•Chapter title~lyrics from "Tell Your Story" by Out of the Blue•
***
I stare at my tail, trying to wrap my head around what's in front of me.
"I'm a mermaid." I repeat.
"Yes, you are." My mom sighs. I lift my tail out of the water and turn it, attempting to absorb every ounce of detail.
How is this possible?
"I have more to tell you." My mom's voice brings me back to reality.
"What?"
"I have more things to tell you." I stare blankly at my mom.
There's more?!
"Um, ok..." I look around the room and spot a stack of royal blue towels on a shelf.
"Can I have a towel please?" I ask, pointing to the spot with my cast. My mom nods and goes over to get one. She hands it to me and walks to the door. "I'll be waiting on the bed." I nod as she closes the door.
Ok, now the question is how to get out of the bathtub...
***
I walk out of the bathroom and head over to where my mom is sitting. I sit across from her on the other bed and stare at her expectantly. She looks at me and smiles. I raise my eyebrows.
"I'm waiting." I say, emphasizing my words. She gives a small laugh and shakes her head.
"Sorry, I just got distracted."
"By what?"
"By you finally believing." I feel my cheeks burn up. I cast my gaze down to my feet, trying to fix my face.
"Can you just tell me the other things you mentioned?"
"Yes, of course." My mom clears her throat, and I look up again.
"I guess I should start from the beginning?" I nod. My mom takes a deep breath.
"Well, I was born a mermaid. My parents are merfolk, my grandparents are merfolk, my great-grandparents are merfolk, literally everyone in my family, our family, are merfolk."
"You see, Coral, we are not the only mermaids. There are many of us. In fact, there's a whole kingdom full of merfolk."
"What's it called?" I ask, interrupting my mom.
"Oceanum, which I've come to learn is 'ocean' in Latin. It has been around for thousands of years."
"And humans haven't found it?"
"They can't. Oceanum is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Their technology is not advanced enough to dive that depth." I nod, satisfied with her answer.
"Anyway, I grew up in Oceanum with my parents. They taught me everything I needed to know as a mermaid," My mom closes her eyes. '"The most important thing you have to know, Elle, is that humans are bad. Especially human boys,'" My mom pauses. "That's what they would tell me every single day."
My mom re-opens her eyes, and I notice something in them that I never thought I'd see. Anger. I shiver, and my arms and legs break out in goosebumps. I thought I looked scary when I was angry, but the way my mom looks now puts me to shame.
"N-not all humans are bad." I stutter, my mom glances at me, and her eyes soften.
"I know. And I knew that when I was little, too. That's why I would come to the surface. I wanted to prove my parents wrong. I wanted to show them not all people were bad."
"Wait a minute," I interject, putting my hands in the timeout position. "How often did you come to the surface?"
"I would come here every day, until I was 18. That's when I decided to stay on land."
"Why did you..." I look at my mom and realize the reason. I feel tears well-up in my eyes.
"When I was 18," my mom explains slowly. "I came across a man around the same age as me fishing. That man was your father." I wipe my tears away.
"Did he know?" I whisper.
"Not at the beginning. I told him two years later, after-after I found out I was pregnant with you."
"How did he react?" My mom gives a small smile and blinks back her tears.
"He freaked out. But, he eventually calmed down. He even bought a house for us to live in. It's the same house you guys lived in." I close my eyes and go back to my home. The home that made me feel safe and loved. The home that no longer belongs to me.
"He bought that for us?" I question, my voice breaking.
"Yes. When I told him my parents kicked me out because I was with a human man and I was pregnant with his child, he made sure we had a place to live." I stare into my mom's eyes and all I see is pain, which is something I've come to understand very well.
We all have a story. We're all dealing with something. We're all fighting battles.
"Coral, you have to understand. I loved your father. He was the love of my life. I didn't want to leave him. I didn't want to leave you. You both meant the world to me."
"Then why- "
"Why did I leave?" My mom finishes. I nod.
"Leaving was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. But, it needed to happen. If someone were to find out about me, they wouldn't leave you guys alone. I couldn't do that to both of you. Also, I wanted to apologize to my parents. They were getting older and didn't have much time left. They needed me."
"But we needed you!" I exclaim.
"Did you?" My mom whispers. I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. The more I think about it, the more I realize we didn't need her. My father and I were fine without her. Well, until he died.
"Coral," my mom stands up and walks over to me. She sits down and grabs my hands. "I want you to come with me." I glance at her.
"What?"
"I want you to come with me to Oceanum. We can live there together in peace. No more harm will come our way. It will just be me and you." I think about her words. Part of me wants to go with her, but part of me wants to stay.
Why would you stay? You don't have anything left to do here.
Don't leave. Evelyn and Henry are here.
Leave.
Stay.
"Coral?" I stare into my mom's eyes. I see how badly she wants me to go.
Leave.
Stay.
I take a deep breath and squeeze my mom's hands with my good hand.
"I'll go with you."
YOU ARE READING
Into the Ocean
Fantasy"I was lost in the world, and I couldn't find my way back. I felt like I was on a completely different planet. I felt like I was on Mars, like Mark Watney from the book 'The Martian'. I felt entirely alone." *** Coraline Waters lives your ave...
