The Aquatic Maiden

It all started with the fish.

They existed long time before anything upon this world. Long before humans and certainly long before Mountain Dove. Mountain Dove was a small, secluded village that hid amongst the tall, dense conifer forest trees. The area it resided on was a vast one, known as Mermaid Bane – named after the few scary tales about creatures –half human half fish – that supposedly lived in the ocean and surfaced in the dark of the night so they could lure sailors with their soothing songs. At the beginning they were only silly tales. They mattered to no one, except to little children that feared to stroll around the ocean at night. Folks started to populate the area around the bay because it was a beautiful, serene place perfect for a small, cozy colony. First villages, then towns sprang from the bare ground and bloomed. The markets grew. Towns began using ships to trade among themselves, using the ocean as the fastest and best route. All was well.

Then, suddenly things started to change. The ocean was not the same anymore. There were nights when it raged, it swelled, and it swayed worst than ever. Ironically, those turbulent nights were the only times when the ocean was safe for ships. The sailors started fearing the nights when the ocean was calm and the sky was clear with a big, bright moon shining on the waters. On what seemed to be benign nights like those was when ships got lost, men disappeared, and women became widows.

The first who ever survived was a little boy who lived to tell a tale of a calm summer night when the air was thick with heat and the waters were warm. He was found unconscious on the shore where evidently the waters had washed him up, body covered with seaweeds, clothes dirty with sand, lying just a little further away from the skeleton of the ship – the only part of the vessel that had washed up on the sandy bay. His memory was vague, but he told his mother and grandfather that sometime after midnight, he had heard a song. A low, melodious humming to be exact filled with foreign words that somehow floated above the silky melody and chained themselves around his heart. He had climbed up on the deck. The whole crew had been out, standing around the edges of the ship, watching something down in silence. Curious and pulled by the humming, he went to find out.

He was mesmerized when he spoke of beautiful creatures that swam around the ship swiftly and elegantly as butterflies in air. His eyes were glazed as he spoke of fish tails, human faces, long bodies. He spoke of mermaids. He spoke of merman. He was so sure of his tale that he started retelling it to friends, to newcomers, to everybody. Soon after, the boy whose real name people today do not know, was forever to be known as the child that left his mind out on the ocean the night when his father and his crewmen died.

Although skeptical of the story, people, one by one, started to leave Mermaid Bane. Women started nagging their husbands, children feared to play close to the ocean. Family by family, entire towns started to disappear. As if they never existed.

The only one left was Mountain Dove, but it was so deeply hidden between the forest trees that it barely overlooked the ocean and people rarely climbed down to test the waters. All they knew was up, up the mountain top and a load of mountain tracks that led out of the forest and into the center of the land where civilization was abundant.

Haimi was fascinated by the ocean. Having grown up high above, between trees and eagles, watching the ocean only from afar was not enough for her. She wanted to feel it, touch it, smell it, and swim in it. However, more than few grim stories held her back. Her father, a rich merchant who had always loved to sail that ocean had never returned from its waters. Her mother, who had no one in this world but Haimi, was forced to work for their meals. Soon, Haimi learned what poverty was. But, much to her mother’s amazement, she never felt as if her daughter missed anything but her father.

The girl had been born into a comfortable home did not mind dirtying her hands with work. Such is this life, she would often bravely tell her aging mother. Soon, Haimi’s little hands became calloused from washing laundry, nicked from carrying trees, hard from cleaning houses for money. She kept her thick waves of hair, long and golden as a coin, braided. Her face, young and soft was often tired and her deep sapphire eyes were often red-rimmed after a long laborious day as she watched the soft outline of the bay and the splashing, dark blue waters of the ocean in milky twilight -- a habit of hers that helped her sleep.

As little Haimi grew out of her little dresses and slowly entered the waters of maidenhood, she noticed the way men in Mountain Dove looked at her. Her body had transformed; slim and curvy she was. Oddly, she despised the attention. She was scared of the winks, of the comments, the wolf-whistles, and the lustful smirks of men. So she did everything she could to avoid them which included wearing wider, shape-hiding clothes.

She still worked helping people get around. She still washed, carried and cleaned, though when she could, she chose houses where men were scarce or old and married, where no one could just sit on a chair and watch her earn her day of pay. Sometimes she succeeded, sometimes she suck it up like a man.

Her habits were strange ones.

While her female peers liked to explore the world of male homo sapiens, she enjoyed spending her hours exploring nature. She often found herself walking down those mountain dirt tracks that lead down to the ocean, but was never brave enough to take a lonesome walk on the bay. Although curious, Haimi was a smart girl. She carried few red ribbons and a knife with her, along with a handkerchief filled with small rocks she collected down her path just in case danger raised its ugly head.

One sunny spring afternoon as what was rest of the snow slowly melted into the earth, Haimi followed a thin, almost faded in grass trail. Her belly churned in anticipation, her throat dry as she explored the new part of the forest. As the trail she followed abruptly curved down into a slope, she hesitated. Glancing back, she saw her red ribbon she had wrapped around the thin tree trunk billowing in the wind. It gave her a push, so before she had a chance to reconsider, her feet stomped down the hill.

She stumbled on her dress and almost kissed the soil when she reached the bottom of the hill. Brushing dirt off, she straightened and looked at the sun; it was slowly starting to sink and its yellow rays dappled the ground as they pierced through the branches. The darkness hardly scared her, but the things that lurk in it surely shook her skirts. She was considering turning back, when, from the corner of the eye she saw a small, crystal glimmer between two trees.

Brows furrowing and eyes narrowing in concentration, she slowly dove towards that gap. The ground was a mess of tall grass, mushrooms, half-melted snow, fallen leaves and branches, but Haimi managed to jump over the obstacles and she moved until both her hands touched both trees on either side of her and her breath hitched in her throat.

It was a lake.

A small, round lake whose waters belonged to the ocean; the salty smell confirmed that. Trees rounded the lake’s outline, casting shadows over the glimmering waters. She could see a five foot gap in the circle, like a ring opening, from where water slowly flowed like a river – it was a connection between the grand ocean and the small lake she stood in front of.

The place was magical, mystical even. It was so well hidden from the world she lived in she wondered how she was able to find it. Crouching next to the edge, she leaned forward and cooped a hand she filled with water. The foolishness and childishness in her made her taste it. She quickly spat the salty liquid, wiping at her face. She laughed.

There were fish in the water, she noticed.

They were almost the same color of the bottom of the lake, only darker and their scales sparkled when the sunlight fell just right. They moved together, like soldiers, before dispatching and going their separate ways. Haimi wished she had a slice of bread with her she could throw in the water and watch as fish slowly gathered at her feet. Looking down at her feet now, she saw the amber splash of light that covered her entire being. The sun was slowly setting, her mother would be worried. The poor woman’s health was already crumbling; she did not wish to upset her.

As days passed and summer shone out spring, the small ocean lake became her sanctuary, her secret. She never spoke of it with others, especially not with the few female friends she spent the crumbs of what was her free time. Tales always arose around bonfires whenever the ocean waters were mentioned; she did not want to be considered a reckless fool. Haimi had, one by one, removed the ribbons she had previously put on the trees for she knew that route by heart. She did not fear getting lost in the forest, but she feared when it came to men.

Her mother often told her that she should cast if only a glance towards the young men that swam like sharks around her. But none of them was decent. Everybody in Mountain Dove knew their story, knew her father, but the fact that Haimi and her mother were two women that lived alone without a male guardian had gossips spinning as fast as threading wheels. Gossips often fend away the gentleman, which left only lechers who – she knew – would only have their way with her and leave her for another young maiden.

Oh, if only her father had not died, she often though sadly at night as she gazed at the moon or when she listened how the rain pelted against the windows and roof of the small cabin of a house her mother and she lived in. The place was small; a room that was used as a bedroom, kitchen, dining room and everything else and a tiny, but decent bathroom. It was nothing fancy, but it was clean and cozy. It smelled of home.

Her life slowly molded itself into a bleary routine: wake up at dawn, help her sick mother – who, much to Haimi’s dismay took over a nasty cough and sometimes spat out blood in her napkins – do chores around the house, some work for a penny, come home prepare lunch and, if she were lucky, go down to the small place she discovered and relax until the sun shone amber.

However, one hot summer afternoon as Haimi was helping old Mr. Johnson wash his shirts, everything changed. She was doing a fine job, old white-bearded, bald headed Mr. Johnson had commented before he had heard the trot of a horse. A soft thud followed as the rider slid from his horse and his boots met the ground. Haimi did not look up from the foamy basin where she fiercely rubbed soap against the yellowed collar of old Johnson’s white shirt, but heard the glee in his voice when he spoke to the stranger.

