Derrolyn Anderson - [Marinas Tales #1] - Between The Land And The Sea (36 page)

A distant memory of the sun shining in the sky spurred me to start swimming upwards.

When my head broke the surface I looked up to see that the storm had passed and the sky was lit with a bright moon. Disoriented and dazed, I could feel the glowing orb’s irresistible pull tugging at every cell in my body.

Many heads popped up next to me and I realized that they had all been following me.

Naida’s face appeared alongside me, “
Marina, now do you see? This is where you belong.

This is your birthright.
”

I looked up at the moon again, and then across the horizon where I saw other lights. I had surfaced near the harbor, and I could see a warm yellow glow coming from all the houses along the shoreline. I recognized Ethan’s apartment building with a shock. My human heart skipped a beat, and the ocean forces that were taking me over weakened a tiny bit. I thought about Ethan’s face and voice and started to reclaim my ability to think. I started to remember my human life and I clung to the memory with all my might.

I had to get back, had to change back somehow before I was totally lost in the dream of the ocean. I felt like I was trying to shake off a powerful addiction. Voices in my mind whispered that I should stay, that I was finally where I belonged. I had to make it back before my mind was completely befuddled by the power of the moon and the tide. I thought of my father, of Evie and Abby. I remembered Cruz and Megan, my home and my life on land.

“
Naida,
” I said with desperate intensity, “
I must go back. It’s wonderful here... but I can
never be happy without the people I love
.”

“
Marina, think carefully
,” she said as she circled me, “
If you go, you must give up your gift.
” I nodded. Ethan, I thought, Ethan. He was the only thing that kept me clinging to sanity.

“
I want to go back. I have to go back
,” I said with absolute conviction.

She looked at me with narrowed eyes and motioned for me to follow her back underwater.

We swam towards the chamber where I had transformed. The thought occurred to me that this spot held some sort of power, some significance to them. I hurried after her. When we reached the chamber she reclaimed the high perch she had sat upon before.

The rest of the mermaids filed in, uncharacteristically quiet.

Naida scrutinized me, “
Our kind has been hunted and abused by the humans. They show no
gratitude for our many kindnesses to them. They slaughter our precious pets. They lure our
sisters away from home, never to be seen again… Why must you return to them?
” I thought about how to explain it to her, “
I’m as much human as I am mermaid. I need my
human family, and I can’t live without them.
”

“
We must confer,
” she said and closed her eyes in concentration. I looked around in amazement to see all the others had done the same. I thought about Megan’s insight about mermaid telepathy. Maybe this spot was where they could read each other’s minds.

Naida snapped her head up and opened her eyes. She was the messenger, the mouthpiece for their communal brain.

“
We have decided to grant your request on one condition. Is this your final choice?
” she asked.

“
Yes!
” I nodded frantically, “
I want to go back home,
” I said seriously. “
On land,
” I added, just in case.

“
The decision that you make is what ended Adria,
” she warned, her voice harsh.

I swallowed hard, “
I know.
”

“
You have to forsake the gift that your mother has left behind for you. We cannot stop you,
but we will grant you fifty moons to make a final choice,
” she said.

“
I don’t understand, what gift?
”

“
The gift of eternal life.
”

I was shocked, trying to wrap my mind around the concept. My mother had given up immortality to be with my father and take a chance on motherhood. I wondered if she understood what that meant. As she lay dying did she have any regrets about her choice? It was as sad as anything I could imagine.

So I could choose to live forever. Now I understood how my mother had known Stella, and what Lorelei meant about the moon and tides. They were things that went on and on, they were eternal; but what were they compared to love?

Naida swam around me as I made my choice, “
If you give up the gift, you must suffer the
change back right now.
”

I could tell she thought I’d be afraid of the pain.

I steeled myself, and looked her squarely in the eyes. I was brought up as a human, knowing that someday I would die. I was raised with the sun and the wind, with the seasons changing. I expected to see birth and death. I would do anything to see Ethan again. There was no hesitation.

“
I want to change back. I want to go home,
” I said firmly.

