by Kelly Said
She checked her surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of Harmon swimming for her. The bright waters bled too quickly to dark. The painful need for air urged her up, and she used the rope to ease her ascent.
If there were ever a time to breathe underwater, Miki thought, panicking as she watched the dark shadow of an island boat gliding overhead, it would be now. The timing was horribly perfect. The boat’s relentless pace, her steady ascent. Miki knew how the Inito’s handled trespassers.
The buoys were clearly branded with the Inito’s family crest. The ropes were Taigo’s distinctive design. She’d emerge right at their bow.
Miki surfaced and gulped air. Water pulled her hair down in long streams, curtaining her eyes. A hand palmed her head before she could sweep away the black hanks, and when that hand plucked her out of the ocean, she yelped in pain.
Roughly dumped into the boat, her knees clattered against hard wood. She twisted around and flopped her hair back.
“Taigo.” She glared at the bow.
Taigo shook his head, his wavy black hair swishing over his tanned face. His hair settled, parting, allowing one dark eye to peek through. “You shouldn’t be here, Miki.”
“These shouldn’t be here.” Miki’s arm flung toward the bobbing rows of buoys.
“What’s in your hand?” He struck out like a snake, seizing her wrist.
Miki strained to keep Harmon’s pearl in her grasp, but Taigo’s calloused fingers pried it free. He held it up to the sun.
Miki squinted as if Taigo pinched the sun itself.
“Whoa,” Tabor, Taigo’s brother, murmured.
“Where’d you get this?” Taigo grabbed Miki by her injured shoulder. She yelped, and he rubbed lighter with his thumb. “I’ve never seen a wound like that, what happened?”
Miki refused to answer. Breaking eye contact with Taigo, she barely contained a gasp at the way her healing skin shimmered in the sun. Like Harmon’s. Like a merman. Thinking of him, she bit her lip, sending silent prayers to the gods for his safety from Taigo’s ruthlessness.
Miki stared at Taigo, his round face, his healthy body. She planted her bony elbows on her knobbed knees and let her anger erupt.
“What’s going on, Taigo? Why are you and your family holding all the oysters hostage?”
“Stupid girl. We’re not holding them hostage,” Taigo said. “We’re claiming them as Inito property. We plan to farm them.”
“Farm them?”
“Yes, Miki. Farm them. We’ll crack the shell, claim the pearl and command the animal to grow another by pushing a new grain of sand into its gullet. Planting a seed, as we would crops. The ocean provides the food, and the sun provides the warmth.”
“That’s not right,” Miki said. “We’ve always let nature dictate which oysters would bear gems and which would be for consumption. These captured oysters belong to the entire village, not the Inito family.”
“Not any more. My father has plans.”
“Taigo! What’s wrong with you? Stop telling her everything,” Tabor said. “She’ll go to the elders!”
“No,” Taigo said, his hard eyes on Miki. “She won’t be telling anyone.”
“How can you be so sure?” Tabor asked.
“Because, she broke elder law by entering the ocean, and now the gods are displeased.” Taigo smiled, but his eyes burned with menace. “Tragedy is going to befall the island. Lower the chimes and summon our helper. My once beloved Miki is going to have a diving accident.”
• • •
“What?” Harmon asked, annoyed at his younger brother for interrupting his inner thoughts.
“I asked you where the Pearl of Pau’maa is.” Creeb said.
“It’s safe,” Harmon said.
“You don’t have it, do you?”
“No, but I trust the person who has it.”
Creeb snorted. “I’ve never heard you say those words before.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know where to begin, Harmon. Besides our mother, I’ve never known you to trust anyone but yourself. No other Mer. No one. Certainly not a person.”
“It led me to a girl,” Harmon said.
“What?” Creeb cupped a hand around his ear.
“The pearl. I went to claim it from Prosb’o, but it … ” Harmon paused, thinking how incredulous the day’s events seemed. They reminded him of his mother’s story about finding his father. He exhaled. “The pearl jumped free from Prosb’o’s grasp and led me across the ocean to a girl. Miki,” he said her name aloud and smiled at the sound of it.