“Well, well, well… look who decided to climb the mountain and visit us Doves up here.”

“It is not my fault you flew so high, grandfather,” Mr. Johnson’s nephew sounded happy to see him. A deep, easy-going tone. They hugged just as Haimi, curious, tilted her head so she could catch a glimpse.

“How is life treating you, Aiden?”

Aiden was a tall fellow. He wore one of those brown high crowned and wide-brimmed hats and the hair that peaked from beneath was the color of sand – its movements like the waves of the ocean, his eyes a shade of pale green. His body was well shaped, shoulders broad – the results of hard labor, but the shirt on his back, the pants on his legs and new boots on his feet indicated wealth. Another handsome devil, Haimi thought.

Aiden had come to see the father of his mother, the man who had been his idol, his Sheppard from early age. Old Johnson was born in Mountain Dove, everybody knew him, but he had been one of those who left it to join the urban life in towns like Northern Hill. However, after many events like raising a family, having his wife die before her time, bouncing grandchildren on his knee, he decided that it was time to move on with life. He had had enough of busy streets, dense crowds and certainly enough of the quarrels with his own kin. He had finally decided to spend the rest of his days somewhere where nobody could ruin his peace.

Mountain Dove was just the place.

“It would be a sin to complain, grandfather,” Aiden smiled as he tipped his hat back with his thumb. “I have done a pretty good job following father’s footsteps, if I can do so say myself,” he added, glancing at the young girl with the long, thick braid that until a minute ago had been crouching and washing. She stood up and walked over to some clothing wire that hung from two opposite trees and threw a dripping, white shirt over it, running a hand over its fabric to smooth down wrinkles. She had her back to him and was about to turn around when his grandfather spoke:

“I see…” Old Johnson mused as he rubbed his beard. “Snagged yourself any young lady yet?”

Aiden threw his head back in a laugh. “I thought you said that great grandchildren will make you feel old, grandfather, and besides…haven’t found the one yet.”

“I don’t remember saying anything like that!” But he smirked playfully. There was a brief silence as the men watched each other with serene emotions, a pause that gave Haimi chance to excuse herself for interrupting. The old man and his nephew looked at her in the same moment, old Johnson in question, Aiden in awe.

Truth to be told he had never seen a girl like her: long golden hair, deep-set crystal clear eyes, a diamond shaped face with soft, pale skin. She was exquisitely small, probably as tall as his shoulder went, but she was of rare appealing excellence. She resembled something small, but precious, something that he could hold in his hand, still precious. Her eyes were tired, but on her tired looked good. He was afraid to blink, thinking she’d be gone the next time he opened his eyes.

Haimi saw the way he was staring at her and blushed against her will. Keeping her eyes trained on old Johnson, she spoke in a voice soft as velvet: “Mr. Johnson, I have finished for today. I will return next Thursday, but feel free to send for me if you need anything before.”

“That would be all Haimi and thank you dear. I shall keep that in mind. I do not know what I would have done without you around here. You are a real jewel. Any man would be beyond happy to have you as his wife!”

Haimi smiled at the praises the old man showered her with and bowed her head to him, before sending a shy smile at Aiden and walking away. As her figure shrunk in the distance, Aiden watched her. Mr. Johnson hadn’t noticed the look in his nephew’s eyes until he had told Aiden they should head inside and he still stood there, watching, staring.

“Well I’ll be damned! I am talking to you Aiden! I don’t exactly fancy baking under the sun all day long like an egg. Move your lazy arse and lead that horse to the stable!”

“Yes sir…” Aiden smiled, but didn’t move his eyes. “Tell me grandfather, who was that pearl?” Yes, he thought. That was what she was. A pearl; small but precious.

Old Johnson laughed putting his arms akimbo. “She is a pearl all right with a damn hard shell around her. I ain’t seen a man, man enough for her. She just turns them all down. Why?”

Aiden sighed, but not discouraged. “She may be the one.”

Haimi did not care for men, but this one had made her heart beat fast and her blood boil in a way her stomach felt like a stampede of bulls were running through it. She was still thinking of the old Johnson’s handsome nephew when she arrived home and found her mother on the floor, unconscious.

It was the greatest scare she had had since her father’s death. Her mother was breathing, barely, and even after the doctor arrived she was still unable to stand on her own. More medications, more bills. The bliss of meeting a man that could make her toes curl was gone in an instant.

So, she dedicated her life to work yet again. No dreaming. She kept working, harder and longer until her hands bled and her knees gave away. Her secret place, her sanctuary turned into a memory; she no longer had time to go down there and sit and enjoy the sun. The only fish she saw were the ones in the shallow river waters where she rubbed stains clean from clothes that belonged to others and the ones cooked in meals. Life turned into a dread.

◊

After returning to Northern Hills, Aiden could not rest. He could not sleep, eat or work properly because his mind was swamped with thoughts of that shy little helper elf of his Grandfather. His mother, Hilda and the young lady Isabelle his father adopted into their family after the death of her parents noticed the odd change in him. Persuading and cajoling into confessing was something they could not succeed in. It frustrated them. It did not concern him.

He found plenty of reasons to return to Mountain Dove: he missed his grandfather, he had promised him he would return soon, he had something he wanted done, he was ill etc.

What he wanted was to see her.

He found her plenty of times. He had learned that Thursday was the day when she came to help his grandfather and Thursday soon became the most important day of the week for him. Old Johnson had taught him that she disliked men who pressured her, who harassed her, so he always careful to pick light topics to talk with her. He even helped her with her chores. She was usually kind, but indifferent, often tired, he noted. Once, she spoke about her mother to him. He contemplated offering her money to help, but knew that would be a mistake of monumental proportions. She never gave signs of returning his affections. Old Johnson just watched him from where he sat under the cool shade of his porch and smirked at every failed attempt his grandson made.

But Haimi was far from unaffected. Her heart played a fast, drunken song every time he was near and burned with the wish to see him. She liked that he was different, attentive, and affectionate. She knew he liked her without him saying so and between her bedridden mother, her work and her lack of free time, he was the only thing she looked forward to seeing. She despised the Thursdays when he was not there, in front of Mr. Johnson’s farmhouse keeping his hands busy with some handy work or just relaxing under the porch with his grandfather.

Her shell started to crack.

She noticed one evening when Aiden was seeing her off. He had said that it was late and that it was not safe for a young, pretty lady to walk those paths alone. Mountain Dove was not a big village, but the houses were separate enough to make her walk home a lengthy one and the dark – a dangerous one. She hadn’t wanted him to see where she lived; for once she felt ashamed of the poverty her family had sunk into – another story he knew because she trusted him enough with it.

She was a tad relived to see nothing had changed when his eyes flew through the thick blanket of darkness and over the barely visible edges of the small, softly lit cabin she called a home. Instead, those ravishing eyes were half closed as they stayed on hers as he took a step towards her, hesitantly putting a hand on her cheek. Resting the other one on the curve of her waist, he tilted his head and leaned down until his lips covered hers, taking her first kiss and her entity along with him.

There was noting in that moment he wished more but to stop the sands of time and just hold her, but he had to satisfy the burning need within him with another peck, before she entered that small, sad place.

One of these days, he thought, one of these days when she is ready he will return for her and he will put her and her mother in a carriage and take them both down to Northern Hills. Those fragile hands of hers will not touch another linen that was not his or hers. That he swore upon his father’s name.

He was not conscious that he had been smiling most of the way back to his Grandfather’s house. The old man was sitting on the porch, rocking back and forth in his chair. He grinned when he saw him with that love-sick expression.

“Pretty face you have there girlie,” he let out a raspy laugh as he ran a hand over his white beard. “So, what happened? Did you finally try something?”

“A gentleman never speaks of such things!” Aiden said in mock-chivalry, though he was serious. He had no intent of sharing anything he had with Haimi. He was surprised to find himself reserved, overly protective and jealous of her.

“You little devil you!” Old Patrick shouted, his lips twitching in a smile that turned into a frown when his nephew mounted his horse. He froze in mid-rocking and stood up halfway. “Where are you going?!”

He reeled his horse back. “Home! To prepare!”

Old Patrick Johnson did not even have to ask for what as he eased back into his chair. He only chuckled to himself and resumed rocking, muttering: “Great grandchildren. I have really gotten old.”

