02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (30 page)

“Get the girl out!” he yelled, struggling
with his straps. I turned to look into her little frightened face,
noticing her father had been knocked unconscious, a thin trickle of
blood running down his cheek. We landed on the seafloor sideways,
at least fifty feet down, dark chaos inside the rapidly flooding
cockpit.

“It’s going to be okay,” I echoed my father
as I unlatched the child’s harness, water slowly rising up all
around us. The pilot pried open his door and bailed out, abandoning
the now rapidly filling helicopter as he swam to the surface.

“Take a big breath and breathe out slowly on
the way up,” I told the girl and pulled her out as the water
started gushing in at a tremendous rate. I swam her to the light,
and as our heads broke the surface we gasped for air. The pilot was
treading water, his eyes full of shock and fear.

“Take her!” I yelled at him, handing him the
child as I tried to dive back down for my father. I ran out of
breath about thirty feet down and was driven back to the surface to
hear her anguished cries.

“Daddy! Daddy! I want my daddy!” she cried. I
wanted mine too and I knew what I had to do. I exhaled and slipped
under, forcing myself as deep as I could get. I could see the other
pilot struggle to the surface past me. A thin stream of bubbles was
rising from the broken helicopter and I knew for certain that my
father was drowning. I took a deep breath of water.

I felt a jolt like a sledgehammer hitting the
back of my head, and eyes were blinded by a familiar pain. My
clothes ripped away in shreds and fluttered to the ocean floor, no
match for the force of my morphing flesh. I don’t know if it was
getting easier or if I was just better prepared, but it seemed to
happen faster. I transformed swiftly, like a flower that already
knew how to unfurl. I opened my eyes to see that I had blossomed
into a mermaid, flexing my powerful tail and wasting no time as I
swam down to my father.

I reached the copter’s shattered carcass and
ripped the door open wide. My father was still trapped, trying to
breathe in a tiny air pocket that he could barely reach with his
nose and mouth. His eyes met mine and opened wide in shock. He
gestured to the little girl’s father, and I nodded, unlatching the
unconscious man’s harness and pulling him out. I had no idea
exactly how long he’d been underwater but I knew I had to act
swiftly.

I powered him to the surface, ignoring the
shocked stares of the two pilots treading water with the crying
child. The yachts I had seen were converging on the crash site, and
I picked the closest one and swiftly flew through the water to it,
holding the unconscious man’s limp body up as I swam. I reached the
boat and heaved him up and over the side to a stunned sailor,
surprised at my own strength.

“
He needs help!
” I yelled, annoyed by
his slack jawed stare. Other faces appeared over the side and
looked equally stunned to see me. I said a silent prayer that they
could revive him and turned back for my father.

Dad’s air pocket was nearly gone, his nose
just out of the water. I reached out and tore at his harness,
ripping it out of its wall mounts. His leg was twisted at an
unnatural angle and I carefully lifted him out of the seat, pushing
aside the twisted metal. Pulling him out of the wreckage gingerly,
I swam him to the surface, relieved to see a yacht had arrived at
the scene and sailors were already lowering a small dinghy into the
water.

“Marina,” he said between great heaving gasps
for air, “Why didn’t you tell me?” My father’s face was a mask of
shock and pain.

“
Dad! Are you okay?
”

The look on his face told me that he didn’t
understand.

I focused hard to keep from speaking mermaid,
“Dad?”

I could see the recognition in his eyes and I
looked up to see the child being lifted into the small boat. Half a
dozen people were lining the sides of the yacht to watch the
rescue, some holding cameras. I sank low in the water, moving him
in front of me.

“I have to get out of here to change back–
How will I find you?” I could feel the eyes on us and I knew my
tail was visible in the clear turquoise water.

He looked around and knew it too, “Call
Evie,” he said.

I nodded once, “I love you,” I said, and
slipped below the surface.

I watched from underwater as my father was
lifted onto the boat. I hung back, deep under the sea for what
seemed like an eternity until they finally gave up searching for
me. The small boat was retrieved and the yacht got underway. I
followed it’s painfully slow progress until it arrived at a tiny
port near a small cluster of houses on the island I had seen from
the sky.

