By The Sea And The Land

Chapter Fifteen - One Last Chance

      Lys walking to the beach where he saved Kevin before after the ball has ended. The clock had tolled twelve times when he quietly sneaking out from the palace.

      His feet still feeling hurt when he walks, but his heart is hurting more, like a million of blades slicing it and pouring the wounds with salt. Stinging.

      He stopped to where he’s turned to a human three weeks ago, between the big rocks, climbing and sitting on top of it.

      He stared at the scale he picked on the sands before, noticing it when he saw a glimmer of a light on the sands, wondering how its even still here after weeks has passed. It’s color is still light blue, although its duller than its previous color.

      His scale. Once, when he still a merman.

      But now, he’s not a merman, nor he’s a human. Soon will be turned to nothingness as sea foam.

      He stroke the scale. He missed his family, the sea itself, his own tail, and he also missing Kevin. He lose his chance to told him his feelings because he is a coward.

      He laughed. Thinking about how his behavior and his way of thinking had changed by mere weeks. All for a human.

      The beautiful human he love. And will ever loves.

      He closes his eyes, recalling every moments he had with the Prince, the moves of his hands, his smile, his dances, his laugh... Everythings about him, he remembering it clearly. He want his last moment filled with the memory of the human, and his cheeks wet with tears he didn’t even noticed has fallen from his eyes.

      At the moment, he heard some splashing sounds from the sea, and once again, his family is here. Crying silently. His father, his grandmother, his sisters and the mer-peoples he know from when he’s small.

      He smiled, and his sisters swimming closer to him, and he noticed that their hair is cut short, asking them why with the moves of his mouth. And his eyes getting wider with every words they said.

      “Lys, listen to us. The Sea Witch told us that you failed, and the four of us made a contract with the Sea Witch. In exchange of our hairs, she give us this sacred dagger and said that you will change back to a merman if you kill the human and pouring his blood to your ‘feet’. With that, you can live with us again.”

      His sisters then taking turns talking to him. Pleading him to kill the human, and coming back with them as a merman.

      Lys looking at them. Face softened, and shaking his head.

      He’s getting down from the rocks, walking to the sea and taking the white knife from his sister, and observing it. He remembered that it was the same one he used to slicing his hand for his contract with the Sea Witch before.

      His sisters looking at him with relieved expression for a second when he takes the knife, but it turned to a dreadful one when they all saw Lys smashing the knife with the rock until its break, shouting and telling him to stop, but he didn’t.

      Lys throwing the remnant of the knife to the sea, and looked back to his sobbing sisters, feeling guilty.

      They asked him why did he do it. Why did he throwing away the chance to life as a merman, for a worthless human.

      Lys staring at his hand, don’t know how to make them understand why he choose his death over the human, because he truly can’t. His feeling for the human can’t be explained by words or gesture, so he don’t do anything.

      They all keep silence after that, his sisters still sobbing, their father hugging Lys and his grandmother shooting the tearful lady’s, and Lys still staring at his hand.

      At that time, some other mer-people noticed a black snake with white strips swimming to his direction, alerting the other.

      Lys also seen it, but this time, he saw another figure walking to him from the land, and the snake just swimming leisurely to that figure, and curling on their feet.

      Lys smiled a little, knowing who’s that black hooded person.

      He waves his hand to her, and she’s walking slowly to him. Her appearance earned some snarl from the mer-people, including his family, but both her and Lys ignoring their rude remarks except for the snake that hisses at them, but soon calmed by the touch of its owner, leaning closer to her touch.

      Lys not sure if the Sea Witch know sign language, but he asking him why she’s here with his hands anyway. And he got his answer immediately when the Sea Witch opening her mouth and began to talk.

      “Well, I’m here for the contracts obviously. What else do you think I’m here?” she said with her monotone voice. Lys shrugged, moving his hand and formed the words “maybe to say goodbye?”.

      “Maybe that’s too, but I want to talk to you-” she pointed at his now confused family, not understanding what she’s talking about “-And your sisters, for the… other things about the contract I did not tell them.”

      Lys raising one of his eyebrow, and so his sisters, confused about what she mean by that.

      “Listen carefully, because I will not repeating it twice.” Lys nodded, his sisters nodded too, rather warily, and she continue, “I made a contract with them, a contract about you turning back to a merman again if you killed the human and pouring the human bloods on your feet, and you can coming back to the ocean.” They all nodded, still listening patiently.

      “The thing I did not tell them is, you still going to become a sea foam the next morning because you did not fulfill your contract with me, so everything you’ve did is basically useless.” Hearing that, Lys sisters opening their mouth and says a lot of things, mostly profanities, but she keep going, “And if you did not kill the human, not even thinking about it, I’m obligated to give you a suitable compensation for the payment I receive before hand.” She looked at Lys, his sisters get quite after she said that.

      Lys asking her what kind of compensation he can get from her, and she said, “A chance, for you to do what you’re supposed to do and want to have, from the first time you asked for my help.” Lys thinking for a second, before agreeing.

      His family objected, but she already receive her answer, and told him to said goodbye to his family. He did what she told him, saying goodbye, hugging his crying family, mouthed “sorry”, and “thanks for everything”, and told them to not hating the Sea Witch, because this is his own decision.

      After doing that, his family letting go of him, reluctantly, and told him they love him, and he told them he love them too.

      The Sea Witch told him to walk until the water touched his chest, asking if he’s ready. Lys nodded and she told him to closed his eyes, putting her unexpectedly warm palm over his closed eyes, saying some things that Lys did not understand, and he began to feeling sleepy, the a mer-people singing songs, a farewell songs, for mer-people that’s going to leave the world, and he falls to the water, drowning. But he did not feel pain, and he smiled, when he feels light, and drifted to his eternal sleep.