Back in the villa in Northern Hills, Hilda was not quarter as excited as Aiden and Isabelle was just as infuriated. She had secretly nursed a secret love for Aiden, despite the fact that he was her sibling in law. His mother kept rambling, shouting “peasant girl!” calling Haimi dirty and ill bred even after Aiden had told her that her family used to be a wealthy one and that she is as clean as the sky on a hot summer day. Aiden would have none of it. He put his foot down along with his decision that when Haimi was ready to leave Mountain Dove, he would bring her back with him and they would have no other but to accept her or, he threatened to leave them both to fend for themselves and take his bride to live elsewhere.

That didn’t settle with them either so they clamped their mouths shut.

A month passed after that. The heat in July was just as unbearable as the heat that grew within Haimi’s and Aiden’s hearts. They yearned for each other and Thursday’s were simply not enough for them anymore. One day, having no work to do, they both went for a stroll down the length of the river. The water softly murmured as if flowed, leaves rustled in the warm summer wind. Few sheep were grazing on the other side of the river, their bells kept chiming every time they moved making the dog on guard duty to raise his head and prick his ears.

They had discussed this before, but it was the first time Aiden had taken her hands, looked her straight in the eyes and asked: “Would you ever consider leaving this place and come with me home?”

The urge to throw herself into his arms and scream “yes” died in her throat. She lowered her eyes sadly, saying: “I am sorry. I cannot leave mother.”

“We shall take her with us,” he proposed, but she just shook her head, tears on the brim of her eyes.

“I do not think she would like to leave this place. Father’s grave is here…even if it is empty.” Aiden sighed, his jaw flexing as his discomfort and discontent rose. She put a hand on his cheek, tracing the side of his face pleadingly. He wanted to pout like a little child that couldn’t get things to go his way, but enveloped her in a hug instead and rested his cheek atop her head, his hands stroking her back and arms lovingly.

One sentence put her heart at ease.

“I will wait for you.”

He did not have to wait long. By the beginning of August, Haimi’s mother gave in to her illness. No amount of medication both Haimi had earned for and Aiden had brought back from the town with him had helped her heal.

They buried her the very next day.

Next to the empty grave of her late husband who was lost in the ocean. The whole village was there. Old Johnson was in the first row. Their presence and their care gave comfort to Haimi, but not half as much as Aiden’s embrace when all of them were back in their homes continued with their lives.

Empty and alone. That was how Haimi felt for the first few days. The cabin reminded her of her mother, it smelled of her so she wished to spend as less time inside as she could. She wished to work so she could drown her sorrow with a cube of soap in a basin of water, to sweep away her tears with a simple broom. But no one wanted to put work on the poor girl. They all pitied the orphan girl.

But not old Johnson. He just kept and kept thinking of chores for her. Silly little things really: his sheet was torn – it needed sewing; he spilled his coffee over the shirt she washed yesterday – it needed to be washed again; the button of his shirt had fallen off – he needed a new one. But, the truth was, he had done half of those things just so he could have her around and feeling less lonely.

It was a rainy Sunday when it happened.

The rain had turned into hail that subdued late in the afternoon when the sun had just set and twilight had begun. Haimi was over at old Patrick’s place, sewing together the torn halves of what had been his kitchen curtain. She couldn’t understand how it ripped that way and, naively, she asked him about it. The old man busied himself with his pipe and tobacco answering: “I pulled too damn hard this morning. I’m getting old, I’m losing my touch.”

She wanted to argue, but she kept silent. Within an hour the night had settled itself and there was a knock on the front door. It was Aiden. The clothes on his back were damp and he was wet and cold to the bone. After a quick change of clothing, he sat in the room with both of them and waited until Haimi finished putting together that curtain. With a flick of the eyes, his grandfather got the message that Aiden wanted some alone time with Haimi. After the old man was out of the picture, Aiden walked over to Haimi and crouched in front of her sitting figure, taking both her hands in his. She smiled warmly at his affections and leaned down to give him a small kiss.

“Marry me, Haimi,” he blurted the second after that kiss was over. By the surprised look on her face, he thought she would find a reason not to, again, but this time, to his surprise, she nodded putting her hands on each side of his neck, her thumbs caressing his cheeks. First he grinned, then laughed happily before wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up along with him in a twirl. “I’m in love with you Haimi,” he declared as he settled her down.

“I too…always have been.”

Later, old Johnson was happy for the both of them, but there was undeniable apprehension behind his smile. He looked worried. The day when they were about to depart, with Haimi on the saddle in front of Aiden, the old man stopped them to give his wise advice:

“Be careful and take care of each other. Remember…no matter how still the water may seem, there will always be a fish that will try to ripple it.”

The mention of water reminded her of that little ocean lake she had found and never got the chance to share with Aiden. She hoped that one day they could come together, but kept silent for the time being.

And with that they were off.

◊

Her new mother-in-law was an elegant woman that looked like the female version of Aiden. She had the same eyes, the same hair only streaked with gray, but not his height. She had a sister-in-law and that for Haimi was a blessing for she never had a sibling to call her own. They appeared friendly enough to her with their butter smiles and their welcoming words. However, a storm was brewing inside both of them, a terrible storm that was bound to affect Haimi sooner or later. They let Aiden have his way. For now. But it was not the end.

Soon, Haimi became Mrs. Aiden McWaters. At first, she was shy around him. The concept of sleeping with a man was rather embarrassing to her and it had her flushing from head to toes. But Aiden was gentle with her. He treated her with care and love, devoting his days to making her as happy as he could. He kept his promise to himself and did not allow her to lift a finger if there was no need for it. Soon, Haimi’s calloused fingers softened, the circles around her eyes disappeared and her thin frame filled just enough. To Aiden, every day she became even more beautiful than the previous. For Haimi, every day waiting for her husband to return home from work was like a dream for when he returned and took her into his arms it was bliss.

Everything continued with the fish.

Haimi’s mother-in-law obtained a weird habit. She cooked special meals for Haimi at least once a day and prepared only dishes with fish meat. She explained that the Northern Hills had a wise midwife she had spoken to and she had told Hilda that a newly wedded bride should eat a lot of fish meat in order to bear healthy children.

“I want to have grandchildren, the sooner the better!” Hilda had exclaimed one day when Haimi wished to eat something else. Not wanting to break the woman’s heart and knowing nothing about that custom – she lived in a mountain village where there was hardly any midwifes – Haimi ate what was put in front of her. But even Aiden began noticing. The house often reeked of fish meat and he hated eating fish. Once, after dinner when they were both alone within their chamber, he asked his wife about it. They were both lying in bed, his head in her lap. She told him what she had been told and as she shuffled her fingers through his hair, she watched how a frown dragged down those beautiful facial features of his she loved so much. It all sounded “fishy” to him. When he had mentioned Haimi, Isabelle and his mother were so dead set against her, he had thought that by the end of the first week he’d be moving out along with his wife. But then, when she arrived, everything had settled so well, it worried him. Isabelle spent most of her days locked in her room and his mother – cooking.

Haimi noticed how thoughtful he looked and kissed him, slowly and deliberately as if trying to cure all the things that plagued his mind. She was not even aware of the effect it had on him. A sip of her and all his thoughts washed away into nothing.

Summer turned into autumn and autumn lead to winter. The crowns of the trees were bare; the leaves covered their roots like flames. The wind grew colder and sharper with each passing day and it constantly rained. On a day like this, Aiden received a letter from old man Johnson with an urgent request. He had written in his letter about his sickness and his need of medication. A small list was scribbled in the end. Without a second thought, Aiden, with the help of Haimi prepared for the journey. He told her to take care of herself and not to worry about him.

But it was hard not to.

The weather worsened that night; rivers overfilled with rain water and spilled from their troughs, flooding the roads and – she feared – putting travelers in mortal peril. As if her worries were not enough for her, Hilda got sick. She coughed and coughed, writhed in pain. During the night, she hardly slept trying to take care of her pallid mother-in-law who kept muttering something about “ocean water.” The town was too flooded for a doctor to come and Isabelle rushed out in the stormy weather to get the midwife she knew Hilda was friends with. At dawn, while Haimi was trying to help her up so she could drink some water, Isabelle returned with an old lady dressed all in black – an outfit completed with a dark scarf around her head. The midwife was a woman as tall as she was round, with deep facial lines, wrinkled and dry mouth and small beady black eyes that moved around the room with the speed of lightning. Behind closed doors, she took a look a Hilda, leaving Haimi to worry not only for Aiden, but for the life of his mother too. When the midwife finally emerged, she pulled Haimi by the elbow and sat her down in a chair, those small eyes keeping hers chained.