I stayed submerged, and occasionally peeked
up to see the villagers gathering on the shore. Fishing boats were
moved to make room for the huge pleasure craft to pull up alongside
the dock. It was strange to watch the enormous yacht maneuver from
underwater, and an image of the underbelly of the of the model
whale at the aquarium flashed into my mind. After what seemed like
yet another eternity the low hum of an approaching helicopter
rumbled through the water. I could feel the shape of the sound as
well as hear it; it dawned on me that I possessed the senses of a
true sea creature.

Careful to remain concealed, I repositioned
myself to get a better view of the flurry of activity at the dock.
The rescue helicopter landed on a beach a small distance from the
harbor, its twin rotors sending great thumping shock waves through
the water. It was a big military craft, and the side doors opened
wide to admit the stretchers that were being borne towards it.

I recognized my father’s sandy hair and
watched as they loaded him on board. The second stretcher held the
little girl’s father; and I was overcome with happy relief to see
his hand reach out to take hers. The pilot and co-pilot ducked in
last, and I wondered how the first one out would explain his
panicked flight from the wreck.

The noise picked up again as the helicopter
departed, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. I was all alone,
stranded in the vast blue Aegean. I swam around aimlessly for a
while, circling the small island. The euphoria I’d experienced
swimming as a mermaid wasn’t nearly as strong this time; it was
overshadowed by an intense loneliness that was like a great
crushing pain in my heart. I wanted Ethan and my father, and I was
having a difficult time thinking straight. I laid down on the sea
floor, sobbing in confusion, my mind clouded with hazy muddled
sorrow.

I drifted off to sleep on a bed of sea grass,
dreaming of walking through a dense green forest holding hands with
Ethan. When I woke it was pitch black, and I held my glowing hands
before my eyes in wonder, examining the fine mesh of webbing that
had grown between my fingers. I felt better after my sleep, and I
stretched out my spine, amazed at the way my backbone ran all the
way down to the end of my fin.

I swam like a dolphin through a dark night
sea, breaking the surface to gaze in wonder at the millions of
stars and the rising moon. I could feel the moon throughout my
body, and could sense that it was waning. It was shrinking in size
and strength; I knew it was becoming a new, dark moon– still in the
sky but no longer visible. The thought that Ethan could look up on
the other side of the earth and see the same moon was a small
comfort, and helped bring me back to reality.

Working hard to think rationally, I began
circling the island again to look for a suitable spot to transform
and come ashore. I would be naked, alone, and on a strange island
where I didn’t speak the language. Most people in Europe knew some
English, I just hoped I could get to a phone and contact Evie
without any trouble. I wondered if my dad had already called her
and told her the truth.

The sky was rosy with dawn when I settled on
a small cove that had a path leading up to a little house. If I
could just find a towel or a blanket maybe I could say I fell off a
boat or something... I was swimming back and forth, working up to
it, fearful of what would happen when I came ashore. I thought
about Joe attacking me and was suddenly terrified. I submerged,
deciding to circle the island one more time while I worked up my
courage.

“
Sister! Where did you come from?
”

Every hair on my head stood up as I turned
toward the first voice I had heard since my father’s. I hovered in
the water in shock for a moment, beholding one of the most
astounding sights of my entire life.

It was another mermaid, smiling in surprise
with wide innocent eyes that were a familiar shade of light icy
blue. She looked exactly like Evie.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Homecoming

She circled around me in the water as I
stared at her in amazement. She was beautiful, with white blonde
hair streaming out behind her like a cloud. When she paused it
fanned out in all directions and became a light filled halo. I
could hardly believe what I was seeing.

“
What is your name?
” she asked,
“
Where are you from?
”

“
Aptos,
” I said numbly.

She looked perplexed, “
Aptos, that’s a
strange name. I’m Kalypso
.”

I blinked and shook my head, “
No, I’m
Marina... I– I’m from Aptos
.”

