Mermaids in the Backyard (4 page)

Sealily stretched up, balancing on the last section of her tail. Coral stretched her arm out over the rocks as far as she could. She still couldn’t quite reach Finneus.

“Maybe I can toss him over into the water,” Sealily said.

“No!” Coral said. “The waves are too rough. He’d get smashed up against the rocks.”

Lindy nodded. The sea horse
was
tiny—much smaller than Tara’s pet Chihuahua. “Try handing him to me instead,” she suggested. “I think I can reach Coral from here.”

She reached toward Finneus. As soon as he saw her, the sea horse chirped loudly and tried to wriggle away. But Sealily held on to him.

“It’s okay, Finny!” she said. “Lindy is our friend.”

“That’s right, Finneus,” Lindy said softly. “I just want to help you.”

Finneus stopped wriggling. He stared at Lindy with his tiny, dark eyes. When he chirped again, it sounded like a question.

“Good boy,” Lindy cooed, slipping her
hands around Sealily’s. Sealily slid hers out, leaving Lindy holding Finneus. His skin felt cool and lumpy.

Lindy stepped back, then stretched out with both hands. Coral was waiting, reaching over the rocks.

“I’ve got you, Finneus,” Coral said as she grabbed him. She smiled at Lindy. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”

“Finny likes you, Lindy Drylander,” Sealily said as Coral disappeared with the sea horse. “He doesn’t trust just anyone.”

Lindy wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never been trusted by a sea horse before. “I like him, too,” she said.

Soon Coral reappeared on the other side of the old-man boulders. “Finneus is okay,” she said. “Now it’s your turn, Sealily. Are you sure you can do this?”

“I’m sure. Lindy Drylander will save me, just like she saved Finny. Let’s go!” Sealily sounded almost cheerful. She stuck her face under the water for a second. Then she slithered out of the back of the pool and pulled herself onto the life jacket.

Lindy couldn’t stop staring at her tail. Could this really be happening? Was she really helping to rescue a
mermaid
?

Sealily gripped the life jacket with both hands. “Ready!” she said.

“Hurry!” Coral urged. She turned and dove out of sight again.

Lindy grabbed the straps of the life jacket. She gave a tug, but nothing happened.

“Ready?” Sealily asked. Her voice already sounded breathier.

Lindy gulped. Should she just give up and wait for Jessica after all?

“Lindy! Are you coming?”

It was Coral. Lindy saw her bobbing in the surf just beyond the beach. It was hard to see through the rain, but Lindy thought she could make out Finneus’s tiny yellow head beside her.

Seeing them made Lindy feel a little braver. She’d promised to help the sisters. She couldn’t let them down just because she was scared.

She gave another pull on the straps. This time she felt the life jacket slide a little on the rocky ground. Another tug, and it slid even more.

Sealily hung on tight. She let out a cry that sounded like it might be a mermaid version of “Wheeeee!”

That made Lindy smile a little. She couldn’t help noticing that Sealily’s voice
sounded weaker and shakier than ever, though. Pulling harder, she heard a
rrrrrip!
as the life jacket caught on a rock. Still, she kept pulling.

A few seconds later, the life jacket slipped onto the sand. Now all Lindy had to do was pull Sealily up the path and around the rocks. Then down the beach to the ocean.

Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide. Lindy’s arms ached. But she kept going. Pull. Slide …

At last she crested the hill. She couldn’t stop yet. Yanking the life jacket around the corner, she started pulling it down the beach. She expected it to be a lot easier now that they were going downhill instead of uphill. But the wet sand clung to the life jacket and slowed it down. When Lindy glanced back, Sealily looked pale. Her eyes were half closed, and she wasn’t saying anything.

Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide. The water was only a few feet away. Lindy’s muscles felt like jelly, and she could hear Sealily panting. Could they make it in time?

Then Lindy saw something else. Coral was crawling out of the surf. She looked scared but determined.

“We’re coming!” Lindy called to her.

Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide.

Coral crawled forward and grabbed another strap. She pulled, wriggling backward toward the waves. Lindy glanced down at Coral’s tail. It had to hurt her to crawl over the rough sand. Yet she wasn’t complaining.

“Almost there,” Lindy said, huffing and puffing.

“Ready,” Sealily said faintly.

