Gone in the Night

2

During my stroll on the beach I decided to take in the scenery. On the right side of the beach if you are standing on the beach looking towards the ocean is a very woody area with lots of trees. Then on the left side of the beach were lots of condos and homes. I can definitely imagine why someone would want to live so close to the beach. The ocean especially during sunrise or at night was a very beautiful sight. Then the ocean breeze and the scent of ocean spray with the sand between the toes. This would be exactly where I'd want to live. 

After I finished my stroll around the shore of the beach I decided that I needed to find a place to rest for the night. Since I'm new here I don't really have a place to stay so I decided to go into the woody part of the beach to camp out. 

The next morning I heard some chatter so I sprung up from my slumber. I made my way off of the beach towards civilization. I walked right off of the beach into this town full of shops and restaurants and I would almost bet there were at least 50 people around here, if not more. Without paying attention I briefly ran into a young male that gave me a weird look before hurriedly walking off. 

I walked up to this coffee shop that was on the side of the street. I gazed up at the menu. My mind was perplexed. 

Then a girl with wavy shoulder length brown hair and a sundress with sandals walked up and ordered her some of this "coffee". She turned around and smiled at me.

"Hey my name is Fayre, what's your name?" She asked me.

"M-My name is Marina" I responded.

"Nice to meet you Marina. So are you from around here?" She wondered. 

"Actually I'm new here." I said with a low tone.

"I love your dress. I had one just like it. I put it out on the line last night to dry but when I woke up this morning it was gone. Where are your shoes? Do you have a place to stay?" She inquired with a puzzled look on her face.

"Actually I...I don't have shoes or a place to stay." I answered. 

"Well, you can stay with me if you would like." She exclaimed.

"Sure, I'd love to." I chuckled. 

It was my first day of being a human and I had already managed to make a friend. The only problem was by now she was probably wondering why I didn't have any shoes and was practically homeless. I knew she probably had tons of other questions she wanted to ask me. But before she could get another question out I decided to ask her one. 

"I know you are probably wondering by now why I don't have any shoes or a place to stay? It's actually because while I'm from around here I'm not actually from here." 

I could see the puzzled look on her face turn into shock. 

"You see I am actually from a cove about 20 miles from the shore. I live there with my mother and our pod." I added.

"Pod?" Fayre stammered. 

"I'm a mermaid. You know...half human, half fish." I shrieked. 

You would have thought the look on her face meant that she had seen a ghost. I really didn't expect her to believe me though. Because to humans all we are is a myth or a fictional species in a story. 

We walked in silence to Fayre's condo which just so happened to be on the beach. That's when I realized that the dress I was wearing is the dress I took off of her clothes line last night. 

I told her that she needed to lie down for a bit and get some rest. 

A little while later after much needed rest Fayre came into the front room where I was sitting. I was looking out onto the beach watching the waves roll into the shore. 

"So you are really a mermaid?" she asked me.

"Yes, I am." I responded as she sat down next to me on the couch.

"You know this is a lot for my mind to process but I believe you." she said to me with compassion in her voice as she laid her hand on my shoulder.

If there was one person that I was happy to share my secret with it was her. It was almost as if I had known her my whole life.

"And you're welcome for the dress." she giggled.

Alas, she knew it was me that took her dress. Although now I will no longer have to keep that a secret. 

"Do you miss your home?" she asked me.

"I do. I miss my mom most of all. My dad died when I was a young child so it's always just been me and her." I answered while trying to hold back tears.

"What happened to him if you don't mind me asking?" she wondered.

"Well, he met my mom while  he was out fishing on a boat. It was like love at first sight for them. A human and a mermaid. Of course he knew about her secret of being a mermaid. When they became very close she invited him to our cove. They were together for 3 years before I was born. He never could stay long at the cove since he had a job to do. Fishing was his job...when I was 3 he was out on the boat fishing when he was pulled under. My mom tried to save him, but she couldn't. He had spent too long in the water and became entangled in their fishing net when he was pulled under. It's just been me and her since then." I answered through tears.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry." Fayre said as she turned around to hug me. 

We spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other. When it got dark outside she invited me to her fire-pit out by the beach as we roasted marshmallows and marveled at the beauty that was sitting right in front of us. I knew that being away from home was hard because I missed my mom more than anyone ever could but somehow being here with Fayre and knowing I have someone that is like the sister I never had made it that much easier to call this place home too.