Photo by Greg Bilsland on Unsplash
“Oh look at that one!” Nixie pointed to a boy, scurrying along the leaf covered beach, arms laden with toys.
Mira and Nixie floated just beneath the surface of the water, scanning the shore.
“He’s too young!” Mira chided. “And besides, look, his mother is there.”
A tall woman in a floppy hat and oversized sunglasses dragged her feet behind the boy, shivering and wrapping a thick blanket tight around her shoulders.
“Right. How can you tell how old they are? They don’t even have scales! Does their fur change color or something?” Nixie was getting impatient. It was inconvenient to turn 17 before the hot season hit, when Grandfather Sun warmed Mother Sea and the humans would crowd on the beach, easy targets for young mermaids to lure into the sea.
“Yes, but those ones are too old. Males whose hair has turned the color of The Great Shark - gray or white - are elders. They are to be respected, just as we respect The Great Shark. And while they will not eat us, they are not what we seek.” Mira scanned the empty beach. She grabbed Nixie’s hand and pulled her through the water as the sky above darkened.
“Come on, little sister. We’re going to the place where I found my first Man.”
Nixie’s fins throbbed by the time they stopped under a wooden structure close to a different shoreline. The wood was weak and wet, not at all like the petrified driftwood they pulled down to use in their cave homes.
“Morgana brought you here?”
“Big sister knew this would be the easiest place to catch a Man. I, too, turned seventeen during the cool months, and the humans were scarce near the water. But here, Man is always plentiful.”
They waited and watched.
The buildings all had bright lights with words over the doors. More lights flashed in many of the windows. Nixie was transfixed.
“There!” Mira pointed to where a screaming Man was being thrown out of a door.
They watched as the Man yelled a few more times and tried to push back into the building. Finally, he gave up and stumbled away. He headed towards the water.
“Do you see the fur around his mouth, Nixie? Rich brown like Brother Otter’s fur. He will make a good first catch.”
When the Man’s footsteps echoed above them, Mira nudged Nixie, who swam to the edge of the structure and propelled herself up, so that her arms rested on the edge, just as she was taught. She could barely see through the night air, her eyes worked so much better under the water. The skin on Nixie’s shoulders tingled. She had only been above the waves a few times in her life and the cool air on her skin still felt new.
She took a deep breath and said the word she had practiced since she was just a little guppy in anticipation of this moment.
“Hello.”
***
Forest stumbled away from the pub, angry at himself for letting that idiot bartender get to him. He looked at his hands and realized he had escaped with his beer. Well that was something.
He took a swig, looked around, and lurched toward the pier. Maybe the cold water on his feet would feel good, he thought, and Stella had kicked him out, so he couldn’t go home. At least not tonight and definitely not drunk. Maybe a good lie down on the pier would help.
“Hello.”
He looked up and saw a young woman perched at the end of the pier, arms crossed. He shook his head to clear this mirage, but when he opened his eyes, she was still there. Her turquoise hair sparkled under the light, but shadows hid her face.
She lifted a hand and gestured him closer.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” She pushed back a little, letting the light hit her front, revealing round, supple breasts and emerald eyes.
Forest melted. She was the most beautiful thing he ever saw and he needed to touch her, to kiss her.
She reached up towards him, and he pitched forward, off the pier, right into her arms. She caught him with barely a splash and smiled into his face. Consumed by the most passionate love he had ever felt, he grinned back.
When she kissed him, he closed his eyes and felt like he was flying, soaring. Wind rushed past his ears and he could feel the pressure building, but nothing could break through this moment. He was weightless, floating.
Finally, his angel broke the kiss and pulled away from him. He opened his eyes and screamed noiselessly. Bubbles rose from his mouth as he realized it wasn’t wind, but water rushing past him. He had to calm down before he drowned.
There was another woman there, too, but they weren’t women at all. Below their waists were fins. He had heard of mermaids in the fairy tales his mom used to read him.
But those mermaids were nice, weren’t they? They didn’t drag men down to the bottom of the ocean to die, right?
These mermaids were more beautiful than he could ever imagine, but they swam around him, taunting him.
Forest spun, looking for a way out. Instead, the garish sight of skeletons and men in various stages of decomposition assaulted him.
His foot touched the soft ocean floor and he tried to push off of it, hoping that he would find an air pocket above, but the mermaids dragged him back down with incredible strength, giggling. They continued to circle him, as his breath ran out and his vision went black. The last thing he saw was his beer bottle, lying in the sand, forgotten.
***
“Green glass is good luck!” Mira looked at the bottle in Nixie’s hand. “You couldn’t ask for a better memento of your first catch!”
Nixie smiled as she placed the bottle in her alcove. Soon, she hoped to have a shrine filled with mementos to rival even her oldest sister.
Jessica Wilcox (formerly Gilmartin) hails from Buffalo, New York, where she teaches English to refugees and immigrants. She resides with her husband, three children, two cats and puppy, all of whom keep her on her toes. She mainly writes short and flash fiction, but is also working on a book of poetry and hopes to one day have an idea worthy of writing into a novel.