“What the hell was that?” Zak asked, swiping rainwater out of his eyes as he blinked at me. “Why would you go after her? The girl was crazy, diving into the ocean like that. Did you find her?”
“Yeah, I found her.”
“Where is she?”
I turned back to stare at the crashing waves. Lightning flashed in the sky followed by a quick rumble of thunder.
“She let me go.”
“Let you go? Dude, where is she? Is she okay?”
“I don’t know.” This was an honest answer, at least. I shivered as the wind picked up and another flash of lightning lit the sky. “Come on, we’d better head for cover. This storm is getting worse.”
Zak didn’t bombard me with any more questions as we headed to the mansion. Once inside, I slipped my t-shirt off and squeezed the rain and saltwater out of it before hanging it over a door. My shorts clung uncomfortably to my legs, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that. They’d have to dry on their own. The sun would help dry everything once the morning arrived. Hopefully, the storm would be clear by then.
“Ozzy, I’ve got good news and bad news.” Zak finished stripping his shirt off and hung it on another door.
“What?”
“The bad news is that while you were fishing for that crazy woman, I saw that our canoe is gone. It must have got loose during the storm. I didn’t see it anywhere.”
“Great,” I mumbled. “What are we going to do in the morning? With no cell phone reception, we can’t call for help.”
“Hopefully, Josh will send someone once he realizes we haven’t come back. We’re just going to have to hang here until someone comes for us.”
“That might be a day or two. Or more”
“Yeah, I know.” Zak frowned, resting his hands on his hips.
“If that’s the bad news, then what’s the good news?”
Zak’s eyes brightened. He moved to where he had slung his bag on the ground before taking his shirt off to dry. Opening the bag, he pulled out a piece of equipment and handed it to me.
“I found your camera on the path to the mansion. She must have dropped it as she ran. I couldn’t find mine, so I’m guessing she still has it.”
I held the camera still in my hands. My thoughts flew to the woman who tried to take it.
I pushed the button to turn it on and a light appeared. After sitting in the rain, it still worked. Hesitantly, I checked if the footage was still there.
Sure enough, I was able to retrieve the footage of the mermaid sunning herself on the rocks in the lake by the waterfall.
“Yo, Ozzy!” Zak hooted, doing a little dance of joy as he spun around. “We got it!”
“Yeah,” I said, my chest tightening as I continued thinking about the woman… the mermaid who saved me and what this footage might mean for her. “We got it.”
Chapter 6
Cassandra
The hushed tones in the college campus library comforted me as I placed a stack of books on a long, glossy wooden table. Sitting in the plush chair, I opened one of the books and set to reading the text.
This is where I was most comfortable. Reading in the silence of a library. Although people surrounded me, I felt completely alone as I delved deep into the book in my hands.
I’d only read a few pages when my cell phone vibrated in my pocket.
Checking my phone, I discovered a message from Penelope.
Dad is furious.
I grimaced. Of course, he would be furious. I’d convinced Penelope to tell him the truth of our little adventure. I’d rather Uncle Phil heard it from his daughter than discover it on the nightly news.
At first, Pen had balked. It took her a few days to bolster her courage to face her intimidating father. I’d promised to stand with her when she told him, but she’d said she would rather do it alone. I don’t think she wanted any witnesses to his disappointment.
What did he say? I texted back.
I’m not to leave the house under any circumstances.
House arrest? I leaned back in my chair as my fingers moved quickly on my phone.
Is he sending you back to Amora??
This was my greatest fear. If Uncle Phil sent Penelope back to our ocean home, then I wouldn’t be far behind. He wouldn’t allow me to stay without Penelope’s presence.
I waited anxiously for the next text message.
No.
I released a sigh until the phone vibrated again.
Unless he finds the footage on the internet. Then I go back.
I knew it. I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer to the goddess of the sea. Hopefully, the camera I thought was in my bag had fallen out when I let it drift away to save Oscar. With any luck, it had become waterlogged and sank to the bottom of the ocean.
I’d only told Penelope part of the truth of what occurred after she left me on the island. I’d gone to the mansion and found the men with the cameras. I managed to grab them and stuff them in my bag before taking off for the water. Along the way, the second camera must have slipped from my bag while swimming in the storm-tossed waters.
I didn’t mention going back to save Oscar. I also didn’t mention not knowing if I lost the camera on land or sea.
Penelope had enough on her plate dealing with her outraged father.
I swallowed, then texted. Does he want to talk to me?
No. He doesn’t know you were with me. He thinks I was alone.
What? Why?
Why should both of us get sent back? It was my mistake. We were told not to shift anywhere other than Amora. I didn’t listen. And they didn’t record you. Those men didn’t even see you.
Not entirely true. I bit my bottom lip as my thumb hovered over the screen.
I should tell her.
Really, I should.
See you tonight. Dad says to be home by 6 for dinner.
I continued to grasp my phone, staring at the messages as guilt ate at me.
I couldn’t let Penelope face her father alone if the worst happened. If those men found the missing camera and the footage appeared online, I would admit the truth to Uncle Phil.
