Portals To Another World

mermay /qi/

The sound of the water lapping gently against the rocks floated to her ears over the seagulls, her fingers tightened on the piece of wood as she plunged it deeper into the sea. Steering the tiny raft towards the multicoloured rock. The way it glowed slightly, the colours seeping out of it in light almost, attracting her eyes. Her hands reach out to it, letting the wood she is huddled on come to a steady stop. Her eyes gaze up at the rock, the colours reflecting the sky, all around it are normal seaside rocks, but this one, it looks as though someone had placed it here but had forgotten to come back and take it away. It jutted out from the other stone, it's colours setting it apart but the most unusual thing was what was trapped inside. It's scales were blue and deep green, the sea imprinted on each one, they cascaded over it's tail, trailing up it's body and fading away into it's skin. A mermaid. Eyes wide with wonder she lays her hand on the rock, looking futher up to see the top point to the sky, it's shaped like a crystal. Or like a coffin. She gasps as she sees that their hands are bound, a black strip of velvet that encircles their pale wrists. White bandages wrapped around their chest, stark and alien against their tanned skin and scales. She paddles the raft closer to see if they're alive, long eyelashes rest on their cheeks, her skin turns as pale as the fish swimming at her feet.
    Abruptly their eyes fly open.
    The back of the raft flies up to meet her, and then she's propped up by her elbows. They focus on her, startling green eyes that catch the sunlight, that seem to soak up the sea like their scales. She inhales deeply and stands back up. It seems that they can't move, but they frown at her and cock their head. A question. Placing her hand on the crystal she taps twice. Can you hear me? A nod from the one with scales. She taps twice again and asks them to blink thrice for yes, two for no. Her fingers shake.
    "Are you trapped against your will?" Three blinks.
    "Are you in pain?" Three blinks. She flattens both her palms against the cold rock.
    "Do you know a way I can get you out?" Two blinks.
    "Okay..." Her eyebrows furrow and she closes her eyes, resting her forehead against the stone. They gaze down at her, and tries to move.
    They wriggle their tail, reefing it back and forwards, almost as if the air itself holds it in place. Her eyes remain closed, unaware that the tail is slamming against the stone, bruising and scratching. Again and again they push their tail forwards and backwards. Slamming it as hard as they can, ignoring the pain, biting down on whimpers. Squeezing their eyes shut they keep slamming against it. Then it shatters. The coloured rock splintering under her fingertips. Pieces falling into the sea. A great cash sounds through the rocky beach. She stumbles back and watches as the mermaid falls, splashing into the water with fractured light glimmering off scales and water drops.
    They dive under her raft to the other side and then lift themselves to sit on it. Smiling kindly at her they say,
    "One blink for thank you."
Their voice was like sand, or maybe the crashing waves, or perhaps even the coloured glass that now lays on the ocean floor.