Beauty and the Merman

Chapter 1

I don't like my name. My father is a fisherman; he and my mother both loved to go out on the ocean. It was always their calling. So naturally, when they had their first little bundle of joy, they named me Marina, after the sea.
What never crossed their mind, was that I would be terrified of the ocean. I don't see why people wouldn't be. There are sharks, jellyfish, stingrays, whales, and countless other things that could kill you. So, of course, I never learned how to swim, but to make everything worse, my mother died when I was eight years old. She went out on the fishing boat with my father and never came back. Dad never talks about the day I lost Mom.
Dad doesn't understand that I can't go in the ocean. I have always been afraid of the ocean, even before Mom died.

I remember when I was six years old, I stood on the beach. Tears were streaming down my face and I wondered what stopped me from going in. Somehow, I knew that the ocean was a dangerous place, never to be trusted.
As I was standing there, I felt arms grab me from behind. I burst my lungs until the perpetrator walked around me and looked at me with a familiar smile. It was Dad. Now that I could breathe again, I remembered my tear-stained cheeks and hurriedly tried to wipe the evidence. I could see the concern on Dad's face. He had seen me crying.
"Marina, what's wrong?" Dad asked, looking at me with a forced smile.
"Nothing," I lied.
Dad just looked at me.
"It's just the ocean."
"What about the ocean?" I could hear the confusion in his voice. He couldn't imagine anything in the ocean to cause my distress.
"Just ... everything. It's big and scary. Why do you and Mom always have to go out there?"
"Is that what's bothering you? Are you scared that me and Mom are in danger? Don't worry. The ocean may be scary, but it's also beautiful. You know, you can't be scared of it forever. You don't know what you're missing. You should conquer your fear."
"No, Dad. I can't. I can't go in the water."
Dad looked at me with a mischievous smile. The kind of smile he gets right before he's about to tickle me and I knew a second too late what he was going to do. Before I could run away, he scooped me up in his arms and began running into the water.
"NO! DAD! TAKE ME BACK! PLEASE NO! DAD! DADDY!"
Dad got waist deep in the water before he looked at my face sadly. "It's okay, Marina. I got you. I'll keep you safe."
"No! Take me back!" I was trying to climb up his shoulders to stay away from the ocean.
Dad hugged me and without a word, walked back out of the water. He sat down on the sand and held me while I shook. "You don't know what you're missing, Marina," Dad whispered in my ear.
I could hear the disappointment in his voice that cut straight through my heart. I felt guilty for hurting him, but I would do anything not to go in the ocean.

I climbed out of bed and walked to the kitchen. As always, when I entered the room, I was drowned in the penetrating smell of fish. Being a fisherman's daughter, we always eat some kind of fish everyday. As I am deciding between cereal and Pop-Tarts for breakfast, Dad comes in too. "Good morning, Marina."
All I can manage is an inarticulate grunt. I'm not a morning person.
Dad turned on the TV to the morning news and, without a second glance, began pouring himself some orange juice. I finally decided to on a Pop-Tart when I catch the word "storm" on the TV. Now I began to pay attention and brought up the volume. "Dad, do you know there's a storm coming?"
"No, I didn't."
"Maybe you shouldn't go out fishing today. It seems like it's going to be bad." Dad is a great fisherman and is usually safe out on the water, but I get scared when he goes out in his little fishing boat. He built it himself and that little boat scared me. It's so small, every time I see Dad get in, I expect it to sink under his weight.
"Marina, don't worry so much. It says the storm won't hit until the evening. I'll fish in the morning and then I'll be back before then."
    "But what if it hits early. You can go tomorrow." I could just imagine Dad capsizing in a storm that size with a boat as small as his is.
    "You know we need the fish. It's our livelihood." Dad planted a kiss on my cheek and put his cup in the sink. "Good-bye, Marina. See you tonight."
    "Bye." I watch as he walks out of the house and onto the beach. I wish he wouldn't go out.

    It's a Saturday, so I just stay inside the house and read Pride and Prejudice. It's my favorite book. I've never been in love, but I could read Jane Austen and fall in love with Mr. Darcy every time I open the book. Just as I'm at the part where Elizabeth first meets Mr. Darcy, I am startled by a boom of thunder that shakes the whole house.
     I jump up and look out the window, foolishly hoping to see Dad. He's nowhere in sight, but huge storm clouds darken the sky. I'm too worried to read now. So I go to my room and try to drown out the sound with music, but it doesn't subside my fear. I can't shake the knot in my stomach. I am worrying like crazy about Dad.
    Dying from pent-up energy, I bolt off my bed and go to the kitchen where I rummage around in the cupboard looking for some calming tea. I find chamomile tea and begin nervously fluttering around the kitchen preparing enough tea for myself and dad, in the hopes that he'll come back to drink it.
    Just as I'm about to sit down with my mug of tea in the living room, Dad bursts into the room, looking haggard and near death. I run straight to the front door and help him to the sofa. I am now grateful for the tea that I prepared for him. I run to the kitchen and bring him the tea as he barely looks me in the eye.
    "Dad, what's wrong? Please talk to me. What happened?" I'm frantic, I don't know what to do, so finally I decide to wait until he'll tell me what's wrong. I sit down and see my tea spilled on the floor. I must have dropped it in my hast to get to Dad. To give myself something to do, I clean it up and once again wait. After an eternity, Dad finally looks up at me and says, "I'm sorry, Marina."