It started raining the next day.
"Great," Claire sighed. Her legs were propped up on the armchair of the living room couch. "Just when everything's in the house and we can finally go swimming, it starts pouring buckets. Thanks a lot."
"Who are you talking to?" I asked her.
"I don't know. You. Mom. Dad. Anyone who's listening." I rolled my eyes.
"Mom and Dad are in their rooms, resting after all the catching up they had to do yesterday." I tossed my plate and fork I used for eating leftovers in the trash. "And why would I be listening to you?"
She grabbed a pillow and threw it at my head. I ducked. "Shut up, Dylan." Sitting up, she took her hair out of it's bun. "Well, I'm going to go take a bath. I've got serious cramps that need my attention."
"Okay, TMI," I said, wrinkling my nose. She just smirked at me and headed towards the bathroom downstairs.
I looked outside our windows at the rain that had been pouring nonstop since noon. There wasn't any thunder or lightning, which was strange with this much rain, but still somehow the weather managed to look angry. The rain fell hard and fast, pelting the roof of my house like hail. I didn't think I could step outside for one minute without getting soaked.
And the ocean… it was terrible. Waves sloshing against the shore violently, heavy winds thrashing the trees. I was almost concerned there was going to be a hurricane, if my parents hadn't told me it would be fine. Storms like this weren't uncommon, they had said. This didn't assure me, however. In fact, it only made me more upset that these are the conditions I'll have to be living the rest of my life in.
With a resigned sigh, I headed up the stairs towards my bedroom. The rest of my day, I planned on listening to music that drowned out the weather outside.
I grabbed my iPod and plugged my earbuds in, proceeding to do just that. My eyes trailed the patterns of rain outside my window, and the heavy waves crashing onto the beach.
About half an hour into it, though, I noticed something strange. There were a lot of crazy waves happening out in the ocean, but one of them looked familiar. It only took me a few seconds to realize what it was; the wake left in the water by the mermaid. Except this one was heading towards the rocks.
When I realized what this meant, I threw my iPod onto my bed and put on my jacket. Inside it's pocket, I dropped the necklace I had found.
I can't believe I'm doing this, I thought to myself, even as I ran downstairs and slipped on my sandals. I'm chasing after a mermaid- a mythical creature that I may just be imagining- in the middle of a rainstorm. One that might not even be there.
But then again, I never was smart with things like this.
I contemplated bringing an umbrella, but I didn't know where any of them were, and even if I did, didn't want to run out of time while going to grab it. Who knew how long the mermaid would be there? So I threw my hood up and went out into the storm.
My assumption from earlier was correct. Within minutes, my clothes were soaking wet, and I felt a deep chill lingering in my skin. Squinting into the precipitation, I shivered and ran as fast as I could towards the rocks.
To my left, another wake passed by me in the water. For a moment, my heart sunk. Had the girl left already? But then I noticed that this one was heading towards the shore, not away from it.
Is it possible that there's more than one? I wondered. My thoughts returned to the locket's picture, where it looked like there were three people in it. It makes sense… how could there be only one of species, after all?
I was only a few feet away from the rocks when I started to hear the shouting.
"YOU'LL FIND IT, OKAY? JUST, CALM. DOWN!" yelled an unfamiliar voice. She had to shout to be heard, I was guessing, over the sound of the pouring rain.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" asked a voice. This one I knew. It was her. "THERE'S A PICTURE OF US IN THERE. WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO US IF SOMEBODY HAS IT?"
"YOU NEED TO STOP THE STORM. WE CAN'T GO ANYWHERE LIKE THIS!" I didn't know what they were talking about, but I figured that I would get in a lot of trouble if I interrupted their argument. So instead, I snuck up behind the rocks and peered over them. It was hard seeing through the rain, but I knew that what I could see clearly was real.
The same mystery girl from before, with the bright blue eyes and jet black hair, was searching for something in the sand. Her fingers dug in the rocks like claws, and her long tail was only partially in the water. Next to her was another girl, with an identical tail stretching backwards. I couldn't see her face, though, since it was too far away and blocked by the first girl's hair.
They're mermaids. They really are mermaids. No point in thinking I'd imagined it now.
"I CAN'T STOP IT," the dark-haired girl shouted. "I CAN'T, NOT UNTIL I FIND IT."
"IT MIGHT NOT EVEN BE HERE!"
"I'VE CHECKED THE OCEAN FLOOR. THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IT COULD BE." Her hands were becoming more frantic.
What are they looking for? I wondered to myself.
"THE PICTURE IS PROBABLY RUINED BY NOW ANYWAYS-"
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT."
"IT'S JUST A FUCKING NECKLACE, TARA!"
Tara, was my first thought. I finally knew the girl's name.
My second thought, however, was: Wait a minute… Necklace? …. Shit. How could I be that stupid? Of course she was looking for the necklace. I had even heard her mention there was a "picture inside"... what did I think she was talking about? You're an idiot, I told myself.
"YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE! IT'S FROM THE MOON POOL..."
That's when I decided- damn the consequences- that it was time I made my appearance. Climbing over the pointed rocks, I stood at the top of the sloped one.
"HELLO?" I shouted, trying to get their attention. Then I realized it would have made more sense for them to know I was there after I was sure they wouldn't swim away.
The other mermaid said something to Tara and dove into the water. I craned my neck to see her face, but all I could see through the rain was her golden tail, and a flash of possibly blonde hair. Although it really could have been a light brown.
