My Mermaid

Her scales were green, a beautiful combination of shades that I’d memorized. Her tail was strong, powered by adrenaline and purpose. But what I focused on the most was her face. Her eyes showed signs of wisdom, as well as a trauma I’d only seen in survivors. Her lips were soft and pink, and the memories I had of kissing them greeted me lovingly.

And when I fell for her, my friends became my enemies and my family became my rivals.

They wanted to take her. They wanted to trap her in a cage and watch as the life in her was suffocated out. They wanted to use her as an object for entertainment. They thought her pain was funny; her fear made them laugh.

It didn’t help that our relationship was of the same sex.

Mermaids were supposed to be myths. I had learned they weren’t when I had found her unconscious on the beach late that night. Sometimes I wished I hadn’t; my family wouldn’t have discovered her if I hadn’t.

Tonight, I was going to help her escape. I wanted to go with her, but my human legs stopped me.

Soon, she was going to be returned to the ocean, to her home. Nature would embrace her once more, and she would be safe from the horrors of my family. For good, I hoped.

I supposed this is love. The sacrifice of your own happiness for the person you’d connected to.

So when the clock struck midnight once more, I gathered my pistol and dressed quickly. I creeped to where she laid in a tank of water and lifted her out. She could survive a day without water and then her tail would turn into legs that matched mine. Yes, the urge to keep her on land pleaded with me, but I ignored it. My love for her was too strong to be broken by betrayal and my selfish wants.

Even terrified, I thought, she looked beautiful. Her scales had dulled slightly, from weeks and weeks in the same dirty water and being prodded at by my family and friends.

Just that distracted me from straining my arms from holding her weight and the fact that I may very well die tonight.

Maybe it was blind love - stupid, blind love. But I had been trapped and hypnotized with the need for my family’s approval and with the things they had made me to believe I needed. And my love, Lilliana, brought me out. She saved me. This is the least I can do. I can at least save her now.

She gave me a smile and looked down at her lovingly.

“It’s okay,” I murmur. “You will be fine, My Love.”

But the ocean was far, and the journey would be long and tedious. She had hope to escape, but chances are, I would not escape with my life.

She knew that. I could almost hear the protests she was thinking, but she never spoke up. But she knew me too well, and she knew I would never turn back. Not now, not while we still had a chance.

My feet were a blur as they ran and ran. Lilliana held on to me, whispering “thank you” and encouragement.

A mile away, I was at the point where I was about to collapse.

I stumbled and tried to go on, but Lilliana stopped me. “No, darling. You have done so much for me, but everyone has limitations. We can take a break.”

I nodded and smiled tiredly. I placed her on a grassy spot and laid down beside her. We were in a thin forest, and the first rays of sunlight were slipping through the treetops.

Lilliana pulled me so my head was resting on her cool scales. They sparkled as the sunlight greeted them with its warmth and light.

Lilliana leaned over, her warm brown hair falling from behind her ears, and muttered in her usual gentle way. “I don’t know how I can repay you for this, dear Scarlet. I hope you know that I will miss you.”

I nodded. “Of course I do. And you know I gladly do this for you.”

“Still, it’s a large sacrifice.”

“No, it’s not. My family is cruel, my friends awful. You helped me see that and now I will help you.” I reached up, tucking strands of hair behind her ears.

This was a memory I would never forget. And while I was embracing this memory, another came to mind.

My father said he captured a beast, one of hypnosis and lies.

He said it was the most despicable beast. But he had slayed the most humongous and gruesome. How could this one be so much worse?

So naturally, my curiosity got the best of me. So when my father and the men in my family were on a hunt, I creeped down to the basement of the Salvador house. A large tank was covered by a tarp in the middle of the room. I stepped towards it slowly, and I pulled the tarp off in one smooth motion.

But… the creature in the tank wasn’t beastly. Nor did it look dangerous. In fact, it was a she. And she was beautiful. I stared at her in wonder, and she met that stare. For a moment, we were both still. And then, she bolted back, slamming against the thick glass. She pressed against it, as if she were trying to mold herself into it. Her small fists were clenched and her eyes were squeezed together in fear.

Her seashells were white and decorated with bone white pebbles and sparkling rocks.

My heart pounded as I took another step towards her. Then another. I climbed up the ladder leaning on the side of the tank and dipped my hand into the water. It lapped against my skin, thanks to the movement of the mermaid below. Cool, gentle. It must be wonderful to be able to breathe in the unbreathable. To live in something almost alive.

I let my hand relax in that cool water and closed my eyes, embracing the feeling. It must be so peaceful where she laid. Down where the outside is just muffled noise.

I jumped when I felt a hand intertwined with mine and opened my eyes, finding the mermaid staring up at me. She looked up at me, green eyes big. And then she passed the surface of the water, and she let the air of the basement surround her down to her shoulders.

I watched her silently as she pursed her plump lips.

“What’s your name, my mermaid?” I asked.

“Lilliana, and yours?”

I offered a grin. “Scarlet. Scarlet Salvador.”

Her eyes shifted slightly to the side. “Your red hair reminds me of the fires I’ve seen raging on land.” Her eyes reflected anger from the fluorescent basement light.

I knew that anger. I had seen it many times; often directed at my family.

“I take it you don’t like fire.”

She glanced at me warily. “I’m not much of a fan of humans either.”

My eyebrows pressed together. “We’re not that bad.”

“Maybe some aren’t, but from what I’ve seen, most are.”

I said, “Which am I?”“I’m not sure.” Her eyes shone with emotions I couldn’t decipher.

I reached out and she froze as I traced her jawline gently. “You’re quite beautiful.”

“Beauty can be deceiving,” she said, and somehow it didn’t seem like she was talking about herself.

I gave her a sly grin.

We talked down there for hours, until I had to slip back upstairs when my father returned from his hunt. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her. My mermaid.

I jolted awake from the sound of whining horses and deep yells. My father and his lackeys had found us.

Lilliana was curled up in my arms and I shook her shoulders to wake her. My heart raced. Stupid, I chided myself. How long had we been asleep? We’d lost precious time.

I jumped up and lifted Lilliana in one smooth motion. Bolting towards the ocean, I cherished the feeling of carrying her in my arms. The ocean came quickly, and its water darkened my clothing as I kneeled on the wet sand.

But Lilliana didn’t let go. She didn’t pull away and push herself into the water like she should have. Instead, she gripped me tight.

“Lilli-” I started.

“No.” she said, voice thick.

“Hey-”

“No!” she cried. “I can’t leave you, Scarlet. I can’t let you go. I won’t.”“You have to. Hey, listen.” I took her head in my hand and forced her to look at me. Tears glittered in her eyes, perfect as they streamed down her face. “If you go now, my sacrifice will be for nothing. We will both die unnecessarily. I love you so much. And it breaks my heart to have to lose you, but we are here now. There’s no going back. And I will never regret taking a risk and sacrificing our relationship so you can have a life worth living. Lilliana, you have to go.” My heart beated to the sound of the approaching horse hooves. “Go, my mermaid. Go!”

I pushed her away from me and watched as she lifted herself onto me, giving me one last, way too quick kiss before pulling away and disappearing in the waves of the ocean.

Then I rose from the sand and greeted my approaching father with a sly grin. No matter what the consequences may be, it would all be worth it to know my mermaid was safe beneath the ocean’s surface.