stars in the sky. She stood up straight, tall and proud.
"Who-who are yuh-you?" I stuttered as goose bumps grew onto my arm. She ignored the question and stared at me long and hard. Nervous as I was, I knew better than to show fear and for some reason my knees were locked. I held my ground and stared right back, not daring to show any emotion or speak a single word. Finally, her expression softened, and her red lips curved into a smile. She moved closer and grabbed my hands. I tried to leave but my feet were glued to the ground. My glance went to her crystal blue eyes in which I could see the sky. They sparkled like the sea, (which if I might add, was sparkling unusually beautifully.)
"Use the gift. Don't let evil win. You have the power!" She announced in a powerful voice. Just as I was about to ask what she was talking about, she disappeared!
'"How eccentric," I said under my breathe as I looked around for the outlandish lady. "She must be out of it," I said after my efforts to find her reported useless. Although, I didn't quite believe she was nuts. I shook the feeling and continued on my way home.
"Wow, you've been out a while. You must have had a lot of fun. But for future reference, please call next time you want to stay out this late. I was getting worried," spoke my mom. Confused, I looked at my watch. It was 11:56! It had been a whole hour since I left Nikki.
"Oh uh, there were like no l-lines. We figured like um, why not st-stay?" I stuttered. My mom looked at me skeptically. After a while, she smiled, nodded, and said goodnight. I let out a sigh of relief. I was off the hook for now.
When mom left the room, I took out the locket and contemplated what the old lady had been trying to tell me. I ran my fingers across the smooth clamshell locket. I tried and tried but still couldn't pry it open. Flustered, I decided it would do me good to get some fresh air. I glanced at my watch; it read 12:33. "Its not that late, a midnight stroll would be fun!" I thought to myself. Though I did not know it; the real reason for the walk was not for pleasure or even to clear my mind about the whole locket/lady incident. Something was pulling me outside, and I couldn't refuse. So I silently tiptoed to the door and snuck out.
The night had changed. The air was still, not an animal was in sight. It seemed as if the whole world was sleeping. I stared out at the night sky; there wasn't a cloud in sight. My eyes turned to the water, which was still and quiet with the reflection of the glistening stars. But, if my eyes didn't deceive me, could that be- I think I saw the full moon in the water! Hastily I looked toward the sky, no moon. Back toward the water, full moon. I repeated this action over and over until my neck ached. Before I knew it, I was stepping in the direction of the water!
It all happened so suddenly, I felt possessed. I knew I was meant to be there, I just didn't know why. As I got closer the water got clearer. Finally, I was hovering my head over the water. It was translucent; I could see the small fish swimming peacefully throughout the bay. I attempted to dive in, but the force field was up as usual. Then, I had a sort of instinct. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the locket. With shaking hands, I wrapped it around my neck for the second time that night. But this time, I felt a surge of energy sweep through my body.
Gradually I untied my shoes and removed my socks. I leaped into the air and landed with a SPLASH. I felt the cool rush of the water swallow my body as my head went under. My hair shot up as I bit by bit made my way to the ground. I felt exhilarated, for a moment at least. I lost that feeling that something would happen. I sighed, how dim-witted of me to have thought something amazing would happen. Look what had occurred; my clothes were soaked! Just as I was about to get out, the water started bubbling. My legs were pulling toward each other until it was impossible to resist. My skin felt hot- then cold- then it prickled- then it tingled. I didn't know what to think. Lastly I felt tired, very tired. Until all of a sudden I blacked out.
"Uh, hello?" asked an unfamiliar voice. "Um are you okay?" I started to stir. My eyes opened to see a beautiful mermaid with long purple hair with blue highlights that framed her face gorgeously and matched her tail.
"What- who-?" I mumbled. She gave me a friendly smile and I gathered myself quickly. "Oh yeah I'm fine," I said as my cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "Wait, are you a-a mermaid?" I asked with amazement.
She smiled, "Yes, yes I am. I thought you were too. I mean, look at
your tail." Taken aback from her statement, I looked at my legs. Or at least I thought I was going to look at my legs. They were not there; in their place was a bright green tail. Astounded I looked at my stomach. My baggy blue T-Shirt was not there. Instead I found a tight fitted green bikini top!
