"Do mermaids go to heaven?" Marina repeated dutifully. "Mrs K said that all good girls and boys go to heaven, so all we have to do is be good and God will know and take us to heaven when we die. But when Charlie asked if his pet fish could go to heaven too, she said heaven was only for humans. Mummy won't let me ask Mrs K, because I can't talk about mermaids at school. So, do mermaids go to heaven?" She looked expectant, as if she had every confidence in my ability to answer.
I floundered. This wasn't something I could search on Vanessa's computer, like what the Great Wall of China was built for, if it didn't keep out rabbits. "Um, Vanessa?" I heard footsteps on the wooden floors and I'd never been so relieved to know my wife was in the house. "Sweetheart, your mother knows more about your people than I do. This is one she'll have to answer."
"What do I have to answer?" Vanessa appeared on cue. I wanted to kiss her more than usual and that's saying a lot.
Marina's shining eyes were on me, so I spoke for her. "Marina was telling me that she learned at school today how all good humans go to heaven and she was wondering about mermaids."
"I didn't ask Mrs K, Mummy, just like you said," Marina announced proudly.
Vanessa held her arms out to the little girl and leaned over to lift her up so they were nose to nose. "Of course, sweetheart. If you're a good girl, you'll go to heaven, the same as all the other children in your class." She hugged Marina closer, so Marina couldn't see her mouth the word, "NO" to me over our daughter's shoulder.
My mouth was open, ready to contradict her with all I'd learned at Sunday school as a kid, but I closed it before Marina saw.
Marina slid down Vanessa and skipped away to her room. "Can I play with my Lego before dinner?"
"Sure, sweetheart," I replied as I sank onto the couch.
Vanessa sat close beside me. "You can't tell a little girl she won't go to heaven, no matter what you think," she warned me in a low voice.
I struggled to find the words. We hadn't really discussed religion before, as she'd made it clear that the subject was not a welcome one. Now I had to say it. "But…in the stories…mermaids aren't supposed to have souls. They're not like humans…" I trailed off, not sure what else to say.
"You mean in the stories written by humans about creatures they'd never seen? Do you believe everything you read?" Vanessa looked at me with angry eyes and I shook my head quickly. "How can you be sure that heaven, or hell, or gods, or human souls, or any of these religious things exist? I've been into human churches and I've taken Communion. I've been mistaken for the Virgin Mary on at least one occasion." She closed her eyes, cleared her throat and continued before I could say anything in response. "Her soul will go to heaven with all the certainty that yours will. Like all my kind, we are closely related to humans and at least as intelligent. I can pass for human so well that you are the only one of your kind to have suspected otherwise and that is because you saw my tail."
She stood up. "Do you honestly believe that if I die, my body becomes foam on the water and I'll have to spend hundreds of years bringing cool breezes to hot climates? After everything I have done for your people and mine?" She was furious now.
My mouth was dry. "I don't know what you've done for your people or mine, Nessa. I just know that you make me happier than I've ever been. I have heaven here with you." The last line slipped out before I realised I meant it.
Her expression softened. "If this is all we get and there is nothing after, then I am content with you, too, Joe." Her smiled turned wicked. "But if there is a heaven and the gatekeepers try to keep me apart from you, I will move heaven and hell until they reconsider."
I laughed. I believed her. I thought back about everything she'd said and realised I wanted to know more. The Virgin Mary? How'd she manage that? I turned to ask her, but she'd already gone.
48. Laila
"Together, we shall do our duty. There is safety in numbers," I tried to reassure Estella, for her fear ran as deep as mine had. Now all I found in the depths of my heart was despair and dread.
"I admit I am afraid. Is it as difficult as Cantrella and Mother have described?"
I drew a breath, before telling her what I had learned in the Atlantic. "No. If the human is cooperative, then there is very little pain and even some pleasure in joining."