“She is not doing well,” she said shaking her head. “She needs ocean water. Genuine saltwater. Only that with few sea weeds I have in my home will cure her. Otherwise, before this night ends she will die!” Thunder echoed from outside and lightning cast shadows inside the house, making it all seem so grim and frightening. “You must bring me ocean water! Freshly filled ocean water!”

This is absurd, Haimi thought with alert as she tried to persuade the old woman that her request was impossible seeing how the only ocean she knew was from that small lake she had uncovered before her mother died. Then she remembered: the lake! She could ride a horse all the way up to Mountain Dove, get the ocean water and then ride back with Aiden home. It was a perfect plan.

Throwing on her traveling cloak, she saddled the first horse she could put her hands on and mounted him. By the time she was off, the rain had stopped. The hoofs of her horse squished the muddy ground below while the ominous gray clouds that seemed calm for the moment swelled and grew reminiscent of potato sacks ready to split in half and just pour the contents from above to below. Watching her dash away in the baby hours of the morning that slowly announced a day without a red sunrise were Hilda, the old midwife and Isabelle. The first two had smirks on their faces. Hilda was up on her feet, her illness just a show that reached its curtain and the old midwife holding the actual curtain away from the window glass so the three of them could peak.

“That fool…” Hilda huffed, before turning a glare towards the midwife. “You are certain this will work? Because if it does not-” she threatened, but the midwife raised her palm calmly.

“It shall work. By the time your son is back, she will be swimming in that ocean water. With the fish!”

Isabelle watched as the two women grinned wickedly over their twisted plan. Her step-mother took out a small roll of money and handed them to the midwife who in fact was not a midwife at all – she was a nasty, town witch known for her curses, tricks and black magic. Isabelle was astounded to find out that Hilda had stooped so low she had turned to a witch in order to get rid of her young daughter-in-law, but if she stopped to think better, it suited her. She wanted the peasant girl out of the house maybe even more than her mother so this came in the right time. When he was back, Aiden would be heartbroken by his wife leaving him and he would need a shoulder to cry on. That shoulder would belong to her, she thought with a sly smirk.

It was already dark by the time Haimi reached Mountain Dove. She was breathless, sweaty and hungry all in the same time. She felt as if she would faint any minute. But she kept on riding until her thighs went numb from pressuring the horse between them and a nasty headache split her mind in two. Ocean water. She had never heard of such a cure. What good would ocean water do? Yet, she was no doctor. She knew nothing of the art of healing so if the only thing she could do to aid her ill mother-in-law was the saltwater she would do anything humanely possible to get it.

But, that day, luck seemed to have turned its back on Haimi. A large tree trunk had fallen during the storm and blocked the middle of the narrow gauge that lead to the entrance of Mountain Dove. The horse neighed and raised its front legs in protest when Haimi tried to make him jump it. She cursed the animal under her breath and tugged the reins the other way. She wished to meet up with Aiden before going down there, but that plan had failed her and, if her memory served her well, there was a small mountain trail that led directly to the small lake. She only hoped that the rain hadn’t washed it away.

On the other side of that gauge, inside Mountain Dove and in the middle of the familiar sitting room of old Patrick Johnson stood an incredulous and utterly wet Aiden. He was not only tired from riding all night long, battling against both weather and murky roads but baffled to find his grandfather not only up on his feet and healthy, but fixing the roof with only a hammer and few nails. When old Johnson heard the trot and cry of a horse and saw his nephew upon it, he put his hands on his hips and looked down on Aiden from that roof, saying:

“You got a wife and a steady roof above your head and what do you do? You leave them to visit an old man up on the mountain. What the hell is wrong with you boy?”

Now, after having heard of this faux letter, Johnson was not only surprised, but was also puzzled. He hadn’t sent anything (not that he recalled at least. Perhaps too much tobacco was making him senile, he thought, but no. That was not it!). They both put their heads together, but the only thing the old man could think of was his daughter. She was his blood, his kin, but even as little, the girl was disobedient and uncompromising. But why would she go through all that trouble? What was her angle? Or was he just over thinking and deluding himself? Not having any answer, he advised his nephew to rest and to head back as soon as he could.

The storm had mauled the nature around the lake. Broken tree branches were hanging lifelessly, the grass was muddy and all littered with leaves and sticks that crunched under Haimi’s feet. Yet, the waters were hardly disrupted and like a mirror they clearly reflected the thick clouds. She had tethered the reins of her horse around a steady branch, before she reached for the little traveling bag she had attached to her saddle. She took out the canvas water bag she took in case the two bottles she packed broke. They hadn’t, so she took them out and pulled out the stopper on the first bottle, before walking over to the rim of the lake. She folded her legs under her and sat.

The water level was high enough so she did not have to bend forward too much. With a sigh, she dipped the bottle inside the freezing salty water, emerging all her hand along with it and wetting her sleeve. Air bubbles escaped the interior of the bottle and surfaced just as two little fish the size of her palm swam close to her hand. She watched with a smile as they circled around the bottle and she startled them by pulling her hand out so she could close the bottle. She then picked up the second bottle and did the same thing all over again.

This time, there were more than two fish. Four, she counted. They swam with sliding grace around her hand, moving harmoniously like some silent marsh. Her mind slowly pulled a blank and she started humming a song she had never heard of. The water felt cool on her skin, not as cold as the first time she had plunged her hand in. There was something peaceful about this place, something oddly magical and endearing.

She chuckled when she realized that she had been just doodling away time she did not have, so she pulled out the bottle and closed it with the stopper. She put the two bottles next to her and made an attempt to get up. Her legs felt heavy as if there were stones attached to her feet, but that was normal; she had been riding all day. But the thing that was not normal was the hard way she dropped back to the ground. Bracing her arms she pushed herself up again, but her body felt as if it were death weight.

Panic slowly took over her mind as she realized that something was wrong with both her legs. They would not move no matter how much she commanded them to. Suddenly, her throat felt immensely dry as if she was in a barren dessert. The view of her horse gnawing on something on the ground suddenly started to blur in and out of sight and her lungs couldn’t get enough air in. Haimi tried inhaling, but it was pointless – there was no air. A cry for help barely slipped off her tongue as she wrapped a hand around her throat in a sad attempt to stop herself from suffocating and before she knew it, she knocked over the two bottles with ocean water she had filled. They rolled away and feel in the small ocean lake with loud splashes. Among attempts to breathe, reflexes took over and Haimi reached over for the bottles that had already sunk in the unknown depths of those dark waters, causing her body to lose balance and just like those bottles, she too fell in the lake with a splash.

Water enveloped her. Bubbles escaped her, mocking as they rose to the surface and she dropped to the bottom. Her legs were already useless and her arms and hands were weak. She flapped and pushed and fought until her lungs felt tight and about to explode. And slowly, with her body weighing more than her mind could control, she closed her eyes and sunk to oblivion.

Returning home and finding his wife and all her clothes gone was not what Aiden had expected. He was terror stricken when his mother told him through soothing words that she had left him for another man. At first, he did not believe it. His Haimi, his love, his wife would never do such a thing. She loved him. So he stormed out and was dead set on finding her. He looked for her throughout Northern Hills, he circled all the towns he knew and he even returned to Mountain Dove to check that small little cabin she had grown up in. But she was nowhere to be found as if the Earth had opened up and swallowed her whole. He returned home, alone and defeated. He denied it, he shouted, her broke everything that was in his path for in the end to take fistfuls of his hair, fall to his knees and weep. And just like planned, Isabelle was here to wrap her little arms around him.

◊

Everything was dark.

The surface beneath Haimi was soft and slippery. Her eyelids felt heavy with sleep as she tried to blink away the sand from them. Was this a dream? Had she been only dreaming? It was too dark to see anything and everything was a dark shade of blue. Things moved around her as if floating in air. She closed her eyes and willed her mind to return from dreamland and into reality, but when she reopened her eyes, the same sight greeted her, only sharper, clearer this time.

She used her elbows and hands so she could get to a sitting position. Her arms moved slowly and as she raised a hand to rub her sleepy eyes she noticed her golden hair floating around her head. Her eyes widened in alert as she turned around taking in her environment: sand, sea weeds, corals, rocks, a red starfish on one of them, small fish swimming around her, nuzzling as if they were dogs and sniffed her.

