A Drop in the Ocean [On Hold]

Part 9

Weeks crept by, with the only mermaid sightings taking place in the doodles of Tania's margins. As always, good ol' Ryan took notice of her artistry, giving appreciative wolf whistles of her various merfolk depictions.

She thought about him, even when she didn't want to. Why was he so nice, and so stupid? What kind of life led to such a juxtaposition?

At practice, Caleb praised her dedication, but she felt like fraud. If her mind wasn't on one boy, then it was on another. Or, if she wasn't thinking about men on land, then she was thinking of the one she had met under the sea.

What is wrong with me?

Tania had taken science and health class, and knew that hormones played somewhere into all of this. Yet, this was getting ridiculous. She wanted that dedication back, the one Caleb insisted he saw in her. It was a single mindedness, and there was a comfort in that. She wondered if that's how Ryan felt about his outlook on others, the comfort in the single-mindedness, of being assured in your knowledge of the world and others place in it.

The necklace stayed on her at all times. It was extremely comfortable, and sometimes she forgot she was wearing it.

During the night, her hand would close around it, and it was the only way she could get to sleep. The dreams are strange, if you could call them dreams. When she awoke, she was more tired and she was rested, and often times, she would wake up with what clothes, but not from sweat. At least, she didn't think it was sweat

In her dreams, she was always swimming. Sometimes she would be swimming during the day, by herself, the sun warming her back. Other times, the moon would light her way, the strokes forward lasting for hours, the shore a dot on the horizon. It was in these dreams, surrounded by the silver, glittering waves, that she would encounter her mer friend.

"You keep coming back," Deloros said.

He always surfaced in front of her, perhaps not wanting to scare her, especially given just how dark it was.

Tanya had experienced a nightmare or two. On her nightly swims, instead of meeting Deloros, something unseen in the dark depths caught her foot in its mouth, dragging her down, and down. Thankfully, that wasn't this dream.

"Do you want me to come back?" She was genuinely curious.

"Of course," he replied. "Interacting with your kind is intensely fascinating."

She wanted to ask something to the effect of, so I'm not your first? But was saved that awkwardness when he dipped back under the waves.

The necklace did what it was supposed to do, and began to glow. Small tendrils reached out from its edges, embedding into her chest.

Though she didn't need to, she took a deep breath, and followed Deloros into the shadowy depths.