Estella still had doubts. "But what if the human is not cooperative? Mother could not join with a human and Cantrella, your own mother, encountered humans who were not cooperative. Cantrella experienced significant pain…"
I told her my plan, inspired by my Atlantic sisters. "All humans are cooperative with the right song. If we sing together, the song will be all the more powerful."
Estella's smile was nervous. "I am still afraid. What if my song is not strong enough? I was never good at singing."
I thought of my first human and how a song had not been necessary. "For your first time, we will find a human who is already cooperative. And I will be there, to add my song to your own."
Estella was timid, but her face set with resolve. "If you can do your duty among strange people in a different ocean, then how can I do less?"
I felt my failure.
"But I have not yet done my duty. I still have not borne a child for our people," I confessed. "Come, we are in shallow water, near humans. We must be careful."
Estella changed the subject. "Why did you choose this place to come ashore?"
I explained with some apprehension, "This is where Elder Sirena lives on land. She keeps a human house and she will assist and advise us." My shame was deep at being summoned here, so I did not state it.
Estella's expression cleared. "Grandmother Sirena will help us? She has borne three children for our people, more than any other. With her guidance, I may no longer be afraid."
Together, Estella and I crept from the water on unfamiliar legs. It was very dark and there were no humans nearby. We approached the dark house. I knew we had the right one, because there was a square tile on the wall beside the back door, with a picture of a mermaid painted on it. She looked a little like our people, but she was a human creation. There were shells over her breasts, a discomfort none of our people would bear.
I retrieved the key from behind the tile and opened the door with it. I returned the key to its hiding place before we ventured inside the dark house. There were voices and movement on the upper level above our heads, but this room was dark and empty of people.
Estella raised her quavering voice, fear colouring it. I could see her shaking. I took her hand.
"Grandmother Sirena? We are Estella and Laila. We were sent to land to do our duty for our people and we seek your guidance."
I heard footsteps outside the room. Elder Sirena stood before us, wearing a short dress of some shiny fabric.
Estella dropped to her knees on the square-tiled floor, dragging me down with her. She bowed her head. "Grandmother Sirena, we are Estella and Laila, the daughters of Maria and Cantrella. We have come to land to do our duty among the humans. As an elder with great knowledge of humans, we beg your guidance."
Elder Sirena stood thoughtfully for a moment, before she smiled down at us and said, "I advise you to speak in the humans' tongue when on land."
"Please, Elder Sirena, tales of your exploits among humans have become legend. Please help us." I spoke up for the first time, awed by the powerful Elder who was not my kin, as she was to Estella. What did she want with me?
A click sounded and the room flooded with light. A human wearing very short pants and nothing else walked clumsily into the room to stand next to the Elder. He slid a proprietary arm around her shoulders. She did not move away or reprimand him in any way.
The human looked angry as he demanded, "Who the hell are these two, Nessa, and why are they dripping and naked on the kitchen floor? And why do they call you Elder Sirena?"
His disrespect made me angry, but this was the Elder's province. She had not asked for my assistance or advice.
Elder Sirena's voice was gentle. "J
oe, these girls are from my people." She signalled for us to rise. "This is Maria's daughter, Estella, and Maria's partner's daughter, Laila." We both inclined our heads as she spoke our names.
The human turned so that he did not face us. "Can you introduce me again when they have clothes on?" The human spoke the words with difficulty.
Elder Sirena's laughter was friendly and infectious. I felt my lips draw up into a smile. I wished my heart would lift with it.
"Come, Laila, Estella. I will give you some guidance. First, I think you should wear some human clothes and get some sleep. I think I have some of Belinda and Maria's clothes that will suit you. Tomorrow, I will take you to purchase your own clothing." Sirena gestured for us to follow her down a corridor to a small, dark room with beds and cupboards.
49. Joe
I grabbed an old towel and roughly mopped the floor with it, before sticking the wet towel in the laundry basket. Then I went back upstairs to lie down in bed. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to work out what I'd just heard downstairs.