She opened her mouth to let out a breath in horror, but only bubbles escaped her. She grabbed her throat, but she felt no pressure on her lungs. She could breathe…or at least she thought she did because her chest did not rise and fall. She panicked again and tried to use her feet so she could stand up, but she felt as if her entire lower body had been bound with rope. She glanced down at her legs and her eyes widened when she did not find them. In their place, stretching from below her stomach and to a length she could not fully see in the dark was a long, slimy fish tail that narrowed towards where her ankles used to be and then widened into a fin. She jumped at the gruesome sight and tripped on her cloak which was still wrapped around her neck. She fell backwards raising a small sandy cloud around her when her backside plopped down. Long, green see weeds wrapped around her arms and she scrambled trying to get rid of them. She held onto a nearby rock for support as she tried to take in the long tail that peaked from beneath her shirt.

Haimi thought that this was a dream. Everything around her was so bizarre and so scary, she thought she was sill trapped in some folklore nightmare. But, as the minutes ticked by, she realized that either this was a very long dream or it was the harshest reality she could possibly imagine.

She was half human, half fish. She was a mermaid. Mermaids, she thought with a hand on her forehead, did not exist. They were just fictional creatures in childish tales invented by sailors who had gone mad on sea. But here she was, alone and underwater with a tale, breathing.

Unclasping the brooch under her chin, she pushed the fabric of the cloak away and watched as it slowly floated to the bottom of the lake disturbing the sleeping sandy bottom again.

After flapping it against the sand few times, she finally decided to use her tail. Her heart was roaring like a trapped beast against her ribs, but she managed to push herself up, up, up towards the surface. Using the tail was tricky at first – she kept sinking down – but then, after watching how the fish that swam around her, she picked up on a pattern. The waters became significantly lighter as she swam upwards. She could see everything with a better clarity than before so she quickly raised a hand to inspect.

Her skin had a bluish tint to it and it felt soft and milky to touch. Her arms did not move as fast as they would in air, but the floating sensation was wonderful and the fact that she liked it scared her to death. With one quick and strong stroke of her tail, she broke to the surface of the calm waters. She thought her chest would expand as her lungs filled with air, but it did not happen. Instead, after watching the outside world, like a human would underwater, she started to feel a pressure in her chest. Then the feeling that she would suffocate enveloped her; her throat, her lips and skin felt dry and she couldn’t wait to return to the depths of the lake and once there she felt…relieved. Back in life.

Watching the ocean from afar, she always wished to be able to touch it, but now, having both her body and soul attached to it, she felt unbelievably lonely. Perhaps she cried, she couldn’t tell because no tears tickled her cheeks, she cursed everything and everyone and most of all, she missed Aiden. Oh, her poor Aiden. What would he think when he finds her gone? Would he leave everything behind and look for her or would he resent her for leaving him? But she did not leave him. He surely must know that.

One by one the days flowed soundlessly. Haimi waited. For what? She was not sure. Perhaps she still hoped she would wake up from this nightmare and find herself snuggled between the covers and her husband. But the end of this so called nightmare never came.

So she moved on.

She swam across the small ring opening of the lake and thrust into the great ocean waters. The enormity and the endlessness of it scared her. Where was she supposed to go? How was she supposed to survive as another fish in the sea?

The answer came by itself few days later.

A song. She was lying on a rock above, holding her breath – if she had one – her arms crossed over its smooth surface and her tail emerged in water when she heard the soft murmur, a lullaby. The sun had sunk behind the horizon just a few hours ago and the moon was a shining beacon on the sky, bathing the earth floor and ocean in silver. It was the beginning of what Haimi thought was a perfect night, but then she heard the song. At first, she thought her mind had finally slipped away, but then she saw it.

A ship! Its massive body slowly broke through the darkness as it smoothly glided its way through the calm waters. It moved without a sound, the deck was clear. Haimi hid behind the rock, dipping her head in water before emerging again. The song grew stronger and sweeter; the sound of it vibrated through water and through air – it was like heaven. She hadn’t heard something as magnificent as this strange song. The ship slowly moved like it had before, only now faces begun appearing above deck. They slowly moved as if hypnotized towards the rims of the ship and once there they stared at the black waters with sheepish smiles that chilled Haimi’s spine. They stood still, men in various ages, as if waiting for something. But…what?

And then Haimi saw them.

She felt the movement below the water seconds before the smooth, glassy surface broke out in ripples and wet heads poked through. Haimi’s mouth dropped as she recognized beautiful human faces bathed in silver moonlight. But they were hardly humans. Yes, they looked like women, however, with a dip underwater she saw the tails much like her own and returning above water she realized that they were the ones who hummed that heartbreaking, breathtaking, mind-soothing melody. They moved in and out of the ocean gracefully, swimming around the ship like friendly, suave sharks. The men above the ship grinned and reached hands towards them like small children reaching for a mother’s hand. But they were too high and the mermaids were too low.

The mermaids smiled and giggled at the sailors, they flapped their tails and combed their hairs with their long, slick fingers before using them to beckon the sailors down.

Haimi’s eyes went considerably wide when she saw how the sailors straddled the wooden railings of the ship and covered her face with her hands when splashes erupted as body met water. One by one, like dolls pulled by strings they feel into the water. When the last sailor jumped overboard, the song stopped and the silence of the night returned.

Haimi opened her eyes and caught only glimpses of slimy tails and fins as mermaids dove under water. And moments later, nature went eerily still once more. The ship continued moving and it passed by Haimi. The sails of it flapped in the weak breeze, the silence settled.

A ghost ship - that was the perfect name for what was left of it. Excitement, fear, anxiety, disgust, curiosity overwhelmed her; she did not know which one to pick but she dove in after those mermaids never the less. She followed the vibrations through the dark waters and they led her to a scene so frightening it froze her in mid water.

The sailors were slowly sinking towards the bottom, drowning without even attempting to save themselves. Small amounts of silver, sparkling dust drained from their eyes and traveled towards the surface of the ocean as it slowly dissolved like sugar in water. The bodies, lifeless and heavy sunk to the black depths like rocks – without movement, without struggle, they just sunk.

She was too stricken by the synchronization of both beauty and horror, of both glitter and darkness and she did not notice that a half-naked mermaid with pale skin, almond, wary eyes and long auburn mane floating around her curved body watched her. The other mermaids slowly had gathered together and were already swimming away together like those fish she had seen long time ago in the lake. Like warriors.

The mermaid, whose torso was naked, intimidated Haimi with her sophisticated and gracious movements – she looked like royalty. Still unable to move, Haimi waited, watched as she slowly reached her, those bright almond eyes the same color as her own blinked at her, taking her in from head to… well fin. Then, with a circle around Haimi, the mermaid ran a finger along her own jaw line as if in thought, before tapping that same finger on her chin. Slowly, deliberately, she smiled taking one shaking Haimi by surprise.

“So it is you the fish have been murmuring about,” her voice was soft as velvet, the sound of it trembled like a pleasant echo. Her smile turned into a grin. Haimi did not know how to answer this beautiful creature. Oh, yes, she was beautiful, disregarding the fact that she had just aided her kind into magically killing innocent humans. And fish murmured? Was that what she heard every time they passed by her? The mermaid noted the silence and the fear for it was written upon Haimi’s face. “Which sea do you belong to, my sister? I have no knowledge of you other than the thin rumors that surround this area. My area.”

Haimi barely found her voice, but once she did, she spilled everything to the mermaid. “I do not come from any sea. I was not born as your kind. I was a human, several months ago I became…” she could not utter the word “mermaid” for she thought, once it was out, it was permanent.

“An aquatic maiden?” The mermaid aided with a lift of her brows. Haimi nodded, wrapping her arms around her shirt. The nakedness of the mermaid made her shy. She watched as her golden locks floated around her flushed face and saw the hand that was offered to her. “Come,” the mermaid said. “I go by the name Ariadne. I shall take you to our kingdom. It is a long way back, but once there you can tell me your story.”

◊

Their Kingdom was vast and stretched over rocks, corals, shells, and breathing among them were all sorts of colorful fish, octopuses, little seahorses and life she had never seen before. It was an adventure, she thought, a harsh, but exciting adventure.

Mermaids looked upon Haimi; some of them with narrowed eyes, others with smiles. But none of them spoke to her. Ariadne was well respected, she could see from the way everybody cleared her path as they headed for a big smooth rock and both dove under it. It was like a cave inside and there were small, silver balls of light on the ceiling of it fluttering like fireflies. Haimi wondered what they were. Settling herself down on the sandy bottom, Ariadne smiled again, noting the dazzled look in Haimi’s eyes. According to the mermaid, they were fish that glowed. After, she proceeded in asking Haimi for her story.

