To see such a creature right before my
eyes filled me with so many feelings. A feeling of shock, of worry
and of awe. The gleam of that, who some would name a beast, reflected
the sun to look as if to glow. A sight to behold that I'll never
forget.
I never wanted to lose the sight of
it. Yet, I never wanted it to catch sight of me. That was the feeling
of fear. Fear of what it might do; fear that it may leave and never
come back.
* * *
October 12th, 1814. My
sixteenth birthday. I had woken up to a still dark sky. The earliest
a morning could be, to me. My uncle was visiting my mother and I at
our bungalow by the sea and he had promised to take me beachcombing.
When he'd first mentioned
beachcombing, I'd never understood it. Then he told me of many jobs
that involved beachcombing, and I remember laughing so very hard at
the term 'winkle-picker'. But I was only a little boy. He said when I
was sixteen he would take me out beachcombing with him – as was his
hobby – and suddenly, I became obsessed with the idea.
I loved the sea. I loved the beach. To
live so close was something I adored. But I stuck to a promise and
never became a 'beachcomber' until my uncle showed me how. Not that I
thought there was much to show. My mother agreed, however, that I
shouldn't be going to down to the beach alone until I was of a more
reasonable age. As a result, I spent most of my time helping my mum
with house work and and visiting my friends during
these summer holidays.
When the time finally came round to
it, I had my waders ready and bought a pair of gloves that I didn't
wear until I needed them. A thick jumper was needed as it was cold
before the sun came up. A bag for my findings. All other tools were
carried by my uncle, consisting of a shovel a trowel and a rake. I
looked at myself in the mirror with my rake, tall boots, jumper and
straggly hair. My mother wasn't awake yet, but if she were, she'd
have told me I looked just like my late father.
The reason beachcombing was so
important to my uncle was very much unknown to me. I had never
realised the difference between fifteen and sixteen. But I trusted
him enough, having looked after me and my mum for so many years after
my dad passed away. Now
it was almost like he was accepting me as an adult. So
with bags and pockets-a-plenty,
we left the house to the greyish blue sky of
pre-sun mornings.
It was barely ten minutes later to
walk around the cliff edge and find our way down to the beach way. We
were upwind for most of the journey to smell to strong sea breeze.
Our beach was not as fine sand as they have on other beaches, but
fine enough for rocks and pebbles to be scattered at distances. I
stopped at the edge of the beach, looked up at my uncle and smiled.
Speaking above the roar of the sea, he smiled back, wishing me a
happy birthday.
We watched the ground. Looking for
something shiny was the best, but anything interesting could be
picked up. We made our way systematically across the beach to the
edge of the sea and even waded in a little. It wasn't the nicest of
days, clouds were heavy but with no threat of rain. My Uncle got out
a comb and started scratching the sea with it. I laughed a lot at how
silly he looked.
“What's with you, dear boy? Never
seen a man combing the beach before?” He said as dryly as he could
and we both shared the moment of laughter. At the time I had thought
nothing of it, but out the corner of my eye, what looked like someone
popping out of the water caught my attention.
“Found something, have we?” My
uncle asked.
“Thought I saw something in the water, is all.” Was my reply.
“Ah, they do have seals around here,
my boy. Probably wondering what all the noise was on this morning.”
He said as he got up to keep searching.
I had found a few really nice shells
and some drift wood. A vague fishy smell lingered and the tide must
have been going out from the darker sand near the shore. We had
gotten to a protrusion in the rock of a cliff when there was a little area of
sand around the side. Something really made me want to go around
there out of pure curiosity.
“Where are you off?” My uncle
exclaimed as I began to wander away from him. I turned.
“There's a bit around this cliff I
would like to search. I don't think I will be long.” I said, as if
asking for permission.
“Well, I wont be able to climb
around that, my boy. But I'll be here when you're back. Wouldn't want
to stray too far apart.”