She looked surprised, and a little annoyed, “
You will be allowed to return to the others,
” she announced loudly, “
But after fifty moons the change back will no longer be possible. You will be
giving up a life of eternal peace and beauty,
” she leaned in to stare at me intensely, “
AND YOU

WILL DIE.
”

A familiar face came out of the crowd. It was Lorelei, and she looked sad.

“
Marina, why don’t you want to be with your sisters?
” she whimpered.

“
Lorelei, I’ll always be your sister– only I’ll live on the land.
” She knit her glowing brows together in sorrow, “
I wanted to show you my home.
”

“
Lorelei, please,
” I said gently, afraid I might say the wrong thing, “
I want to be with my
family. My human family. I can’t live without them.
” She frowned and I continued, “
I have to go
back now.
”

Lorelei looked to Naida for instructions. I held my watery breath for a moment, praying she would allow me to leave. Some imperceptible signal passed between them and Lorelei came forward, taking my arm.

“
Will you still come to see me?
” she asked.

“
Of course,
” I said, “
We can go wave riding together.
” Lorelei laughed with delight at the prospect, a chorus of tinkling bells. “
Please take me home now,
” I pleaded. She nodded and pulled me alongside her, slowly swimming upwards.

As we started our ascent, I went limp with relief. I hadn’t realized how hard I was fighting to keep a hold of my human side, and I could barely think to move my fin. I looked back down on the glowing chamber as we slowly ascended; it looked like a constellation in the sky.

So I had fifty moons to choose whether or not to return to this watery world. There was no denying the powerful pull of the ultimate return to nature. There was also no denying the power of my love for Ethan. I closed my eyes and saw his face, holding onto the image with all my might.

Our heads burst into the fresh air of a new morning. Had I really been under the sea all night? All sense of time had vanished in the black underwater world, and I remembered that day and night meant nothing to mermaids. Their world existed without the warm rays of the sun moving across the beautiful blue sky, clouds, wind and air. They had only the pull of the moon and the tides to regulate their world.

The whole thing seemed like a dream. I looked down at the delicate webbing linking my fingers and knew that it was real. We swam to the end of the pier and it was odd to see the cement boat from a mermaid’s perspective. I grabbed onto a broken chunk of concrete and started to cough up water. My hands and tail began the now familiar tingling. With each ragged intake of air I started to become more and more human.

I gathered my courage for the unbelievable pain of transformation. Lorelei kept hold of my arm as I suffered the torture of the change back. Every fiber of my body screamed in pain as I looked into Lorelei’s worried eyes through a haze of enormous suffering. I knew that with every fresh wave of agony I was closer to being with Ethan and I bore it with barely a whimper. I felt my legs slice through the water and looked down, relieved to see my human form restored.

Lorelei started to swim me ashore, a melancholy look on her face. The storm had passed, and the pink light of dawn was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I could see the beach now, decorated with a fresh layer of kelp and driftwood from the storm.

We continued on until I felt the sand beneath my newly formed feet. Lorelei let go of my arm and I turned to thank her. It was a fresh new day, and I felt like I was being reborn. I waded out of the surf and fell to my knees on the sand, coughing until I ejected the last few droplets from my lungs. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and I was so happy I laughed out loud.

I shivered in the clear morning air. I was cold and I was naked, but I was alive. A few short hours ago I had faced down death, and given up an immortal life under the sea to come back home. I didn’t care who saw me; I had to get to Ethan.

An elderly gentleman walking a waddling little pug along the shoreline looked up as I approached him with a wry smile. His eyes flew open wide with surprise when he took me in.

“Excuse me sir,” I asked, “But, may I borrow your sweater?” He took it off slowly and handed it to me in stunned silence.

“Keep it,” was all he said.

I wrapped myself up, pulling it down as best I could, and headed home as fast as my tender feet could take me.

The Jaguar was in the driveway when I reached Abby’s charming little house. I burst in the door, surprising a tired, drawn-out looking Cruz.

