Beneath the Painted Ocean

by CS Patra

  “It’s still important, Dad. It’s what led me to be what I am today.” He reminded him, taking another sip of his coffee. “I was going to commit a crime and you stopped me. I wasn’t happy with how you stopped me, but it did get me thinking about a few things.”

  “I take it that this not a good memory?” Mr. Knoll cut in.

  “It’s nothing big. Dad and I got into a heated argument after he caught me. We fought and some words were exchanged that hurt me. We’re fine now.” He assured everyone, relieved when his food came in. While he might have been health-conscious, he wasn’t going to say no to pancakes. They were specially made for him without any egg products in it. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until he had piled six pancakes on his plate.

  “You’ve worked up an appetite this morning.” His mother approved of this. “Good. I don’t know when you’ll be able to eat again considering our schedule today.”

  “Mom, we’ve been to this island a million times. You don’t need to give me a schedule anymore.” Callum started to eat, getting through half of his food within ten minutes. The excitement of finding that merman was making him enjoy this. He was enjoying his meal. Eating no longer felt like something he had to do. It was something he wanted to do.

  “I know, but we do want to spend some time with you. You’re the one who usually has to make time for us. I want to see you have fun, okay? I want to see that smile from last night on your face all the time.” The smile crept back on Callum’s face again and she nodded with approval. “Yes, that’s the one! I still can’t figure out what makes you so happy. It can’t be work. You told me you were in the middle of something tedious.”

  “Mmm, Callum’s got other things on his mind now.” Frankie spoke up. That earned him a kick from under the table. “Dude, what the hell?! I’m not the one who’s chasing angels here!”

  “You were not supposed to talk about that!” Callum hissed. “You promised you would keep it a secret!”

  “Angels? What’s this about chasing angels?” Mr. Knoll asked.

  “It’s nothing.” Callum turned bright red. His idiot brother just had to bring that up. “I was seeing things underwater. That’s it.”

  Fortunately, everyone seemed to move from that conversation so he went back to finishing breakfast. The angel was something that he shared only with his family and the few friends he had. He didn’t want strangers to learn about it either. When he was done, he excused himself and went up to get a view of the ocean. It was a long shot but perhaps he could find a mermaid on the surface of the water. He only knew about them through myths and stories but they usually did come out of the ocean. They could be resting on the shore for all he knew.

  I think I’m looking too deep. I need to start on the surface. After all, I don’t think he’s the only merman out there. I wonder if they all know each other or if they’re like humans. Maybe they have their own cliques. That would be fascinating to find out.

  They docked on the island an hour later and he was relieved to get off the boat. While he loved the ocean, he was dying to stretch his legs. As soon as his feet hit the sand, he began to stretch on it. His brother Brent pulled him back up and he nearly fell back down again. The shaking of the boat and the waves had made him a little wobbly.

  “Are you okay, C?”

  “I’m fine, bro. I just need to get used to land.”

  “You’ll be fine in about five minutes. Let’s dump our stuff off and then we can go out.”

  Once everything was put away in their summer home, Callum told the family that he was going out. “I just want to sit on the sand and stare at the ocean.”

  “Like always.” His mother chuckled. “I could never stop you from doing that. I can never tear you from that water. Not that it’s a bad thing. There’s something very tranquil about the ocean right now.”

  “Yeah,” Callum murmured. “I’ll see you guys in a little bit, okay?”

  “Come back by noon, okay? We’re going out for lunch then and I need you to be ready.”

  “I will.”

  He put on his sandals, rubbed on some sunblock lotion, and grabbed his jacket and a bottle of water before stepping outside. The sun was out but the air as cool, which made it the ideal weather for him. A few people were walking down there so he also took a towel to sit on. Once he got down and found a good place to sit, he lay out the towel and plopped down on it. It was quiet today and he needed it. He needed to get away from the noise for a while.

  Lying down on the towel, he took out his phone and tried to look up anything about ‘mermaids’. While the searching was a little slow, he was able to find a few things. Mermaids were considered myths. They couldn’t be real. There were a lot of stories about mermaids, but they were all fiction. Some of the accounts of people who had claimed to see them didn’t have much to go on. There were no pictures that proved anything. The photos he saw either looked doctored or they were blurry.

  This doesn’t help me. He thought, kicking off his sandals and resting his feet on the towel. Every single thing I’ve come across tells me that mermaids aren’t real. I just see stories. I need proof. I need something that shows I’m not crazy.

  It felt hopeless. His merman had swum away too fast for him to do anything. This morning led to nothing either. He felt a headache coming on so he put his phone away and lay on the towel for a few minutes. Even though it wasn’t close to noon, he wanted to leave. He was getting nothing done by getting lost in his thoughts.

  I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I feel obsessed over something I’ve seen once. He rubbed his forehead and heard his stomach growling. I guess I’m hungrier than I thought I was. Six pancakes really wasn’t enough for me. Either that or it’s my desire to find this merman that’s making me hungry.

  He sat up and rolled up his towel. “I better go back. This isn’t doing anything for me.”

