The Sea Taketh (Alex Singer) (43 page)

             
She wheels him away to a quiet spot.

             
“You’re very good, old friend,” Christian joins us, patting John’s back. “Having Talia befriend him will bring him a step closer to actually liking you.”

             
“Yes, that is the plan. However, Talia is actually very intrigued by Jackson, as we both are. We, Rockwells, never give up on family.”

*     *     *

The next month and a half are some of the best of my life. Each day I spend at school, followed by a study session with Christian where he teaches me about the Realm. While he searches for his priceless heirloom, I do my homework and read about the Realm. Each night, Christian spends an hour with me, just talking on the sofa. We discuss everything and nothing at the same time. 

The peace in my life also brings peace in other areas. My nightmares completely disa
ppear, and my health improves drastically. I’ve never slept or felt better.

             
Jen’s life had gone in the opposite direction. Because of her continued marriage plans, her parents ground her, only allowing her out of their sight for school and work. Sven takes it in stride and obeys her parents’ wishes. They spend as much time together as they can at school. Despite her parents’ objections, Jen is more love-struck than ever, and Sven’s respect towards her parents only increases her respect for him.

Theory #1
1 is upgraded to Fact #18 – The Marshes want to lock Jen in her room until she’s forty

Proof – Grounding her for being in love

              Watching the Marshes reaction to Sven and Jen’s relationship verifies to me that I was correct to be confused by Gramps’ lax attitude: he hangs photos of Christian and me throughout the house, calls Christian his grandson, and pretty much struts around the village. With the increase in income, he hired a new deckhand to help Joe and gave them both a competitive salary. The fishing boat brings in some of the best catches in the village, and I’ve never seen Gramps happier or less bogged down by the worries of life. Christian seems to be the answer to all of his prayers.

             
I cross out the third on the calendar as I wait for Christian to pick me up for school. May has brought warm weather. I sun myself in a sunbeam peering through the window. The weather is so beautiful I contemplate a swim with Christian. His water warming trick might make it the perfect day to swim in the ocean, if I’m brave enough.

             
“Good morning,” Christian says as he walks into the house. “Am I finally going to be able to persuade you to swim with me today?”

             
“It’s so beautiful. I don’t know how I can refuse,” I answer.

             
He smiles. “That’s excellent news. Where is your backpack?”

He glances around the kitchen.

              “Oh, I must have left it in my room,” I stand.

             
“I’ll grab it.” He goes down the hall.

             
I open the fridge and grab some paper sacks from it. To help out John, Gramps prepares daily seafood lunches for our mermen and mermaid.

             
“Alexandra, where did you get this?” Christian calls down the hallway from my room.

             
I put the lunches on the table and go to see what he is talking about.

             
When I walk into my room, Christian is sitting on my bed. Cradled in his hands is a shell from my collection. I recognize it as the shell I found when I cut my hand.

             
“I found it in a tide pool,” I say.

             
“When?”

             
“Right before school started, during a storm. Did I do something wrong?”

             
He shakes his head. “Why did you pick it up?”

             
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“Please, try to remember.” The look in his eyes is intense.

I think for a moment. “I find a lot of shells. The tourists always like the big and flashy ones, so I put those aside for Bill. I like to keep the unique ones.”

“But this shell is very plain.”

“No, it just looks that way,” I say, carefully taking it from his hands, I run my fingers over its ridges. “It’s some kind of mollusk, and they’re always special. It’s simple but perfectly symmetrical. Look at the way the shell wrinkles on the top and bottom.”

I take the glove off his right hand and trace his fingers across the ridges.

“It reminds me of the ocean. I think it’s beautiful,” I say softly.

He gently places the shell on my desk. He takes off his other glove and outlines my face with his fingers. He surprises me when he forcefully put his lips to mine. His usual restraint is gone. He presses me to the bed and the kissing continues.

“We have school,” I say between kisses.

“I can’t believe how much I love you!” he says before kissing me again. This time it is his tongue that traces my lips. He sighs loudly before pulling away.

I look at the shell on my desk as I sit back up. “What is it?”

He lovingly runs the tips of his fingers through my hair. His eyes don’t leave mine. “I searched months for it, and you had it all along.”

              I wrinkle my brow. “You were searching for a shell?”

             
“You were correct when you said this shell is special. It is so special I would have spent the rest of my life searching for it.”

             
The shell is so small and unassuming it’s difficult to see why someone as important as Christian would spend so much time and effort to search for it.

“What’s inside it?” I ask, knowing there has to be more to the story.

              He smiles, outlining my face with the back of his hand. “You’re correct in assuming it contains something of great worth. I didn’t understand before, but you have changed that. I now understand its immense value. It is the most precious gift I can give you.”

             
I shake my head in confusion. “If it is so valuable, why would you give it to me?”

             
He leans forward and tenderly kisses my forehead. “Giving it to you will make it even more valuable to me. Alexandra, the shell contains my immortality.”

I gasp.

He continues, “All merfolk create a shell when they come of age, and encased in that shell is literally their immortality. We treasure these shells above all else. When we choose a spouse, the shell is given to them, and they partake of our immortality, forever linking us together. Our immortality is so powerful it will turn a human into a merperson.”

             
It seems so farfetched. Christian has a magic shell that contains his immortality, and he wants to give it to me, making me into an immortal mermaid. I inadvertently blink my eyes.

“This was what Jen was talking about when she said we could live in the ocean?” I whi
sper.

             
He intimately puts his forehead to mine. “Yes, in one month’s time, you will be old enough to become my adjoined. Then we will simply spend eternity together.”

A Special Preview of

Songs of Sorrow

Walking through the fallen forest, I weep. I don’t quite comprehend my feelings, but seeing the dead and decaying trees brings me inconsolable sadness. The trees are in various degrees of decomposition, yet they are beautiful even in death. The bittersweet smell of decaying wood blows in a cool breeze. Chills run up my spine as I gaze over the final resting place of the once beautiful forest.

I walk a familiar path, touching and mou
rning the fallen trees and forest. There is a still hush in the deceased forest, because the animals have moved to safer habitats. Without the forest’s protective canopy, the birds and squirrels have left, and the moss covered ground is drying and yellowing. The death of the trees has brought about the destruction of the forest.

As I come to the end of the path, I find that the sapling, I have dreamt about on various occasions, has grown into a tall and mature tree. Dark green needles show the health and vital
ity of the tree, so I am stunned when the tree simply falls over, joining the others in death.

My heart races and I feel hot tears streaming down my face. The forest’s last hope is gone. The birds will never return.

Suddenly a patch of bark falls off the tree’s trunk. I scream, covering my eyes with my hands, but I can’t get the image out of my mind. The stripped bark hasn’t revealed Christian’s face but my own.

Teresa Rae graduated from Utah State University with a Master's degree in Second Language Teaching. She lives in rural Utah with her artist husband, three awesome kids, and a very tiny dog. When she isn't writing, Teresa spends her time reading, hanging out with interesting people from all corners of the Earth, and critiquing chocolate (she is a complete chocolate snob). You can keep up to date with Teresa and her books by visiting her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teresa-Rae/167989373404551