Elder Sirena? Legend? Vanessa, what do these crazy girls know about you that I don't?
Eventually, Vanessa returned to our room. She closed the door carefully behind her. She shook her head, as if to shake out the memory of the two crazy girls in the kitchen. "Where were we?" she murmured.
I held out my arms, eager to have her back in bed beside me. Or on top of me. Or underneath me. Or any position she cared to have sex in.
She chose to sit on top of me, rubbing against me so it felt like no time at all before I was ready for her. As soon as I slid inside her, she moved her hips slowly. She pulled her nightdress off so my hands were on the bare skin of her hips, her boobs, her arse…Oh God, please don't stop.
A slight sound made me open my eyes. At the end of the bed, staring at us, were the two crazy girls. They were dressed now, but we weren't. My voice died in my throat.
"Grandmother Sirena, what further guidance have you for us?" one of the girls said. Her companion's eyes on us were hungry.
Vanessa's voice was cold and firm. "I strongly suggest you retire to your assigned room and sleep until the sun rises. I will have no further guidance for you before then." Vanessa didn't break her rhythm, her hips still moving against mine. Oh God, I'm so close to coming and so is she. I can't do that with those two crazy girls watching.
"Get out," I gasped out. I reached for the quilt, to cover us so they wouldn't see.
The girls didn't move.
Vanessa moved more slowly, deliberately. Her voice was angry. "You will remove yourselves from this room and close the door behind you. You will not enter this room without my permission at any time. Now, get out."
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying desperately not to come when I wanted nothing else.
I heard the door click shut. Vanessa's lips touched mine, softly.
"Ready, Joe?" she murmured.
"Oh God yes," I breathed.
I felt her come, just before I did. It was such an incredible high I barely recognised my own voice, shouting, "Oh God I love you, Nessa."
Her lips were on mine again. "I love you, too, Joe. And I like the sex."
We both laughed. I'll never get over the amazing feeling of her laughing while I'm inside her. Unless maybe those crazy girls were watching. Despite myself, I shivered.
She moved off me. "What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "Those crazy girls. Calling you Elder, grandmother, Sirena. Legends."
She blew out a breath. "I don't know anything about legends. I never heard any. I've only been on land for three years, it's surely too soon for legends to evolve. I am an elder among my people, one of our leaders. That's why you're still alive, despite your knowledge of my people. "
"They aren't going to kill me?" I brightened at the thought.
"No," she said with a smile. "As long as you are not a danger to us, you're under my protection."
"Under any part of you sounds good to me," I returned, without thinking. I moved closer to her, to hold her and kiss her. I tried to pull her on top of me again. For a moment, she resisted. Then she changed her mind and shifted with me, so she lay on top of me, her breasts squashed against my chest.
She lifted her head a little, pulling away from my kisses. "Once, you would have bitten your tongue instead of saying something that direct to me."
"I figure you probably won't bite my head off for it now. And you've made it pretty clear you like sex with me." Now, please don't bite my head off for asking questions about things you haven't told me. I took a deep breath. "Please, tell me why they call you different names."
Vanessa hesitated. "Are you sure you want to know, Joe?"
You're my wife and I adore you. There isn't anything about you I don't want to know. "Yes," I said slowly.
Vanessa's eyes closed, then opened wide above me. "Sirena is my real name, not Vanessa."
Sirena, Serena…memory itched. "Skipper said your mother's name was Serena. It's weird for you to have the same name."
Vanessa sighed. "My mother died before Skipper was born. Her name was Sephira. The Serena he knew thirty years ago was me. I came on land then and had to take a different name now."
There were a million questions in my head now and I didn't know which one to ask first. "How old are you?"
"Older than you, Joe, you know that," Vanessa was smiling, but her voice was sad.
"One of those crazy girls called you grandmother. Are you...can you really be…you don't look older than me!" I blurted out.