  He started to make his way back to the beach house and was almost where he needed to be when he lost his grip on his water bottle. He had been playing around with it, moving it from hand to hand, when he let it go. It began to roll down and he groaned as he chased after it.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” He complained as he tried to catch it. “This can’t be happening!”

  The bottle finally managed to stop when it rolled into a rock and he began to breathe again. At least it didn’t go all the way to the water. “Oh, good. It didn’t go far.”

  He bent down to pick it up and that was when he saw the one thing he didn’t expect. His eyes widened as his hand hovered over the bottle. This couldn’t be. It just seemed too surreal but he knew he wasn’t dreaming. He was wide awake and he knew what he was looking at. Without rousing any suspicion, he snapped a quick photograph. It wasn’t the best picture but it was clear enough. He had his proof. He had everything he needed right now.

  Sitting on one of rocks, bronze skin gleaming under the sun, was the merman.

  Chapter 6

  Callum was still for five seconds and unable to speak. His eyes just widened at the beautiful sight. Gentle waves were crashing on the rocks and the seagulls were loud around them but he was frozen. The merman, however, was ready to slip into the water. His fingers grabbed the water bottle and then he tried to talk to the merman.

  “Hi, I…” There was no point in a conversation because the merman jumped back into the water. “Wait, wait, don’t go! I won’t hurt you! I have so much…”

  He stopped himself when he didn’t see the merman resurface. It was in vain. The poor creature was terrified so he swam away. Callum looked down at his phone and saw the blurry photo that he had taken. It would be enough to convince others that he had seen a merman. At the very least, they would know he wasn’t crazy.

  So, he comes around here sometimes. He realized as he climbed back up the hill and headed to the beach house. Normally, he would have gone after the merman but he had promised the family that he would go to lunch with them. After he was done, he would come down here and go after the merman. He cou
ldn’t be far away. Even if he swam fast, he would have to leave some clues behind.

  He was beaming from ear to ear when he entered the house, phone in hand. “I’m here, I’m here! Give me a few minutes, I’ll be ready!”

  “Whoa, son! Slow down!” His father noticed that Callum was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What did you see out there that got you so excited?”

  “I’ll show at you at lunch, okay? I saw something! Granted, it was just for a second but it was real!” He ran upstairs to get changed and nearly ran into his brothers coming down the stairs. “Sorry, guys! Sorry! I’m not trying to run you over!”

  “Who can tell?” Brent asked. “What are you so excited about anyway?”

  “You’ll see!”

  As soon as he said that, he began to regret it. He didn’t want to show everyone the merman right now. Half of them would think he was crazy. Then there was that Mr. Knoll who still gave him the creeps. He didn’t know why he was so scared of the guy, but that bad feeling was not going to leave him. He pocketed his phone and wondered who he could tell right now. Even more importantly, what kind of story could he tell his family?

  His mind went back to a time when he was a child and they had gone down to the beach in Florida. It was a warm day and a lot of people were out on the shore. Suddenly, to the shock of everyone, a dolphin leaped out of the water. It was all the way in the distance but it was clear as the blue seas. The sight was a spectacular one even though very few people were able to take a photo of it. It wasn’t the only dolphin to come out either. After that one, another one leaped into the air. Callum could still remember how excited he was. His face hurt because he was smiling so hard. He sat on his towel, legs straight out, and eyes focused on the sea. He didn’t know if he would ever see anything as amazing again.

  There, I can use that as a story! Callum thought. As long as no one asks to see it, I should be in the clear. If someone does, I’ll make up a lie that I wasn’t able to get my phone out fast enough. They’ll be able to buy that.

  He cleaned himself up, changed out of his sandals for something more comfortable, and ran back downstairs where the others had gathered. He drank some water before facing them. “Sorry I took my sweet time. We can go now.”

  “He’s glowing,” Abigail noticed. “Did your special girl call?”

  “I have no special girl.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “It’s true! There is no special girl out there!” Callum sighed. “I did see something great. It’s something I haven’t seen since I was a kid. You remember those dolphins from Florida?”

  “Oh yeah, I remember,” Emily nodded. “You saw some?”

  “It was just like from the past. They leaped out of the water again.” It was hard to lie but they were all buying it. “I tried to get a good picture but by the time I got my phone out, they were already gone.” He sighed to add his disappointment. His acting wasn’t the best but it was working. “Sorry. I got so excited that I almost forgot about my phone.”

  “It’s all right.” His mother squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sure that won’t be the only time you see them. We’ll be here for some time.”

  “Right.”

  They all bought his story but Callum planned to show his proof to Frankie and George later tonight. When they were in bed, he would reveal that he had found a merman. Not only that, it was the same merman he saw earlier. This merman had to be close by. If he came out to the rocks, then his home probably wasn’t far away.

  Lunch was most uneventful up until the end. Mr. Knoll, who had been pleasant for the most part, turned to Callum once more. “Have you given more thought to my offer, Dr. Caldwell?”

  “I have,” Callum admitted. “I’ve thought about it for some time, but I don’t think I can help you. It would probably go against my beliefs and I don’t want to hurt the ocean in any way. I can’t do anything that destroys the homes of several organisms. I hope you understand.”

  “I think I do. I don’t suppose the money is going to matter to you, is it?”