"Well, it appears like I am one! But you have to believe me; before I blacked out I had legs. I don't know how or why I got a tail!" I babbled. At first she just stared. Then her eyes widened and she started backing away with a stunned look on her face.
"You- you're a hu-human," she stumbled. "Please don't hurt me! Don't tell anyone you saw me. Oh ple-" she stopped. Her frightened glance turned to something coming up behind me. I spun around to see a young man walking along the dock. The mermaid cast me a worried glance that asked, "help me!" quick as a flash I dove under and swam to the bottom of the bay. I snatched a shell and brought it back to the surface. The man was coming closer and there was no way for us to escape. The water was to clear to dive under. I tightened my fist around the shell and prayed my plan would work. When the man was just about to see us I threw the shell into the darkness in front of him. It landed with a THUD! The mermaid looked at me bewildered.
The man jumped at the sound and ran forward to see what had fell. When he found the shell he smiled and pocketed it. He then walked away. The mermaid looked relieved and gave me a smile of gratitude. "Thanks," the mermaid whispered. "I guess you're not bad after all. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Misty," she stuck out her tail and looked at me expectantly.
"No problem," I said. "I'm Sandy!" I grasped her wet, slimy hand and started to shake it. She Misty quickly pulled away.
"What are you doing," she asked emphasizing the are.
"I uh- was going to shake your hand," I stuttered. She stared at me with a blank expression on her face. "You see," I began uncertainly. "Humans shake peoples hands after meeting them. Its sort of like a uh tradition."
"Oh well, that's odd. Merpeople rub the tail as a greeting. I don't know why, but its our tradition," she murmured as she brought her gorgeous tail out of the water just enough for me to reach. Reluctantly I stretched my hand out toward her slimy tail. When I felt it however, it was rough and dry. "Oh sorry, forgot to moisturize this morning. I say, maybe I should freeze this up. That usually does the trick." Misty announced. Before I could ask what she meant by "freeze this up," she was moving her hands in strange ways. After I second or two, her tail started freezing together.
"How did you- where did you?" I tried to ask. As if in response to my half question, Misty just laughed. She made her hand into a fist, and for a second nothing happened. But then all the water around us froze at the surface. Misty unraveled her fist, and the ice turned back to water.
"Every mermaid has a power," she chortled. "Mines ice power. But there are many other types of powers. No two mermaids have the same!"
"Wow uh, that's so cool. I wonder what power I have," I said hesitantly.
"Well, we should find that out soon. I got to get going now but I will meet you here tomorrow!" Exclaimed Misty as she leisurely swam away. I said goodbye and hoisted myself off the bay and onto the dock. My head was spinning. Was I a mermaid? Do mermaids exist? How did I become one? Why was Misty so afraid of humans? What is my power? Is this all a dream?
The last question scared me the most. I don't know why, but I felt so free in the water. I felt like I was meant to be in there. Like I was in some sort of a trance. I looked at my watch; it read 2:06. Quick as a flash my legs came back and I was in my large blue T-Shirt and straight-legged jeans. I was amazed at this transformation. I knew in the back of my mind that this wasn't a dream, and I was undergoing the biggest adventure of my life.
The next morning I slept till about 10:00 when my mom woke me up. "Sandy dear, I'm going to bring your sister Stephanie to her swim meet. I'll be back in about an hour and a half. Just leave me a note if you decide to go anywhere." I muttered my agreement and she left. My little sister Stephanie is a bit of an overachiever. She has caramel brown hair with NATURAL blonde highlights. Her blue eyes twinkle like stars in every kind of light. She gets decent grades and is the nicest and most popular girl in her class. She does swimming, soccer, and volleyball; of course she rocks at all three of them. To top it all off she is only NINE years old. Sometimes I want to sock her because she never fails to let me know this. I'm not jealous or anything, its just that I'm not as popular as she is. My grades are about the same. A's and B's at the least. I'm a strong swimmer, but never joined a team. And Nikki is my best and well only friend. We don't like to get caught up in all the drama that goes around school. Is that a crime?
