NANCY DREW AND THE SECRET OF MERMAID COVE

Chapter Three

 Nancy wondered around until coming upon a small park that looked out over a sea wall. She sighed while leaning on the railing and staring out onto the ocean. Nancy knew that Bess had not meant any harm in what she had done. Still, she wondered, "How could Bess treat her this way? Didn't their friendship mean something to her?" Just then a powerful gust of wind played wildly with the stands of her strawberry blonde hair.

Nancy took a step back from the railing to investigate her surroundings. She found herself to be in the historic district part of the city. So, she decided to go exploring and take in the unique sights and sounds of the area. Thankfully this part of the city had a calmer atmosphere and was not crowded.

After walking about a mile she came across a small antique store. It had two large window displays that were full of old toys, colored glassware, and an early 1900's style typewriter. With her interest sparked Nancy entered the shop. 

Inside she felt as if she had been transported to another time. The store a dimly lit by old gas-burning wall sconces. Along the walls were large bookcases holding a multitude of leather-bound books in every size and color imaginable. While the middle of the store contained a few tables littered with antiques of every kind. In the far corner was an old victrola record player with a large stack of dusty albums sitting beside it.

Nancy walked around and browsed through the many rare items. She found some vintage "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea "postcards that she was sure her father would love. Verne was by far his favorite writer. She also paused to look through a few old books that littered the shop. "What adventures did these old relics contain?" she wondered.

She paused to look through a few of the tomes and found one titled "From the Earth to the Moon" and pulled it out of the huge bookcase. As the young girl did, she noticed a bottle that had been hidden behind the book. 

"What is this?" Nancy asked picking up the dust-covered object. Taking some tissue out from her purse, she dusted the mystery bottle off. Inside was an amazingly detailed mermaid figure. It looked so life-like with expressive features, individual hair strands, and even tiny scales visible. As she was examining the object it slipped from her hand. Time seemed to slow down, as it neared the floor, however, just before breaking it vanished. "What? Where did it go?" she exclaimed, confused.

"Looking for this, dear?" asked a little old woman, who held up the bottle for Nancy to see. This woman had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She looked to be in her seventies or possibly even older. With wispy white hair styled into a bun atop her head and piercing eyes the color amber, this woman was unusual in appearance. She wore a simple cream-colored dress cut in a vintage style and a thin braided belt that complimented her slender frame. Around her neck rested a long string of pearls, which reminded Nancy of the ones flapper girls used to wear.

Nancy blinked as she noticed the glass bottle in the women's bony hands, "Yes.... why thank you." Nancy managed to say, still a little surprised.

"Listen, you must very careful with this. This is a very special one of a kind piece." said the women through pursed lips as she held out the item for Nancy to take.

"It looks so real. Do you know who made it?" Nancy asked with a weak smile as she held it in her hands.

"Yes, I do". replied the woman as she sat down in a rocking chair near the front door.

Nancy stepped closer to the women before asking, "Would you mind telling me please?"

The old women began to rock back and forth before replying, "If I must. That bottle was made by a local artist many years ago. This shop used to sell these by the dozen and for a short while, this city was famous for them. Sadly, the artist that created these died about forty years ago." She looked intently at the object before adding, "That was the last one he ever created and in my opinion the most unique."

"What do you mean by unique?" Nancy asked as she sat down on a small wooden chair.

"The crazy old coot claimed to have caught a glimpse of the Mermaid of Lore, once as a young sailor. He swore to have instantly fallen in love with her, tragically to never see the creature again. While it was still fresh in his mind, he drew a sketch of her, and then made this one figure in the likeness of her."

Nancy wore a look of awe as she asked, "What mermaid of Lore? I have never heard of her before."

"Not many young people have." the woman replied giving Nancy a tired look as if she had shared this story too many times to count. "Hundreds of years ago these waters where full of pirates and sailors galore. For many years these men told tales of a stunning young mermaid with long, curly, blonde hair and the most lovely seafoam colored blue eyes. Some claimed the creature was a type of siren, who appeared from the depths only to lure men to a watery death, while others claimed her to a harmless ghost of a dead maiden who takes the form of a harmless mermaid....." said the old women before pausing for a moment.

Nancy was on the edge of her seat in suspense. Since childhood, she had loved the tales of urban legends and Greek myths.

"...Serena, as the many fishermen call her is said to live in Half-moon Cove. According to legend,  one night the Black Swan, a large pirate ship, was seen in the area. They searched the area long and hard looking for some long lost buried treasure. The captain's son, a mere seventeen-year-old, was left alone to guard the rowboat, as the others hunted onshore for the treasure. after a short while, the lab became bored and went off to explore the beach instead of during his job. Then he heard a woman crying off in the distance, following the sound along the beach led him right to Serena. She was trapped within a fisherman's net and had washed up onshore. He cut her free and two feel head over heels in love until...."

Nancy leaned forward as she asked, "What happened next?"

"...she made the mistake of taking him to her cave. It was accessible from both the land and sea on a small inhabited island. Inside he found the vast treasure she had collected from hundreds of sunken ships. Being a pirate he could not resist the lure of the treasure. A few days later he returned, stole all of it, and then buried it on the island somewhere out of her reach to later return for it with the crew. The mermaid's broken heart and anger caused a powerful storm to form, it sunk the Black pearl and killed everyone on board ", said the old woman while she dried the small tears from her eyes.

"Is this cove somewhere nearby?" asked Nancy, as she looked intently into the aged woman's eyes.

The shopkeeper took one long deep breath before replying in a hushed tone, "Yes, it is not but about thirty miles from here. You are not thinking about going there are you?"

"Perhaps I will," Nancy replied.

Quickly, the old women's expression changed to one of curiosity. "Then you must beware, many still claim the legend of the mermaid to be true. From what I have heard, Serena only chooses to reveal herself to certain people. I hope she is not hungry when you visit." The woman's eyes had changed to steely gray and her face seemed to look older than it did when Nancy had first met her.

Nancy thought this woman might be a little crazy. She changed to the subject, eager to leave, "Thanks very much for your time. How much do I owe you for the bottle and postcards?"

"Hmm... It is one of a kind..." said the old woman as she seemed to think deeply on the subject. Then she looked deeply into Nancy's sparkling blue eyes and said, "There is something different about you. Something special, not all can see. Tell you what, I've given them to you."

"Can I really keep this?" asked Nancy. The old woman nodded in response.  Then she wrapped the bottle up in several layers of old yellowed newspaper. Nancy caught a glimpse of the date on one it read "May 30, 1921."  Once outside, she realized that her keys were still on the counter inside the store.

"Hello, I left my keys here. I'm just going to grab them and go." the girl said while entering once more. This time there was no answer as if the old woman had disappeared. "Is it just me or is does this place look different than just five minutes ago. It almost looks as if this place has been abandoned for years. "Nancy thought, as a slight chill ran down her spine. She grabbed her keys noticing that the once spotless counter was now covered in a think layer of dust. 

Authors Note* 

This is my favorite chapter in this book and was the most fun to write. I was inspired by Harry Potter and the Twilight Zone.