“Okay, thanks.” I smiled and ran
to the edge of the rock, climbing round a few pieces that otherwise
meant wading into the water up to my chest. After it shallowed I
jumped into the sea and found the other bit of land. Then I heard a
feather-light humming and peeked around the last piece of rock. There
was an alcove beach of richer sand than before and I saw her.
To see such a creature right before my
eyes filled me with so many feelings. A feeling of shock, of worry
and of awe. The gleam of she, who some would name a beast, reflected
the sun to make her look as if to glow. Simply, she was beautiful.
I never wanted to lose the sight of
her. Yet, I never wanted her to catch sight of me. That was the
feeling of fear. Fear of what she might do; fear that she may leave
and never come back. She sat, on a rock combing her hair of a tangled
mess. And oh what an abundance of hair! It was truly a sight to
behold that defied explanation. Her peach coloured skin contrasted
against her scaled tail that balanced her around a rock. Flecks of
gold, blue, green and silver could be seen to mix a fantastic colour
and her voice was soft.
The shouting waves and cawing gulls
seemed to fade into silence. She didn't draw me towards her, but I
could not take my eyes away. I had never known these creatures were
to exist. Suddenly, she jolted upright and sniffed the air as
if she'd caught a scent and her eyes reflected every
ounce of fear she owned. Immediately, I thought she had smelt me. I
panicked and ran back, I ran around the cliffs splashing cloves of
seawater into my mouth and almost tripping on a sea-weed that kept
upon my foot. My uncle looked so surprised as my apparent worry
spread through him.
“What is it, what?” He shouted as
he took my shoulder in his hand trying to steady me and my darting
gaze.
“I saw this wonderful, thing, uncle.
It had a tail and I think it saw me watching it and... and...” As I
was saying this I saw my uncle relax and I knew he had no idea. I
would not be able to make him believe what I saw as I could not
explain it. Something made me keep what I had seen to myself.
“Boy, seals are nothing to be
worried about. They could give you a nasty bite but keeping your
distance is wise at any cost. Really gave me a fright, you did!” My
uncle tried to calm me. We carried on roaming the sand for another
hour with this wonder lingering in my head. My uncle tried to explain
to me why he was so worried about me going off on my own.
“How old were you when your father
passed away? Do you remember anything of him?” He asked me. Of
which I was only four so had no true memory. “On the day he went
missing, he went off to the beach on his own. Wouldn’t tell anyone
why, but it was often he decided to go on his own. One day, like in
some fairy tale, he never returned.”
I hadn't said much in reply, but I had
never heard this story before. I wondered if what I had seen was the
same thing that took my dad, and if searching for something of my
father's was why my uncle beachcombed. I was crossed between allure
and fear. Walking back into the warmth of home, I hadn't realised how
cold I was. After a meal with my mother - that she had specially scraped the money
together for - a few games and smiles from people at the local village
followed; then I went to bed. With a present in my mind the likes I
couldn't have dreamed.
* * *
Despite a yearning to re-visit her as
soon as possible, my uncle didn't leave town again for another three
days. I knew he wouldn't let me go alone. So I waited and spent my
time with him while we was here. He was riding to Bristol docks
eventually, so wouldn't be back again for a long time.
Going against his wishes did make me
feel bad but, as soon as he left, I went down to the beach. I told my
mother that I was going to see some friends in the village and she
gave me the usual worried look that she gives whenever I leave home
on my own. Times were dangerous, but living so far out of town felt
safer than roaming streets at night. Either way, I went out to the
beach to find this woman of the sea and after an hour of
searching one side of the beach to the other, she was no longer
there. I slumped down to the sand in dismay. Of course she wasn't
there. Was I expecting her to sit on the rock forever and always be
there when I went back? It was a ridicules idea.
Shifting over to move something
uncomfortable from under my bum, I pulled a comb from the ground. It
looked just like my uncles comb that we laughed about.
