Heart of the Sea

The legs were still a little cumbersome, but Isla had to admit she liked the dress Quinn had brought her. Isla had an appreciation for pretty things and she admired the shade of blue, running her fingers over the soft fabric as she got dressed in the morning. Her mermaid form could tolerate the cold of the water, but she found that her human form was more susceptible to getting chilled and the dress kept her warm. She also appreciated that Quinn had gotten it for her, and decided she’d need to give him a gift in return. Mermaids took giving and receiving gifts very seriously.

Isla had made sure to get dressed alone in the bedroom this time, since Quinn seemed to get embarrassed when she did it in front of him. She wondered if it was because there was something odd about her human form, but she had no way of knowing. Once she’d gotten the dress on she went downstairs. She still moved down them slowly, but she was getting more used to the strange feeling. The floor was cold under her feet but she remained barefoot for now anyway. Quinn was making breakfast again and she took a moment to savor all the weird but pleasant smells and sounds.

“Good morning,” he said, glancing over to find her there. His cheeks turned a little pink as she gave him a radiant smile.

“Good morning,” she replied, sitting down at the table and angling herself to face the window so she could admire the view of the ocean. She propped her chin on her hand and turned her head to watch Quinn work. She realized that she didn’t feel on edge around him, though she still wasn’t going to blurt out that she was a mermaid. But he seemed to be kind and steady and his presence reminded her a little bit of the ocean, and that made her feel oddly at ease in his little house.

“Why do you live alone?” she asked.

“I’m not alone, I have Tubbs,” he said, looking a little amused. The cat in question was currently sniffing around Isla’s legs again.

“I meant that I would’ve expected you to be married,” Isla explained, pulling her bare feet away from Tubbs when he started nosing at them and tickling her. “Oh, maybe you have a girl in town?”

Quinn’s ears turned red as he set a plate in front of her. He cleared his throat.

“Ah, no,” he said. “I don’t.”

Isla nibbled at her bacon, enjoying the flavor and the slight crunch for a moment before returning her attention to Quinn. He sat across from her with his own plate and then realized she was looking at him thoughtfully.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m just surprised. You’re so nice and you make very good bacon, and you’re quite handsome. I just would’ve thought that you—oh, are you alright?”

Quinn’s whole face was now as red as his ears and he dropped his fork. He almost smacked his head on the table reaching to retrieve it.

“I-yeah. I’m fine,” he said, staring intently at his plate. Isla pulled her feet up away from Tubbs, who seemed incapable of leaving her be. She scrunched her knees to her chest and happily finished her breakfast while watching the waves through the window.

“So, did you need help getting somewhere? Once you’re healed up, I mean?” Quinn asked. “Were you on a ship or something, before you got hurt? Someone must be worried about you.”

“Oh, I wasn’t going anywhere in particular,” Isla said, laughing lightly. “I was just…going. And I don’t have anyone to worry about me. I’ve been getting by on my own for a long time now. But then I got caught in the storm and washed up on your beach.”

Tubbs leaped into her lap before Quinn could respond, and Isla had to fend off more of his incessant sniffing and licking.

“Tubbs,” Quinn scolded. The cat meowed, sounding annoyed as Isla gently pried him off and put him back on the floor. Quinn had to head off to work after that, and Isla stepped outside when she was alone to enjoy the sea breeze on her face. Her injuries were starting to hurt a little less, but Isla knew she would need to venture down to the beach soon and spend some time in the water. Mermaids didn’t do well for long away from the ocean; she’d grow weak and sick and, if she stayed out of the water for too long, she’d die.

She decided she’d have to sneak down to the beach in the darkness and spend a few hours being a proper mermaid again. She’d just have to be careful not to wake Quinn. After a while she went back inside and pulled on the stockings Quinn had given her since her feet had almost gone numb from standing outside. She was sitting curled up on the couch when she noticed a pretty conch shell on the windowsill. She moved closer to study it better, though she didn’t pick it up. She sensed it was somehow important, and she wouldn’t disturb someone else’s shells. But it did give her an idea.

Late that night she tiptoed silently out of the house past a sleeping Quinn. She was just wearing the shirt he’d put her in when he bandaged her; she didn’t want to get water and sand on the lovely dress. She shivered in the night air as she flew down the steps and onto the sand, shedding the shirt and laying it on a rock before moving out into the water and diving into the waves. Her legs turned back into her glimmering tail and she sighed with relief. The cold no longer clawed at her either, and she happily swam in big looping circles. She bobbed up to the surface and just drifted on her back for a while, staring up at the moon.

She spent a couple of hours frolicking in the surf, pleasantly surprised when her little octopus friend found her.

“Oh, hello. I’m glad to see you survived the storm,” Isla said, letting him wrap around her arm. “I was worried about you. I can’t stay long, but I promise I’ll be back. Maybe you could help me look for some shells before I go?”

The octopus; she had decided to call him Octavius, and he approved; floated along with her in the slightly shallower water, hunting for the best shells. Once she’d managed to collect a few she deemed worthy, she bid Octavius good night and promised to be back in two nights. She wiggled carefully onto the sand, careful not to crush the shells. She was freezing as soon as her tail turned back into legs and she tugged on the large shirt and ran as best she could back to the steps and up to the house. She rang out her hair and brushed sand off her feet before sneaking back inside.

Tubbs hopped down from the table and followed her, sniffing madly at her ankles. Isla crawled under the covers and was actually glad for Tubbs to join her. He was heavy when he sat on her but he was warm. She woke in the morning and scurried downstairs to have breakfast with Quinn before he went to work. She beamed and set the shells she’d found on the table. She’d carefully cleaned the sand off of them and they looked pristine in their varying shades of white and brown and pink.

“I found these for you,” she said. “I noticed your conch by the window, and it’s very beautiful but seemed a little lonely. You can put these ones with it. See, they’re clean and none of them are broken. Do you like them?”

She was very pleased with the shells; she had picked out only the best ones to use as a gift and any mermaid would have been proud to have them. Quinn looked surprised for a moment, glancing at the shells and then back to her.

“They’re very nice,” he said. “Thank you.”

Isla was relieved; she wasn’t sure if humans recognized how special shells could be but she had assumed Quinn might understand at least a little. She gave him a warm smile and went to very gently lay the shells on the windowsill.