A Merman's Tale

Fates: Chapter Thirty-Four

Margaret

     It was only Tuesday.

     With the way my life had been turned upside down in just two days, I couldn’t help but feel pessimistic the moment I realized that I was no longer in dreamland. Or more accurately, dreamless land.

     I decided to pull on a green cotton dress and a cardigan simply because I did not wish to expend that much energy on clothes. Even the thought of putting on a pair of jeans felt exhausting.

     I went through my morning routine in a mechanical manner; I was fidgety and anxious of whatever surprise I would encounter today.   

     It shouldn’t have been so shocking but when I came downstairs, I was rendered momentarily disoriented. I opened the door to the bookshop and there he was, looking like a dazzling piece of museum artwork as he read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. His expression was too serious that one would think he was actually reading something complicated—like an encyclopedia.

     I smiled in spite of myself. Harry Potter may have a lot of complex ideas and underlying meanings but it wasn’t something that cannot be read for entertainment. I glanced over at Amanda and found her laughing discreetly at him, obviously enjoying herself. She saw me standing by the door and motioned for me to come forward.

     “He came in a few moments ago, greeted me with a ‘good morning’ and then looked for Harry Potter. When I asked him about it, he told me he hasn’t read it yet and hasn’t even seen the movies. You can imagine his reaction when I told him he’s the worst customer I’ve ever encountered,” Amanda explained, still laughing at Seirra.

     “Don’t you think that was a bit too rude of you? He just probably wasn’t interested before,” I replied indignantly.

     In truth, I was thinking that he probably never knew about Harry Potter because he lived underwater and, well, nobody published Harry Potter underwater—unless merpeople these days had developed a liking to human literature.

    My friend looked at me with disbelief. “Even those who didn’t care have heard of Harry Potter. Seirra, on the other hand, knew nothing about it. Nothing at all.”

     “Let’s not judge someone by his knowledge of Harry Potter, okay?”

     Amanda burst out laughing. “Aren’t you even curious?”

    “No. Well yes, but I’m not going to interrogate him if that’s what you’re hinting at.”

     “Hmph.”

     Amanda's loud laugh made him lift his head and look in our direction. His eyes brightened when he saw me, causing a shiver to run along my spine. I ignored my reaction and gave him a close-lipped smile. The next thing I knew, he was taking all seven hardbound Potter books plus five others and carrying them to the counter. 

     Both Amanda and I gaped at him in surprise.

     “Is something wrong?” he asked us with genuine curiosity.

     “You’re buying all of that?” I replied.

     He glanced at the books and then at Amanda and me.

     “Yeah. Can’t I?”

     I gulped. “Err...You don't find them too expensive?"

     He gave me a grin that made me question my sanity. Or maybe his.

     "Don't worry. I have enough money to buy these." He grinned wider. "More than enough actually."

      He then looked at me with that fond expression he had when I asked him if we could be friends. Almost as if he was remembering something that involved me—something I knew I had already forgotten.