02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (5 page)

“
Marina!
” her smile was as bright as a
sunny day, and her voice sounded like wind chimes. “
Can we go
wave riding now?
”

I looked around to see if anyone was nearby
and realized that the fog was the perfect cover.

“
Lorelei,
” I felt another surge of
joy, surprised at how good it was to see her, “
I don’t
know...
” I was tempted.

“
Please?
” she asked in between
twirling and spinning in the churning foam, “
Will you?
”

I thought about the surfboard leaning against
the house in the back yard, and my beautiful wetsuit sitting unused
in my room. Why not?

“
Yes!
” I said, feeling a rush of
elation, “
I’ll be right back!
” I ran up the steps, getting
in and out of the house before anyone else had stirred. I snuck out
to the side yard and retrieved my surfboard. It was a short board
that I had no experience on, but I’d lost my long board and it
would have to do. It was much easier to carry than the big one; I
made it back down to the foggy beach quickly.

I could see Lorelei’s head bobbing in the
waves as I laid out my towel and hurriedly stripped down. In my
rush to get out of the house I had skipped changing into a
swimsuit, so I zipped the wetsuit on over my bra and underwear.
There was no one around to see so I didn’t care. I grabbed my board
and dove under the waves the way Ethan had shown me, paddling out
past the breakers and into the welcoming fog.

“
You came!
” Lorelei cried gleefully. I
had to hand it to her, she was always enthusiastic, eternally
upbeat. I looked around nervously at all the sea lions bobbing in
the water. The last time I had seen them this close they were
attacking me.

“
They don’t bite, do they?
” I asked
her as I sat up unsteadily on the board. The short board was a bit
harder to keep my balance on.

“
No, they love all of the sisters,
”
she said innocently.

“
Did you send them to get me that
day?
” I asked, “
They weren’t too nice then!
”

Lorelei looked confused, “
What are you
talking about?
”

I immediately realized that she never meant
me any harm, for she was as transparent as glass, and I somehow
knew she was incapable of lying. I had my doubts about some of the
other mermaids, remembering how they had mercilessly dragged me
underwater, smiling without pity as I struggled against what fate
had in store for me.

“
How do you talk to sea lions?
” I
asked her.

She looked at me like I was kidding, “
Just
talk, they can hear you like all the other animals
.”

“Hey you guys, don’t bite me,” I called to a
group of three off to our right. They didn’t even look up.

“
No, silly
,” Lorelei said, “
Like
you talk to me
.”

I focused, imagining I was talking to
Lorelei. “
Come over here,
” I called to them in mermaid. They
dove and surfaced all around my surfboard, looking at me
expectantly. I looked at Lorelei, flabbergasted.

She grinned, radiant, “
Let’s go wave
riding.
”

We frolicked in the waves for the next few
hours, under the cover of fog. It was the most natural and fun
thing I’d done in what felt like ages, and all my troubles slipped
away along with the morning. Without the pleasant distraction of
Ethan nearby, I discovered that surfing consisted of a lot of time
spent floating peacefully, waiting for the right swell to
materialize. I felt relaxed, meditative, and I focused all my
attention on the sea. I began to have the strangest sensation that
it was whispering to me, telegraphing its intention.

We laughed and played like children as I
quickly learned how to take command of the surfboard. Lorelei, with
her superior swimming power, could cut through the waves and
criss-cross in front of me, making me laugh with glee. The sea
lions played games all around us, rolling around like a litter of
puppies in the breaking waves.

I was a beginning surfer, but the longer I
stayed out in the water the more I started to understand the
dynamics of the waves, I began to sense what the water was going to
do, and how to adjust to it. I gained my balance on the board, and
could stand and turn it, laughing with delight at my speedy
progress. It was satisfying, like flexing a newly discovered
muscle. The only thing missing was Ethan; it was sad to think that
he wouldn’t approve of me spending time with Lorelei.

