A Merman's Tale

Fates: Chapter Forty-One

Seirra

She killed herself.

It was a combination of my father's words and the way he spoke them that made me shiver with terror and disbelief.

I had always believed that a person had enough strength to go through life no matter how difficult it became. Ending one's own life was a sign of weakness and cowardice. Hearing that my own mother committed suicide was never something I wanted to hear.

"No." My disagreement was firm. "She never did such a thing!"

My exclamation did not sound so sure and my father picked up on it.

"Son, I was there the moment her eyes closed."

He choked on his words and I knew then that he could only be telling the truth.

"I was holding her for the last time...for her last five seconds. And then slowly, I had to watch her disappear into bubbles, leaving nothing else but the ring she insisted I should give her when we married."

Having a wedding ring was something humans did and imagining the truth of what happened was enough to cause me grief.

"After that day, I could never go back to the way I was before. I was never the same again. Ariana was...She was my life but she...She left too soon."

I heard the sob at the end of my father's words and I knew that there was more to my mother's death than he had revealed.

"Why?" I asked, already dreading an answer that I knew would not be good. "Why would she kill herself?"

My father's gaze focused on me with an intensity that was neither grief nor anger. It was difficult to explain but it caused a shiver to run down my spine.

And then he diverted his eyes toward Margaret's. The way he looked at her was chilling. Like he was both scared and angry.

"She suffered from terrifying--no, terrorizing--nightmares. Nightmares that caused her depression even when she was awake. In the end, nothing could get her through it. She could no longer distinguish what was real and what was not. And I wasn't strong enough to help her."

He paused, reminiscing everything. He was completely lost in his memories. I did not take his attention back and merely took his shaking hand. This was the most aggrieved I had ever seen of him. It was as if the man in front of me was not my father.

I knew he needed me but I was glad that he did not seem to notice that he was gripping my hand because I knew he would ask if I had forgiven him. I understood his grief but I still was not sure how I would answer that right now. He was, after all, the enemy who had attacked me and Margaret.

After a moment, Margaret spoke, albeit hesitantly.

"I couldn't even say that I understand what you're feeling but...what do I have to do with any of this?"

She looked confused and terrified. I had a hunch on what all these meant to her but I didn't want to be the one to tell her. Instead, I faced my father and prayed that what I thought was wrong.

"When Ariana died, I wanted the veil gone," my father began.

"I thought that without the veil, Aquanians would be free to roam the lands. Things would not have been so difficult. And maybe, that was the key to end the curse on us. Maybe we wouldn't age so fast if we were free to be with humans in the first place."

Margaret absorbed his words with both wonder and fear when something suddenly clicked in her head.

"You mean like...your Princess Marina?"