The Mermaid Project

Chapter four

I didn't know where I was going, but there was no way I was going back. My life was shitty enough, there was no reason for me to.

I would be fine on my own.

I started getting tired and I realized I needed to find somewhere to sleep. But that arose questions in my mind.

Do I get out of the water? If I fall asleep in the water will I be able to hold my breath? If I go under will I drown? If I get out will I have my clothes?

I guess there was only one way to find out.

There's a popular island a bit off the coast that teenagers liked to go to on the weekends, so I decided to head there for the night.

With my mind made up I set off for my destination.

When I got there I swam around to the side that wasn't facing mainland. For now I wanted to stay out of sight, until I could figure out what was happening to me.

I didn't want to hurt anyone else.

The shore around the back of the island wasn't nearly as picturesque as the front. It was full of jagged rocks and crashing waves that would surely kill me if I got caught up in one.

Looks like the front of the island was my only option.

I cautiously swam back to the front, keeping my eyes out for people or boats that could catch me.

I was so busy watching for people that when I looked up at the island I was shocked. I didn't recognize this portion of the beach. There wasn't any sand, the water going straight up to the tree line, some of the trees were even in the water, with their roots sporadically poking in and out.

I swam up to a particularly thick tree root, that looked more like a trunk, and hoisted myself up on to it.

Fully out of the water.

With my eyes screwed shut I sat, waiting anxiously for something to happen, wondering if it would hurt for my legs to return.

After a solid five minutes I was getting frustrated. Why couldn't I feel anything changing? With a huff I opened my eyes ready to give up and get back in the water, but when I looked down there were my legs, still covered by my jeans.

With a smile on my face I scooted up the root until the tree trunk was at my back, and gazed out at the big full moon above the sea.

Staring at the smooth waves I thought. About my parents. About my friend. And about those boys. Or girls. Who knows what those wolves were.

An intense wave of guilt washed over me. Why did I do that? How could I kill all those people. And the fact that I felt nothing while doing so scared me. Whatever had taken over in my mind, whatever made me start singing, was something I needed to learn to control. I couldn't risk that happening again.

I needed to practice.

I looked around me, making sure there were no visible animals that would fall under my spell, and began to sing.

The noise that burst from my throat was indescribable. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. And if it wasn't coming from me I knew that I would do anything it asked me to.

I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of the song in my throat. With a great effort I worked on shoving it back down into my chest. I imagined stuffing it in a box and securing the lid, and when I opened my eyes the sound had stopped.

It worked!!

Looking around again for animals that had been attracted by the sound, I focused on the box again. I opened the lid a tiny bit, and tried to let only a sliver of the song out. It pushed and pushed against the lid, and I almost lost control, but with every ounce of control I had I pushed the lid back to where I wanted it, allowing just the sliver of sound out.

And I began to hum.

Satisfied with my progress for the night, I closed the lid on the box and slid back down the root, taking off my jacket and balling it under my head as a pillow. It wasn't perfect but it would work for the night.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, knowing I was finally who I was meant to be.

I must've been exhausted, because I failed to notice the fin that had pierced the water a few feet in front of me, and headed my way.