It was unbelievably easy to talk to the mermaid, Haimi thought as she started spilling everything, from her childhood to her fist encounter with Aiden, from their marriage to the unfortunate event. Ariadne listened, nodded in the right places and waited until Haimi was finished and desperate for an explication she hoped the mermaid had.

With a shuffle of her fingers through her auburn hair, she began: “Humans do not belong in the ocean, in the seas or above them. If they had, Nature would have given them the ability to breathe under. We do not kill them for pleasure,” she paused when she saw the flash of fear in Haimi’s eyes. “In addition we do not kill them at all. Our song is an invite, the power to turn it down lies within them. Yet, they all wish to join us, to explore these wondrous depths. Once they accept to merge their life with the ocean, we aid to the extraction of their souls –” that silver sparkling dust Haimi remembered. “– that feeds the ocean itself.”

Haimi nodded, thinking of all those nights her mother had spent crying over her father who had never returned home. She dared not to ask the mermaid of him. “And as for you…The transformation of humans into mermaids is an old myth. We have only heard stories of it, but they all have the same core – they revolve around two lovers and those around them who wish them harm.”

Haimi’s brows drew together. “We know nothing of those. As a little infant, I have been told of tales in which the mermaids take sailors down to their kingdom and how they die because often mermaids forget that humans cannot breathe underwater. Or, tales in which the men fall in love with the mermaids and become merman.”

That extracted a melodious laugh from the mermaid. “You humans try to personify everything. However, as you may have noticed, they are no merman among us. It would have been a dream to have men keeping us company, but sadly it is only us down here.”

“Is there a possibility for me to return…” Haimi hesitated. “To my old self?”

“As I previously mentioned, the possibility of a human turning into a mermaid was a myth…till recently. You may call your transformation a curse, I shall not argue with you if you do, and as you may know, every curse has its reverse. It is also a myth, but I shall tell you nevertheless. It may help you.”

Haimi nodded again.

“The myth has a story behind it. Jealously often is the trigger for this curse and it is said that witches are the only one that can enchant you. We have suffered the loss of our own kind, many mermaids have never returned back to our kingdom. Your humans have trapped and killed many of our own. Your mermaid aura is not yours at all. It belongs to another mermaid, I can see that clearly now. You are no mermaid, but you have been fed the heart of one.” The words shocked Haimi. Her stomach turned. “We mermaids like any other fish are spirits of the ocean. Our bodies and souls are bound to it, we can never exist outside just like humans can’t exist inside. When your mermaid was captured, she was killed and had her heart cut out of her chest. That heart was fed to you, probably in a meal of fish. The scent of fish is the only scent that can cover our own. You have been feed by jealousy, by hands of trickery and hatred.” The realization hit Haimi, hard. She remembered all those fish meals her mother-in-law had made her eat. She remembered that if had been she who had asked for the ocean water. She remembered the midwife – it all made awful sense. “The heart of the mermaid is equivalent to the spirit of her. When that spirit comes in touch with the ocean, it yearns to return to it, thus taking any form necessary,” she gestured all of Haimi.

Haimi did not know the reason why her mother-in-law would wish to harm her. She could not understand.

“If the spell involved was meant to separate you from your loved one, then, as the myth goes, there is only one way to break it. You must sing a song from the bottom of your own heart, because your heart it is separate from the mermaid’s spiritual heart. Your song must be filled with love and express your deepest desires. And, on a balmy night with a clear sky and bright moon, you must sing it. Sing it till your body withers in pain, your soul is empty and your lover comes for you. However, there is one more thing,” Ariadne looked at Haimi with sympathy swimming in her eyes. “If your lover’s affections for you do not match your own, he may not come, he may not hear your song for him. Then, I am afraid, by the next full moon, you shall remain one and the same with the ocean. You shall remain a mermaid.”

A song, Haimi mused as she left behind the Kingdom of mermaids. She kept in mind that last advice Ariadne had given her:

“One more advice: do not let the mermaid within emerge and take over your song. When and if your beau appears, do not let her overtake possession of your body and spirit. Every mermaid yearns to hum her song and to feed the ocean.”

“I shall not allow that!” Haimi decided as she swam to the only place she could seek solitude in. The ocean lake.

Making up her little scattered mind was one thing, but finding the place quite another. The ocean was no walk in the forest; it was vast and dark with no trails to lead her back. Wherever she turned she saw only an abundance of water. But there was where the fish helped. Small little brainless creatures had more sense of direction than her as they led her to where she was supposed to go. She was beyond ecstatic when she made her way through the small opening and into the little ocean lake that had been her sanctuary only a year ago.

Once there, Haimi knew that the easier part of the task was completed and now…now came the harder part: the song. How did a mermaid sing? What words should she use? How could she pour her heart out without the risk of losing it to the ocean? Haimi did not have the answer. Closing her eyes to the underworld of the little, deep lake she saw everything.

She saw her childhood, the faces of her father, her mother, the smiles, the cries, the loss, the graves, she saw Mountain Dove under a blissful summer sky, old Mr. Johnson fiddling with his tobacco pipe and last, but not least, Aiden. His smile, his eyes, his face floated through her mind and her lips curved into a smile subconsciously. His voice echoed through her mind, every word, every sentence he had ever uttered to her when she was sharing his warm embrace. She could vividly remember everything: his whispered promises of love, his affectionate caresses, his body, his hot hands trailing, exploring her own flesh with both tender care and great lust.

Remembering the ring of his laugh, his wishes to form a new family for her, with her filled her and after slowly settling herself on a rock she opened her heart, she opened her mind and last her mouth. But it quickly closed again as her lips pressed together aiding her throat in producing a low, slow, melodious hum. A hum that slowly developed into a song without words, into a melody with fingers so long they enveloped her, the water around her, the fish, everything.

And so she began her song.

◊

Days were retched and passed slow when a heart was broken. Aiden learned that first hand. For him, life had suddenly made no sense. He was sad, angry, confused and frustrated. He wondered where he went wrong with Haimi, how was it possible to miss the signs of another man’s presence. But, even as the sick picture appeared in his mind, he did not believe it. His heart did not believe it.

It seemed to him that his mother and Isabelle were always there, swimming around him with their questions, their meant-to-be soothing words, their caresses, but he swatted they away like annoying flies. The plan for Isabelle and Hilda was not working accordingly. Hilda could not talk him into meeting new women, wealthy daughters and Isabelle could not sneak into his room at night and cuddle him into loving her like she had dreamed and hoped when she had played a part into this wicked plan.

Even worse, once, she had the bravery of admitting her feelings to her mother which earned her a vicious slap from Hilda. She told her that there was no way in heaven or hell anything as disgusting as that was going to happen. Even she who had been her mother wouldn’t allow their union. Isabelle had tried to reason with her, reminding her that different blood ran through their veins, but that had earned her yet another slap. After that, Isabelle spent as much time as possible outside with friends and when she was home, she locked herself up. She could not even go near Aiden because every time she tried, Hilda stopped her. She contemplated on telling him the truth about Haimi, but Hilda had warned her about that too: “I shall say that you have lost your mind and shall twist the story enough to assure him that you should be sent to bedlam.”

That hadn’t worked well with her either.

Aiden never noticed the hostility between his step-sister and mother.

He spent most of his time working, suppressing his grief with labor, adding more calluses to those fingers. Fingers that had touched her. Oh God! He wanted to have children with her, to love her and grow old with her. Where was she? Why did she do this to him?

The first few months he let his anger get the best of him. But, as time passed and days blurred together into a bleary routine, his anger subdued. His inner wounds started hurting him. It was not only a matter of heart. It was a matter of male ego, of pride. He thought that he could forget, he pushed himself to forget, but the mere thought of her felt like salt on an open wound.

But then, something strange began happening. Something that haunted his dreams and his mind, even when he was awake.

When it first started happening two weeks back, he had been laying on his side in bed, one arm stretched over the empty side of the bed where she used to lay, caressing the cool sheets. He could still imagine perfectly the way her body curved under the quilts. If he closed his eyes he could still touch her. And when doing so, a strange sound had shattered everything. He had opened his eyes and furious had grabbed a fistful of the sheets almost tearing them off in his anger. First, he had thought that the sound was music coming from a neighboring house, but as he stalked to the window and yanked the two frames open, he heard only the silence of the night and felt the cold breeze of early spring. With a deep inhale and an even longer exhale he had closed his eyes and heard it again. Something. Something was there, in the dark corners of his room, in the shadows under the bed, in the glow of the moon.

