Chapter 12

It was during the summer season, must have been a few years ago now. I was still living in a fully underwater cave at the time. I distinctly remember the fresh smell of kelp that morning, because the fishfolk markets had finally opened again. What are those? Well I suppose they're rather like what you told me you do on land – only the merfolk open stands on rocks. Food, tools, anything really, only we trade goods rather than money. Summer season is practically heralded by these and you know its autumn when they're gone. Anyway, there wasn't anything particularly special about the day other than the open markets to start with, so I was collecting muscles from the reef side for lunch, when all of a sudden there was this almighty noise. Think sort of ... thunder, but closer. Bright too because there was a flash of light. Then there was a small ripple in the currents, almost directly north of where I was. That meant something had crashed into the ocean, we can always tell. Judging by the disturbance and the noise, it was something big. When things like that happen it's not long before the crowds come in, and, being the curious young merman I was, decided to check it out first.

I found the cause of the disturbance relatively easily. It was a large metal can with a series of blades on the top – later I found out those are called helicopters. I went down to see if there was any salvage and found a human inside. As I already mentioned – this isn't as rare as it should be, and generally we're just advised to leave them – for secrecy's sake. But this one was struggling and emitting bubbles so there was no way he was dead. I knew other merfolk would arrive on the scene and I wasn't entirely sure what they'd do to a human that was still alive. Against my judgement to abandon the scene, I broke the straps holding him and hauled him back to the muscle reef. I intended to drop him there and get away, but even though he was now back on land, he was barely moving. He sort of coughed up water and fainted. I noticed how badly hurt he was then, and I figured there would have been no difference between leaving him in the ocean and dragging him back – if anything I'd only prolonged the suffering by allowing him to gain consciousness again. I also knew there was a good chance he'd be found on the reef too if left.

I made my decision right then and there. The first part was to hide him somewhere I could access and he could breathe. Luckily I'd discovered a cave close to the shoreline that had a small sand bank in it for some reason. Yes, this cave. Most merfolk left it alone because it was close to the human town, so I knew it would be fairly safe. I dragged the human into the pocket whilst everyone else was still scavenging the wreck, then went and retrieved what little I had in my other cave. For hours, I just watched him. It was the first one I'd seen alive, and up close. I figured he's have needs the same as any other animal, so I fetched some fish. By the time he woke up he seemed puzzled, but also happy with it. I noticed he wasn't drinking which was strange, and he pulled an odd face when he tried the cave water. I remembered the water in the reef had a much different taste because the salt was evaporated by some of the creatures, so I brought some of that in. To my surprise and delight, he seemed much happier with this, so I kept bringing them.

Weeks went by, and I noticed him growing restless. He'd covered his cuts and scratches with seaweed from the cave walls, and I noticed he had a small book with him and a small wooden thing that he'd press against it and jiggle furiously. I'm sure you can guess that was the journal you're holding. Well, I still wasn't prepared to let him see me, and when he did, it was quite by accident.

"You there! Do you know a way out of this cave? Did you bring me in here?"

I sat behind a rock, panicking. Just as I thought I was in the clear, I turned back around the rock and there was the human, standing right next to me.

"Gee whizz chap! I thought I was going to go insane in here! How'd you get in?"

I couldn't really say anything for a while. I was caught red handed, and he was still bombarding me with questions. At some point he noticed my tail – I'll never forget the look of shock on his face – and scrambled back up to the shore, backing against the far corner, looking terrified. I was already discovered, so I assured him that I wasn't going to hurt him, and that I'd saved him in the first place, and brought the food and water. It took some convincing, but eventually he relaxed enough to come down to the water again. He seemed rather in awe of the whole merfolk premise. After that, he grew less afraid of me, and we began to find out about each other's lives. I'd never spoken to anyone so deeply, certainly no merfolk. You see up till that point, I'd always considered merfolk to be fish with just enough human to speak. Harold on the other hand made me wonder if I'd been looking at it the wrong way round. I started to think we were human with just enough fish to harness the ocean. Young and gullible me began to see the future of humans and merfolk living in harmony. After all if we could do it, why couldn't the rest? It soon became clear to me that the two worlds were meant to be, so I decided to seal it properly.

