THE WATERS :: ZAYN

rituals

—

It was about three in the morning when Solána realized she needed to go.

Zayn was cold and still as stone, his dark lashes fanning on his cheeks and his face relaxed due to not using the muscles. She still held his hand, and she still cried.

Solána saw the waves of water move on their own out of the blue, catching her attention. She narrowed her eyes and saw a figure come from the lake, black hair, long and thick like her own. She was tall and darkskin, prominent black features, a very slim waist, and a smile on her face. She wore something like a Amazonian woman would wear, worn animal skin barely covering her chest -- which was mostly because of her tightly coiled hair -- and a cloth skirt on the lower half. Her jewelry consisted of various animal teeth, gold, and shells, and a beaded hair band around her forehead.

"Solána Monroe," the voice sang in a smooth tone, deep and accented, "or as the slave master once called you, Rosaline McGeorge."

"Who--"

"I've come to take your man," she joked, walking on the water -- this better not be Jesus -- and towards the frightened mermaid. She was fully clothed and dry.

"What?"

"It's a joke, come on!" she laughed and it sounded like heaven, "but no, this man has been through enough, don't you think?"

"I--"

"I mean, he found a beautiful mermaid, showed her the ropes and fell in love with her, only to have died while she mourned because it was apparently all her fault."

"It was," Solána muttered quietly, "I should have noticed the trouble sooner, so--"

"Oh, Solána," the woman chuckled, "always so selfless. After all one hundred and forty something years on this planet, you are still the same."

"Who are you?" she asked finally, eyeing this woman carefully but also wondering how she knew her name.

"I'm Habibah, the first mermaid to ever exist."

Solána blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You have water in ya ears or what?" Habibah looked at her like she was crazy, "I'm the very first, and I've come to try and help you."

"But...but why me?"

"Because, firstly, dear, you look a mess," she laughed loudly and held her stomach, "secondly, I needed to get out more. I saw other mermaids futures the other day and looked at yours. Oh how panicked you were."

"For good reason," she mumbled tiredly, "I killed my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? That's pleasant." And this lady didn't look a day over twenty, her posture perfect and accent of some African decent. "Anyway, I came to help you out."

"How?"

"Bringing Zayn Malik back to life," she said nonchalantly, which peeked Solána's attention, "you've tried, but here I am, to help even more."

"Thank you, Ms--"

"Just call me what I told you," Habibah interrupted with a smile, "why can't more people be as polite and cute as you? Ugh, I hate it. Let's go. Get your dog, too."

"Okay," Solána ran over to Rhino, who only woke up to see who it was before napping again. She held him carefully while Habibah carried the still dead Zayn over her shoulder like a rag doll. Solána bit her lip because Habibah wasn't being careful, but Zayn was dead, and that was something the older mermaid would have said anyway.