Mermaid

Seven

As I drove away from my home, I only knew two things for certain.

One, I was angry, angry at my mother, angry at my father, angry at Issac Larison, angry at myself. How dare my mother speak so ill of her husband? He was her Prince Charming who saved her from the boring, dry land of Dallas. He showed her the wonders of the ocean and of Seaside. He gave her his heart and she crumbled it up and threw it back into the sea. I just couldn't accept the fact that she truly believed he was dead. She had been on his boat. She had seen him in action. Why? Why did she think he and his crew lay at the bottom of the ocean. And my father, where was he? He never went too far out into sea. Even if he was stranded he should have made his way back by now. It's been three months; safety patrols and other ships searched the ocean around these parts often. If his ship was destroyed they would have found him after a few weeks, a month at most. And I knew for a fact he wasn't dead. We would have had his body already buried if he was. The patrols around here were efficient; they brought back whatever they found, dead or alive. So where was he? And Issac Larison, why did he randomly decide he wanted proof of mermaids? What would he gain from learning they existed? If anything, his popularity would have decreased drastically when everyone learned that I had been right all of these years and he had been wrong. Why did he want me to risk my life to find evidence? Why did I go out in the middle of the storm? Maybe I was as crazy as they all said. I shook my head and focused on the road.

Two, I knew I was driving but I didn't know where I wanted to go. I just wanted to be as far from my mother as possible. A downside of living in a small town on the edge of the ocean is there aren't many places to hide. I took a shaky breath and thought of where I could go and be alone for a few hours to get my emotions in check. I took a right at the stoplight and continued down the road when it clicked. I didn't need to be alone to calm down. I just needed a good story and someone to tell it to me. Smiling to myself, I stayed on the street that would take me to the beach. Sometimes my body knew what I wanted before my brain did.

I parked on the black asphalt and walked along the sandy beaches I knew too well towards the docks. Only a few ships were tied down to the wooden platform but my heart swelled when seeing the only boat that mattered in that instant.  The Dawn Treader , a beautiful white cabin cruiser swayed with the gentle waves. I smiled as I looked over the ship. It was old but still breathtaking. I admired the cursive purple lettering of the ship's name and how it almost looked regal against the clean pearl white of the boat. "Dakota Lynx? Is that you out there?" My smile widened when hearing the old yet stern voice of Sage Hart, proud owner of The Dawn Treader. "Aye, Captain," I said and looked at the deck of the cruiser. Out hobbled Captain Sage Hart. He was a tall man with dirty blond hair and crystal blue eyes. The captain was dressed in a long sleeve sweater, dark brown pants, with yellow rain overalls covering most of his body. Large black rain boots covered his feet and reached all the way to his knees. "Permission to come aboard, Captain," I said, meeting Sage's gaze. When he smiled wrinkles formed by his eyes. The old fisherman held out a hand to me. "Permission granted."

I took Sage's hand and he pulled me onto The Dawn Treader. I could feel excitement surge through me once my feet landed on the clean deck. I knew this ship as well as I knew my father's, The Sun Runner. Sage and my father had been deckhands on The Emerald Star  when they were teenagers. They had grown up together, worked together, and sailed together for years. Sage was my father's best friend and in a sense, my uncle. I looked at the middle aged man and I could see the same desire for the ocean that my father had, in his crystal blue eyes. Seeing Sage reminded me so much of my father and I sighed. The sailor raised an eyebrow and I knew he could sense something was wrong, the same way he could sense when a storm was coming despite the clear blue skies. "Have a seat, lass." I did as told and took a seat on the white bench on the back of the cruiser. Sage disappeared down into the cabin of the boat and I breathed in the familiar salty air. A light breeze rushed over the water and my hair billowed in the wind. I pushed the brown strands out of my face when hearing Sage return. He reappeared on the deck, two brightly colored mugs in his hand. He handed me the neon green mug and I took it, smiling. The cup was warm in my hands and I looked down to see black coffee. "I'm afraid I don't have any cream or sugar," Sage grumbled as he sat down across from me. I took a sip of the steaming drink and smirked. "Thank you, Sage." He nodded and took a drink from his bright red mug. As he drunk, I could see his eyes over the cup. I knew he was studying me. I looked down at the deck and took another sip of the bitter coffee. "Are you gonna tell me what's bothering you or am I gonna have to ask?" I rolled my eyes. Sage Hart, as blunt and direct as ever. I held the warm mug tightly in my hands and looked up at the old fisherman. "She thinks he's really dead," I said softly. I didn't need to clear up my pronouns. Sage knew exactly who I was talking about. He always did. "She isn't even sad anymore. It's like she doesn't care..." I whispered. Sage's face was unreadable and when he didn't speak, I continued. "She told me I need to give up on him and the mermaids. She actually said that to me. It's like she didn't know who she was talking to. He raised me to believe in the impossible and she wants to leave it alone and pretend they don't exist." My voice was rising with each word and the anger bubbled inside me.