Penelope wouldn’t be the only mermaid cast back in the ocean. I would return to Amora with her.
As I came to terms with my decision, my fingers eased on my phone, but my thoughts immediately drifted to Oscar… and the kiss we shared.
My heart tripped over a beat at the memory. A tingle of warmth rushed through me. My eyes remained open, staring into nothingness as a myriad of emotions coursed through me.
The man had tried to save me. I’d only meant to give him air, to keep him alive long enough to reach the shore, but then our tongues touched, and the kiss was so… natural. It was instinct. Pure and simple. Like we were always meant to kiss each other.
I didn’t believe in love at first sight, but I couldn’t deny that I was a romantic. Often in the days since our encounter, I wondered how Oscar was and what he was doing.
After leaving the island with my bag, I swam to Uncle Phil’s beachfront home where Penelope waited for me. She’d guessed that I would either arrive on a boat stolen from the men or in mermaid form. I was grateful she had clothes waiting, just in case.
Later, after she’d gone to bed, I had called the authorities to anonymously report two men stranded on the island. I couldn’t sleep knowing I’d left them with no way to get home.
Closing my eyes, I returned my phone to my pocket.
I had to stop thinking about him. I would never see him again. I knew that. I had to stop fantasizing about him, no matter how much of a connection I felt to him.
Returning to my book, I forced myself to resume reading. Slowly, I managed to get my thoughts away from Penelope and Uncle Phil, Oscar and the island. I lost myself in the book. I read until a little while later someone softly cleared their throat to get my attention.
I lifted my gaze over the page of my book to find a man standing on the opposite side of the table. A man with dark hair and warm haze
l eyes looking directly at me.
I gasped as I stared at Oscar, not quite believing my eyes. Was I imagining him? Or had I manifested him with my earlier thoughts?
“Hello, Cassandra.”
My eyes widened. Slowly, I lowered the book and leaned forward in my seat.
“How did you find me?” Or better yet, how did he know my name? I hadn’t told him anything during our encounter. Nothing of who I was or where I lived. I’d been extremely careful not to reveal anything of my identity.
Part of Uncle Phil’s rules.
How was it possible that this man had found me?
With a small sheepish smile, he pulled a paperback novel from his back jeans pocket. He held it tightly for a few seconds before placing it gently on the table in front of me.
Tangled Dreams.
My missing library book. I’d forgotten it by the lake when Penelope went swimming. I hadn’t realized I’d left it behind until the day after our adventure. I had assumed the rainstorm ruined it, so I hadn’t even bothered to go back for it.
“I had some help finding the owner of this book,” Oscar said, waving a hand toward the librarian at the desk. “It seems the young lady who borrowed this book is a frequent visitor at this library.”
I glanced at the librarian who had been watching us from the desk area. Mrs. Wade smiled and waved to me when she saw me looking in her direction.
“She likes you,” Oscar said, then shrugged. “To be fair, I told her that you left the book behind after we met in a coffee shop. I hope you don’t mind the little lie.”
I shook my head.
“How did you know the book was mine?”
“I didn’t.” He shrugged again. “Zak and I found it by the lake. I was bored that night after you… left the island and decided to read it. I saw the library markings and thought… Well… I took a chance it might be your book or… your friend’s book.”
“And my name?”
Oscar smiled again, a hint of a blush staining his cheeks. My heart fluttered at the sight. “The librarian told me that, too. I told her that I wanted to ask you out on a date.”
“Oh.” I leaned back. The shock of having the man in my thoughts appear in front of me had done damage to my ability to talk. Or to think straight.
The mere sight of him had my insides all twisted with anticipation and… apprehension. Yes, I was excited but also scared.
After all, this man knew my secret, and I knew nothing about him. Had he come looking for me to retrieve his camera? The thought sent a chill through me.
“May I sit?” He pointed at the chair across from me.
“Yes,” I said, immediately. Then shook my head, remembering my surroundings. “I mean no.”
Oscar raised an eyebrow.
I glanced at the people around us in the library. There were a few people seated at tables like the one where I sat as well as people standing along the nearby bookshelves.
The library was a place of quiet, not a place to have a conversation. Especially a conversation that I didn’t want anyone to overhear. Whispers might echo and I had no desire for anyone to catch even one word.
“Let’s go for a walk. Do you mind?” I waved my hand in a circle and tilted my head, hoping he would understand my meaning. There were too many people here.
He glanced at the other tables, at the old man reading a newspaper, the girl with the magazine and the guy with his laptop open.
Oscar nodded. “Yeah, sure. A walk would be great.”
“Okay,” I said with a sigh of relief. I stood, grabbing the books that I had checked out earlier and placed them in my bag. I nodded with a smile at the librarian as Oscar and I exited the library.
Sunlight and fresh air chased away the mustiness of the building. I took a deep breath to refresh my lungs, then turned to the man next to me.
“What do you want?” I didn’t want to dance around the question. He’d come searching for me and it wasn’t simply to return my library book. Better to get down to business as swiftly as possible so I knew what sort of danger I needed to face.
