Never Forgotten

by Kelly Risser

  About an hour after it opened, Evan and I arrived at the museum. I sulked a little after we left my grandparent’s house, stinging from my conversation with Mom. Evan listened to my recount. He didn’t understand my mom’s actions either, agreeing it was strange.

  “Can you ask your mom what she remembers about David?” I asked him.

  “Sure. I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks.”

  We parked in the attached structure and entered the museum through a side door. There were large posters hanging in the hall featuring sharks, whales, and giant squids, as well as mythical creatures such as mermaids and sea serpents.

  “Wow, I can see why you like this museum,” I said. They had a huge maritime collection.

  Evan nodded. “That’s why I wanted to bring you here today. And this exhibit.” He pointed to a Monsters of the Deep poster featuring a giant squid called a kraken. “I haven’t seen it yet.”

  “It’s about sea monsters, and you haven’t seen it? How long has it been here?”

  “It just opened.” He took my hand and pulled me forward. “So, do you want to start with my favorite exhibits or should we start with the Monsters of the Deep?”

  “To be honest,” I said, “I’ve only visited two museums in my life. I’m a little out of my league here, so I’ll let you pick.”

  He grinned. I got the suspicious feeling that he was hoping I would let him pick. “We’ll start with some local history,” he said.

  We spent the rest of the morning exploring the museum. Evan’s favorites were the archaeology and marine biology exhibits. He explained everything to me and answered my questions with great patience.

  We ate cheeseburgers and fries in the museum cafeteria. He teased me when I went through the museum brochure at lunch, checking off all the exhibits that we had already seen. I didn’t want to miss anything. To my surprise, we had seen almost all the regular exhibits. That left the Monsters of the Deep display.

  The special exhibit section of the museum was cavernous; the walls draped in blue fabric. The lighting made the room glow with a bluish tint. It felt like we were underwater. Suspended from the ceiling was a skeleton. The creature was snakelike and easily twenty feet long. The room was divided into vignettes—one side showcased real or extinct creatures, the other featured those that were legendary.

  I was drawn to the mythical side, fascinated by the lore surrounding these creatures. The exhibits ranged from the fierce—fire-breathing sea serpents, giant squids, and octopus-like monsters called Kraken, to the beautiful—mermaids, Selkies, and Sirens.

  Evan, too, seemed engrossed. We stood side by side, reading the captions and stories interspersed with beautiful pieces of artwork inspired by man’s hopes and fears of these beings. Several monsters were depicted in life-sized statues or in carvings and tapestries. One tapestry caught my eye. It portrayed Odysseus’s encounter with the sirens. The women were beautiful and appeared to be seducing Odysseus. The colors and detail were amazing.

  “Did you see this?” I asked Evan, thinking he was next to me. He wasn’t. I spotted him two exhibits over, staring at a mermaid statue. I walked up behind him and placed my hand on my hips in mock anger.

  “Leave it to a guy to find the half-naked female in the room.”

  He laughed and turned to me with raised eyebrows. “Jealous?”

  “Of a fish woman? Never.”

  He leaned down and kissed me. “You’re cuter than her anyway.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What did you want to show me?”

  “Just a tapestry. It’s no big deal. I just didn’t realize you weren’t next to me.”

  “Are you having a good time?”

  I nodded. “It’s great. Thanks for bringing me.”

  “I knew you’d like it.” He looked at his watch. “Do you want to stay or are you ready to go?”

  I shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

  “Let’s look in the gift shop, and then we can get going.”

  “Okay.”

  The gift shop was filled with unique, fun items. Many were maritime themed. The back corner was filled with limited-edition items from the Monsters’ exhibit. I found a small mermaid statue and bought it for Evan as a joke. He laughed when I gave it him.

  “What’s this for?”

  “Now you have your own personal mermaid.”

  “To remind me that you’re cuter?” he teased.

  “Exactly,” I said, surprising myself by giving him a quick kiss. He didn’t seem to mind. He pulled me closer and kissed me again.

  “Thank you,” he said.