But what?

Over those two weeks he heard that sound over and over again. Humming. He could hear it at night when the moon shone silver and the weather was steady. He could hear it when his thoughts were rid from anger, when his soul was at peace or when he was dreaming. He dreamed of the ocean, the sunset, the gleaming waters. He could see Haimi’s face, her arms wide open, sometimes beckoning him with her finger. That sweet sound slowly pulled him down into the water until he was fully emerged. In those dreams he could breathe underwater as long as he listened and focused on the soft melody. She was always there. Whenever he lost track of it, of her, he would start drowning in his dream and he would wake up sweaty, panting and alone.

He thought he was going mad and there was the undeniable pressure in his chest, his lungs, and his heart. The fact that something was awfully wrong with him was indeed undeniable, so on the morning that marked the beginning of a day that would end into a night with a full Moon he decided to leave Northern Hills. He did not even bother to tell the women at home. He just dressed warmly, threw his cloak around his sounders and saddled his favorite horse.

And he rode up to Mountain Dove.

The ride up cleansed his mind a bit. The cold wind that blew back his and the hair of his horse managed to slither through his clothing like a chilling snake, but it felt good. It made him numb. Numb to the feeling of inner pain, the memories that popped out of nowhere like mushrooms.

Old Patrick Johnson welcomed his grandson with the best smile he could master, but it faltered when he saw the grim expression on Aiden’s face. As they sat together in the sitting room, drinking hot tea, Aiden opened up to his grandfather and told him everything: his feelings, his humiliation, his pain and even about the soft melody he heard. He asked if he were going crazy and Patrick, as he absently played with the top button on his shirt – the same one he had ripped and asked Haimi to sew it back in the days when her mother died – he shook his head. All of this was like a big puzzle to him with missing pieces and it frustrated him.

Haimi had grown before his eyes, he knew her. She would have never done anything like this because simply she was not the kind of woman that played with men, but strayed clear from them until Aiden. He knew his daughter had fingers in this and for once, he decided to step out of the shadows and speak his doubts in the light.

Aiden was purely horror stricken to hear his grandfather talk about his mother in this way. He started denying it, he said that mother would never do anything to harm him, but then remembered that she had never promised she wouldn’t do a thing to harm her. Peasant girl, she had called her filthy one.

“But what could she have done grandfather? Mother may be capable of many things, but I sincerely doubt she is a murderer.”

Leaning back in his seat, Patrick brought the pipe to his lips, drew in a breath and let out few circles of smoke in the air. “She may not be a murderer, but she is wild enough to ascend to something that could help her get rid of your wife. Something or someone.”

Aiden sighed and ran a hand through his hair before leaning forwards. He rested his elbows on his knees and took a good look at his grandfather. “What if…what if Haimi just left me?” he asked as he noted the beginning of the sunset through one of the windows behind Patrick. “For another one?”

“Are you looking into my eyes and speaking sincerely? Do you believe that, Aiden?”

Aiden threw his arms in the air before plopping back again and folding them across his chest. “I do not know what to believe grandfather. Should I believe what my own flesh and blood, my mother is telling me or stories, speculations about that same mother of mine? Or worse,” he blew out an angry breath. “My own strange apparitions, hallucinations and dreams about swimming underwater. I have this pressure in my chest as if there is something I am forgetting, something I should do and I just cannot find the answer.”

“Perhaps what you are hearing and seeing is not a fragment of your imagination nephew,” Patrick slowly said.

“All this water in my dreams reminds me of the ocean and of Haimi’s love for it. She told me how her father got lost at sea, she told me stories she had heard among widows, stories of mermaids who capture humans,” he rubbed his eyes. “I must be seeing everything she every told me in one strange dream.”

“There is an old story I…my grandfather told me when I was a wee boy. I have never spoken of it to nobody, he made me swear that I will not. But he is dead and I am close to that too so-”

“Grandfather!”

Patrick held out a hand to stop him: “-so I will not worry about broken promises. I shall tell you the story he did, a story that is as true as the number of years pilled on my body.”

It was a story Patrick had nursed through the bigger part of his life. A secret meant to be kept in the dark because people doubted its veracity. “He told me that he was a young boy of barely twelve when it all happened. His father, a sea merchant often took him along with him on travels from one land to another. Among sailors, he said, there were always competitions of who captured the biggest fish, who found the most precious jewel. My grandfather said that on a stormy night, when sailors had naught better to do but sit in a locked cabin while the great ocean rocked the boat every which way, they stayed up and retold gruesome tales, scary ones. Tales about mermaids were born that way.”

“Mermaids?” Aiden smiled mockingly.

Old Johnson shot him a sharp look that silenced him. “They were all skeptical like yourself, he said, nobody believed him, but on a calm, balmy night like this one when the sea was at peace a sound above deck woke him up. He followed the sound to the deck and saw all the crew man lined along the edges of the ship, reaching for something down in the waters. Curious as any boy his age, he took a look down and saw them…”

“Them?”

“The mermaids. The beautiful women that had heads and torsos like humans but tails as fish. He told me that the same instant he laid eyes on them, he was hypnotized. A veil had formed in front of his eyes and he did nothing when he saw how the crewmen among which was his father jumped overboard one by one. He said he remembered how he himself jumped, but miraculously he had woken up what appeared minutes later lying on the bay with the sun bright above him.”

“Do you believe it grandfather?”

“Back then, I accepted the story as the truth, blindly. But now. I…I can’t say, really. But I will tell you this nephew,” Johnson lowered his pipe in his lap. “All tales have roots somewhere. Their storylines may have been altered as they jumped from mouth to mouth, but their core almost always reminds intact. So, if your heart tells you that Haimi could have not left you so easily, maybe you should follow the leads to find the real core to your and her story. You mother, and I do hope I am wrong, but she may have altered few events in the way she told you things.”

Everything sounded so bizarre, but as Aiden sat on the porch steps alone and watched the clear, full moon shine on the sky, he could not shrug off the feeling that he was missing something that was before his eyes. He may not be able to grasp it, hold it, examine it and pry answers from it, but it did not meant that the lead was not there. He just could not accept things as they were and by God, if his mother had done something to Haimi, he swore he’d…he did not know what he was capable of.

As the cool, midnight wind rustled pass his ears and the soft murmur of water hitting stone drone in the background he heard it again. The humming. But it was not as distant as before and had a desperately sad edge to it. He could feel his heart squeezing as if a hand was wrapped tightly around it. Rubbing a fist over his chest, he stood up and walked into the night. He followed the sound, used it as an invisible thread, a lead to wherever it would take him. He just did not have the heart to question anything anymore.

Haimi’s own heart squeezed her. As her song continued flowing, she found herself struggling against an unknown power within her. A hot, strong, channeling power that tried to leak out of every single pore of her body. It was so strong, sometimes it silenced her making her body wither in pain. Haimi had to push her limits in order to continue. In the end, this was her last night to do this.

Aiden groaned as he pushed himself up. He hadn’t seen the slope in the darkness and tumbled all the way down. His bones ached, his head felt like it was going to burst and that damn sound kept flickering on and off like a candle in wind. But his heart…it pulsed, it pounded, it almost leaped. He was about ready to give up though, ready to turn back and sleep this quiet night away, but when he stood up he caught the glimmer of water under the pure, silver moonlight and twinkling stars. Intrigued, he gave up on the idea of deep sleep and a soft bed and waded through the trees and into the small opening. There, for the first time, he saw the lake.

There was nobody there and the sound finally stopped.

He found the silence even more tormenting than that sound. The sound was a lead, a trail to follow, but now he felt as if he had come to a dead end. He felt foolish for listening to the words of his grandfather. Mystical creatures and will of the heart. Huh. They were only myths. With a deep sigh, he crouched near the water and leaned forward. He watched his face in the still water, saw the moon and stars behind his head. There were few small rocks near his boots and he grabbed three. He threw the first one in lightly and watched how it plopped in and how the water rippled. He threw the second one after the ripples had subdued with a bit more strength than the first. It jumped over the surface twice before sinking. He turned the third and last stone between his fingers and hurled it further watching it bounce few times off the surface. He cursed under his breath and focused on his reflection again. The water slowly regained its steadiness until he could again see his features clearly in the light of the moon. Everything was silent, steady, still.