Her voice sounded pained. "Estella is Maria's daughter."
My memory had some sort of rash, it was so itchy. "You said Maria was older than you. How can she be your daughter?"
Vanessa hesitated, again. "No, I said Maria was older than I was when I had my first child. Maria was my first child."
"How old were you?" My voice came out in a whisper.
Her voice was small. "I was sixteen. I didn't want to have a child and I was careless..." Her voice faded and a tear dripped onto my chest.
She had a baby when she was only sixteen? Just a child. No wonder she's so upset and didn't want to tell me.
Vanessa started to sob and I held her tight. "I'm sorry," she sniffled.
I kissed her again and her lips were salty with tears. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Nessa," I told her. "I love you." I paused and thought for a moment. "Or should I call you Sirena?"
She sniffled again and managed a laugh through her tears. "Call me whatever you like, Joe. Legally, Serena died before I met you and I'm Vanessa, but I'll always be your Nessa."
I felt a warm glow. My Nessa. I realised the glow was hotter in some areas than others. Close contact with Vanessa's naked body definitely turned up the heat. "How much do you want to go to sleep, my beautiful Nessa?" I asked her gently. I pressed closer against her, so she couldn't help but notice what she was doing to me.
She slid her legs around me, so her feet were under my arse. Holding tight to me with her arms and her legs, she rolled to the side, pulling me with her. Now I was on top and between her legs. I was hard and she was wet…
"You still want sex with an old woman like me?" she murmured.
I took a deep breath. "I always want sex with you." I thrust inside her. I lost all interest in anything else but amazing sex with the most beautiful woman in the world. My wife. My Nessa.
50. Laila
The unfamiliar human beds were soft and comfortable. Both Estella and I slept easily, for we were tired from the long swim to shore. We were woken by conversation in another room of the house.
I spoke quietly to Estella. "She has a human child and a human male in her house?"
Estella's voice was a murmur. "My mother told me that she keeps a human in thrall, who knows of us but cannot speak of us to other humans. I heard rumours of a child she bore him, out of love…"
I tried not to snort in disbelief. "These are stories. That is all. Come, we must put on the clothing she has given us."
> On rising, we donned the unfamiliar human clothing. Mine were a fiery red and Estella's were the dark of ocean depths. We left the room for a corridor and were greeted by a small human, whose piping voice had been audible from our room. Her head was as high as Estella's round breasts, all but the curve now hidden by dark fabric.
"Oooh, who are these girls, Mummy?" the human girl asked.
Elder Sirena appeared behind her, dressed in the colour of the ocean's surface in the sun when the currents run deep beneath it. "The taller one with the darker skin and curled hair is Laila and the shorter one with the paler skin and straight hair is Estella." The Elder's eyes went from Estella to me. "This is my daughter, Marina."
"Not a human child. One of our people. The stories are true!" The words stole from Estella's lips before she realised and clapped a hand over her mouth.
The child replied before the Elder spoke. "Do you have tails too, Laila and Estella? What colour are yours? Mine is silver."
I answered the child. "Our tails are the colour of bronze, little Marina. Estella's is darker than mine."
"Perhaps one day we can all swim together and you can see, Marina. Now, run to your room and get dressed. The girls are hungry and would like some breakfast," Elder Sirena told the little girl, who moved quickly down the corridor. She turned to us. "We have some fish that I have just defrosted, or we have human food, if you would like to try it. You must eat human food outside of this house."
Estella still had her hands over her mouth.
I bowed my head. "I would prefer fish, if I could, Elder Sirena. Human food can wait until I must eat it."
Estella nodded emphatically.
The Elder dropped two small fish on each plate in front of us, then gave each of us a steaming cup of brown liquid. "This is coffee," the Elder told us. "Maria is fond of it, as are many humans. You must drink it in small volumes at a time, however, as it is very hot."
She lifted a cup from the table that contained a steaming green liquid and took small sips to demonstrate.
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