Mermaids Don't Cry (Short Story) COMPLETE

Au Revoir

'You took my powers and now you want to leave me to die? If you leave, who will feed me?'

But the skeleton had already made up his mind. He could no longer stay and take care of the mermaid out of guilt.

'I only came to bid you farewell. Take care of yourself.'

That night, the skeleton tied a rope to a sailboat's bowsprit while it was anchored for the night. He waited till dusk to tie himself firmly to the rope and as the boat took off he was pulled underwater all the way to shore. He had recognized the name of the sailboat, "Splendour" and knew it was headed in the direction of his old town. After a bumpy ride that felt like an eternity, the skeleton arrived to the pier. He did not know how long he had travelled as he had spent most of the time sleeping.

He arrived at nighttime when the town was deserted and so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It looked like a ghost town. The skeleton spotted a peddler and hid in his carriage under a pile of quilts and old clothes. When the peddler arrived to his village, the skeleton sneaked out of the carriage dressed in a black tuxedo, a gentleman's hat and an old cane. He walked with a confident stride trying to conceal his excitement and dread. His bones were trembling and he felt as though his knees were about to collapse. He had spent so much time in the water he had forgotten how to walk. No one seemed to pay any notice to him. A dog came barking towards him and bit his leg. The skeleton felt not pain. He tried to shake the dog off his leg but it would not let him go so he knelt down and looked at the dog straight in the eyes. Terrified, the dog let out a high pitch squirm and immediately ran away with his tail between his legs. A man approached the skeleton and asked him if he was alright but he did not respond and continued on his way.