The Mermaid Tale "If I Could Stand"

Fiore

Andrina was raving about how her date had been. Her lover had taken her to an elegant restaurant on a boat. I smiled at how happy she was. Her eyes were full of twinkling love and I could hear her heart beating faster than ever. Even her hands seemed to tremble on the wheel of the car. I suppose love from a man felt exhilarating though I had no idea what it felt like.

"Once, you fall in love with someone Anastasia you'll understand how it feels. It's one of the best things to feel when your human. One thing you have to learn about life is that you need love. If you don't have it you'll be miserable and alone."
I listen to her carefully. She reminded me of how my mother would speak to me about such topics. My mother told me that I should never marry until I'm twenty nine, because it's the age of maturity in the sea for a female. I wasn't sure if that was true, but I got it from my mom.
"How many lovers have you had in total Andrina?" I ask curiously.
She sighs in exhaustion as she counts them in her head. Her eyes darting to the left corner of her eye every few seconds.
"Well, in my total life I've had at least twenty."
My eyes widen, and she catches my expression and laughs.
"It's not that big of a deal. I had nothing else to do on land. I'm beautiful and men just trailed right after me. They'll trail after you too since your a mermaid. We're more beautiful than the normal girls out there."
I was thinking that Andrina could be a little too prideful in us. I think the human girls are at least on the same level as we are. Some maybe even prettier. I wasn't sure what went on her mind, but there was in no doubt that Andrina was beautiful.

     Later on that evening Andrina made me something called spaghetti. It had a sauce made of tomatoes, and these long strings called noodles. She decided to put some clams with it just because it tasted better with it to me. We ate as the music from her little radio played throughout the kitchen. The song was called "Shut Up And Dance." It was catchy and I bopped my head to the beat.
"Well, are you excited about starting school?" She asks.
"I guess I am. I met some friends, but I need uniforms. Luckily, I got this schedule thingy."
I pulled the paper with my classes out my jacket pocket.
"Be careful not to damage it."She tells me wiping her mouth with her napkin.
"I won't. I don't wanna get lost on the first day."

   I finish eating and go to my room. I gently close the door behind me and sit on my soft bed. I caress the sheets. My eyes close and my mind drifts off to Alessandro. I couldn't stop thinking about his presence. He was certainly the best looking human of all time. He had talked to me and introduced himself. Maybe, he was interested in me! I hope he was. My heart fluttered.
  I grabbed the little blue journal on my drawer and I wrote down my feelings inside of it. Andrina had told me it was a diary. I loved the idea of it, and so I decided to get one. I want to remember my human life always.

The next morning I wake up early and crack open the safe Andrina had given me filled with money. Today, I was going to get my school supplies by myself. Money was the least of my issues. Andrina had wads of cash laying around the house. I picked up at least fifty 100 dollar bills.
  I put on this dress with flowers. It seemed a little old fashioned like a vintage dress, but Andrina had many dresses like it in my room, and I loved the way it looked on me. I put a bow in curly red hair, and threw on some random shoes, and hopped on my bicycle in the front yard. I hurried before Andrina woke up to stop me. I wanted to go by myself this time. I'm living my human life.

  Even the bike I was riding felt old. It kept making squeaky noises as I rode through the neighborhood. I saw some people just stop and turn and look at me in interest. One man even tried to help me fix my bike, but I told him I was fine. He even followed me while I was long gone down the path.

    I finally made a turn and got on to the Main Street. The sun was beaming on my face and the breeze brushed through my thick curls. It felt good to be free. I hummed along the car riding right next to me as it blasted out some songs I didn't know. It was playing something called "Say Something." I looked over at the car to see two girls dancing to the song. They had short brown hair, and they looked just alike. They looked at me and smiled. I smiled to but made another turn to the next road. People were watching me in awe. The cars stopped to let me through and I waved as a thank you. No one else on the street was riding on a bike besides me. I guess I looked a bit crazy.