Submerged: The Mer Chronicles

The Mer

That night we drove out to a cliff overhang. There was a camping spot off the beaten path, surrounded by tall trees. The small campsite was half-hidden by the thick green foliage. After promising Calvin I would be okay, he reluctantly agreed to set up a camping spot just a few hundred feet from the ocean. I needed to hear the crashing waves and smell the sea salt. It had been too long.

The crackling fire lit up our small campsite, our lopsided tent and blankets illuminated in flickering orange and yellow light.

“I know you don’t want to talk to your dad, but we’re going to have to do that. Sooner the better. Once he sees that the transition has stopped, he’ll come around.”

“I know,” he said, taking a bite out of his overstuffed burrito from a local taco truck. “But I’m telling you, he’s going to be a hard sell that you’re not going to just up and become Sirenean or change your mind. And he’ll want that Atlas coin for proof.” 

“I lost it in the ocean.” I hated lying to him, but he couldn’t know the truth. He’d just give the coin to his dad. Besides, the coin was the only thing I had left of the Sireneans, especially if I was never going to see them again. Holding the coin was enough to make me feel closer to Saatchi and Nikko.

“C’mon, Kova...You didn’t just go in the ocean for hours and come back with nothing. And you’ve been taking your bag with you everywhere. You wouldn’t even leave it in the truck when we hit up the rest stops.”

“That coin is mine. I don’t know what your nutso dad would do with it or for it. I think he’s proven he’s willing to kill.”

Just then Calvin’s phone started buzzing like crazy, skittering across the blanket we had spread across the ground. His dad was calling. Perfect.

“You should answer,” I said.

A few tense moments passed as we watched the phone rattle on the ground. He reached for the phone, flicking it open, eyes locked on me.  “We’ve figured out how to stop the transition, Dad. She’s chose land. She’s not becoming Sirenean.”

Prescott screamed so loud, the phone shook in Calvin’s hand. I could hear everything perfectly. Calvin held the phone out from his face, while clicking the phone onto speaker and turning down the volume. “Oh, is that right? She doesn’t have a choice now! You know that! Has everything I’ve ever taught you just went in one ear and out the other?”

“You’re wrong, Dad.” Calvin yelled back now, and I watched horrified. “She does have a choice and so do I. I’m not like you any more than she’s like a sea monster. You need to stop this. I told you her transition slowed down. I’m pretty sure it stopped. Why don’t you ever trust me? I know the signs as well as you. Okay?”

A long paused passed. “Her markings?”

“They’re still there. Bright blue. Just like before.”

“Eyesight?”

“Normal. Everything is totally normal. She even said she would meet you to prove it. But I wish you would just believe me for once.”

“I’m worried about you, son. That’s why I’m doing this. It’s not that I don’t want to believe you.”

“I know. It’s just that I might have overlooked something.”

“Exactly.”

“Can you for once, please, just give me a chance to prove to you that I know what I’m talking about? All I ask is that you let us wait this out. I know what signs to watch out for. I know you don’t believe it, but I was actually listening when you taught me about Sireneans.”

“I want to see her tomorrow.”

I was aching to chime in. “That’s fine.” I said, loud enough for Prescott to hear. Calvin shot me a what-the-hell-are-you-doing glance. I shrugged my shoulder, not caring. Prescott needed to realize that I wasn’t this dangerous animal he made me out to be.

“So tomorrow then?” Prescott asked.

Calvin clenched his jaw, muscle twitching. “No. We’ll meet you at that diner you’re so fond of in four days. 9:00 a.m. And Dad, if you try to hurt her. I swear I’ll—“

“Fine. Four days. And you call me at the first sight of any transformation. Got it?”

“See you on Friday.” Calvin hung up the phone. Then, he turned towards me. “Really? Offering to see him tomorrow?”

“The sooner he sees me the better. Right?” I sat down by the fire in a cheap plastic chair we had picked up from Wal-mart, wrapping an old blanket around my shoulders.

“Uh, no. He needs some time to cool off. He’s totally pissed. I know he’d drive here if he knew where we were at.”

“That’ll help me sleep tonight,” I said, taking a deep drink of my Mountain Dew.  Calvin came and sat next to me, poking at the fire with a nearby tree limb.

“Guarantee he doesn’t have a clue where we are at though. Otherwise he’d already be here. So don’t worry. That’s why he was blowing my phone up.” He rested his arm on my knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Can you believe we actually did it?”

“Hmm?”

“Beat the transformation. Figured out how to cheat the system. Look, I got us something to celebrate. I know they’re not éclairs. But it’s the closest thing I could find at Wal-Mart earlier.” He pulled a box of chocolate Twinkies from his bag and handed them to me with a proud grin.

My heart melted in a puddle of Twinkie love. The quickest way to get me to fall head-over-heels was through my stomach. “Oh my god, yes.” I grabbed for them. “Have I told you that you’re officially my favorite.”

“That’s good. Because you should know, you’re my favorite too.” 

The next few days passed in a blur of kisses and swapping secrets. I learned he secretly dreamed of becoming a biologist instead of hunting Sireneans. And I’d told him my biggest fear—turning out like my parents if I stayed up on land. As the days melted into nights and then back into days again, I found myself totally and completely smitten with Calvin Aramour.

We developed a habit of watching the moonrise together every night. I taught him the constellations in the sky from Orion to The Little Dipper. In return, he taught me all the different ways you could slip and fall for someone in just a matter of days. Hearts are slippery things like that. They fall easily. The thought of leaving our sacred little spot in the woods—of leaving him—was enough to break my heart. 

“Did you know Sireneans have their own gods?” I asked him one night, my head resting in the crook of his shoulder.

“No. I figured they didn’t believe in them. Are they like ours? Angry old men sending us all to hellfire and damnation?”  

“Oh no. Besides, most of their gods are women. My favorite is Kova. My namesake.”

“Let me guess? The goddess of Twinkies?” he asked, tracing small circles on my shoulder with his finger.  

“Well, she’s the goddess of that too. Obviously.” I laughed a little, twirling the string on my sweatpants. “She’s the protector of forbidden loves and curses. They say she once traveled across the ocean for seven days to find someone who could heal her broken heart. She fell in love with a human, which was totally off-limits. Her love ended up killing him. Now she protects all those who are forbidden to be together. So they don’t end up like her. Sad, huh?”

“A little, but I like it. Maybe she can help us tomorrow with my dad?”

“I’ll say a prayer,” I whispered to him. I did pray too. But the gods weren’t listening. 

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