“Are you well, brother? Perhaps Prosb’o’s guards gave you too much of a jolt.” Creeb stared hard into Harmon’s eyes.
“I am well, brother.” I am in love, he thought, rubbing his cheek where Miki’s foot had struck him.
Creeb opened his mouth but gasped instead. Harmon tensed as another Mer’s body displaced the water around them.
“Get down.” Harmon shoved him face first into the sand and burrowed down into the seafloor next to Creeb, waiting and watching Prosb’o swim by with predatory grace.
• • •
“Where did you get this, Miki?” Taigo asked while they waited.
“Is it real?” Tabor asked.
“Oh, yes,” Taigo said. “It’s very real.”
“Who is this helper of yours?” Miki asked, searching for answers from her once betrothed. She ran through the possibilities, aware of everyone he knew on the island.
“You’ll see,” Tabor snickered.
“Answer me, Miki.” Taigo grabbed her bicep and squeezed. “Where did you find this?”
“On the bottom of the ocean.” She jutted out her chin.
Taigo’s silence frightened her more than his yelling. Miki braced herself for his anger.
“Don’t play coy with me, girl,” he said.
“I’m telling you the truth, Taigo. I found it on the bottom.”
“You’ll take me to the oyster that created this,” Taigo said.
“No, I won’t.” Miki folded her arms across her chest. “I told you. I found it on the bottom, in the sand, on the village side of the island. You can’t claim it, Taigo. It’s not yours.” Miki thought of Harmon. The kindness and concern in his eyes, the way his voice dropped to a reverent whisper when he spoke of the pearl. She wouldn’t let Taigo take the pearl. It was important to Harmon, so it was important to her.
Her fingers wandered to her shoulder, tracing the spread of fine scales that had formed from her wound, the one Harmon tended. Her skin was changing right under her touch, the flesh-toned pattern multiplying and crawling across her collar bone, reaching for her throat. Her heart started pounding so hard in her chest, Miki glanced up at the pearl in Taigo’s hand. It glowed bright like when she found it.
Something’s happening, she thought, reaching out with her heart and searching for Harmon. I can feel him. He’s coming back for me, I know it, she thought, smiling as warmth spread through her limbs.
“He’s here,” Tabor said.
When two grey, webbed hands clutched the side of the boat, Taigo said a word that sounded as if it were meant to be spoken underwater. A hulking, grey-skinned man hefted himself up and rested his scratched and scarred elbows on the edge of the boat. His flesh took on a purple tint. He squinted black eyes against the glare of the sun.
“What’s this?” Prosb’o asked. “You’ve found my pearl!” He smiled, and Miki recoiled.
He looks nothing like Harmon, she thought. This merman resembles the sea monsters the older divers claimed to have fought on their conquests to collect pearls from the deep.
“No,” Taigo said. “This is mine.”
“Quite the contrary,” Prosb’o said. “The pearl you hold is property belonging to me.” He held his palm out, webbed fingers wiggling expectantly.
“No.” Taigo held the pearl to his chest. “We have our deal. You’ll get half the farmed pearls when they’re ready. If you want them, you need to maintain your e
nd of the bargain and keep the mainlanders from approaching the island. Your job is to eliminate threats. And this girl here.” Taigo shoved Miki towards Prosb’o’s grey hulking body. “She’s a threat to our plan. Drown her as you have the others. Then, ready your folk. There is another ship on the way from the mainland. Father almost has the elders convinced that the gods favor us completely. Once we have the elders, we’ll have the island. And you’ll have all the pearls you want.”
“I take what I want. I listen to no human, especially one out of his element.” Prosb’o rocked the boat and laughed as he disrupted Taigo’s balance.
Taigo bobbled the pearl. Everyone froze as it clattered to the bottom of the boat. Miki scrambled to grab the pearl as Taigo, Tabor and Prosb’o’s movements pitched the boat, causing the pearl to roll about. Prosb’o leaned further and his thrashing tail tipped the balance, dumping all occupants, human, Mer and gem into the ocean.
The glowing pearl sank, and Miki’s slender fingers were the ones to fold around it. Once she claimed the Pearl of Pau’maa, pure white light exploded from her hand, blinding her to the thrashing bodies nearby. The ocean pulled her down, deeper into its embrace. Her skin tingled, itched, burned.