You see, merfolk song is practically sacred to us. Unlike what I've heard from you two legs, a mermaid or merman does not sing on whim. It's usually connected to something. Usually an emotion and a place. For example - mourning merfolk often sing above shore on stormy nights. Happy merfolk sing under the stars. And besotted merfolk? They sing around the object of their infatuation. When a merperson has a powerful enough song, these can be ... stored. There's a certain type of gem we can harness for those ... yes Skiff. The pearls. Unlike ordinary pearls that you collect from oysters, merpearls are used to trap songs. If there's no song in them they look very much like ordinary rocks, which is why they're not discovered by divers. I'd never actually sealed one before, so it was quite special to me. When I presented it to Harold, he didn't have the same reaction I'd been expecting. He seemed impressed, sure, but it was s shallow admiration. I asked him why he hadn't taken it, and he seemed puzzled.

"What would I need this for, chap? I don't need pearls or money"

I felt a little embarrassed explaining, but I did so anyway. His face changed.

"Captain I ... I'd like to help but my place is with ... my own kind"

I told him I wanted his help, that I wanted him to stay, that I'd sing another song... but he only seemed pitiful. That was the first night we ate in silence. I tried in vain to change his mind. I brought him better fish, showed him even more treasures, even offered to make a better pearl. But less than four days later his old friends found him. I was out collecting shells and returned to an empty cave. All Harold left was his journal, and with it - his thanks for the rescue. Human's only stick around till they get what they want I suppose. I've never seen him since.

Skiff stared at the journal in his hands, feeling strangely moved by the tale. All of Captain's secrecy made sense. His refusal to talk about his life, his knowledge of lungs and fresh water and human life. And the pearl ... wow. The humming noise had been Captain's mersong. Not just any old song either. It must have hurt for Captain to give that to Skiff to help him raise the money to battle Pescecorp. And it was probably being exploited even as they sat in the cave. If Skiff had known this, he might not have taken it in the first place.

"So, now you too will want to return, correct?"

"I ... I'm not exactly sure what else I can do"

Captain smiled wanly.

"But if you get me back, I'll get your pearl" Skiff beamed, hoping this would cheer him up.

The merman shook his head gravely.

"I don't want a wasted song. It was much better in your hands and for your purpose"

"Well at least let me visit you still"

"That's risky business Skiff. I can't have you getting hurt. I'm taking you back to Brigodston in the morning, and you're going back to your own kind"

Skiff tried to protest, but his friend could be stubborn when he wanted to.

At 8AM sharp the next morning, Skiff stood on Brigodston pier, water welling up in his eyes as he looked at the merman below him.

"Captain after all of that ... I don't want to just ... go like this"

"I think it's easier for humans to do that. If it helps, I brought you something from my collection for you to remember, if you need to" He brought something out wrapped in a small white cloth. Skiff unravelled it to see a small silver fish hook. He smiled.

"Thank you Captain, I'll keep it safe"

"I know you will" The merman smiled.

Skiff didn't like how much this felt like goodbye, so before the merman could protest he leant off of the side of the pier and wrapped his arms around him in a fierce hug. Captain blinked, patting him on the back nervously.

"Just don't let Pescecorp win eh?"

"Never" Skiff choked through his tears, looking at the white cloth still in his hands. Then he stared at it. He blinked to clear the tears, and sat upright on the deck.

"What is it Skiff?" The merman asked. His friend was staring at it in shock, turning it over. Captain had only used the cloth to carry the hook, there wasn't anything special about it.

"W-where did you get this? ..." The sailor asked, his voice quavering a little.

"I ... it's just always been there. Part of one of my teenage sunken raids I think, it's only a silly little thing"

Skiff pursed his lips together and shook his head, holding the cloth to the morning light. In the right hand corner was a piece of small stitch work that spelt out a familiar name. 'Finn Eastport'.