However, I have no words of consolation to offer her. What can a man say to that? I’m not used to dealing with curses and the supernatural; my world has always been very black and white—too much so, in fact. I’m not prepared for this, but I suppose I should’ve known that having a romance with a mermaid was bound to become complicated sooner or later.
So, I force my gaping mouth closed and clear my throat. “That’s really difficult, Oceania,” I say, trailing off as I wonder what else to tell her.
“I know.” She sobs, and I simply run my fingers through her damp hair, deciding that in this case, I’m probably better off not talking. What she seems to need now is support. She’s still in a state of shock, after all.
When she’s finally cried herself out, she gazes up at me with puffy, red eyes. “I wish my parents had told me about this sooner. If I’d known, I never would’ve come here.”
The statement hits me like a punch in the stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of me. Here I am, thinking about her incessantly, and she wishes she’d never met me?
“How can you say that?” I ask, tightening my arm around her shoulders. She sags into my embrace. “If you hadn’t come here, we never would’ve met, and kissed. We never would’ve been able to share each other’s worlds. And you never would’ve found your special talent.”
“You’re right,” Oceania chokes out. For a moment, we look into each other’s eyes. Her hair has fallen into her face, and I tuck the stray strands behind her ear, marveling at her beauty and hoping that she will come back to see me.
I know what a heartbreaking choice she has to make, but somehow, I just can’t stop myself from hoping that she chooses me.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Oceania
My entire face tingles when Xavier lightly brushes my hair back out of my eyes. He’s right about everything he said, of course. I needed to meet him; I fact, I can’t help but think that I was destined to meet him. Without him, my special talent would never have been revealed. And furthermore, without him, I never would’ve found love.
I love Xavier. The realization hits me as forcefully as a rogue wave. Of course, I feel love for my family and my friends, but I’ve never felt it for a man. And although my mother raised me on happy tales of love at first sight, I never believed that it would happen to me, especially not with a human.
I bury my face in my hands. “Things are so complicated right now,” I say, my voice muffled in the sleeves of Xavier’s jacket. “How am I going to decide what to do with the rest of my life—in only twelve moons?”
I raise my head, looking at Xavier for guidance, but he looks as clueless as I feel. “Actually, only eleven moons,” I add, hiccupping. “The first full moon has already passed. I don’t want to leave you. But I can’t bear the thought of leaving my family, either.”
“There must be some way around this,” Xavier says, picking up a handful of sand and letting it flow through his fingers. “We just have to figure it out. And the thing is, the choice isn’t imminent. You have nearly a year to see me, and your parents.”
“Right.” I gaze out over the ocean, thinking that, up until I turned eighteen, my entire world had been beneath its waters, simple and contained.
“I want to spend as much time as possible with you, Oceania,” Xavier says, taking my face in his hands. He looks down at me, his eyes sparkling. They’re practically brimming over with love, but he doesn’t say the words I’m longing to hear. He probably thinks it’s too soon to declare his love, and even though I really want to know for sure whether his feelings for me match mine for him, I just can’t bring myself to say the words first.
Xavier looks skyward, and so do I, admiring the moon and stars shining through a transparent layer of clouds.
“I like being with you under the stars like this, but I want to spend a day with you,” Xavier continues. “I want to watch the sunset with you, have dinner with you, just share hours with you.” His face becomes serious as he adds, “I want you to see the land in daylight, and I want my parents to meet you, too.”
“Are you going to tell them I’m a mermaid?”
“Not at first, no,” Xavier says. “They would think I was crazy. Of course, Amelie already knows, but I’ll just tell my parents that I met you at the beach. I won’t be lying, but I know they won’t be able to handle the whole truth. Well,” he corrects himself, “my father won’t be able to, at least. He works in banking, and everything in his world is so ordered and logical. My mother believes in fanciful creatures, so she probably would.”
I laugh. “Is that what I am? A fanciful creature?”
Xavier smiles and stands, pulling me to my feet. “Absolutely. Although I couldn’t dream up anyone as amazing as you if I tried.”
We walk down the beach, arm-in-arm, and Xavier says, “So, do you think you can come after luncheon today? We can spend the whole day together. Land is amazing when the sun is out, and you’ve never seen sunshine except through the water, right?”
I nod. “I think Ula can help me dream up an excuse for my parents. I really want to see the day with you, too, and watch the sunset.”
“Wonderful,” he says, kissing me gently on the cheek. “If you like what you see, you can come back for the party my father is throwing next Saturday evening.”
I clap my hands. “Oh! That sounds fantastic!”
Xavier shrugs. “It should be all right, I suppose. I usually hate those events, but I think you will make everything more bearable.”
We stop our stroll through the sand, and Xavier picks up a little rounded rock, tossing it into the water where it skips over the waves. He lowers his face to mine, and kisses me.
As I’d told Xavier before, mermaid’s kisses have power, but they can also be simply an expression of love, if the mermaid refrains from infusing the human with the enchanted breath of life.