Tara looked up at me in surprise and tried to scoot back into the water as fast as she could. But she was so far up on the land, I got to her first.
"GET AWAY!" She was panicking now, trying to hide her tail from me. I just shook my head.
"I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!" I yelled. "THE LOCKET, RIGHT?" Tara paused and looked up at me, shock evident in her eyes. And I swear, the pelting rain eased up a bit. My thoughts wandered to the other mermaid's words: "You need to stop the storm." I looked over Tara. Was it possible she was causing all this rain?
With the rain less harsh, I could hear her much clearer as she spoke in her regular voice. "You know where the locket is?" she asked.
"Oh! Uh, yeah." I reached into my pocket and dangled the chain in front of her. "I'm sorry, I found this on the beach here yesterday, and I didn't know you were coming back for it, so…" I stopped. And then I gaped.
The rain around me had stopped abruptly as Tara's face broke into a wide grin. She pushed her wet hair out of her face, seemingly forgetting she was trying to avoid me noticing her tail, and reached for the necklace.
I was about to hand it to her when I pulled it back. "Wait," I said to her. Her smile dropped a bit. "If I give this to you, you have to promise me something."
"What is it?" She sounded nervous. Her eyes never left the locket.
"That you'll come back here. Tomorrow, hopefully."
"Why?"
"Because my sister is an annoying brat and I have no one to talk to." This was when her eyes met mine, and a look of shock passed over her features.
"Alright," she said. "But you have to promise me something in return."
"What's that?"
"You have to promise that you won't tell anybody about me." Her expression was serious. She glanced back at her tail. "I… I know this isn't something easy to keep a secret, but…"
"Hey," I said gently, sitting down in the sand next to her. I noticed that- darn it- there were golden scales that covered her breasts. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." I handed her the necklace.
"Thanks," she said gratefully. Her hands lifted her hair up and clasped the locket around her neck. She was about to start scooting back into the water when she looked at me curiously. "Let me ask you something… why aren't you freaking out at me?"
"For what?"
"For… this." She gestured towards her tail.
"Oh, right." I glanced at it. It truly was remarkable. Slim and strong, there was a seamless merge between skin and scale, right at her waist. At the end, it flicked off into two fins. I wondered if it was fun to swim with. "I don't know. I kind of saw it after you saved me-"
"You said you'd keep your eyes shut!" Tara reprimanded. I shrugged.
"Hey, I was curious. I wanted to know where my savior was disappearing off into. I sure as hell didn't think you'd be a… well, whatever you are. Um, a mermaid? Merperson? Uh..." I didn't want to offend her by calling her something she wasn't.
Tara laughed. "Mermaid works just fine."
"Okay then. I didn't think you'd be a mermaid. Then, I found your locket…"
"Did you look inside?" She looked as if she was trying to conceal her worry, and failing miserably.
"Yeah. But your friend- who left before I even got a chance to talk, by the way- was right. The picture was all distorted. I could only really make out three mermaids in it."
Tara breathed a sigh of relief. "Thats good." She pushed off from the sand and slid into the water. "Well, bye Dylan. I'll see you at five o'clock tomorrow, right here, got it?"
"Got it." I smiled, not believing what I was hearing. I was going to hang out with the chick who saved my life- who happens to be a really hot mermaid- instead of with my family all day. Thank God.
Right before she dived into the water, she turned back and said, "My name's Tara, by the way."
"I know."
She rolled her eyes and dove into the surf, tail splashing behind her. Still smiling, I sat down on a rock and waited for it.
Woosh! And there it was- the large wave that rode towards Mako Island. I chuckled and leaned backwards on the rock. It wasn't very comfortable, but the sun on my face and clothes felt really nice. Everything was so nice, in fact, I almost forgot that my family was expecting me to be inside.
Key word being "almost".
"Ah, damn it," I sighed. Claire would definitely be done with her bath by now. I wasn't sure how I was going to sneak in.
Getting up- despite how much I didn't want to- I trekked over the rocks and went back towards the house. Claire wasn't in the kitchen, where the door on this side of the house was, so I figured I would be safe.
I opened and shut the door as quietly as possible, slipping off my shoes. My clothes were only a little damp after my time in the sun, so I didn't bother trying to go find a towel. Unfortunately, I probably should have, since that is how Claire caught me.
"Were you outside?" my sister I asked. I winced, turning around to see her coming down from her bedroom.
"I can explain," I said quickly. She held a hand up.
"Dylan Parker, you are one of the dumbest shitheads I have ever had the displeasure of knowing. If you get hypothermia, I am not coming to visit you in the hospital." She shook her head. "For Christ's sake! I know you like going on walks, but isn't this taking it to the extreme?"
"Um…"
"Don't even answer that. I'm going to make some popcorn." Claire passed by me on her way to the kitchen and gave me a meaningful glance. "Just… go find a towel, and a blanket or something? You're lucky it got miraculously sunny a while ago, dude."
"Yeah…"
"Nothing? Not even a smart remark?" She laughed. "I'd really hurry up on getting to those towels."
"Sure. Whatever." To tell the truth, I was too elated about me recent discoveries to pay much attention to Claire's antics. I followed her advice, though, and went and got a towel from the bathroom next to Mom and Dad's room. Then I walked upstairs to my bedroom.
My iPod was still on my bed where I had left it, and sure enough still playing music through the headphones. While drying off my hair, I plugged them into my ears and switched the song. Then I opened my window, letting the sun into my room.
I took a deep breath. It smelled like the sea.