The fog began to lift, and we swam further
out to sea to avoid being seen. Lorelei kept glancing nervously at
the shore; she seemed to have an acute sense of when people were
around or coming. It figures, I thought, for mermaids had managed
to avoid detection for centuries. Most rational people believed the
stories and legends about them were merely fairy tales, but I
wondered if man’s increasing presence in the sea would eventually
expose them. Modern times must make it harder than ever for them to
remain hidden.

I had to remind myself that mermaids were
immortal... eternal, and had seen empires rise and crumble to dust.
My own mother could have known this very beach for centuries,
watching different people come and go until the fateful day she saw
my father and met her ultimate fate. It was strange to think that
Lorelei was ancient, for she seemed as innocent and naive as a
child, and I felt like I was much older than her.

The sun was high in the sky when I remembered
my promise to Ethan to visit him at the market. I told Lorelei that
I had to leave but promised we could do it again soon.

“
How will I find you?
” I asked.

“
I can hear you better now
,” she
said.

“
What do you mean?
”

She looked like she was trying to puzzle it
out, “
Before you changed, I could hardly hear you. But now, I
can hear you when you get close. You were thinking about your
surfboard… and the wave rider
.”

“
Ethan?
”

“
Yes,
” she nodded.

My god, I thought, she can read my mind. I
was reminded of the mermaid council’s strange telepathic
communication.

“
Lorelei?
” I asked.

“
Yes?
” her voice rang out like a
bell.

“
How come I can’t hear you thinking?
”
She knitted her brow together but couldn’t answer me.

I could see figures gathering on the distant
beach so I bid Lorelei farewell, watching as she slipped under the
surface and disappeared. I started to paddle in, a gang of sea
lions accompanying me. I couldn’t resist taking one more beautiful
wave and it was my best surf of the day. I worked my way through
the breakers towards my towel on tired, wobbly legs.

The sea lions tried to follow me in, barking
like dogs. I turned around, laughing as they spun all around me in
the waist deep water. They weren’t so scary now. A few of them came
up out of the water, holding their heads up for a pat.

I concentrated and pointed, saying, “
Shoo!
Go back out to the boat.
” They all barked and complied, and I
started walking in to the beach, giggling with glee. I could
actually
talk to them! I looked up and stopped laughing.

A group of the surfers from high school had
arrived at the beach, setting up near where I’d left my towel. They
had obviously watched me make my exit and were standing transfixed,
staring at me in silence. I’d seen them before, but the only one I
knew by name was Shayla. At least it was too cold for sunbathing,
so their gaggle of groupies wasn’t there to harass me, jealous of
the attention I got from Ethan.

I steeled myself to walk in, poker faced. I
could hear them muttering amongst themselves as I reached my towel
and pulled clothes out of my bag. Someone said, “That’s Carlson’s
girl” and I was both mortified and pleased to hear it.

Shayla approached me with a puzzled look as I
reached to unzip my suit. The two of us had gotten off to a rocky
start, enemies over her treatment of Megan and Cruz. After a
dramatic fight that ended with me pulling her, half-drowned, out of
the surf, we’d come to a truce, and were cautiously friendly.

“Jeeze Marina, you were totally ripping out
there,” she said, taken aback. “When did you learn how to
surf?”

“Uhm, Ethan taught me.”

“Where is he?” she asked, looking around.

“He’s at work.”

“You went out alone?” she looked surprised,
“That’s not really a good idea.”

“I know,” I bit my lip. Crap! I was going to
have to tell Ethan about this before he heard it from them. I
unzipped my suit and started peeling it down. “Oh!” I forgot what I
had on underneath and I pulled it back up, looking over Shayla’s
shoulder at the crowd of guys watching us. My underwear looked
strangely suggestive on the beach, even though it probably covered
as much as your average bikini.

“Shayla? Could you please stand there and
block me for a minute? I– ah... forgot my swimsuit.” My cheeks
flushed red and I looked at her in desperation.

“Sure,” she said, and held up a towel for me.
I changed into my clothes in record time.

“Thanks,” I said gratefully. I gathered up my
things and turned to her. I remembered that Shayla was a really
good surfer. “Hey, would you give me a surfing lesson
sometime?”