That’s exactly what this is: a kiss of love. At that moment, I know that, although Xavier hasn’t told me he loves me yet, he does.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Xavier
Oceania and I walk along the seashore in companionable silence. I love the way she giggles as I rain kisses all over her face and neck. I love the easy, natural way that she glides over the surface of the sand in her bare feet, wearing only her seashell brassiere, short seaweed skirt, and, of course, my jacket. In fact, I love everything about her.
The realization is so startling that I nearly have to stop and consider exactly what this means. But, honestly, there’s not much to think about; I know at that moment that Oceania and I are just going to have to take our relationship as it comes, letting it unfurl over time like the petals of the most beautiful rose.
Oceania pauses, picking up a pearlescent seashell that glistens in the starlight, and right then, I let out a huge yawn. I haven’t slept for so long, and there’s no way I’ll make it through to tomorrow without some rest.
“Are you tired?” she asks. “Didn’t you sleep at all during the day?”
I shake my head. “Unfortunately, Father had so many activities planned out for me that I didn’t have time to sleep.”
“I only had a short nap,” Oceania says, handing me the seashell. I turn it over in my palm, stroking my fingers over the smooth surface before I stick it in my pocket for safekeeping. It’s a treasure—so pure and shining and lovely, like Oceania herself.
She sinks onto the sand, pulling me down beside her. “Come, let’s sleep now,” she suggests.
I lay on my back, and she snuggles into my arms. And there, on a pillow of soft, white sand, lulled by the calming flow of the waves, we doze off into peaceful slumber.
I awaken to the warmth of the early morning sunshine on my face, and the sensation of water lapping at my toes; the tide has risen overnight, and the water has reached us. Oceania’s eyes fly open as a wave rolls over her lower body, and her legs morph into a mermaid’s tail.
I laugh at her startled expression. “Good morning,” I say, caressing her cheek. “Did you sleep well?”
> She pulls herself upright, yawning and stretching. “Like a mer-baby.”
“Never heard that one before,” I say with a smile. I groan as I sit up next to her, rubbing my stiff back. “Ouch.”
Oceania kisses my cheek. “Here, let me.” She begins kneading my sore muscles, working out all the knots, and I close my eyes, heaving a sigh of complete contentment.
As I relax to the tranquil sound of Oceania’s melodious humming, the happenings of the previous night come flooding back to me like rushing water. I remember the way I’d run away from Victoria and never returned home, and then it strikes me: I’m going to be in big trouble.
“What’s wrong?” Oceania murmurs, stilling her hands. “You’re tense again.”
I turn to her. “I just remembered last night, that’s all. And I realized that I will have some explaining to do.”
“So will I,” Oceania says, her forehead creasing. “When I suggested we sleep here, I had no idea it would be until morning. I was thinking more like a short nap. My parents are going to be furious.”
I glance at my pocket watch, and notice that it’s after six. “Mine too. Well, my father will be, at least.”
“Good luck,” Oceania says as I stand, picking her up. Her tail hasn’t dried out, which is probably for the best, since she will have to go home to the bottom of the ocean soon anyway.
“You too.”
“I’ll try my best to come up later today,” Oceania says. “But if I can’t make it during the day, I’ll definitely return at night.”
“Sounds like the perfect plan,” I say, kissing her. “I hate the fact that I have to let you go,” I add, my lips still pressed to hers.
“So do I,” she mumbles. “But I’d better go back. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” I echo, carrying her to the water’s edge and gently placing her into the waves.
Oceania gives me a shaky smile before her white-gold head submerges under the surf, and I sigh, trudging toward home and rubbing the seashell in my pocket for good luck. I’ll certainly need it.
Part IV: The Challenge
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Oceania
I return home to find Ula suspended in the water outside our house. From the way she wriggles her fins back and forth impatiently, her arms crossed over her chest, I can tell that she’s been waiting for me.
As soon as her eyes land on me, she swims to my side and smacks me on the arm.
“Ouch! Hey!” I cry out, frowning. “What was that for?”
“I think you know,” Ula replies, glowering. “How dare you sneak out like that last night? And you weren’t even home for the sunrise swim. Mother and Father came to my house, pounding on my door, asking if I knew anything about your whereabouts and when you’d be back. They’re worried sick about you.” She narrows her eyes. “Where were you?”
“I was on the surface visiting Xavier, the land boy. We fell asleep together, and just woke up.” Even though I’m in trouble, I can’t stop a smile from spreading over my face at the mere mention of his name, and the memory of our night together.
Ula, however, does not smile back. She snaps her fingers at me and says, “Come on, Oceania. Wipe that dream off your face. Mother told me that you know the story of Grandmer Genevieve now, so there’s no excuse for you even thinking about falling in love with a land boy.”
“There’s no thinking about it,” I murmur. “I’ve already fallen in love with him.”
“In one day?” Ula scoffs. “You know love at first sight doesn’t exist, right?”
I remain silent, looking down at my tail and knowing that there’s no way to convince Ula of my feelings. Only three full moons after her eighteenth birthday, she’d married Nereus, with whom she’d attended mer-school. They’d known each other for years before they started courting. Of course, she doesn’t believe in love at first sight.
She drapes an arm around my shoulder and leads me into the house. “Come inside now. You’ve made Mother and Father wait long enough.”
