The Mermaid's Mirror (20 page)

A voice carried across the sound of the waves. "Selena ... my Selena..."

Heart racing, Lena screamed, "Where are you?"

"I am here. You must come to me."

Panting and weeping, Lena reached the rocks and began to climb. "Mama."

"Dearest maiden," called her mother's voice.

Exhausted now, Lena climbed over the highest rock and looked below.

Melusina waited, slim white arms outstretched, face upturned, tears shining in her green eyes. "My daughter," cried the mermaid.

Lena stumbled down the rocks, scratching her hands and twisting her ankles, but feeling no physical pain. "It's you," she wept. She fell to her knees by her mother's side, where Melusina enfolded her in an embrace.

The mermaid's strong tail clung to the rock beneath her, keeping her balanced as she held her daughter.

Lena felt the cool smoothness of her mother's skin and the wet strands of her long hair. She hadn't remembered how small her mother was; the last time Lena had been wrapped in her arms, she was only four, and her mother had seemed as big as any other adult. But now, hugging the mermaid, Lena felt how little she was.

Lena drew back slightly, filling her gaze with her mother.

The lovely face was exactly as she remembered—her mother appeared not to have aged at all. Her eyes glowed with excitement, and her lips were curved in a tremulous smile. Her upper body was bare, except for long necklaces of white and black pearls trailing nearly to her bellybutton. Lena looked in awe at the lower half of her mother's body, which turned to brilliant silver scales below her belly and curved down the length of her lower half, ending in a long divided fin. At the base of her tail was the faint outline of a dolphin tattoo.

"Are you much frightened, my child?" asked Melusina, her brilliant eyes searching Lena's face.

"No." But Lena shivered as reality set in. She was sitting on a rock in the middle of the night with a creature who was not human. What if this creature didn't have, well, human-mother feelings? What if she wanted to drag Lena beneath the waves and drown her? What if all her dad's attempts to protect her had been for good reason?

The mermaid reached out and cupped Lena's face with her cool-warm hand, stroking the skin from Lena's cheek to her chin, a touch so light it was almost like a dream. A childhood memory of her mother gently stroking her face, just like this, swept over Lena. She closed her eyes as time slipped back and forth.

"You had sweetly plump cheeks as a small maid," said Melusina. "Now your face is slender and fair. What lovely gold tresses you have, as well."

"Like Dad's," said Lena.

Melusina tilted her head, a mildly puzzled look on her face. She took Lena's hands in her own, then held them up to look at them. "Ah!" she said in delight. "The tips of your fingers are like pearls!"

"Oh ... it's nail polish," said Lena.

"Polish?"

"Yes. I used white nail polish on my fingernails."

"Ah, yes, I remember now. A kind of paint." She continued to hold Lena's hands as she raised her eyes to inspect every inch of her daughter's face. "Your eyes have many depths in them," she said. "The color of a stormy sea. I remember now. Indeed, I am fair amazed that I should ever have forgotten these eyes. I used to dream of you ... and always I would wake with grief fresh upon my face." Her lips quivered. "Yet again I would forget." She brushed Lena's hair back and caught sight of the pearl earrings. "You wear the pearls of our ancestors?"

"Um," said Lena. "Well, these were a gift. From my boyfriend."

The mermaid smiled. "Well chosen. Our people have worn the sea's gifts since time began."

"You have an accent," said Lena. "I didn't remember that."

"Ah, forgive my stilted tongue. The language returns to me a bit more each day." The mermaid slid her hands up to Lena's shoulders, as if she could not stop touching her, making sure she was real. "I wish I could have come to you, once I had my memories back. But as you can see..." She gestured at her tail. "I could not. I had to wait for you to come to me." A smile of unearthly beauty lit up her face. "And you heard my soul's call. You have come."

There was a silence between them, shy and expectant.

"Will you bide with me awhile, that we may remember together, dear Selena?" asked Melusina.

Lena nodded, then thought of her father running through the dark to find her.

"I want to," she answered. "But Dad's coming."

Melusina looked at her. "This 'Dad.' He seeks you even now?"

Lena stared at her mother. "Don't you know who I'm talking about?"

