Test The Waters

Chapter Eight: Throwback To Coralia's Last Carnival

It was always painful, the transformation. When magic transformed every fiber of her being into something alien, when she lay on the beach under a sky illuminated by moonlight, gasping for the air her lungs now craved, Coralia would wonder why she did this, why any of them did. She would wonder if one night each year to walk on the earth was worth the pain.

The soca music rang in her ears. Around her, the other mer changed behind rocks. It was Carnival, when the lights called the mermaids from the reef, the yearly transformation for those who wished to join the festivities.

Coralia was wearing the white blouse and gingham A-line skirt she had hidden under a rock for whenever she turned human. Her hair was braided in long canerows, and she was barefoot. She would stop by Miranda's house to get done up for Carnival, of course, and then she would take to the streets with the other mer masquerading as humans, Trini Cinderellas all, who would dance and then disappear into the cold, dark sea.

Coralia made her way through the trees. She knew her way around the winding roads, and Miranda's house wasn't far from the sea. Coralia hated the din and crowds, the boys who would thief a wine from her while she was minding her own business. She only came for Miranda, her eldest and favorite sister, who would sing calypso in that haunting voice that would have wrecked ships.

"Ay, Coralia," Jean Manuel said. He was a tall, burly man with russet skin and a bald head. Coralia despised him, though she didn't know how much of that was from his actual personality and how much of that was because he took Miranda away from her. "I like your skirt, is it new?" Jean Manuel asked.

This was a joke they had, making fun of the fact that Coralia only owned one human outfit. It was funny only to Jean Manuel.

"Ha," Coralia fake-laughed halfheartedly. "I like your hair, what have you been doing with it?"

She made her way past Jean Manuel, whose mouth was hanging slightly ajar in shock.

The house was small and cozy; even the flames roaring from the fireplace seemed domesticated. Coralia stepped into the room she slept in when she was human, and found Miranda, who was painting it a buttery yellow. Miranda was a petite girl with fawn skin and loosely curly hair that she wore natural, but her voice was so big that it filled the room. "Coralia," she said, enfolding Coralia in a hug. "How is everyone? How are you?"

"Jade found herself a boy," Coralia said. "Onika is trying out being a barmaid, Kemuel keeps disappearing, Dominique...well, who ever knows what Dominique is doing?" Miranda laughed, and Coralia allowed herself a smile. "And we all miss you," she concluded. "How are things over here?"

"Nothing as exciting as all that," Miranda said, grinning. Her fingers were caked with paint up to the knuckles, and she wore a denim jumpsuit covered in little yellow droplets. "Just painting your room. I'll wash my hands and we can get ready for Carnival."

Miranda disappeared into the bathroom, humming an ocean tune. Coralia wondered if she ever missed the feeling of the ocean as she swam through it, the way her scales gleamed in the sun as she dried on a rock. Coralia would, if she ever left.

Miranda emerged in her fete costume, this time green and pink. She wore a bedazzled fuschia bikini and an extravagant emerald feathered headdress with a few pink feathers. Behind her, matching feathers seemed to grow from her back like angel wings. It was a miracle she had fit through the door.

She held up a shimmering orange crop top and shorts, with swirling gold designs. "No," Coralia said, her eyes widening. "I'll just...sit on the sidelines. I don't dance." Watching from the sidelines sounded awfully good all of a sudden. Eating corn soup or doubles was a lot more fun than dancing her way through the streets. "Ever," she added.

"You will now," Miranda said.

And even though there were a million things Coralia wanted to say, even though she hated the color orange and didn't want to dance, she nodded and went in the bathroom to change. It was the least she could do after all Miranda had done for her.