Mermaid

Chapter 10

A few moments later Sherrie and Alison left the house, knowing that they should leave they're friend alone, to allow herself to think. Sherrie started to regret her decision but then Alison spoke.

"She'll be okay. Erika isn't the type to hate people; it's not in her nature."

Sherrie looked away. "It doesn't dismiss the fact of what my mother had done, I honestly don't care what she thinks anymore, and after all that she's done to keep me separate from the both of you... and what she did to Yara. I can't forgive her, at least not right now." She looked at Alison. "I'll at least have you dropped off at home; I at least owe you that much for allowing me to tell Erika."

Alison shrugged. "You don't have to, my house is close by."

"No way!" she snapped suddenly. "You know about all of the attacks and theft that's been happening in this area, and there's no way I'd let you walk home by yourself."

She was quite for a moment. "Okay, guess I should, but stop beating yourself up about the necklace, Yara and Erika would never blame you for something your Mom did."

Sherrie became quite as she had her driver take her and Alison home, when she dropped Alison off she leaned her forehead against the glass, watching the many lights of cars zoom by in streaks of crimson and white.

As she watched the many cars go by she recalled an old memory of when she and Yara talked during one year in the winter when she saw Yara standing outside letting the large white fluffy snowflakes fall and land in her outstretched hands, Erika has a sudden fainting spell, Yara brought her home, but Sherrie, who came by the next day with school work for her spotted the woman standing out in the snow with no jacket, no scarf or mitts, she didn't even have shoes on, she merely stood barefoot in the snow dressed in a long-sleeved dark red turtleneck and a long dark brown skirt, her necklace resting over top, gleaming in the dim clouded sunlight.

When Yara spotted her staring the woman waved her over, causing the young eight year old Sherrie to jump in shock, making her drop some of the things that she brought for Erika.

"I'm sorry I startled you." Yara said with a nervous laugh as she helped Sherrie pick of the books. "I must have looked strange to you, standing there like that with my hands reaching up towards the sky."

"No, it's fine." Sherrie said softly. "You looked really pretty... like an angle."

Yara, with her large dark blue eyes, stared at her with a blank expression before smiling at her. "Is that so? Well I'm glad you think so but..." she lowered her head, eyes down cast; even though she smiled she looked sad. "Even beautiful angels can be dark on the inside..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." She stood holding the books in her arms. "You must be cold, come on, I'll make you something warm to drink. And I'm sure Erika will be happy to see you too."

"Okay, but aren't you cold? You don't even have shoes on."

Yara kept her back to her. "I'm used to the cold; my family has a high tolerance to the cold so it never bothers me, even when I'm barefoot."

"Really?"

"Yes, really, and Erika has it as well, though it's hard to tell as she is now, but you'll see what I mean when your older."

After visiting Sherrie headed home, only to stop and stare down at the ground where Yara had once walked, since it stopped snowing both Sherrie's and Yara's footprints were visible. However Yara's was different. All of the snow that Yara had walked through had grass showing, as if the snow had melted away merely from her touch.