"I fear not. But I must not be seen by a human. I must take my leave of you, with the greatest sorrow." Melusina looked anxiously back at the sea.

"Wait! You don't remember my dad?"

"Alas, no."

"He was your husband! You don't remember him?"

Melusina shook her head slowly. "I know ... I must have known a man on land. Else how would I have you, my daughter? Yet the memory escapes me until I see his face."

Just then they heard a shout in the distance. "Lena!"

Because they were on the far side of the rocks, Lena and the mermaid could not see Lena's father, nor could he see them.
What should I do?
thought Lena.
If we stay here, he'll find us. I just got my mother back ... I don't want to leave her!

"Lena!"

"He draws closer," said Melusina, beginning to move to the edge of her rock. "What will you do, my own heart?"

"I don't know!" cried Lena, her voice rising to panic. "Don't leave me!"

"Come with me," said the mermaid. "I have brought my cloak this night. I dared to hope you might return with me to the world beneath the waves. This cloak will shelter and protect you."

Torn, Lena looked back at the dark beach behind her, then out at the shining sea.

"Lena!" shouted her father. "Answer me! Please!"

She held out her hand to her mother. "Take me with you."

Relief bloomed on the mermaid's face. She grabbed Lena's hand. "Come with me to the edge of the rock."

Lena obeyed. "What about my clothes and shoes? Won't they be too heavy? They'll drag me down."

With a slight smile, Melusina said, "We are diving deep. Your clothes will not matter in our journey. But you may leave your shoes. Now come as close as you are able, and put your arms around my waist."

"Lena!" came a distant shout. "Baby, where are you?" Her father's voice cracked with anguish.

Lena fought her urge to answer him, glancing back in the direction of his voice. She slipped off her shoes. Then she moved close to her mother and put her arms around her.

Melusina picked up the sealskin pelt and wrapped it around Lena's shoulders. "Are you ready, tender maiden?"

Lena nodded, unable to answer. The cloak felt warm and velvety around her shoulders.

"Hold tight to me. You will be safe. The difficult part for you will be jumping into the cold water. As soon as I pull the cloak over your head, you are protected. Now we depart the land." Melusina slid off the rock, and Lena held tightly, feeling the scrape of the rock's surface through her clothes.

They slid into the water more gracefully than Lena would have thought, but it was true: the shock of the night-cold water made her gasp.

Melusina held her in an iron grip, keeping her head above water. She pulled the hood of the cloak over Lena's head, and whispered in her daughter's ear, "Now we begin our journey."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Lena gripped her mother even tighter, and felt the muscles in the mermaid's tail move strongly. They plunged below the surface. As they dove with startling speed, Lena held her breath as long as she was able. Then she opened her mouth in a reflexive desire to breathe, and felt salt water pour into her mouth. Panic-stricken, she loosened her grip on her mother's waist.

Melusina's voice came into her mind now, instead of her ear. "You are safe, my child. You will breathe the ocean now. This cloak protects you."

Lena shook her head frantically and felt Melusina tighten her hold.

What have I done?
thought Lena.
She really is going to drown me! Daddy ... I'm sorry
...

***

Brian was in time to see his first love plunge off the side of the rock, arms tight around their child, and his heart fell into the water with them.

Even though she knew there was no air for her here, Lena instinctively took a terrified breath, and felt the salt water enter her throat.

Incredibly, the water moved in and out of her gasping lungs. She did not begin to drown. She began to breathe the ocean, as her mother had said. She could not speak, but amazement filled her mind, causing Melusina to smile and send a thought to her: "No, you are not drowning. You are diving."

Lena felt a half-frightened laugh bubble out of her mouth.

"How can I breathe under water?" she asked, using thoughts instead of words.

"I cannot explain this enchantment to you. It is because of the cloak, and because of my desire. When
your
desire is powerful enough, you will be able to breathe under water without the cloak."

"No way!" said Lena. "You're kidding, right?"

Melusina's response was bewildered. "I am not in jest, dear one. The way is true."

Lena smiled at her mother's sincerity. "I believe you," she said. "It just seems impossible."