With lengths of water between her and the sky, Miki screamed, “Harmon!” Bubbles erupted from her mouth, precious air streaming from her lungs as the pearl continued shining brighter than the sun above, and Miki blacked out.
• • •
“Not so hard, Creeb, she’s fragile.” Harmon shoved his brother away and continued compressions on Miki’s lifeless body. Clouds of sand puffed from either side of her with each of Harmon’s exertions.
“She’s not breathing. Try closing her mouth.” Creeb swam around Harmon. Harmon’s lips moved as he murmured prayers and promises to the gods. His hands continued pressing on her chest, trying to keep a consistent rhythm that would call her heart to attention.
Creeb placed the pearl in her hand, curling her limp fingers around it. He skimmed the scales covering Miki’s arm.
Harmon glared at the Pearl of Pau’maa. You did this, he thought, squinting due to the pearl’s love light. You’ve led me to her only to take her away from me.
“I can’t believe how bright this got,” Creeb whispered. “I think Prosb’o’s blinded for life now.” He glanced over his shoulder at the loan shark writhing on the seafloor. “Bottom-dwellers never handle the intensity of the sun like we do.” A nervous laugh escaped Creeb’s lips.
Harmon recognized his brother’s inability to handle the intensity of the situation, of watching someone die all over again like he had with their father, but Harmon could spare no comfort for his younger sibling. His energies poured into Miki. He refused to lose her.
“Her heart’s beating!” Harmon cried, his own surging in response.
“She needs air.” Creeb clamored closer. “Breathe for her, brother.”
Harmon placed his palm over Miki’s mouth and fixed his lips to her throat, gently fluttering air over her newly born gills. He waited and pushed air again, smiling as Miki’s gills expanded.
• • •
Miki moaned, and bubbles spewed from her mouth. Her eyelids flickered, and her pupils focused on the concerned set of sky blue eyes staring back at her. She reached to touch Harmon’s face and smiled when his hand pressed her palm to his cheek.
She glanced to either side and realization dawned on her face. She lay deep at the bottom of the ocean.
“I’m breathing!” Miki spewed bubbles of delight. She sat up, opening and closing her mouth, testing the flow of air entering not past her lips but her throat. She touched her neck, exploring the gills that trembled, drawing oxygen from the water.
Her fingers discovered the tiny scales sheathing her hand. Her arms. Her legs. Her toes. She wiggled them and frowned.
“It worked,” she whispered. “I can breathe, but I’m not a mermaid. I don’t understand.”
“You’re my Miki.” Harmon smiled as he gathered her close. “And I don’t understand either, but maybe your new gills are only the beginning.”
“The beginning,” she murmured. “Your Miki,” she said. “I like that.” She moved to hold Harmon’s face in both her hands. “You saved me. Twice.”
“No, my love. You saved me.” He leaned down, his eyes focused on hers. His fingertips skimmed her shoulders and her new skin responded to his touch.
Harmon murmured, “Miki,” and claimed her parted lips with a kiss.
Miki’s arms twined around Harmon’s neck, her legs wrapped around his waist.
• • •
“Get a cave, you two.” Creeb floated backward, away. He swam over to Prosb’o and gave him a nudge.
Prosb’o whimpered. “My eyes.”
The loan shark’s voice caught Harmon’s attention. With Miki in his arms, he remained calm, kissing her once more before releasing her to deal with the lender.
He lunged, shoving Prosb’o back a length.
“Don’t kill him, brother!” Creeb said.
The current tested her balance, but Miki scrambled to her feet, blade drawn from the sheath on her thigh, ready to defend.
“You are in my domain now, Prosb’o,” Harmon said. “You have no friends here, no one to do your bidding in these warm waters. I suggest you heed this soldier’s order and retreat to your cavern. Stay there. If I see or smell you in here again, I won’t be so lenient.”
Prosb’o snarled, flashing his sharp, white teeth. He turned and slowly swam back toward the dark, cold waters of the Ladali Trench.
