Above the Waves

Chapter 3: A Lonely Wizard

[Word Count: 1160]

The first rays of sun shriveled over the horizon as I sat on the stone wall that boarded The Summer Island. I scurried down the wall as swiftly as I could and raced for the shore, diving deep into the water, to safely return to my freezing, coral bed before anyone noticed I'd gone for a midnight adventure.

My mother was luckily still dozing on the familiar coral bed. I lent over and carefully placed a hand on her round belly. It wouldn't be long until she would have to drift onto the island with Flora, the midwife, and deliver the baby.

I'd been 16 years since my father passed away and during the 16 years, my mother had moved on and was beginning to make a new life with a stunning merman named Isaac. 9 months ago, my mother had spent the night on land, with him. My mother proudly announced she was pregnant a few weeks later. The baby was due to come any day now.

I lay down beside my mother and stare up at the waves on the surface, daydreaming of the wonderful place the human's called 'home'. I thought about the wizard, Lincoln, and how strangely he acted. How calm and friendly he was and how his attitude changed so quickly to fear when I told him I was from the South Pacific pod.

Once the pod was awake and everyone had begun their day, I made my way to the back of the island and I sat down in the sand of the forbidden North Beach. Though it was distant, I wanted to see the human world in the light of day, I wanted to see humans.

There were children splashing in the shallow waters and an old man standing by the trees, as if he was staring at me. But I knew he couldn't see me, I could barely see him and my eyesight was pretty good. The man was tall with a long, silver beard that reached his waist and he was dressed in all different shades of purple with a large belt. Lincoln.

Just who I wanted to talk to.

I picked myself up and onto my feet and rush for the waves but I lost sight of the wizard. I knew he could vanish into thin air but in such a public place? I hadn't even taken my eyes off him, where did he go?

"Heard you were looking for me," his voice calls from behind me.
I turn, "What- How- I wasn't looking-"
"Told you, darling. I see things that nobody else sees."
"So you're a mind reader now?"
"I guess I am," he does his little jig and walks up the beach to me.

I giggle to myself, he was so cheerful and his tone of voice just cracked me up. Lincoln looked like he could easily be in his seventies, maybe eighties. He dressed like he was born a thousand years ago, mind you, he probably was. He wore a violet robe with a large, lilac belt, a dark pointed hat with the brim turned up and heeled boots with buckles. He looked like the kind of man who'd never mess around.

"What exactly did you want from me then?" he asks, still smiling.
"Well, I- I wanted to know why-" I drift off.

I stop myself. I didn't want to have the same effect as last night, I didn't want him to run off as soon as I said where I was from. I needed to be fierce and just let it out so he'd have no choice but to tell me what was so bad about my pod.

"I want to know why you left as soon as I told you about my parents and my pod," I shout.
"Afraid I can't tell you that, darling," he says.
"Can't or won't?"

I raise a small fire ball from my palm, a simple trick I'd been taught in my first moon classes with all the other tiny mermaids. I had to do whatever I needed to do to get what I wanted from a wizard, didn't I?

Mother always said I'm very calm and caring but I have a short temper. When someone crosses me, I'm quick to snap and start fights. She tells me a short temper is not a flaw but something to be thankful for. Thankful that I can take control of situations, like this one, so easily.

The wizard laughs, "Am I supposed to be scared of a small ball of fire?"

He pulls a twig from his robe pocket, smiles, and begins swirling it in a circle, above his head. It's a wand. A spiral of white and fluffy clouds quickly appears above his head. The clouds soon turn very dark and stormy and then with a jab of Lincoln's wand, they glow orange as he sets them on fire. He grins at me, shakes his wand and the sky is clear and sunny again.

He must notice my awestruck look, "I'm a wizard, what did you expect, darling?"
"N-Nothing," I smile, wondering what other tricks he had up his sleeve.
"So, why do you want to know about your pod so badly?" he asks.
I shrug, "Just curious, I guess."
"Haven't you heard what curiosity did to the cat?"

Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

It was a famous saying in the human world. I believe it's sort of a way of telling someone to mind their own business, their curiosity is annoying. Or the saying might be just about someone's cat falling into a bathtub and drowning because it was curious about the water, I guess I'll never know.

"I admire your determination, June, but some stories are not meant to be told," he turns and begins to walk back down the beach.
"You knew my father, didn't you?"
"Ah," he smiles and jumps to faces me again, "I guess you're a mind reader too."
"What did he do?" I shout, exhausted by his games.
"Why would I tell you." I don't understand how he could remain so cheerful all the time.
"Alexander was my father, don't I deserve to know what he's done?"
"June, listen, your father-"
"Tell me," I didn't want him stalling any longer.

Alexander was my father, though I'd never met him I knew he was a strong and brave man. He didn't fighting for my mother. A rouge tiger shark had made its way into our pod boundaries and had taken an eye for my mother, who was pregnant with me. My father had scared the shark off but later died from a large bite in his chest.

For once the wizard wasn't smiling, "Your mother and your father, well, they did some terrible things to me and my family," he seemed lost for words.
I sit down in the sand and he joins me, "I'm listening."