"It is impossible for humans," said Melusina. "But you are not human."

Lena's heart faltered.
Not human.

"Or rather," continued Melusina placidly, "not wholly human. The blood and magic of my people runs through your veins. See? Already it is proved."

"What do you mean?"

"We dive ever deeper. But your body ails not. Your heart, your lungs, your every cell, do not collapse from pressure. You are my daughter." A flash of pride lit up her mother's features.

"Amazing," whispered Lena. She became aware that her legs were kicking in time with the movements of her mother's tail. But she was not swimming the way Allie had taught her to swim; she was kicking with her legs together, as if she were a mermaid, too.
I am,
she reminded herself.
I am half-mermaid.

On land, that idea would have felt preposterous. Deep beneath the surface, with her body behaving in a most fishlike manner, it seemed natural.

"Where are we going?" she asked after a few minutes.

"My village. My home. It is still farther."

"What will happen when we get there?"

"You will be welcomed. My people know I have the memories back. As soon as I saw you—my beloved child—the Recollection struck. I—" She faltered. "I was wounded by the memories as they returned. But my people saved me as I foundered. They are a great solace, always." She added with a smile, "They know about you now, daughter."

"But what about...?"

Melusina waited for her to finish the thought.

"...your parents."

"Ah," said Melusina. "They are not merely my parents, they are your grandparents! They will welcome you with joy. My people have held many memory circles to help in the healing of my sore heart. Amphitrite and Merrow deplore my pain."

"Amphi—?"

"Your grandmother and grandfather."

"But..." Lena could not help pursuing the thought.

"Yes?"

"Dad said your parents didn't want you to marry him. They had him dragged away."

Melusina's strong swimming slackened for a moment. "Ah. I regret that the memory eludes me. I recall the feeling of betrayal. But that was long ago, and I have learned to forgive."

"But your mother said she would destroy him if he ever set foot in the ocean again!"

"What? No, my darling, never believe this! My mother would not command such violence. Her role is to protect our village, not mete out punishment."

Lena thought that Melusina might be too trusting of her mother, but she didn't say that. After a moment, she asked, "Is she the queen or something?"

Melusina chuckled. "That is a word she would love to own, but no, we do not use human titles that rank one above the many. Amphitrite is—" The mermaid used a word in her language, and Lena understood it to mean something like
guardian.

They swam on. As their distance from the shore grew greater, Lena thought less about her father. At first her heart literally ached, knowing how scared he would be when he found her shoes abandoned on the rocks. But as she and the mermaid dove deeper into the sea, her worry seemed to diminish, as if it were attached to the land, and she was moving too far away to feel it.

"How much farther?" she asked.

Melusina laughed. "You are still an impatient child, I see. Soon the village will be within view."

Lena's clothes felt heavy. Obviously, she couldn't remove the cloak, but..."Can I take off my jeans?" she asked.

"Jeans? Oh, yes, the fabric that covers your legs? Certainly."

Lena unbuttoned her jeans, desperate to free her legs from the water-logged denim. "People will stare, won't they?"

Her mother squeezed her hand. "Yes, dearest. But they will stare whether your lovely legs are clothed or bare."

Lena kicked off her jeans, breathing a watery sigh of relief. Now she could swim more easily. And her jacket was long enough that it reached to her thighs, so she didn't have to feel totally undressed. She let go of her jeans, watching them sink out of sight.

Deeper and deeper they swam. Lena had not expected to be able to see much under water, but the deeper they descended, the clearer she saw.
It must be my eyes,
she thought.
There must be something about my eyes that is not human, too.

There was a deep blue, almost purple quality to the water, and the temperature did not feel as cold as it had before.

At last, Melusina began to slow her swimming. "The village is quiet," she said. "Some of the mer-folk are still asleep."

"You sleep?"

"Yes, but not in the same way that humans sleep. When humans sleep, they are still and dreaming for many hours. We must rise to the surface regularly for air. Our friends, the dolphins, need air even more frequently than we do. Half of their brains are always awake, to remind them to rise. We share that trait, to a lesser degree. Mer-folk may sleep for two or three hours before needing air, then we must rise."