The Mermaid's Mirror

Chapter 4

Lena dreamed she was falling, the helpless dizzy sensation jolting her out of sleep.

She lay frozen, her heart thudding in her chest, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Practically in the clouds.

She rolled over and sat up. No more sleeping today. She wasn't going to risk going back to that dream. Without turning on the light, Lena got out of bed and went to the window, moving aside the curtain so she could peer outside. A light fog blanketed the empty street, casting a misty halo around each streetlight. Sliding open the window, Lena felt the rush of cold air on her face. Perfect autumn beach weather.

She pulled on sweats over her pajamas, shivering a little. Stepping into the hallway, she listened for early-morning family sounds, but the house was quiet. They must still be asleep. She padded down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she turned on the light, dimming it immediately so the glare wouldn't hurt her eyes. She grabbed a marker and scrawled on the dry-erase board:

6:15 a.m.—went for walk on the beach—L.

Pulling on her jacket, she stepped outside, where the cold air smelled of the sea. Lena took a deep breath, as if inhaling perfume. Why couldn't it smell this good everywhere?

She walked two blocks to the end of the road without seeing anyone else. When the streets were silent and dark, it was easy to imagine she was the only person awake for miles. Behind the dark windows of all these houses, she pictured everyone still curled up in bed, fast asleep, while she roamed the neighborhood alone.

Lena walked across the graveled public parking area and moved down the narrow beach path, a worn stretch of earth in the middle of tall grasses. The dew-covered blades clung to her pants like wet fingers. Stashing her sandals near a fallen log, she gave a sigh of relief as her feet touched the cool sand.

The only light on the shore came from Pelican Point Lighthouse, two miles to the north, where a bright beam flashed in the darkness and winked out, just like clockwork. But the darkness didn't bother Lena; she could walk this stretch of sand with her eyes closed. In fact, she thought wryly, I could walk this stretch of sand in my sleep.

Lena made her way down to the edge of the water, where the sand was rippled from having been under water a few hours ago. The tide was out, but she could feel the urgency of the sea ... soon the tide would sweep back in and cover the sand where she stood. The waves pounded as if hungry for shore.

She walked almost a mile, until she came to Shipwreck Rocks, the massive stone jetty that extended into the sea, separating Diamond Bay from Magic Crescent Cove. A weathered sign proclaimed WARNING! DO NOT CLIMB ON ROCKS. RISK OF INJURY OR DEATH. Ignoring the sign, Lena began to scale the rocks. The sign had been there her whole life, and she'd never heard of anyone getting hurt on the rocks, other than the occasional twisted ankle or scraped knee.

Once she reached the top, she settled down on a relatively flat boulder, resting her eyes on the horizon, where gray met darker gray. It was so early even the surfers weren't out yet.

She's never had any blood work done ...

Lena shivered. She wished she hadn't overheard her parents. She couldn't get that word out of her mind. Blood.

I'm fine, she told herself. My blood is fine. Restless, she got up and made her way carefully down the other side of the rocks. When she neared the bottom, she jumped onto the sand.

She walked farther down the beach, farther from home, as if she could leave her fears behind. Finally she stopped to catch her breath, staring out at the empty water.

As she gazed at the sea, a sleek head popped out of the water.

She smiled and waved at the sea lion. They loved this stretch of shoreline. She knew it was silly to wave at them—she wouldn't do it if other people were around—but sea lions always seemed so interested in human activity that she couldn't help greeting them. She wished she could swim out to play with them.

The sea lion disappeared beneath the surface again, popping up a few more times in different spots, finally drifting so far north that Lena couldn't see him.

"Bye," she whispered.

... never had any blood work ...

Lena wished she could pluck the thought out of her head and throw it into the sea, where it would be borne away by the waves.

She splashed ankle-deep in the surf, letting the cold water tickle her feet. She grabbed a sandy stick, dragging it through the wet sand, making circles and hearts and stars. Then she wrote in big letters, I AM FINE.

Lena tossed the stick onto the sand and made her way back to Shipwreck Rocks. She should probably head home. No point in worrying her parents even more by being MIA when they woke up. Lena climbed to the top of the rocks, glancing back the way she had come, and almost stumbled. A solitary figure had appeared on the beach.

Where did he come from? Was he there when I was there? Was he watching me?

She looked harder and recognized the long, loose coat, the shambling walk. It was just Denny.

Denny was a weird loner who was always wandering up and down the beach. He never bothered anyone, just muttered to himself. Sometimes he shouted at the sea. It was best to give him some space. He didn't seem to be homeless or hungry, but no one knew where he lived, or how he survived.

Lena decided to make her way home quickly. She didn't think he would bother her, but the idea that he had been lurking nearby without her knowledge was unsettling. Just before she descended the steep rocks, she glanced back again. Denny was standing on the spot where Lena had written I AM FINE, staring down at the words in the sand.

***

The mermaid felt the lure of humans.

She swam closer to shore, knowing that the sun had nearly risen and she must not be seen. It wasn't fair to the humans. Most of them went mad with the knowledge of mer-folk. They lingered by the sea, wasting away in the desire of seeing them again.

The mermaid surfaced. This stretch of beach seemed familiar, although it was far from her village. Ah, there was a human!

She watched him for a moment as he trudged through the wet sand, shoulders bent, long coat flapping around his knees. He had the look of one who had Seen.

Not wishing to cause him further unrest, the mermaid slipped beneath the surface and swam away.