Turning to Miki, Harmon’s lips parted seeing her feet anchored in the sand, knife in hand, her face fierce and ready to fight. A smile teased the corners of his mouth, and Miki grinned back. Harmon swam full force for her, grabbing her by the waist. He laughed heartily, as she giggled and hugged his neck.
“Miki,” Harmon said. “I would like you to meet my brother, Creeb.” Harmon offered his arm to his brother. “He’s the reason I found you.”
• • •
Miki reached for Creeb’s hand, smiling at the unique way he clasped her forearm.
He looks so much like Harmon, she thought. Slightly different nose, darker blue eyes and no scar. The familial resemblance was there, though.
“I’m happy to meet you, Creeb.” Miki moved her lips to pronounce the b with a pop at the end, releasing a bubble. “What about Taigo and Tabor? They were in the boat with me. They have terrible plans for the island!”
“I don’t think you need to worry about them,” Harmon said.
Miki paled.
“What my brother means,” Creeb nudged Harmon’s shoulder, “is that they’re in their boat, paddling back for shore. And with Prosb’o gone and unavailable to assist them any longer, I think their plans have been thwarted. Come, we should go. There’s a ship in the water—a big one.”
“A big one? From which direction?” She squinted to see through the ocean.
Harmon chuckled. “We see with sound, too, Miki.” He released a ping. “The ship Creeb speaks of comes from the mainland. And he is right, we should move.”
Miki smiled. The mainland. A supply ship! The island’s famine would soon be over. Order would be restored. Her people would be fed. Her own stomach rumbled and groaned.
Harmon pressed his hand to her flat belly. “I owe you a lobster.” He smoothed her floating strands of hair. “Come, swim with us Miki. Let me show you how we hunt.”
Miki took Harmon’s hand, bringing his knuckles up to her lips.
“Don’t forget about this.” Creeb held up the Pearl of Pau’maa. “I bet mother would enjoy hearing the story of how it brought the two of you together.”
Gazing up at Harmon, Miki said, “You told me the pearl was special.”
“Yes,” Harmon said, his voice distant with memories. “The Pearl of Pau’maa has been in my family for generations. It’s a pearl spun from the oldest oyster in the sea, given to my ancestors with the promise it would lead them to their life mate. The o
cean is so vast, Miki. Some of us live our entire lives without ever finding our other half, but my mother has always believed in the power of the pearl.”
“Do you believe?” Miki asked.
He cradled her face in his webbed hands. “Yes, Miki. I believe in the legend of the pearl. I believe it has led me to you.” He clenched his fist and pounded his chest. “Meeting you has changed the rhythm of my heart. I feel … ” He paused, searching her eyes. “You’ve opened something inside me. I feel love when I look at you, Miki. A love like I’ve never felt before. When I hold you, when I fear you’re in danger—”
“I believe in the legend too.” Miki placed her palm flat against Harmon’s chest, absorbing the pound of his heart beating in tempo with her own. She studied her skin, so similar to his. “When I was holding the pearl, and it was burning so brightly in my palm, I felt … ” She paused to find the words that seemed to elude her. “I’ve always believed the ocean held more for me than the island. And I never thought my heart would warm to anyone. I called for you,” she said. “In that moment, yours was the only name I had on my tongue, your face was the only one in my mind. And I felt like the pearl had opened up to show me the possibilities for my future. There were so many images floating through my mind, the island, the ocean, but when it came time to decide for my future, I saw only you. I picked you, Harmon. I know we’ve only just met, but I feel such a strong connection to you. I want to know a life, with you, no matter the cost, no matter the risk.” Her fingers traced Harmon’s gills and her own. “I don’t regret choosing this, even if you turn me away, I will never regret taking the opportunity to share this moment with you, to breathe in the same water as you.”
“I believe in the pearl,” he whispered. “I believe in you and me. And I long for all of my tomorrows to be with you, Miki. My Miki.” Harmon’s smile gleamed as brightly as the pearl. He opened his arms, and Miki snuggled into his embrace. Holding her tight to his body, Harmon’s fingers tilted her chin up, his webbed hand cradling the back of her head. He leaned down, kissing her with newly awoken passion. When her lips parted, bubbles streamed from his gills.
• • •