She looked surprised, “Uhm, from what I can
see you don’t really need lessons.”

“Oh... that’s okay, never mind,” I looked
down, feeling rejected.

She kicked at the sand, “We could go out and
tear it up sometime. I know some good spots...”

I smiled up at her, “Yeah, that would be
fun.”

I raced home, hurrying away from the curious
eyes. I hurried to the bathroom to splash some water on my face,
rushing to get dressed and run a comb through my hair.

By the time I pulled up at the farmer’s
market it was late in the day and the crowds were thinning. I
walked past the stand with exotic greens, looking ahead of me for
Ethan.

“Hello water girl,” I turned towards the
voice of Lue Khang, sitting in the far corner of his booth. He
looked as ancient and wrinkled as some of the root vegetables on
display at his stand.

“Hello Lue,” I smiled at him. Ethan’s boss
was one of the first people I’d met in Aptos; his calm and steady
presence had always been a great comfort to me.

“Ethan looks for you all day,” he said,
nodding in his direction.

“I know, I’m late,” I felt guilty, turning to
rush away, “See you later.”

I headed to Ethan’s stall, chewing my lip
apprehensively. He looked up to watch me coming.

“You made it,” he said, a little too
curtly.

“Yeah,” I paused, suspicious. I had an
intuitive fear of being trapped, and the sudden impulse to turn and
run. He motioned for me to come into the back of his stall.

“You knew about Abby, didn’t you?” he asked,
his eyes searching mine.

I looked down, “She wasn’t herself on our
trip. Evie guessed.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, hurt in
his tone.

“It was Abby’s secret… not mine.”

“Wow,” he said, “I can’t believe they got
married. Who coulda seen that coming?” He paused, “Well, except for
you...” I looked up to meet his smiling eyes. He was teasing me,
and I felt a wash of relief.

“So, what do you think about it?” I
asked.

“I guess I’m gonna be a big brother,” he
said, shaking his head in disbelief.

A customer came by and Ethan went to go help
him. I took a seat at the back of his booth. Watching him, my
stomach tightened, and I wondered how to tell him about surfing
today. He pulled up a chair in front of me and straddled it,
catching my knees between his legs.

“You know, it’s funny. When I was a kid I
used to wish that Abby was my mom,” he chuckled, “I also used to
wish I had a brother or sister.”

“Me too. But…” I said, pressing my lips
together and voicing my fears, “I think Abby’s going to need me to
move out when the baby comes.”

He looked thoughtful and shook his head, “No
way, Abby
really
wants you to stay. She told me how hard it
was to let you go before. She was so happy when I told her you
wanted to stay for college… almost as happy as me.”

I smiled at the thought, and he leaned in to
kiss me, snaking his hands around my waist. He pulled me towards
him and I sighed, kissing him back. We embraced, and he kissed my
ear, nuzzling his face into my hair. I was feeling perfectly happy
when he stopped and drew back.

“Have you been out swimming today?” he
asked.

“Yes,” I said, resigned to telling the
unwelcome truth.

He pulled away and sat up, “Where?”

“I went down to the beach this morning... I
wasn’t planning on it, but I ended up going surfing.”

“Alone?!” He jumped up from the chair in
alarm.

I stood up slowly and met his eyes, “No.”

He looked at me and he knew. I could see his
jaw set in anger.

“What were you thinking?” he said, his voice
loud.

“I don’t see any harm in it.”

“YOU DON’T SEE ANY HARM?” he yelled at
me.

I looked around to see a crowd of faces all
pointed our way, watching us. I looked up into his blazing eyes and
turned on my heel, racing to the car. I wasn’t used to being yelled
at; I fought back tears the whole drive home.

I walked in the house to find Megan and Cruz
watching TV.

“Are you alright?” Megan asked when she saw
me.

“I’m fine,” I bluffed, “How are you doing?” I
asked, looking at Cruz.

“Getting over the shock!”

“Well, congratulations,” I said, forcing a
smile, “I’m sure you’ll be a great brother.”

“Why don’t you join us?” Megan asked.