Heart of the Sea

Quinn didn’t know what to make of Isla. It seemed she was going to stay with him longer than expected. She had nowhere to go, and he wasn’t going to put her out on the street. Like she suggested, he put the shells she gave him next to the pretty conch he already had. Isla tilted her head to the side to look at his work, then shook her head and moved the shells around.

“That looks better,” she said. “The conch should be in the center, since it’s the biggest.”

“I guess so,” he said. “Yeah, you’re right. It looks better.”

“Did you find the conch on the beach down there?” she asked.

He was quiet for a bit, and she seemed to notice that she had hit a nerve.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

“No,” he told her. “I’m not offended. My little sister gave me the conch. She found it on the beach. We’ve lived in this house for generations.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well it’s a good find. She doesn’t live here anymore?”

“No. Just me.”

Isla noticed the sad tone in his voice and furrowed her brow. He didn’t often talk about his family, but he knew he couldn’t leave her hanging like that. He opened a drawer and took out a framed, faded picture that he had hidden in there face down. He handed her the picture and she looked at it with fascination. It was Quinn’s father, Bertie, with a big smile on his face and his arms around Quinn and Piper. Piper was about five years old, and Quinn was eight.

“That’s Piper,” he said, pointing to her. “And my dad. And me.”

“This is you… as a child?” she asked, seeming confused by the concept of a photograph.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s the only one we were ever able to take. My dad was really excited about it. He fussed with his hair so much to hide how much it was thinning. And Piper was so worried about the color of her dress, even though it’s in black and white.”

“Piper,” Isla repeated, running her fingers over the picture gently. “The shell hunter.”

“Yeah,” he said with a small smile. “She loved finding seashells. Our dad would work long hours on the fishing boat, and our mother left us after having Piper. I guess she didn’t want to be stuck in a fishing village forever. So Piper and I spent most of our time together. She was the only one who called me by my full name, Quincey. She liked the way it sounded more. Anyways, she was seven when we- When I lost her. She gave me the conch, then went back in the water to find something else. I looked away for a second to put the conch somewhere safe, and when I turned back a rip tide had pulled her in. It was like she disappeared into thin air. We searched for weeks, but we never recovered a body. My father never got over it. He never smiled like that again, and a slow sickness took him when he was a teenager.”

“Oh,” Isla said softly. “I’m so sorry, Quinn.”

“It doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” he shrugged. “It’s hard not to blame myself. If I hadn’t turned away, maybe I could have grabbed her.”

“You can’t control the tide,” Isla said, sounding more confident about this than anything else. “The ocean takes what it wants.”

“It’s kind of silly,” Quinn said with a slight smile. “When I was feeling sad about her, I would tell myself that maybe she didn’t actually drown. Maybe she was rescued by mermaids, and some sort of ocean spirits turned her into one so she could happily live among them.”

Isla didn’t laugh at him. Rather, she seemed startled.

“Mermaids?” she asked softly.

“I told you it was silly,” he chuckled. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen one, but I’ve always heard they had been spotted in the waters around here. Long ago. So I suppose it was just to make myself feel better. Maybe a kind mermaid is taking care of Piper, and she’s living a happy life.”

“What if you did see a mermaid?” she asked slowly. “What would you do?”

“I don’t know,” Quinn shrugged. “Probably just stare. Admire them. I hear they have these beautiful, multicolored tails. And then I’d wish them the best on their way to somewhere with less fishing traps and more sunshine.”

“Don’t worry about fishing traps,” Isla said, cracking a smile. “Mermaids are way too smart to fall for those.”

“Is that so?” Quinn said, raising a brow. “Maybe that’s why I’ve never seen one.”

“But what about the things they say about mermaid hearts?” she asked. “You wouldn’t want that?”

“What, you mean those concoctions they make out of it?” Quinn asked. “Never seen a purpose in it. Killing for food is one thing. Killing for sport and money is another. It doesn’t feel right to me.”

She looked down at the picture frame in her hands, then set it next to Piper’s conch shell.

“Please don’t put your family in the drawer again,” Isla said. “It’s dark and cold in there. They look so happy here.”

Quinn felt a slight pang in his chest. They were happy when the picture was taken. It was miserable after Piper’s death, but he supposed Isla was right. It wasn’t fair to hide the happy times away like that.

They quietly looked at the shell display for a few minutes, until Quinn pulled himself away and took a deep breath. He could spend days sitting and reminiscing, but life had to go on.

“I was thinking you could come into town with me today,” he said. “I think a real doctor should look at your wounds, now that you’re strong enough to walk. And maybe while we’re out, we can get a clue as to where you want to go next.”

“Can we get more bacon?” she asked excitedly.

“I think you’ll have a lot more snacks to try once we’re there.”