My gut clenched as I thought of having to tell Uncle Phil about this encounter. Of having to tell him about the part I played on the island. He was used to Penelope being the wild one. She often got herself into trouble, but not me. I was the good kid. The one who studied and did all her homework. I was the one who followed the rules.
Normally. Most of the time. Okay, sometimes I broke a few little ones. At least, I never got caught breaking them like Penelope.
Oscar took a step beside me as we walked casually along the path that winded through the campus grounds. We could be any two college students, conversing on a warm, clear day.
“I wanted to thank you.” His deep voice was soft and sincere as we ambled away from the library.
“Thank me?” I glanced at him, my eyes squinting in the sunlight. “Thank me for what?”
“Well, for saving my life, first of all. You could have left me to drown when I swam after you, but you didn’t.” I opened my mouth to comment, but he continued before I had a chance to speak. “And the Coast Guard arrived early the next morning to take us off the island. They said someone reported anonymously that there were two men stranded and in need of help.”
I closed my mouth.
“Thank you for that, too. We lost our canoe during the storm. If you hadn’t called, we might have been stuck there several days before anyone came searching. We didn’t bring enough food or water for that.”
I glanced away, biting my lip. Sighing, I turned back to him. “Don’t thank me. It was my fault your canoe was lost. I turned it loose. I didn’t want you to leave the island until I had what I came for.”
His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. “Oh, I see.”
“I’m not giving them back, by the way,” I said, allowing a bit of steel in my voice to back my words. I didn’t want him getting any ideas about trying to convince me to return the cameras to him. “I destroyed them.”
It was a lie, but he wouldn’t know.
“Oh?” He watched me closely. “Both cameras?”
I nodded quickly as I gazed at the path in front of us. It wound through the campus grounds. Another student passed us, but he was engrossed in his cell phone and didn’t bother looking up to acknowledge us.
Oscar cleared his throat. “That’s fortunate for you.”
“It was necessary.” I nodded, still not looking at him. “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”
“Me, too.” Oscar paused before continuing. “Cassandra, what might have happened if I still had my camera?”
I glanced sharply in his direction.
“Hypothetically speaking.” He shrugged nonchalantly but watched me with great care. “If I had uploaded the video for the world to see, what would that have meant for you?”
“Banishment.” I squinted my eyes against the sun as I swept my gaze across the campus grounds, to the trees lining the path and the buildings that housed classrooms and to the fields stretching between them. Solid ground to walk on, not a vast ocean to drown in.
“Banished to where?”
“Back to the ocean,” I said with a small sigh. I realized I shouldn’t tell him any of this, but he already knew I was a mermaid. I might as well tell him of the consequences I faced if I was discovered. What it might mean for my life and how it could drastically change things.
It might help him understand my actions that night. Why I had to steal those cameras. Maybe he wouldn’t feel so wounded knowing the truth. “My cousin and I attend college here. We’re learning about science. Particularly, how to help save the oceans and marine wildlife.”
Oscar nodded but didn’t comment, so I continued.
“Our ocean home is in danger. Pollution is killing our way of life. Some would rather declare war with the humans, but most of us know that won’t do any good. There are far more humans than us. I want to do my part to help my people and in doing so, help your people, too.”
&
nbsp; “Wouldn’t it be better if everyone knew about mermaids?” Oscar spoke softly, and it relieved me to know that he listened intently to my explanation.
I shook my head. “Some tried in the past. Humans hunted them. Your myths and legends about mermaids are basically eyewitness accounts of our encounters with humans.” I tilted my head and shrugged. “Some of my ancestors didn’t make good impressions either. So, no, I don’t think it’s good if society knew about my kind. Not yet.”
“You’re probably right,” Oscar sighed. “Scientists would probably want to dissect you rather than make treaties.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “For me to remain above waters, I need to keep certain things about myself hidden. To keep my family safe.”
“And if something accidentally came out, you and your cousin would be sent back to your home and you wouldn’t have the chance to pursue your passion.”
I nodded. “Or the chance to help save our world.”
“I see.”
“And I love this world.” I paused under a tree, lifting my chin to face the strong breeze. The leaves above me rustled. I enjoyed the sound.
This was a life different from my own. I loved it here with the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair. I closed my eyes briefly to enjoy the sensation, before I looked at Oscar.
I blushed as I realized he’d been watching me closely. I folded my arms awkwardly over my chest, feeling suddenly exposed.
But he smiled gently, his warm hazel eyes peering at me. The sight sent my stomach into somersaults. I shivered with pleasure as the memory of our kiss flitted through my thoughts.
I wondered if he remembered it the same way I did.
“Cassandra…” I nearly closed my eyes to savor the sound of his deep voice speaking my name. “I have something for you.”
I tried to focus my attention instead of daydreaming what it might feel like to kiss him again. Here on solid ground instead of in great peril with the sea swirling water around us.
He reached into the bag he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out a camera.
My eyes widened and my body froze despite the late summer sun shining boldly down upon us.
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