Angel of the Sea

Chapter III

I looked around, hoping there was no one around before pushing the large stone covering the entrance. There was barely anyone ever around. Ariel chose wisely for a location for her beautiful treasures. I swam in, and looked around for some familiar red hair.

"Ariel," I called, quietly.

I found her lying on a rock, studying a pointy object.

"What's that?" I asked, swimming towards her.

She looked up at me, and gave me a small smile.

"Scuttle called it a Dinglehopper," she answered, mentioning our friend, Scuttle, a sea gull who gave us the names of objects that Ariel and I would find.

"Dinglehopper?" I repeated after her.

"That's what he said it was. What do you think it does?" Ariel asked me.

I shrugged. "Poke people?"

Ariel laughed. "I think it's used to brush hair. Here, lets try it."

I swam in front of her, and sat on the rock. She started to pass the dinglehopper through my hair.

"Are you alright, Angel?" Ariel asked, worry sensed in her voice.

"Family issues. You don't have to worry about it," I assured.

"Angel, if I could do anything to take away your worries and troubles, I would do it," Ariel soothed.

"Don't we all wish for that?" I whispered. "What's the purpose of being this, anyway?"

Ariel put the object away. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are mermaids supposed to do? Why is swimming all we can do? There has to be more to it."

"Maybe there is. We just haven't found it yet. I believe that every person has his or her own special ability for something. You just have to look for it," Ariel advised.

"I wish we didn't have to bother looking for things. If only our needs could just appear out of nowhere," I said.

Ariel and I lied down next to each other on the ground, our tails on opposite side. As I looked to my left, I was met with the left side of Ariel's face. We both looked up.

"Hey, Ariel. If we can't walk, do you think we can fly?" I wondered, remembering the time my brother told me of how he flew in Neverland.

Ariel chuckled. "Angel, you are just full of curiosity."

"You and I both," I pointed out.

There was a silence after that, but later broken by Ariel.

"Do you ever think about Clyde much?" she asked.

"I try not to, but it happens from time to time. What about you?"

"Every now and then, yes."

I could tell the message behind her voice.

When Clyde was still around, he was good friends with Ariel. I remembered how she would always blush around him, and how hard she tried to impress him. It never really bothered me, I mean, we were 2 little girls. One of them just had a crush on the other's brother.

"You liked him so much, didn't you?" I asked, looking up.

I could hear her head shift to the side, and I could hear her try to hold back a laugh. "We were young, Angel. It was just a silly crush. I still wonder how I'd feel if he were still here."

I wondered so many things. What would life be like if Clyde were still around? How different would life be?

Where would we be right now?

My thoughts were interrupted by Ariel's talented voice.

"I wanna be where the people are.."

Huh, what a coincidence.

"Ariel, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I wanna see, wanna see them dancing," she continued.

"Oh, please don't start," I pleaded, trying to resist the smile that was starting to appear on my face.

When I was younger, Ariel sang to me all the time. I loved it when she sang. It brought me to the best moods if I was sad or angry.

"Walking around on those... What do you call 'em?" she asked, turning to me.

She was now floating through the water, while I still lied on the ground with my arms crossed below my head.

"Feet," I said, disinterested.

"Oh, feet," she repeated, making a funny face.

That obviously earned a chuckle from me.

Though, I hate thinking of the past or when people compared me to my younger self, and I kept giving them the excuse that I was 'too old for that', Ariel made me think the memories were what counted.