I took this as an opportunity to explore the ocean world. Now that I'm a mermaid I feel that I have a lot to learn. Lets start with my tail. You'd think that it would come easy to learn the motions of the tail. Actually it's pretty hard. Imagine gluing your legs together and adding bout fifty extra pounds. Yeah, it's a real load. I was also pretty anxious to find out what my power was. I mean ice power is SO COOL. I was hoping to get something sweet like that and not lame like, I don't know, turning water to jelly. I feel bad for the poor sap that got that power.
I went to the dock where I learned I was a mermaid. As I stared down at the water, however, a very scary thought entered my mind. What if I wasn't a mermaid? What if I imagined it all? I sighed deeply; this was the only way I was going to find out. I checked to make sure no one was around. Then I took a deep breath, and dived into the water. The water started bubbling like it did the night before. "This is it! The moment I find out whether or not I was a real mermaid!" I thought half wistfully half excited. After what seemed like ages of agonizing waiting, the bubbling stopped. I tentatively looked down, legs. My heart dropped. It was all just a dream. How could I be so stupid as to believe that I, the dork, would be cool enough to be a mermaid!
I forlornly swam back to the dock hoping no one would see me and wonder why the heck I was swimming in the bay. When I was just about to get out of the water my legs conjoined together. I turned around and saw a tail- my tail! Green and beautiful as ever!
I took off in the direction of the ocean going the speed of light. Everything seemed so stunning! I saw fish, dolphins, sharks, whales, starfish, crabs, lobsters, clams, oysters, a mermaid- wait a MERMAID! Before my mind could process the sight I was already in front of her nervously introducing myself. "Hi I'm Sandy! I'm new to the whole mermaid thing. But I totally love it! I mean seeing the underwater world is so, uh, fascinating!" I babbled uncontrollably. The mermaid stared at me with a mean look in her purple eyes. Her curly bubblegum pink hair framed her face nicely. She had a glistening pink tail that matched her bikini top. "Wow- your shining!" I said in an ooh and aah tone. At this her thin purple lips curved into a smug smirk.
"Duh, its my power! I can make things shine and glow, I know, you envy me," She jeered with a tone of amusement and annoy. I guess my cheeks turned red because she kept going, "Sooo, Sandy right? What's yooouuur power?"
"I uh, well, um- you know," I muttered trying not to seem like a total idiot.
"What, were you born yesterday? Everyone has a power. If you don't then your not a true mermaid!" she moaned in fake concern.
I didn't like this mermaid; I thought they were supposed to be nice. Nevertheless, I felt a small twinge of nervousness in my stomach. What if I don't get powers? I wasn't going to let this get to me. I mean, I'm a MERMAID! The most adventurous things other girls my age do are prank call a teacher at a slumber party! "Actually, I just discovered that I'm a mermaid last night." I said with newfound confidence. "So I just haven't discovered my powers yet."
"So you're a HALF mermaid? I've didn't think they exist. Must stink having to be one of those-uh mortals up there huh. I wouldn't be caught dead talking to them walking sticks. I'm Oceana by the way, the prettiest and most popular mermaid at Kelp Fish Jr. High. Well, I got to swim, busy busy busy!"
With that, Oceana left. I was flustered. Was this how all mermaids were? Misty seemed so nice and innocent. Ugh, there's always a bad egg in the group.
I continued swimming. As I got further into the ocean I discovered a small town. Or, more like a kingdom! It started out with small shell huts, then seaweed homes, then sand mansions, and finally a magnificent castle! The walls were sculpted of pure gold! The windows were shining silver so grand I felt out of place just gazing at it. And to top it all off, the castle was studded with pearls big enough to feed a whale.
The streets were filled with active mermaids hustling to their destinations. "Wooooooow! It's a-amazing!" I announced admirably. It was a whole new world! I swam down the sidewalk with wide eyes. I past a beauty salon where mermaids where getting hair and makeup done. I paused and pressed my face against the window. There was a mermaid of about twenty-five in there with magenta hair. The stylist was twisting and braiding and weaving her long luxurious hair into a beautiful bird nest style bun! I looked to the right and saw a thirty-four year old mermaid with shoulder length yellow hair and a bright smile! The make-up artist was dabbing into a clamshell with a puffy pink seaweed ball. (When you're this deep into the ocean the seaweed comes in multiple colors and textures.)