I feel an instant surge of guilt as Ula and I swim into the house and see Mother and Father sitting at the table, their faces tight and drawn.
“Where have you been?” Father demands. “No, scratch that. I already know where you were. Visiting with that land fellow, I’m sure.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak with the huge lump in my throat.
“How could you go back there, when you know the choice you’ll have to make?” Mother cries, wringing her hands. “The more time you spend with this boy, the harder it will be to leave him in the end.”
“I—I just had to see him again,” I say in a quivery voice, my eyes filling with tears. “I can’t bear to be without him. And we had such fun last night, talking and falling asleep on the beach. I was going to come back earlier, so you wouldn’t worry, but we didn’t wake up until this morning.”
“You spent the night, sleeping with a land person,” Father says, inhaling deeply. “This is even worse than I thought.” He looks at Ula, who lounges silently in the corner. “Honestly, Ula never gave me this kind of trouble.” Glancing back at me, he adds, “Why can’t you be more like her?”
I bristle briefly at the sting of being compared to Ula; as a young mermaid, she’d been so obedient to my parents’ wishes that I know I’ll always come up short. But finally, I say, “I can’t help it. I lo—er, I mean, I care deeply about Xavier.”
Ula snorts, probably because she picked up on the fact that I’d almost said “love,” but luckily, my parents don’t seem to notice. They simply continue to glare at me.
Mother places a hand on my shoulder. “I know you care about him, but you have to care about yourself, too. That’s why you must stop seeing him. I’m sure that you don’t want to leave us forever for a land boy. And if you choose to live on land, you’ll relinquish your immortality.”
“What?” This story is getting worse and worse. She’d left that part out the day before, and I hadn’t even considered the possibility.
Mother repeats herself, and I stare at her, open-mouthed. “But why?” I ask.
“Because humans have a finite life,” Mother replies, “and if you became one permanently, so would you. Your daughters would have a chance of immortality, though, if they chose to live among the mermaids.”
I close my eyes, once again feeling my head spin. It would be difficult to give up my immortality—nearly as hard as giving up my family—but living forever wouldn’t have much value if I were miserable.
I don’t tell my parents this, though. I simply stare down at the shell-studded sand floor of the house and wait for someone else to speak.
“That’s it,” Father says, his voice snapping with irritation. “You’re forbidden to go to the surface. We don’t want to lose you, and we know you’re in danger of that. It’s clear that this land boy has bewitched you.”
For a breathless moment, I raise my head to stare at my parents, and my sadness changes rapidly into anger. How dare they treat me like this, as though I’m a mer-child? It was bad enough that they were overprotective during my entire childhood. But now, as an adult? It’s insufferable.
“You can’t forbid me to go,” I say, my face heating up as the blood rushes to it. “I’m an adult now. I can come and go freely, at least for eleven more moons. You can’t protect me from myself. I need to make the choice between land and sea, without your interference.”
I pause, drawing in a deep breath, and when I speak again, my voice sounds cool and mature. “I’m not going to sneak around any more, but I’m not going to stay down here all the time either. If you try to keep me hostage, I’ll just run away.”
Ula gasps, her skin turning white. Mother buries her face in her hands, and Father just stares at me, dumbfounded.
Finally, he says, “Well, I suppose we can’t argue with that. We can’t protect you anymore; you are an adult. And for better or worse, you’re going to have to make your own decision.”
This is exactly the reaction I’
d been hoping for—a concession. However, for some odd reason, I can’t stop myself from crying.
Somehow, Father’s quiet resignation is far more hurtful than his fiery wrath.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Xavier
The house is ominously quiet when I stumble in the front doors a few minutes later. I find my parents at the dining room table, taking their coffee in silence. Naturally, Amelie is nowhere in sight; I’m sure that she’s still in bed at this early hour. I wish that she were here to act as a buffer.
As I pause in the doorway of the dining room, Father’s head snaps up from his coffee cup, and his face instantly turns a rage-filled bright red. His nostrils flare like a bull about to charge.
He doesn’t waste time with greetings. “How dare you run away from Victoria last night? She was beside herself.”
I swallow hard, wishing that I’d taken the time to think up a really believable excuse. As it is, my brain is so addled that I have no other option than telling the truth, but it’s probably for the best. I know I’ll have to do that anyway, sooner or later. “I was meeting someone.”
Father draws in a ragged breath, and Mother says in her musical voice, “Meeting someone? Like a girl?”
I nod. “I met a girl at the beach the other day, and I really like her. Last night, we went for a walk. She’s a wonderful person, and I want you to meet her, too.”
An amused smile flits across my mother’s delicate features, but Father scowls, his face contorting into a mass of wrinkles and folds, like a pug dog.
“Another girl? Xavier, you know full well what's expected of you, and that’s a union with Victoria. That makes sense—her father and I work together. Imagine how your marriage would revolutionize the banking industry. We’d be combining two phenomenal fortunes.”
I shake my head, sliding into my seat as Nelly, the maid, bustles in with a cup of black coffee and a tray of breakfast pastries. I nod a thank you as she places the coffee in front of me, and I grab a croissant off the top of the pastry tray, suddenly realizing how ravenous I am.
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