And then the image of his face disappeared in a heartbeat as a wet hand emerged from below and grabbed his ankle. Aiden let out a loud cry and fell back from fright. He scrambled and shook his leg vigorously trying to free himself. A full arm slowly came out of the water and as the top of the thing’s head slowly surfaced he fumbled through his belt for his small, handy knife. Water dripped from the creature as its head and shoulders appeared, its face concealed by a curtain of long hair. Raising his knife he was about to strike the hand that was trapping him, but as he took a swing the creature lifted its head and deep, sapphire eyes he knew and loved looked at him through the light of the moon.

Aiden was momentarily paralyzed. He felt the knife slip between his fingers as it fell to the ground with a dull thud. “Ha-Haimi…” he breathed out before instinct took over and he hurried to pull her out. He grabbed her arms and tried to pull her out, thinking that she was heavier than he remembered. He was too focused on her face and when he pulled her out he did not see anything but those eyes and pale skin that looked ghostly white. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head endlessly, cradling her face between his hands. “Are you all right? Oh God I am so happy I found you! Haimi? Haimi, say something! Haimi! Ha-”

His words died in his throat as, for the first time, he looked down at where her legs were supposed to be. First, in that confusing moment, he thought a great fish had attacked her and moved to rip the thing away, but as her shirt lifted when she turned in his arms, he saw how those scales slowly blended with her skin around her stomach.

“Is this a nightmare?” he managed to wheeze out as a battle between the desire to hold her and the disgust to let her go battled within him. The words of his grandfather came back rushing like a boomerang.

“Aiden…” Haimi had barely the strength to breathe out his name as she gripped onto his wrist. She could no longer breathe, her body was bathed in what seemed to her like eternal pain and every attempt to move burned her. “I…I…”

He took her face between his hands again, wiping both water and hair away. His eyes were filled with tears now. “What happened to you? Haimi? Was it my mother? What...are you?”

She did not have the strength to explain, she felt that spirit of the mermaid overtaking her body so she used the last bit of energy she had to whisper: “I love you…Aiden.”

And then she went limp in his arms.

“No, no, no, no! Haimi!” he shouted her name over and over again, gently slapping her cheek as he tried to help her regain consciousness. But she just laid there, her lifeless body pressed to his, hot tears spilling from his eyes as he hugged her tightly. He held her so her back was pressed to his chest, feeling disoriented, confused and lonely.

Slowly, the night regained its stillness once more.

Through the blur in his eyes he saw small lights moving around him. They looked like the stars to him as if they had come down from the sky to float around them. But, as he brushed away the wetness from his eyes with the back of his forearm he saw that instead of down, those lights were moving up. A great number of them, small, round, glittering rose up towards the sky. Looking down he saw Haimi’s skin was no longer pale, but glittered silver like the moon and those small balls of light crumbled away from her body, one by one.

Within moments, with her eyes still closed, her chest jerked forwards and the light from her body shrunk to a point in her chest where her heart was. Aiden watched in awe as one last, larger silver ball of light extracted itself from her heart and pulsated, glittering all the way to the sky where the rest of them formed a new figure. He saw a female silhouette form from the light, he saw how that female moved her arms and her legs restlessly until that last ball that had left Haimi’s heart collided with it. There was a big explosion of light that made Aiden squint and raise a hand to shield his eyes and in one fast minute all light went out. The silhouette transformed into a mermaid that dived back into the water and Haimi fell back in his arms.

For a moment, everything was dark again. Everything was silent. Unmoving.

And then, as he caressed her cheek with his fingers, he saw the small flutter of her eyelashes that opened to reveal her beautiful, deep eyes. Realization was soon followed by joy and he did not waste a minute to hug her and kiss her. She moved between his arms and slid her hands around his neck, touching him, feeling him, taking his face in.

“I thought I lost you, Haimi. Oh God!” He exclaimed as he kissed her brow. When he drew back, simultaneously they looked down at her lower half where her bare legs were resting on the grass. A sigh of relief tore away from Haimi’s lips as she sat on her knees and ran her hands over them. In one fluid movement, Aiden took off his cloak and draped it around her and then he gathered her in his arms again.

“You almost did…but it did not happen, because you are here,” she touched his cheek. “You love me.”

“We love each other,” he whispered, his lips a breath away from hers. He then kissed her, slowly, warmly, savoring the taste of her, her smell, her skin. His hands never left her as if afraid that whatever had dived back into that water may jump out and grab her again. But it did not happen and none of them lifted a limb to move from the spot.

Then, they told each other everything. Their suspicions collided and flowed perfectly with one another. They agreed on the culprits, they realized the treachery and when dawn slowly took over the sky and the silver moon vanished so the golden sun could shine in her place, Aiden picked Haimi up and carried her back to Mountain Dove.

Poor old Johnson was all in twitters when he saw his nephew carry back his wife in his arms. He was happy and relieved beyond belief, but he was angry and devastated to learn that his doubts were accurate. He asked his nephew what he was planning to do with his mother and sister when they got back to the Northern Hills.

Aiden’s plans were to spend few days with his wife in Mountain Dove just because he did not want to let go of her yet, but after those days passed Hilda and Isabelle faced the wrath of Aiden. Aiden’s plan of punishing them was simple: he left them to fend for themselves and renounced from them completely, telling them he had no longer a mother and a sister. Hilda begged, Isabelle cried, but they were left unheard as Aiden packed everything that had belonged to him – seeing how everything that belonged to Haimi was already burned by the two women he trusted the most – and rode back to Mountain Dove, closing that chapter of his life.

◊

Half a year later, Aiden and Haimi stood side by side and hand in hand in front of the grave of Haimi’s mother and father, watching the rays of the bright, midday sun reflect in the steady ocean surface that peaked between the treetops. It was a glorious day in the end of summer, a week after Aiden received news that his own mother had died from grief and that his sister had married a poor craftsman. He had no intention of going down to Northern Hills, no matter how much Haimi implored him to.

Mountain Dove was his new home now, the house of his Grandfather, his new house. For Aiden, it was like he had no mother. He grieved silently, but the pain of losing a woman that had almost ruined his life was not strong enough. He was ashamed to feel a tad relieved that there was one less person who would wish his wife harm.

As he watched the beautiful view in front, he felt Haimi’s fingers squeeze his own. He looked down at their linked hands before squinting at her face with a smile.

“Are you sure you are not going to regret this?” She meant not going to his mother’s funeral or organizing it for that matter. His grandfather had gone instead and returned this day with the details. He smiled sadly before moving so they were facing each other.

“Positive, Haimi.”

He lowered his head to cover her mouth with his, trapping her lips in a long, sweet kiss. When he pulled away, he moved his free hand down to her middle where her belly was big and round with a child. He softly rested a hand there, grinned when Haimi covered it with her own hand. It was just them now, the four of them, Aiden thought as he gazed at the shining blue eyes of his wife. There was love there, devotion, a promise for a better, more beautiful life he had ever had in the home with his mother.

“I want you to know that the only ones important in my life are the ones I am holding in my hands now and the man that gave up smoking in his own home so you could bear his great grandchild.”

Haimi laughed. “Speaking of which, we have to head back before he breaks a limb on that roof.”

Aiden laughed, remembering how they had left his stubborn grandfather with a bag of tools and a ladder under his arm. He clearly told them to go, that he would take care of the roof that needed to be fixed for the incoming winter.

Old Patrick Johnson watched from the top of his roof how his nephew and his six months pregnant wife slowly approached the house. Aiden had one arm wrapped behind Haimi’s waist and the other held her hand. They were smiling as they spoke words to each other he could not hear. Pride and joy swelled in his heart overflowing the sadness about losing his only daughter.

And as Aiden and Haimi paused to give each other a quick kiss, he felt like a damn good matchmaker. He turned his head away and fixed his gaze upon the ocean that could be clearly seen from this height. Its waters were blue and bright, a shade darker than the clear sky. And somewhere in those depths hid the mermaids that had both taken his father, but also saved the happiness of his nephew. He could still vividly remember waking up on that sand after that faithful night on the ship.

You see, Old Patrick Johnson hadn’t been quite honest with Aiden. He himself had altered few events when he told him the tale of the little boy who had lost his father and his crewman at sea. But that truth was buried deep, hidden deep beneath the water and there was no reason for a change.

He smiled in salute to the ocean and turned back to shout at his nephew:

“Stop manhandling that poor girl and get your arse up here before I turn hundred years old!”