The Island Curse

The Legend of Mermaid Tears

We lapsed into comfortable silence, our attention on the land around us. The clouds continued to clear, the golden gleam from the skies changing the landscape completely. Kieran was a good sport, following me as I darted after anything that captured my attention. He'd occasionally offer more information if pressed, sometimes sounding as if he'd memorized the information from a textbook.

"Let's go down this way," he said, dragging me away from a thistle in full bloom. This time, I let him hold my hand as we started down a slope.

The long grasses thinned, and the ground turned to sand. Twin cliffs rose up on either side of the beach, their sides craggy and dark. White seabirds flew in and out of holes in the rock, calling out to one another with sharp tweets. Aurelian sand sparkled until it met the water, turning umber where the waves touched. But the most amazing thing was the sea's hue: cerulean and turquoise that turned to twilight as it faded into the horizon.

"This looks nothing like where we came in on the ferry."

Kieran pulled off his boots and rolled up his pants. "To be fair, the days have been dreich since you arrived. The water is something else entirely beneath the sun, but it's only here that it gets so clear and bright."

I spun around, studying everything with awe. "I can see this from my bedroom."

"Then you've the second best view in the entire Island."

"There's a better one than this?" I gaped at Kieran. Surely, nowhere else could hold more beauty than what was sprawled out before me. 

"Aye, I'm looking at it." He stared at me, gaze unwavering and without deceit.

"Oh, I walked right into that one. Smooth." I dipped my head so he couldn't see the blush staining my cheeks. It was a corny, worn out pick up line, but delivered with such intensity and in that delicious brogue... well, I was only human.

"Come on," he said, wading into the fizz and foam. He shrugged off his sweater and threw it at me. It landed on my face, filling my senses with his scent and making my gut clench.

"Aren't you freezing?" I balled his sweater up and set it aside, scared I'd give into the urge to sit there and sniff it.

"It's a wee bit cold," he admitted, "but you've got to come further down to see the best part."

Biting my bottom lip, I debated the wisdom of my decision, but only for a moment. With every push and pull of the ocean, I was being drawn forward. Shoes and socks tossed next to Kieran's, I ran into the surf with a shriek.

"Ach, it's not that bad."

"You're right," I said, teeth chattering, "except that it's also less than sixty degrees out here."

"We'd be boiling alive."

"Fahrenheit. I already know I'm going to die in science. The metric system is confusing."

"I think you've got that backwards," he laughed, kicking out with his foot and splashing me with seawater.

I jumped back, pointing at him with an accusatory finger. "You promised there was something to see out here."

"Truce, then. Come here." He walked out to a large rock, the water reaching his knees, meaning it would nearly be at my hips. He put his foot on the rock and started to climb, stopping when he realized I wasn't behind him. "Are you coming?"

"I'd practically be swimming to get out there. Hey, no you stay back." He had jumped down and was coming for me, his jaw locked in determination. Scared to turn my back to him, I moved in reverse, holding my hands up to ward him off, but he was undeterred. He tipped me into his arms, pulling another shout from my throat.

"Better, mi'lady?" He cradled me against his chest and gave me what I was beginning to think was a signature smirk. One dark curl fell across his brow, a salty droplet clinging to the silky strands.

"Just don't drop me."

"Never."

We reached the rock, and he helped me up, showing me a flat spot to sit on while he climbed. It was longer than I'd been able to tell from the beach, and we fit easily on the small shelf. I looked down. Whitecaps broke against the boulder, spreading bubbles across the surface and deepening the slate color. Something twinkled beneath the foam, and I curved my spine, stretching over my knees to see better.

"Careful," Kieran cautioned, slipping his arm around my waste to hold me steady. Even through two layers of fabric, his touch spread warmth across my skin.

"What is that?" I asked, scooting out of his embrace and keeping my gaze locked onto the shimmering objects.

"Mermaid tears."

I thought of the bits of colored glass decorating our manor and wished the water was warm enough to swim. "It looks like the entire floor is covered in them."

"It is. The tide is high right now or you'd see them all over the shore. During low tide, we can walk out almost twice as far without getting wet."

"I'd like to come out  here and collect some."

"Sure," he promised.

"Really?" I gaped at him.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I just half expected you to think I was silly. They're common place for you."

He looked at me for a long moment before sighing. "It doesn't make it any less beautiful. That's a sad life indeed if you find less beauty in something because you see it often. It doesn't matter how much I grow to hate this Island, I think this beach is paradise."

The fringes of the sky grew pink and purple as the sun sank lower, spreading an orange glow along the horizon. I knew we should be getting ready to head back, our parents would be wondering what had become of us, but I was enjoying this moment. Kieran was handsome, there was no denying it, but he was intriguing. None of the boys back home had ever expressed anything more eloquent than a prayer for their college football team.

"So where does all the sea glass come from?"

When I spoke, tension seeped out of his body, and the lines of his face softened. "This beach was once called Shipwreck Cove. Legend has it that a merrow, you would call her a mermaid, used to sit on this rock, calling sailors to her. But the waters around here hide many dangers, many rocks beneath the waves. There is a piece of sea glass for every tear she shed over the lost lives."

"And that's why this is called Merrow Island," I mused, thrilled by the sad story. "Whatever happened to the mermaid?"

He shrugged, his tone clipped when he answered. "It's just a story. They never say. Let's go. It's getting late, and yer about to shiver so hard you fall off the rock."

Unsure what I'd said to upset him, I readied myself to crawl back down, freezing when I spied several forms moving along the base of one of the cliffs. "Kieran, psst."

"What?"

"First of all, don't be rude. I didn't do anything," I huffed, not sure why it even mattered. But I saw some of the attitude dissolve from his expression. "Do you see those people? They look like they went into a cave?"

He froze on the side of the boulder, his eyes whipping to the exact spot I was referencing, only I hadn't pointed it out. "Yer seeing things. Come on."

"No, look." Now I pointed. "That kind of looks like Tara. Wait one second."

"Isla," he reached for my hand, which I swatted away.

"It is. It is he-" Kieran's hand caught mine this time, but his insistent tug made me lose my balance. I saw  his face as I fell, eyes wide but not with surprise. Regret. And then the icy blue waters swallowed me whole.