Alabaster Island

Chapter 8

Six lambs grazed in the field above me. I stood among the rocks in the same spot I'd seen the girl. From down here the lighthouse seemed far away, its glinting windows as small as thumbnails. I scanned the area and spotted what might have been the mark of her tail in the sand, but nothing definitive. I began to doubt myself. 

We'd learned about mermaids during Assembly. Mermaids were created as protectors of Water during an ancient period of war. The Ancient One corrupted them and forced them to do his evil work until they disappeared. Humans were created as temporary protectors of Earth. Instead they came to rule the planet. And pollute it according to Mayor Marlow. As for us, the Fifth Path, the Lemurians, we were masters of Ether, the origin and key to all the forms. Were. But not anymore. None of us could change forms, at least not yet. Mayor Marlow hoped the scroll would provide answers.

Turning back, I scrambled the way I'd come. Excitement at seeing the mermaid girl almost caused me to forget my troubles. The air was the perfect temperature, and the ocean lay flat, an endless expanse of rippling blue. 

Not expecting to find the girl this far from the shore, my footsteps fell into a slow, deliberate rhythm. Just as I turned left toward the path that led back home, a flash of color caught my eye. Pushing aside a sturdy clump of banana leaves I peered over the cliff edge. 

Below me lay several of the colored balls I'd seen on the ship last night. That alone surprised me, but what they were tangled in surprised me more. A boat. It lay caught between two boulders on Sliver Beach. From where I stood it was a long climb down a series of steep rocks. I'd had near accidents on these rocks. All of us kids had. What looked like a foothold could crumble under your weight. And a fall out here could be deadly. 

Quickening my pace I ran along the path that led toward the ocean. There wasn't much of a shore on this part of the island. Just a rocky inlet good for watching the sunset or crab fishing. But the tide was low. I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pant legs. Walking so as not to cut my feet on the sharp rocks, I made my way along the shoreline, using my hands to steady myself. Eventually I made it around to the hidden cove.

The colored balls dangled from a pink string caught on the prow of the boat. The boat wasn't in as good shape as I'd thought. It had been there for a while. It was twenty feet long give or take. Probably a fishing boat that had become unmoored elsewhere and drifted. But right now the boat didn't interest me. It was the beautiful, translucent balls that caught my attention.

I unwound the balls from the boat and held them. There were four. Two yellow, one blue and one pink. They squeaked against my hand when I touched them. Holding them in my hand gave me an internal thrill. 

"Stunning, aren't they?" 

I spun around, eyes roving over the swell. What I mistook for hair turned out to be dead seaweed. Climbing the rocks to my right I balanced from foot to foot and clung to a large rock, scanning the water.

"Nope, over here." Again I spun around and this time she showed herself, smirking.

"You're very lovely," she commented looking from the balls in my hand to my face, as if we met here and spoke regularly. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked.

"Nothing's wrong," I lied. 

"You smell unhappy," she continued with an arch of her left eyebrow, then disappeared beneath the waves. 

"Wait!" For a moment I considered diving in after her, but something held me back. This mermaid girl didn't seem threatening. But nor did she seem friendly.