Author's Note:
Hi guys! Sorry! This is just a re-post. Someone asked a VERY good question. I totally forgot for a entire chapter (brain fart, anyone?) that Ariel couldn't talk. The reason that the old lady can hear her or understand her, is because she's a witch. But the good kind. Like Glinda. And, the italics is all of Ariel's "dialogue".
*slaps self*
So thanks SO MUCH for reading! It means a lot! I will be updating as soon as possible . . . and I feel really bad for those of you who are supporting this story and are anxiously waiting for the next installment. I am actually writing other stories (my own, original stories with my own, original characters) and they are my main focus currently!
XOXO, OceansAria
Chapter Six
Ariel
I stayed absolutely and positively still as Jim walked up to the station's front desk and began to talk to the officer.
A cool, frail hand touched my arm. "You know, dearie, I don't think he meant it literally."
I didn't dare loosen my tight hold on my muscles. I didn't want to risk being the receiver of Jim's rage. He seemed to be holding in a lot of anger; bottling it up deep in his heart and holding it close like a precious gem. I didn't know why he was angry, but I was dying to ask.
The hand slid down to hold mine. "Dearie, you should stop sitting that way. You look constipated."
I laughed and all of my muscles went loose as I slumped back against the chair. The old lady laughed, too, and patted my hand.
"He's very handsome, dearie," she said. Her voice was high and shaky and her skin was liverspotted. When I turned to look her in the eyes, I saw the eyes of a hawk-beady and watchful beneath all the folds of wrinkled skin. She had stark white hair and matching thick eyebrows. Her hair was covered by a shawl and she wore a long, black dress and boots, which seemed insensible in this horrible heat.
Who? I asked stupidly.
She lifted her chin towards the desk. I glanced towards it, and my body blazed when I realized she was talking about Jim. I smiled without thinking and squeezed her hand. Yeah, I sighed dreamily. He is.
"Is he your boyfriend?"
I whipped back around, feeling panicked. No! I cried, my chair clattering around beneath me as I spun around in it. I saw Jim look over his shoulder at the racket, concern written in the creases of his brow, but he didn't come over or question when I waved him off frantically.
The old lady chuckled. "But you wish he was."
I shook my head. No, I don't. I just met him.
"And yet you obviously are already attracted to him."
I hesitated and then sighed. Yes.
"When did you meet him?"
Last night, I paused, thinking. Well, more like this morning. But that isn't long enough for me to develop feelings for him. Especially for him to become my boyfriend.
"Ah, you are mistaken," the old lady grinned, exposing only a handful of teeth left in her mouth. "Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'love at first sight'?"
I frowned. No. Where I come from, all of our marriages are arranged.
"Well, it means exactly what it says. When you see that certain someone, you immediately fall in love with them, deeply and truly."
I blushed and fiddled with my hair with my free hand. Was I in love with Jim? No. It couldn't be. I just thought he was an attractive man. And he was. Extremely. He was sweet beneath that I'm-so-tough front, and his eyes held a spark of kindness that made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, stirring up newborn emotions deep in the pit of my belly.
I don't like Jim that way. He's just a friend. More like a mere acquaintance.
She patted my knee. "Oh, dearie, but you will. I promise you, as time moves on, you will fall so deeply in love with him that it will break your heart into a million pieces to leave him."
I gulped, blushing fiercely. This old lady sounded particularly sure of herself, and she said something about me having to leave. Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, and I were the only ones that knew about my limited time on the shore. I had exactly three weeks to get a human man to fall in love with me and kiss me. If any human man just simply kissed me, it wouldn't work. They had to be in love with me.
Who are you? I whispered. I glanced around to make sure that no one else in the waiting room heard us.
She grinned that toothless grin. "Dearie, I'm just a wise old friend."
And then she winked and disappeared from sight with a pop, the smell of burnt hair the only evidence that she had ever truly existed.
