Short Story Collection

The Merman's Patient

Deep into the season of spring, a young merman glides along the waves. His locks flowed down to his mid-back as his arms were extended before him. His tail did all the work. Thick and powerful with a deep curve, he is quick in the water as the grey-patterned scales keep him, only slightly, camouflaged. 

After hours of traveling, he found himself in a simple cave, even with a piece of dry land hidden under a monstrous cliff protected by a collection of small but sharp rocks. Most of the fish had gone due to an incoming storm, so he gathered crabs and other available resources to last for at least a day. 

A quick glance down, he noticed something sitting on the sand floor. He used his tail to dive down before his webbed claws grasped the end of a necklace. He took a glance up before he forced himself to the surface.

The gills on the side of his neck flapped as he breathed air. He took a good look at the necklace. "Why would this be in the ocean? There are no shipwrecks near this region," He asked himself before he noticed that the golden round pendant could open. 

Once split apart, he saw two pictures; one of a man and one of a woman. "Human paper cannot last long in our territory," He once again thought aloud. As he stared at the piece, a crack of thunder echoed in the clouds as an early warning. "The storm is coming close,"

The sound of a sudden crash broke his intense thought. Not like a roar of thunder or a tree crashing into the waters. Like a rock being dropped. He turned back to see the rippled remains of a harsh landing. 

He again dove into the water to see a woman dressed in human clothing. Her eyes were closed, and she was completely immobile, with blood fading into the waters from her ankle. His eyes went wide, and he instinctively launched himself. 

He wrapped his large arms around her body before he could pull her back up the surface once again. However, they were hit with powerful rain that felt like hail beating against his head when they breached. 

"Posiden, give me strength!" He cried out before he swam them both near the cliff. "Ok. Ok. I hope you can last a few minutes," he mumbled before he dived again. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The human lay on a bed of sand as he wrapped her wounded ankle with long strips of thick seaweed. Her hair was slightly matted in front of her face, and her clothes were soaking wet. 

"This woman has the luck of the gods. A jump that steep, and all she did was cut her ankle on one of the rocks. Such strange creatures humans are," 

They both were shielded from the storm inside an underwater cave. Small stalactites dangled from the ceiling as faint drops continued to drip from the rain. The cave walls were rocky but had a few waterfalls that dripped into the pond-like entrance, where he quietly tended to the human woman. 

After securing the seaweed to her, he moved up her body to remove her golden locks from her face. 

Her heart-shaped face was smooth with a little button nose and flat lips that were open wide as she took in her much-needed oxygen. His head tilted to the side as he felt a send of deja vu through his scales. As he pondered where he had seen this face before, an epiphany. 

He turned to the other side of the pool and reached for the gold necklace he found on the seafloor. He forced open the pendant, and his eyes lit up to see the familiar face inside the locket. 

"So this is hers?" He turned his head slightly towards the still-unconscious woman. "Did she jump in to save it?" He returned to the jewelry piece and placed it next to her head. With a quick raise of his eyebrows, he tilted his head to the side. "Humans are passionate. Wish they would take care of our territory as they care for their items, and my home would not be dying," he grumbled. 

The human suddenly moved, and a slight groan escaped her throat. He gasped before he quickly sunk into the water. Deep into the pool and under the rock wall, he watched the woman rise from her slumber from a rippled screen, only to again lay against the dried sand.

"Poseidon, give me strength,"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The storm had turned into nothing but lingering clouds.

The sound of fresh waves crashing against the shore and the cold water brushing against her legs woke the woman up. She opened her eyes with a deep gasp of much-needed air. Her body throbbed with pain as she forced herself up on her elbows before her bright blue eyes scanned her current location. 

"I'm... on a beach?" She asked herself before she felt something cold under her palm. Her eyes went wide, and a bright smile grew on her face. "My locket!" She opened the pendant and signed in relief that the pictures were still intact. She pressed the locket against her chest as tears welled in her eyes. "Thank the gods," She cried out. 

As she reveled in the fact her locket was in her possession again, she looked out to the ocean. Unsure of how she managed to cling to her necklace, let alone survive the fall off the cliff, she remembered a voice echoing in her mind. 

Flashes of black hair and cold hands made her eyes move to her leg. There was seaweed wrapped around her leg. "So... there was a person," she gasped lightly before removing the makeshift bandage. Besides a cut along her outer ankle and pain from the harsh landing, she was unscathed.

With no explanation for how she survived, she moved to her knees and started praying. "Thank you, whoever you are," She called out to the world. 

Beyond the ocean and hiding behind a rock, the merman heard her voice call out. "You are welcome," He whispered under his breath before he dove deep into the water with only a splash.