Lindy turned to look down at Sealily and saw the mermaid’s eyes fluttering all the way shut. That gave Lindy extra strength. “Arrgh!” she cried, giving a big pull.

Her foot caught in the wet sand. She felt herself flying backward. But she kept hold of the straps. Her fall yanked the life jacket forward at the same moment an extra-large wave rolled onto the shore. It washed over Sealily, and she burst into motion. Both she
and Coral spun through the water as gracefully as birds flitting through the air.

“Whew!” Lindy gasped. She hardly noticed when the wave poured over her. She was already soaked from the rain.

She rolled over to watch the mermaids swimming away. For a second she thought they weren’t going to stop. But when the next wave rolled in, both sisters came with it. So did Finneus. He didn’t seem shy at all now. Lindy laughed as the little sea horse bumped his head into her hand. He reminded her of her old neighbors’ friendly Siamese cat.

“Thank you, Lindy Drylander!” Sealily cried joyfully, flicking her tail. “Thanks for helping us!”

“Yes.” Coral wriggled closer and grasped Lindy by the hand. “We’ll never forget you.”

As the waves pulled out and the
mermaid’s hand slipped out of hers, Lindy said, “I’ll never forget you, either.”

“Hey!” someone cried.

Lindy spun around. Jessica was hurrying around the corner of the bug house. One hand clutched the hood of her raincoat to keep it from blowing off.

Oops. Lindy realized she’d been standing there staring out to sea ever since the mermaid sisters had disappeared beneath the waves.

“What are you doing out here?” Jessica demanded when she got closer. “Good thing I saw you before I called Sheriff Tom! I totally
panicked when I got here and you weren’t in the house.…”

There was more, but Lindy barely heard it. She still couldn’t believe what had happened. Mermaids! She’d just met two real-life mermaids.

Finally Jessica noticed that she wasn’t listening. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking worried. “What are you doing standing out here in the storm, anyway?”

“Nothing,” Lindy said. “I guess I was just looking for, you know, sea monsters and, uh, mermaids.” She held her breath. If Jessica had ever seen a mermaid around there, maybe she’d say so now.

Instead, Jessica just looked annoyed. “Stop goofing around. You could have been struck by lightning!”

Another yell came from up by the house.
Lindy looked over and saw Matthew jogging toward them.

“What are you two doing out here?” he asked.

“Getting wet,” Jessica told him. “What about you?”

He grinned. “The triplets were screaming at all the thunder. I saw you guys over here, so I sneaked out.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Come on,” she ordered, sounding like a bossy babysitter. “Let’s get inside before we all turn into fish!”

Or merpeople
, Lindy thought, glancing out at the stormy sea. Then she turned and followed the others into the bug house.

That night Lindy dreamed about being a mermaid. In the dream, she lived with Coral and Sealily and Finneus in an undersea castle made of barnacles, coral, and life jackets. Whenever she wanted to go somewhere, she called a friendly whale. Once, the whale carried her all the way to Lake Michigan.
When they got there, Tara was waiting on the shore. She didn’t believe in mermaids at first. But when she saw Lindy’s shiny new tail, she laughed and laughed at the top of her lungs.…

Lindy woke up. Tara’s laughter turned into a seagull’s shrill cry. Several of the birds were calling loudly right outside her window.

Strong morning sunshine poured into Lindy’s new room. The storm was finally over. The sky was an endless ceiling of blue except for a few high, fluffy clouds. Everything on the ground was still wet, though. Water droplets sparkled like jewels wherever Lindy looked.

All through breakfast, she couldn’t stop thinking about the mermaid sisters. In the bright sunshine, even the storm seemed
unreal. Could she have imagined the whole adventure?

Maybe I tripped and hit my head on a rock
, she thought, stirring her cereal. The banana slices floating in it looked like little bald merpeople peeping up at her.
I heard people imagine weird stuff sometimes when they’re unconscious
.

“Any plans today, Lindy?” her father asked, pouring himself more coffee. “Want to come help out at the dock?”

“What? Um, maybe.” Lindy was too lost in thought to worry about her family’s new business. “First I think I’ll look around outside. Okay?”

Her parents traded a glance. “All right,” her mother said. “Why don’t you put on your swimsuit? It’s going to be a hot one out there today.”