Heart of the Sea

When Isla kissed Quinn, he suddenly felt like he understood what all those songs and stories were talking about. Not only was it a different experience to be kissed by a mermaid, but there was a strange feeling of connection when she did so. Quinn had liked her quite a bit before, but suddenly he felt ready to die for her at any given moment.

He wasn’t sure if it was some kind of magic, his true feelings bubbling up, or a winning combination of both. She seemed a little worried about his prolonged silence and the dumbfounded look on his face, but then he took her face and kissed her again. He could feel her excitement when he held her, and she was practically about to float off the floor when he pulled away. Quinn chuckled, brushing a hand against her flushed cheeks.

“Who’s the red one now?” he asked.

“I want to stay with you,” she blurted suddenly. “And I want you to show me things. And teach me things. Please?”

“There are much more educated and well-traveled people than me out there,” he told her.

“Please, Quinn?”

He sighed and took her hands for a moment, then kissed them.

“I’d be a fool to turn you away, wouldn’t I?” he said.

She broke into a grin and kissed him again. It left him a little woozy, but she was being sincere.

She came with him on the boat the next few days, and while she was no help with the labor, he did his best to teach her and liked having her around. They only sold two of the pearls she had found. Quinn put the rest in a safe box for a rainy day. It would look suspicious if he came in with all of them at once. Even with the two, they only seemed to buy from him because Isla was there to give them a pretty smile.

Quinn had taught her how to haggle, and while he still needed to whisper things to her every now and then, she seemed proud of the deal she made. Quinn had to remind her a few times to keep the cash in her pocket and not flash it out in town. Instead her took his arm and smiled up at him when he blushed again. People were getting used to seeing them together, though they still seemed impressed that Quinn had found a girl so pretty and delicate.

As they walked, Quinn heard someone call his name. He turned and grinned when he saw Kent coming towards him with open arms. Isla stayed close behind Quinn, but she seemed to connect the dots when he hugged Kent and offered the older man a shy smile. Kent smiled and politely removed his hat, revealing a bald head.

“Well, well,” Kent said. “You must be the young lady Quinn won’t stop talking about. He mentioned you were pretty, but pretty doesn’t seem to cover it.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, clinging to Quinn. “He talks about me?”

“All the time,” Kent said, making Quinn turn beet red. “I apologize, I must seem so forward. My name is Kent. Quinn and I work together.”

Quinn gave Isla a gentle nudge to let her know it was okay when Kent held a hand out to her to shake. She took his hand hesitantly and gave it an awkward shake. Though it just came off as timid and cute with her.

“Isla,” she said. “I’ve heard about you, too. You own the boat. And Quinn says you’re like a father to him.”

“Well, that’s kind of him to say,” he chuckled.

Quinn looked over at Isla, who seemed to be fascinated with Kent and his bald head, but scraggly beard. She would have reached out and touched it, but it seemed she was picking up on what was considered appropriate and what was strange.

“You’re back so soon,” Quinn noted. “I wasn’t expecting you for another week. You finished your business in the city?”

“Yes,” Kent said, the smile dropping from his face.

Quinn frowned as Kent looked down and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked.

“I just had some aches, some low energy,” Kent said. “I thought it was just age. The work catching up with me. My daughter insisted I see her doctor in the city, so I did. Turns out it’s a little more than old age.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They say it’s a cancer of the stomach,” he grunted. “I don’t feel sick, but it’s… not looking good. There aren’t any treatments or therapies for me anymore. They sent me on my way, so I decided to come home. I’d like to stay in my own home, not a hospital.”

Quinn felt his blood turn to ice. Isla must have felt it, too. Maybe there really was a connection between them, because her grip on him tightened and her eyes began to get teary when Quinn realized what Kent was telling him.

“You’re too young,” Quinn insisted. “There has to be something.”

“Well, there might be,” Kent said. “I met a fellow on my way back. He was headed this way. Claims he has a miracle cure-all.”

“A cure-all?” Quinn asked. “What does he have that hospitals don’t?”

“A medicine that men still fear.”

They all turned when a new voice piped up behind them. A man with a charming smile and nicely combed hair approached with a cool saunter. His suit was nearly pressed and far more expensive than anything the people in the little fishing village wore.

“This is Oscar Stein,” Kent said. “The man I met. He claims he has a solution to my problem. I guess I’ve got nothing to lose.“

“Nothing at all,” Oscar said, patting Quinn on the back. “You’re the fishing partner, yes?”

“Yes,” Quinn said.

He felt uneasy about Oscar. The man had a smile and charm that seemed untrustworthy. He had a feeling the money didn’t come about honestly.

“I’m about to make your day,” Oscar said. “No, your whole week. Not only am I going to help your friend get back on his feet, but you can have the next few days off. How does that sound?”

“It sounds too good to be true.”

Oscar grabbed Quinn’s hand and put a bundle of large bills into it. Quinn just stared at the bundle for a moment.

“Don’t worry, your friend has you taken care of,” Oscar said. “You see, I’ll need to commandeer that boat for a little while. You boys work hard. The break is well deserved.”

Kent seemed a little unsure, but seemed to trust Oscar enough to follow him to whatever miracle cure this was. Based on how it sounded, Quinn could guess. Isla could too, the way she was hiding close to Quinn. Oscar gave her a smile, but when she didn’t return it, he seemed to lose interest.

Isla was quiet as Kent left with Oscar, and on the walk home she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Quinn turned to look at her. The concern was clear on her face.

“A miracle cure?” she said. “That man was a mermaid hunter. Does Kent know?”

“Maybe,” Quinn said. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t kill an intelligent creature if he knew. Oscar must have sold him a pretty good story.”

“But he must know there’s a mermaid in these waters,” Isla said. “He must. That’s why he’s here. To search.”

“He doesn’t know it’s you,” he reassured her. “As far as anyone knows, you’re just another girl in the village. We’ll come up with a story about where you came from.”

“But I need to swim to stay alive,” she reminded him. “I can’t stay on shore forever.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the docks,” Quinn said. “When the boat is docked, I’ll take you somewhere safe and secluded to get in the water. Oscar thinks you’ll always be in the ocean, like a herring or an anchovy swimming in circles and waiting to be caught. He doesn’t know you’re here with me. Eventually he’ll get tired and give up his search. Then everything will go back to normal.”

“Normal,” she repeated softly.

“Let’s just go home,” Quinn said. “I’ll make dinner. Whatever you want. And then I’ll tell you some more stories. How’s that?”

“Okay,” she said, forcing a smile.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Quinn said firmly, taking her face in his hands. “I promise I’ll do everything to make sure you’re safe. There’s no reason to worry yet. Alright?”

She took a deep breath, then nodded and smiled.

“Okay.”