Never Land

Melaina sat atop the coral as she watched some of the other mermaids and men play a game while she was left out. This was not unusual for her – the other people of her race found her strange and rarely ever interacted with her unless it was to mock her and they always left her out of their games. She huffed and pushed a piece of long brown hair away from her face before dropping her chin into her hand. Any time she spent completely submerged underwater was completely boring and useless to her. She longed to be above, on land, and with the boy she loved so desperately.

She had been lost in her thoughts of that boy and his gorgeous green eyes and bright, dimpled smile when the conch shell was swiped by one of the merman’s tails and headed straight for her head. She fell to the side of the coral and looked up to see them all laughing at her. “Sorry, Melaina … maybe it’s safer for you to go play human.” One of the girls said, swimming closer to grab the shell. “Your human is the only one that likes you anyway.” As she turned to swim away, she swished her tail into Melaina’s face.

Melaina cupped her cheek and felt her eyes begin to tear up. She hated being stuck in the sea. Just as she was about the completely break down and swim to her hiding spot, her only friend Talia – a dolphin - appeared by her side. “What happened?”

“What always happens, Talia. Let’s go … I don’t want to be down here anymore.”

Talia looked back at the other mermaids laughing as Melaina swam away and grew sad. Melaina had a heart of gold – she was pure kindness. She was always a bit odd with her peculiar interest in humans, because most mermaids chose to stay away from ‘landlubbers’. Their interests lay in the sea and away from humans, but ever since Melaina was a tiny little thing she had always been fascinated by them. The adoration for them only grew once she laid eyes on Harry.

As much as Talia tried to warn her away from him, Melaina and Harry fell in love. It was against all the rules of nature and they had no way of ever really being together. Her own mother tried to sway her from the surface but it never worked. Melaina was sneaky and quick and always found her way close to shore to see Harry. It broke both their hearts that that was as far as she would ever get to go. She would never walk on land and he would never join her in the sea. Despite the sadness it brought, they continued to meet to be together for a little while and that was what Melaina felt like she needed more than anything at that precise moment.

She and Talia began to swim and play around the surface out away from the shore as she waited for Harry to come, as he did almost every night. Melaina’s favorite part of being above the water was the night sky with all the stars glittering above her and the moonlight shining down. “Do you think he’ll come tonight, Talia?”

Her dolphin friend nudged her with her nose. “Of course he’ll come.”

Melaina almost asked another question when she caught the sight of a pirate ship in the distance and sunk away a bit. “Talia … come.” Her dolphin turned and spotted Captain Zayn’s ship and swam away with her further towards the shore. “What is he doing in these waters?”

“Scouring for one of the leaders, I bet. Isn’t the one - Louis - due back any moment with new kids?”

“You’re right. I bet he’s waiting to steal them.”

“Melaina?” She heard her voice being called by Harry, though he wasn’t shouting. It was one of the perks of being a mermaid – exceptional hearing. She turned and gave Talia a wide grin then took off in a very fast swim towards the shore Zayn's ship completely forgotten for the time.

Harry had left Tiger Lily’s party early to see Melaina. He tried to never miss a night with her, but sometimes he couldn’t get away from the others without them knowing something was going on. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of her – Melaina was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on – he just liked having these moments between the two of them. He had no one judging him for being in love with a mermaid, an impossible match, it was just him and Melaina staring at the stars and wishing they were born differently.

He climbed out on the rocks to the one that dipped down into the water enough for both him and Melaina to sit together. He was a terrible swimmer, always had been, and she obviously couldn’t meet with him on land. So, this little cove was perfect for the duo to have their nightly visits where it was a perfect mixture of land and sea. The second he took his seat on the lowest rock, Melaina popped out of the water, pushing her wet hair back. “You came.” She said, a smile spreading across her face. She always whispered it in amazement, as though he would stop coming to see her sometime but that was unthinkable. He couldn’t imagine going longer than a few days without her.

“You always doubt me, Mel.”

“Never. I just … I was hoping you’d make it tonight.”

“Why is that, my darling?” He gently cupped her face, his thumb skirting across her bottom lip.

She shook her head and tried to look away, but he caught her to look into her dark blue eyes. He always knew when something was wrong with her because he was so attuned to her feelings now after spending so much time together. “The others … they just … Like always, they …”

“I wish I could keep them from hurting you, love. It kills me to know how upset they make you.”

“I don’t need them. I have you.”

“You always have me.” He bent down and wrapped his arm around her thin waist and pulled her up more out of the water so they could share a passionate and heated kiss. His other hand weaved into her dark brown locks that fell down past her lower back to where skin met a beautiful, glittering peach fin with flecks of teal and purple. He had seen it in moonlight and sunlight many times but it always amazed him. It was a sign they could never be together, but he still found it beautiful.

She pulled away and he let her dip back further into the water with a shy smile. He loved that he could still make her blush. “Always is a long time in Never Land.” She said.

“Always, forever, and for eternity, on land or on water, we will find a way.”