“Marina!” he cried, rushing to look at me, eyes as big as saucers, “Oh my God! Where did you come from?” We embraced and he drew back, looking me over, “That sweater’s hella ugly!” I laughed with the sheer joy of being alive and gave him another big hug, “I love you!” I cried.

“What happened?” he asked, clearly in shock, “Ethan said they drowned you!”

“I’m back– I got away... where is he?” I asked, “I have to go find him.” I ran down the hall to put some clothes on and raced back out to find Cruz trying to call Abby. He was having trouble with the hospital switchboard and hung up in exasperation.

“Ethan was at the hospital when I left. He’s been blaming himself all night. Abby stayed behind with Dutch. My god Marina! She’s a wreck– she was about to call your dad...”

“Is Dutch OK?” I asked.

“He’s fine– it’s Ethan I’d be worried about,” said Cruz.

“I have to find him right now!” I felt like my heart would burst with joy, “I’m finally free!

I’ll tell you what happened later.” I left Cruz with a hug and a flurry of kisses before I raced out the door.

“Drive careful!” he called after me. He needn’t have worried.

I wasn’t about to take any chances with my newborn life.

I pulled up to the hospital, overflowing with impatient anticipation. Leaving the car parked at a crazy angle, I ran to the reception desk and frantically asked where Dutch’s room was. It seemed to take the receptionist an excruciatingly long time to look up his information while I shifted from foot to foot, wringing my hands. I ran for the stairs, too full of anxious energy to wait on the elevator.

I burst into the room to find Abby lying in Dutch’s arms on the hospital bed. He looked up at me in shock.

“Marina!” he cried, his voice hoarse. Abby’s head snapped up. Her swollen eyes took me in and she jumped up, sobbing as she ran over to wrap her arms around me. She started crying too hard to talk.

“It’s alright,” I said soothingly, patting her back. “I’m back.”

“But…but... Ethan said–”

I cut her off, “Where is he?”

She tried to catch her breath. “I d-don’t know. He must have gone home...” She drew back to look at my face, staring at me like she couldn’t believe I was really there, “What happened?

How did you get here?”

I kissed her on both cheeks and smiled, “Aunt Abby, it’s a long story. There are a few things you don’t know about my mother.”

“Your dad...” she hiccupped.

I couldn’t stop smiling, happy to see the look of relief on her face, “Call dad and tell him I’m fine. Tell him I know about Adria, and that it’s okay... I’m okay. I need to go find Ethan now.” I turned to leave.

“Marina,” Dutch called, struggling to sit up. I went to his side and took his outstretched hand.

“Ethan told me what you did... how you knew... I want to thank you, you– you saved my life.” He glanced over at Abby, who was still drawing shuddering breaths, “Find Ethan. I’ve never seen him so torn up.”

I bent down to kiss him on both cheeks, “Take care of Abby,” I said, and raced out to the car.

I drove as fast as I could safely manage to get to Ethan’s apartment. Disappointed to find his truck missing from the parking lot, I sat drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to imagine where he would go.

A flash of inspiration sent me out onto the freeway. I drove south, trying to remember what the exit looked like as I passed farms, fields, and cliffs that were crumbling away into the sea.

Turning off the freeway, I rolled down a lonely road to the edge of the bluff. When I saw the blue truck a tremendous wave of relief washed over me.

I was almost home.

I pulled up and parked, looking around for any sign of him. I remembered the spot where his house would be and hiked across the field towards it, breathing in the earthy smell of the freshly turned soil, noticing the sea breeze skipping lightly across waving tufts of grass. Everything seemed new to me, and I silently thanked God for giving me a fresh start.

A lonely figure was sitting at the edge of the bluff, facing out to sea. Even from a distance I knew it was him, and as I drew closer I called out his name. His head turned, and he rose to his feet as I raced up to him. He looked at me like I was a hallucination.

“Marina?” was all he could choke out before I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his sad and weary face. We fell to our knees, locked in a tight embrace, clinging to each other desperately. I kissed him harder, my hands in his hair, breathing him in like air. He pulled back and took my face in his hands, looking into my eyes.