I must have passed an anchovy pizza place, a sour pearl candy shop, a pet hermit crab shop, and many other places. After stopping at the Shark Tooth Café for a bite of a chocolate covered lobster claw. (Oddly enough, it's not as bad as it sounds.) "I wonder where Misty lives," I thought to myself. "Probably in a seaweed home or sand mansion." As I was leaving I glanced at the clock. It read 12:46. I decided to head back home to keep suspicions at a minimum.
The rest of the day wasn't all that interesting. I just wasted away the hours watching T.V. and fantasizing about meeting up with Misty again. Everything was going fine until about 7:00. Mom was getting on me about not doing anything the entire day and doing the whole "schools starting soon, and you have to enjoy your summer while you can" speech. To get her off my back, I left to go find something to do. As I was walking, I came across a girl I'm not very fond of. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here. Hi Sandy! Are you searching for a friend? Sorry to say but you won't find any in this neck of the woods. Just to tell you in advance, your NOT invited to my end of summer bash! As usual, it will be the best party of the summer, besides the beginning of summer shindig!" she proclaimed in a mocking tone.
"As if I would ever want to go to any of your overrated parties Mallory!" I said as threateningly as I could manage. "Now just go run along, I got better stuff to do then listen to you brag about your dumb party." Mallory sneered and walked away. Mallory and I never really saw eye to eye. All because I beat her in a swim race way back in second grade. You'd think she'd have gotten over it by now, but who knows how big that girl's ego is.
I continued on my walk not really knowing where I was walking. I went to the park and sat on a bench. I buried my face in my hands and contemplated what had taken place over the last couple of hours. What did that lady want to tell me last night? Why wouldn't the mysterious locket open? Will Misty show up tonight? All these questions seemed to swerve around in my head as if I were caught in a whirlpool. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the thoughts out of my head. I remembered I have to meet Misty tonight after that last question. I gathered myself up, and started on my way home. Like the night before, it was still and a little to quiet. All of a sudden, I heard a SNAP behind me. I spun around to see the old lady once again. "How did you- when did you-" I began. But she cut me off.
"So I take it you've discovered the secret." She spoke soothingly.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I didn't lie very well.
"The locket will open when you're ready." And with that, she disappeared. This left me in more confusion then I could handle. This whole situation was too weird. I checked my watch; it was 8:47. I ran quickly and swiftly back to the house. I arrived with red cheeks and out of breathe. The lack of sleep had just caught up to me. I said goodnight to mom and dozed off on the couch.
I had a dream. I was at school surrounded by my fellow classmates. Everything was normal. I was chatting with Nikki while getting my books from my locker. Then Mallory came over with a scowl upon her face. "YOU FISH!" she chanted and before I could respond, she dumped a bucket of water all over me. Horrified, I turned to run away, but people were blocking my exit. Ten seconds had passed and the transportation took place. "SEE!" shrieked Mallory. "SHES A FISH! ATTACK HER BEFORE SHE ATTACKS US!"
"No! Please! I'm nice! I'm good! Help!" I turned to Nikki. She had a hurt look on her face.
"I thought you were my friend! Why didn't you tell me you were a mermaid?" she cried in a hushed voice.
Before I could answer, a whole crowd of people were walking toward me chanting, "FISH! FISH! FISH!" it was terrible. Just as they were about to approach me, I woke up drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. I looked around but saw no one.
"Maybe this mermaid thing isn't such a great thing after all." I thought. Suddenly I remembered I had to meet Misty tonight in the bay. I quickly checked my watch, 12:15. I jumped out of bed and silently tiptoed to the door. Once it opened I made a mad dash for the bay. I got to the green dock and dived in. By now it was 12:23, Misty should have been here? "Hello?" I screamed. "Misty?" I sighed. I guess she doesn't want to be my friend. Just then I saw bubbles at the surface of the water. I tried to speak- but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. Misty surfaced from the water.