I figured he must have dropped it, so I put it in my pocket and went
home.
It wasn't until I was nearly home and
fingering the comb in my pocket that what I had seen sprang to my
memory. My uncle had mistaken what I had seen for a seal, but what if
it wasn't? What if that was the maiden just then? She must have known
we were there. I figured maybe she heard our laughter and come to see
what the noise was. I decided there was enough light time left for me
to get back down to the beach so I ran to my heart's content in the
hope that I could see this creature once again, though not without
fear that it might see me. I had no choice.
I found the spot where we were. I
shouted, laughed and thumped as loud as I could and generally caused
a disturbance among the sand, kicking up all kinda of smells;
covering my boots in wet sand. When I didn't see anything popping up,
I realised I should head back before it got dark. Just as I turned
around, I dropped the comb I was twiddling and it made a minor splash
amongst the incoming tide.
Bending down to pick up the comb, I
saw something move in the corner of my eye, though before I could
double take, nothing could be seen. I stayed staring a little longer
to no prevail and needed to return home. It was only then when I
considered that combing the water might have been the link.
I decided to leave as it didn't seem
like I had much of a chance of seeing anything. But it was as I was
walking past another indent in the rock that I heard the beautiful
humming. And peering around the corner, her skin gleamed as much as
her tail did. This time I really looked at her and, again, it is
nothing I can explain to look at. From her nose to her breasts to
just below the navel looked so much like the most wonderful human and
yet, the tail that clearly held so much power lingered on her lower
half.
I can honestly say at this point that
despite the nakedness, there was not a drop of lust. I just wanted to
be around her. To look at her. To meet her. After a little too much
after dark, I got home though the window and pretended I had come
home sooner without my mother noticing.
* * *
To make myself feel better about
lying, and without giving the reasons why, I worried my mother by
telling her I was going to the beach. Considering what I had seen on
the previous day, I didn't think it would be worth my not trying at
least a second, or third time. So I picked the most tattered looking
comb from the bathroom. One that almost look like it was designed to
have needless spines, so it didn't matter that it was missing or
lost. Then I headed to the beach.
This time, I seemed to care less if it
saw me, I don't know why but I seemed to trust it. And so I didn't
want to miss it's initial bump in the water. I sat directly at the
edge of the tide, holding the ruined comb. Dipping it into the water,
I combed the tiny waves three times and stared out to as much horizon
as possible.
What splashed up out of the waves was
definitely not shy as a whip of jet black hair sprouted a fountain of
water into the air that took a while to settle. Even from so far out
I could feel it staring directly into me. The eyes covered darker
than the hair on it's head and made a direct contrast from how bone
white it's skin was. This thing was much thinner and definitely not
the same creature I had seen twice before.
What startled me more was the sharp
teeth that darted my way, the speed it seemed to be swimming
out-distanced any fish and before I knew it, it was ascending out of
the waves covered in spines both pale and dark jutting from her
shoulders and spread down her spine. Her fingers were webbed and tail
was as dark as her hair. She used her arms to crawl out of the water
which slowed her significantly. I was stuck, frozen on the spot, in
absolute fear into the depths of my marrow. I had no idea what this
thing was or what I had done.
She loomed over towards me, span from
head to tail must have reached eight feet as her size was
overwhelming for something so bony and thin. Her chin was extended to
fit her needle sharp teeth. As she got closer I could do nothing but
stare into the endless black eyes of hers. She grabbed my foot and
dragged me underneath her and unhinged her mouth to make somewhere in
between a screech and a hiss. She looked as if to take a maul of
flesh out of my face. I stared into the mawing abyss.
What felt most strange was that beyond
the stench of fish was her natural smell that was not at all
unpleasant.
Mouth agape I could see so close the
cilia lining her mouth, a slimy drip slid from chin to nose,
proceeding to drip onto my face and reflex shut my eyes tight. The
next thing I knew was a thump above me and I felt less enclosed.