Her eyes flew open wide, “
Is there a
council? How did I not hear of it?
”

“
No
,” I said, holding up my hand,
“
No council... I’m just visiting. I must be leaving
now
...”

“
How did you get here?
” she asked,
looking at me with something like confused suspicion. She was the
spit and image of the portrait that hung in Evie’s library. The
resemblance was so strong it couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. My
mind was racing as I considered the implications. Evie must be one
of them… one of us.

“
I flew here... I– I flew in the sky
,”
I stammered.

She looked skeptical, and smiled slyly,
“
You’re different... Where are you really from?
”

I nodded, “
I come from the land... I can
change... I change in the sea
.”

She looked frightened, “
It is
forbidden!
” She turned to leave.

“
Wait!
” I cried, suddenly not wanting
to be left alone, “
I’m allowed to… the council gave me the
right
.” I wasn’t sure how to put it, “
They gave me
permission to change for fifty moons... until I decide if I want to
stay. Naida said
–”

“
Naida?
” she recognized the name.

“
Yes, Naida
.”

She looked at me in fascination, “
You must
be special
.”

“
Special,
” I said, with a burst of
brief bitter laughter. Great, I thought, that pretty much summed it
up. I imagined the jokes Cruz and Megan would make if they heard
that; I knew they’d think it was funny.

“
Why are you here?
”

“
There was an accident. I have to get back
to land, but... but I’m afraid,
” I admitted it.

She smiled and tossed her lovely head,
“
Swim with me
,” she said.

I followed her into the deep sea, not
thinking. It was soothing, comforting to stop worrying, to give in
to the sensation of freedom and power that the vast amount of water
ahead of me provided. I surged through the endless expanse, and
with each mighty stroke of my fin I could feel my worries fade
away. I grew inwardly calmer and more detached. Everything was
going to be just fine.

The ocean felt light and weightless all
around my body, for it was the very air that I breathed. I drew the
salty water in and out of my lungs like the tide, becoming one with
the sea. Slicing through the water, I swam blissfully alongside
Kalypso in silent blue-green contentment. All sense of time
disappeared as the deep water blocked out the sunlight and our skin
cast a phosphorescent glow all around us.

We swam and swam, exploring all around the
Aegean sea. She took me to see charming undersea grottoes,
fairylands of waving seagrass, and barren rocky moonscapes. It was
like living within a dream, a peaceful floating dream that I never
wanted to wake up from. We soared like kites, turning and tumbling
in an endless liquid sky.

All at once we came upon a strange landscape
of underwater columns draped with seaweed and iced with coral.
Kalypso wove in and out of the ruins, laughing with childish
delight. I looked around in awe at what had once been an ancient
city of substantial size. We explored the fallen stones and stopped
to rest on the steps of a grand amphitheater.

The stairs we perched on reminded me of the
world of people. The ruins that so delighted Kalypso made me feel
sad. I could almost hear the echos of the people that had lived and
died here. They built this place and it was beautiful; the sea had
swallowed it and the ravages of time had reduced it to rubble. I
thought about what a mere century had done to the cement ship in
Aptos and a powerful wave of sorrow took my watery breath away.

Kalypso’s hand darted out and I saw that she
had snared a fish, clutching it tightly in her long slender
fingers. It thrashed about, struggling to free itself; I watched as
she brought it to her beautiful mouth and bit the head off,
discarding it. Tiny fish descended on the remains, feeding on the
bits that fell away as it tumbled to the seafloor. She proceeded to
devour the headless fish, stripping the flesh from the bones. I was
reminded of the otters back at home, happily munching away on crab
legs. Kalypso ate as naturally and unselfconsciously as an
animal.

Feeling nauseated, I swam away from the
sight, weaving in and out of the stumps of massive columns. I came
upon a sculpture of a beautiful youth, and brushed the seaweed away
tenderly. The statue’s handsome face reminded me of Ethan, and I
was overcome by a sharp pang of longing. I suddenly missed Ethan
fiercely. I wanted to go home.