A Merman's Tale

Seirra: Chapter Sixteen

     I was drowning.

     Rushing water surrounded me everywhere and despite all my efforts to breathe, no air seemed to find its way to my lungs.    

     This couldn’t be. I was a merman—a creature made to live underwater. There was no reason for me to be in trouble right now. Water was like air to me. Drowning was ridiculous. My mind refused to comprehend any difficulty so I took a breath.

     And I felt myself choking to my death.

     In a flash, I saw everything around me. All these water. I was in Aquania—or what used to be Aquania. Panic rose to my throat. Unconscious floating mermen were everywhere and debris from what used to be our homes rushed past me. Then I saw my father. He was still fighting the water, struggling to stay alive. It sent a burst of energy within me and I did the same thing as he. I moved and resisted against the water’s obviously stronger control, trying to get away and help him.

     The next thing I saw made my movements stop cold.

     My father’s hands swiftly moved towards his neck, his eyes rolled backwards as his mouth opened, torrents of bubbles escaping as water took over his body.

     A scream of despair broke out from my throat.

     Then my eyes flew open.

     The sun had not risen yet and darkness surrounded me. I was breathing hard and fast as I lay on my makeshift bed, frozen in fear.

     “It’s just a dream,” I whispered into the silence of the living room. I shook my head. “No, a nightmare.”

     Slowly, I lifted my body off the cushions and allowed myself to breathe more gradually.

     “Seirra?” Marge’s frantic voice drifted towards me. “I heard a scream.”

     I listened to the muted footsteps along the wooden floorboards as Margaret crossed the room to switch on the lights. The sudden flash of brightness rendered me momentarily blind and I raised a hand to cover my eyes. It took me several blinks before I could finally see clearly. Margaret had gone on to sit beside me on the bed. She took one of my hands and gazed at me, worry written all over her face.

     “What happened?”

     “Just a nightmare,” I shrugged lightly, hoping she wouldn’t be bothered any further.  

     “You screamed. I can’t assume that it’s ‘just’ a nightmare,” she replied indignantly as she crossed her arms across her chest.

     I suddenly felt some sort of emptiness. I rather liked her holding my hand.

     “Fine. I dreamt about Aquania getting destroyed and mermen drowning. My father included.” I saw her eyes widen in shock and I hurried to add, “It would never happen, Marge. I won’t let it.”

     My voice might have sounded too confident because the shock in Margaret’s eyes was replaced with delight.

     “You’ve thought of an alternative? You no longer need Marina?” she asked excitedly.

     I gave her a snort in reply accompanied with a rather sharp “Of course not!”

     “Hmph. No need to sound so scandalized,” she retorted. “I know you’re not quite that smart.”

     She said it in a mocking way, complete with a little jab on my forehead. The insult, however, was ruined by a soft laugh that followed afterwards.