No Matter What

Chapter VII

It did not take as long as I expected it to take me. In no time, I had learned how to sail a boat. Philip even taught me how to make one. He was sure it was destiny that had brought me to him. I do not believe in such a thing. How could there ever be a reason behind suffering so great as the loss of a parent? How could wars of discrimination possibly be part of a plan? No. God had made the earth, trusted humans to take care of it, and instead they slowly destroy it. It will be centuries before we realize it, and by then it will probably be too late.

Philip gave me the directions the pirate had informed him of. I asked him if he could come with me and he said he could not.

"It's not because of the danger, I could easily cover my ears with wax. It's just... I can't leave my father. You understand, I'm sure." I nodded. The light the lantern I held gave off reflected from his ocean eyes. Shadows flickered against his face.

I thought of my mother and how hard it had been to leave her.

He jumped back on the rocks and I put up the sail. The wind pushed against it and the boat began to move. Philip untied the rope that kept the boat from drifting off and I watched as he became smaller. He stood there, heartbroken, split between conflicting desires. I could tell it tore him apart inside, not going. I wondered if I would ever see him again.

The wind picked up and the boat started to move faster. The stars shimmered like they always do in the sky, but they did not help my hopeless situation. The lantern I had hung up helped me see around me, but the light did not travel very far, and I needed it to. I could not see any further than four feet in front of me.

I dealt with it as best as I could, struggling with the little light I got from the lantern, the moon, and the stars. I was not sure whether I was trembling from the freezing temperatures or the fear I was trying to keep in the back of my mind. The familiar symptoms of anxiety manifested in me. For a second, the ground moved. I sat down and it leveled back to the casual swing of the boat.

I was about to stand up, when I felt it again. The boat shook. I stood up and took the lantern off the hook that held it. I illuminated the sides of the boat. Nothing. I must have been imagining it.

I screamed. There it was. Under my boat, all around it, they were horrible. They were mermaids. Now with the lantern on my hand, I could clearly see them. The awful rocks. Jagged and sharp, just like Philip had described them. On the rocks, bones of sailors and pirates, some still had the residue of their flesh, rotting away.

And the mermaids, they were even more terrifying. Green, like the rocks, half fish and half monster. Their heads were covered in scales and their hungry smiling mouths had teeth coming out in every direction. The scariest thing were their eyes. Captivating. Bright red. They reflected the light of my lantern so their eyes looked like fire. Their looks incinerated my insides. Something had exploded in me. There was utter silence. I froze.

Silence. Until one mermaid started screaming. That mermaid was accompanied by an other, then another, one more. The sound became louder as more creatures produced the same screeching sound. Suddenly, they were all screaming. The sound waves of that horrific choir pushed and slammed against my head over and over again and I dropped the lantern. The melted wax burned my foot, but all I could feel was the crushing weight of the sirens. I crouched down, now I was screaming. I felt my skin burn and I looked at my arms, I screamed even louder. Sprouting, cutting through my flesh were green scales. I was in no condition to think rationally so I just tried desperately to bury them back in or brush them off.

I took out the black blade from my bag and scraped in against my arms. My eyes rolled back in their sockets. Excruciating pain pulsed through my body. I could not take it any longer, I took the blade and I lifted it up. I saw the stars. The stars.