Owen of Atlantis

5: Just Breath

     When I wake up, I'm dazed and confused. I sit up and look around. Moments later I realize; I'm under water?! I begin freaking out. I look up. I'm so far below the surface. I start swimming upward, fearful I am going to drown. I stop. "Am I breathing?" I say out loud to myself. I look down. My eyes grow wide. Once where my pale legs once were, was a blue-green tail. I swim back down. In the sand nearby, I find an old mirror in a pile of ocean litter. My once extremely pale body was now slightly tanner. My once pure chocolate colored hair, was dark blue at the ends. I look at my left arm. "I never got any tattoos?" There was now a black tribal band tattoo on my upper left arm.  I sit down on the sand. I run my fingers against the tail. It's now way smoother then it was before. I look around. I see a pair of fish swim by, a Blue Tang and an Angel fish. The Blue Tang looks and the Angel fish, "he looks mighty lost, doesn't he Brenda?" I look at them. "He looks confused too George, should we help him?" Are they talking? I thought to myself.   
     They swim over to me. The blue tang looks me in the eyes, "are you lost, boy?" I scream, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THE FISH IS TALKING TO ME." The fish rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he's lost alright Brenda. The names George. This is Brenda." Brenda was looking at herself in the discarded mirror. George rolled his eyes again. "Where are you from, young man?" I shrugged. "Atlantic City, New Jersey." The fish laughed. "There's no mer-life in Atlantic City." I shrugged. Everything was so strange. I have no clue where I was, or where I was going. I have no clue who I am anymore. Now, there are talking fish. I look up,  questioning him, "Does South-West Morocco sound familiar?" He smiles, (I think), "Yes, yes." He looks down at my arm, "ah, the royal tattoo of the kingdom of Atlantis." What? I look at my arm again. Brenda swims over, "don't be silly, George. There's very few of the royal ones left living. About three, I believe. There's Madam Amelia, Sir Nigel, and of course King Oliver." I looked down in the sand. Brenda gasped. She whispered something in George's ear. His eyes grew wide, "What if he is?" They looked at me. "What if I'm what?" I asked.
"You say you're from Atlantic City? How long did you live there?" Brenda asked.
I thought for a moment, "Since I was one. I'm 16 now, 17 in two weeks." Brenda screamed, "the prophecy!" I scoot back. George swims closer, "He even has the scar of Stormy Nights."  I get up and feel my scar. Brenda chuckles, "he really resembles the bastard, King Oliver. What Merman marries a human girl, thinking they can be together?" She rolls her eyes. George thinks for a minute. "We need to get you too Morocco. We're about 2,000 miles now." I think for a minute, "I thought it was 3,000?" George laughs, "bud, you're a long ways from Atlantic City." I guess I floated for a while when I was out. "What day is it?" I ask. "September 23rd," Brenda says. "I WAS OUT FOR A WEEK?" I yelled. I sit back down. Jesus Christ. "Get up," George says, "it's about time we get you home." I get back up and the start swimming. I watch them go. George turns around, "are you coming?" I sigh. I might as well, it's not like I have anything better to do. With that, we were off.