Looking over, there was the maiden I had intended to find pinning
this creature to the ground with one hand and the other scratching
away. The screeching was sure to be heard for a long distance as they
fought on the sand. Blows were shared, and the creature seemed to
have the upper hand on the maiden. Using her spines as defence and to
stick into the maiden with her shoulder impacting in her ribs. She
spat a kind of black ink into her pretty face and begun to extend her
jaw again.
The maiden reached out a hand and tore
at the creature's lower jaw, making it hang – fully dislocated.
Stunned, the pale and black creature was overwhelmed by the tail of
the maiden that slammed her onto the ground. The
maiden leapt up with surprising speed across the sand over to me.
I could not move, still, out of
confusion and fear.
The maiden was halted, dead in the sand, by the pale
skinned
creature digging it's sharp tipped fingers deep into
the middle of her tail, tearing out a deep bloody mess. The maiden
used the strength of her tail to retaliate and seemingly break
something in the creature's torso enough to make her flee.
Grabbing the spiked comb from my
grasp, that had dug into my hand enough to draw blood.
“Where did you get this?!” she
hissed at me. Too frightened to speak I shook my head vigorously as
if an acceptable answer. She paused, looking deep into my eyes, down
my nose, to my mouth and chin. She looked as though she recognised
me. She swept her hair to one side, revealing a medallion she was
using as a piece of jewellery and placed it in my hand, closing my
fingers around it.
“This belongs to you. Never comb the
sea again, understand? I might not be around next time if you call
the wrong of us.” She calmed her voice. Her accent was implacable,
soft and nice to hear as if she spoke with emphasis from the back of
the throat.
“W... What are y... you?” I
blubbered, feeling as if I wasn't inside my own body but a spectator
for the whole event.
“That's a rude question, human boy.”
She grinned a wide grin, losing some humanity. “You're just like
your father was. We are mermaids as you are human.”
“M... My father?” I struggled to
ask.
“Do you have my comb?” was the
only reply. Harsh, but beautiful. Feeling all my pockets, in the
back pocket I found I did have the comb from the previous day still
there. I must have sat on it while calling the other mermaid and
summoned both. I handed it towards her, my hand still trembling. She
took it carefully and eyed me intently.
“Thank you. For this, I shall grant
you one wish. But then I must tend to my wound, and you shall never
see me again.” she paused and waited for my quivering mess to think
about what had been offered.
“W.. Well then I wish to see you
again. Once a year, I wish to hear your song.” I said. She looked
at me for a few seconds as if considering this. She looked me in the
eye and nodded once. Pressing my forehead with her lips, she kissed
life into my wish.
“Brave wish for such a cowardly
being. You shall not see me, though you will hear my song on this day
once a year. Pick up this shell and hold it to your ear, for at this
action, you and only you will hear my voice.” With that, she
proceeded to lift a shell from the sand, spiralling and pink, holding
it to her mouth she sung loud and true for over an hour. This time
had calmed me significantly. “Now avoid the sea for a long while,
human boy. A summoned Mermaid can lurk at the shores for days.”
Before I could say anything, she
handed me the shell and turned, dragging her weakened tail into the
sea with her. The blood did not mix with the water but the cut seemed
to disappear instantly. I looked at the shell and slowly dragged
myself home.
* * *
Walking through the door, which felt
more welcoming than ever before, I was greeted by my mother as white
as a sheet. Seeming like she'd seen a spectre of some kind, I noticed
her eyes beaming at the medallion I had worn all of the way home. I
told her I had found it on the beach and she told me more about my
father. I listened carefully and she shed a tear, holding the
medallion to her heart. She peered towards my hands where I was
cradling the shell.
“What's that?” She quizzed,
casually. I held it up.
“Just something I wanted to keep.”
I lied “Nothing special.”
Shooting her a grin of sentiment. I
put my arm around my mother as we sat.