  “Money has never been an issue for me,” Callum murmured. “My father is right; I’m too involved in the environment to help big businesses. People once called me an eco-terrorist even though I’m far from being one.”

  “I don’t think you are an eco-terrorist either. However, I see where your concerns lie. It’s a shame. I think you could have been very helpful.”

  “I’m sorry. I have to focus on my own work.”

  He hoped that would be the end of it, but then his father spoke up. “Cal, I know that work has always been your top priority. Still, I think you should consider what other people say.”

  “It’s okay, Jake. Your son made his point loud and clear. He’s not the only marine biologist out there.” Mr. Knoll nodded at them. “I have other means of getting what I want.”

  He had said that with jest, but Callum couldn’t help but hear something more under his voice. It seemed more threatening than playful. Nonetheless, he smiled it off and thought of it as nothing. Perhaps he was just getting paranoid. The merman was messing with everything inside of his mind. All he could think about was that beautiful creature.

  Lunch was uneventful, but that was only because Callum wasn’t listening to anyone else. He was thinking about all the questions he was going to ask the merman. They’d had two encounters already. By the third one, he wanted to reach out to him. He needed to know a few things. He wanted to know the daily life of a merman. What did they do from morning ‘til night? How many merpeople were there? How far away did the merman live? Did he have dreams and desires like land loving people did? Could he talk to fish and other sea creatures like in fiction? Did the merman also have an incredible voice that entranced people? It was a crazy list, but he needed to know.

  He was barely able to stay still when they came back home. Everyone went in their separate ways when they reached the house but he had to tell someone the truth. Once he had a moment alone with Frankie and George, he finally showed them the picture he had taken. “It’s a little blurry but I’ve got proof!”

  Frankie took a look at the photo and wasn’t shocked by it. “It’s a seal.”

  Callum frowned. “No, it’s not! I know I didn’t get a great shot but that’s my merman!”

  “Dude, it’s either a seal or a sea lion. I get that it’s a blurry photo but...I don’t see anything human about it.”

  “Huh?” Callum looked at his photo and noticed that he had only caught the tail end of his merman. He took the photo as the merman leaped back into the water. “No, no, no! I swear to God, that was him! He’s real!”

  “Maybe you were imagining stuff. I mean, it’s really hot out today. The sun probably got to you.”

  “You seriously think I have no idea what seals and sea lions look like?” Callum rolled his eyes. “I am a marine biologist! I know what I saw and that was a merman. He was right there in front of me. He was so beautiful,” he sighed and sat down on his bed. “This is the second time he swam away from me. If this is the angel that saved me, why does he keep leaving?”

  Frankie knew it was hopeless to argue with his brother. When Callum started talking about his angel, there was no stopping him. “Maybe your angel is shy. I think you’re trying too hard to get his attention. He may not be your angel for all you know. You won’t find out until you actually talk to him.”

  “How do I talk to him? I can’t speak to him while I’m underwater. We need to be on the surface to do that.”

  “Well, you need to gain his trust first. If your merman is real, you’ve got to get him on your side,” George said. “Show him that you aren’t a threat. If you push too hard, he might be scared of you.”

  “I see,” Callum murmured. “I shouldn’t chase him. I should let him come to me.”

  “Precisely. Chasing him makes it seem like you want to catch him. While that’s technically what you want to do, you don’t want him to know that. You have to be more approachable.”

 
“That makes sense,” Callum got up. “I think I’m going for a dive.”

  “Dude, you’re ignoring everything that was just said,” Frankie pointed out.

  “No, I’m not chasing anything. I’m just going for a quick dive. I want to clear my head. I won’t make myself look like I’m after something,” he promised. “If anyone asks, tell them I’ll return in about two hours. I might take a little longer, but I should be back by dinner.”

  “I knew we shouldn’t have listened to you!” George groaned. “Now that your mind is made up, we’re not going to be able to stop you!”

  “Well, it’s not like you could stop me in the past,” Callum smirked. “Why should this time be any different?”

  A few minutes later, Callum was already out at sea with a few of his neighbors. Like his family, they often came out here to enjoy the beach and do sailing and boating. They had no problem taking him to the middle of the sea where he could dive. They also didn’t ask him why he wanted to go out now. They knew that he was a scientist and he loved the ocean so they assumed it had to do with work.

  “Thank you so much. I’m sorry if it’s any trouble, but I need to get this done,” he told them.

  “Not a problem, Dr. Caldwell. We know how busy you can get. If you run into any trouble, you know how to get a hold of us.”

  Callum nodded. “I’ll try to be back as soon as possible. If anyone calls for me, tell them I’m fine.”

  The water was a little cooler in the afternoon, but it felt good to be back in it. He was going to take his brother’s advice and not do any chasing. This time, he was just a guy who was enjoying his evening dive. If he was lucky, he could probably find something else that he hadn’t seen before. The ocean was more than just water and mermaids. There was so much to see and so little time to take it all in.

  Remember, Callum, you’re not chasing your angel. You are trying to have a good time. He told himself. This was what he loved to do. He had no time to waste chasing after mermaids. If they showed up, fine. If not, he wouldn’t sweat over it.