Obscure (Original) - #434. Sea bed
Title: Obscure
Author: scarlet_ivy
Rating: PG
Theme: #434. sea bed for 500themes
Genre/s: General
Words: 1590
Summary: What happens to mermaids. giftfic for smushy
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Obscure
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"Mommy, what colour is the sky?"
"It's blue, honey."
Her brows furrowed in confusion. "But I thought the ocean is blue too. Then how come it's different?"
"Because the sky is made of air. The ocean is made of water, see?" She moved her hand through the water to illustrate her point. Seeing the frown still stuck on her daughter's lips, she flicked her tail under the little girl's chin, making her giggle. She stroked her baby's long golden hair and explained, "We move easier in water than in air. In fact, we should never go above the water and into the air, because if someone sees us, a bad thing will happen."
The little girl's eyes widened. "What kind of bad thing, mommy?"
The mermaid smiled, the scales on her tail shimmering in the light, and put a finger to her lips, "It's a secret."
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"Never go above the water, for if someone sees you, something bad will happen."
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Years passed, and the little girl grew to become a beautiful mermaid, just like her mother. She never forgot her mother's words, and never went above the water, no matter how much she wanted to. She watched the other sea creatures longingly as they leaped out of the water and embraced the rush of the air on their skin. She watched as the birds flew through the air, moving as gracefully as her kind did through the water. But that was all she could do. Watch.
Then, on one stormy day, her mother disappeared.
Clouds had suddenly obscured the sun and the strong tide swept through the sea, threatening their home. Her mother had joined the other adults to secure their shelter among the reefs. A particularly violent wave had crashed against the strong coral that surrounded and protected the cave-like structure that was their shelter, causing the walls to shake tremulously. Still, the adults did not return. Then, after what seemed like an eternity to the young mermaid, the storm finally subsided, calming the waves to a soft caress against their skins. Out of everyone who had braved the storm to save their home, only half of them returned. Among the many missing was the mermaid's mother.
Devastated, she left her home in the reefs, for everything reminded her too much of her wonderful mother. For days and days, she swam towards the unknown, not caring where she end up as long as she can grieve in peace. Finally, she reached a small little alcove near the shore of a beach. She entered the little cave from the water and slumped in a corner, falling into a fitful sleep.
When she woke up, the young mermaid was shocked to find that she was in a waterless cave. The sand was still damp, but there was no water to be found anywhere. She hauled herself out of the cave - for she had no legs - and looked around. The beach she had landed on was still deserted, and the sun was starting to creep up the horizon. The mermaid realized that the tide must have been high when she had arrived, and now that it's low, brought all the water away with it.
She struggled against the wet sand, desperate to go back into the water. Her mother's words echoed warningly in her head: "Never go above the water, for if someone sees you, something bad will happen."
Suddenly, she felt a light pressure on her back, and she was suddenly in the water. As soon as she felt the cool sensation of water on her tail, the mermaid sped away swiftly. Only after reaching the safety of a nearby outcropping of rocks a good mile away from the shore did she stop, panting from the adreneline still rushing through her body. She turned around and was immediately captivated by the sight of a strange creature staring at her from the shore, its mesmerizing viridian eyes sending a sharp jolt of electricity through her chest. Suddenly aware of her ruffled state, the mermaid hid behind the rocks, shyly peeking her head out to observe her saviour. He - or at least, she assumed it was a male - laughed out loud at her actions, the rumbling sound travelling easily to her ears. The creature was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The top half of his body was like the males back home, except there was a strange, colourful layer of skin over his chest. His tail, however, was gruesome. It had split into two down the middle, and did not have any scales at all. How horrible!
A loud harsh sound escaped the creature's mouth. The mermaid squeaked and dove for the rocks. When she looked out again, she saw the creature looking at her, making a come-hither gesture. Despite her wish to do so, her body made the decision for her, and she swam away. However, she did not get far. Curiousity towards this creature prevented her from leaving the beach, so she chose a small little niche between some rocks on the bottom of the ocean near the shore for her temporary shelter. By the time she finished settling down in her new home, the sun was already beginning to sink below the sea.
A strange compulsion made her swim up towards the surface, and when she broke out of the water, she saw a lone figure crouching by the beach, eyes alert as if searching for something. A smile came unbidden to her lips as she sunk back into the safety of the waters. She went to sleep with a smile on her face.
"You're making me break almost all of the rules I was told to follow, so why do I feel so happy inside?"
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Everyday for the next week, the creature would come in the morning when the sun rises, and leave when the sun sets, just looking for his mermaid. The mermaid would hide behind the outcropping of rocks and just watch him for the whole day.
Then, at the end of the week, the creature did something it never did before: it peeled off it's outer layer of skin and jumped into the water. The mermaid panicked. "He doesn't have a tail, why did he jump into the water? He's going to drown!" She swam quickly towards the shore, hoping to save the creature. Instead, as she neared the shallow waters, she saw him swimming. It was a crude method, the way he kicked his two tails up and down and flung his arms around, but it was working. And he was heading straight for her. The mermaid slowed down and, for the first time, looked at him fully. His skin light but not pale, and his hair was a light brown colour. His eyes were a startling shade of green flecked with gold, and his jaw was strong, but not sharp. His arms were lightly muscled and smooth. In fact, if not for his grotesque tail, she would say that this creature was handsome.
While she was busy noticing details about him, the creature drifted up to her and lightly touched her arm. The mermaid jerked away in surprise. The thing in front of her seemed shocked to touch her skin, and moved to touch her again. Once again, the mermaid swam away, but this time, the creature followed. His crude kicks somehow propelled him fast enough to catch up to her, and he touched her arm again. This time, when the mermaid turned around to look at him, he gave her a cheeky wink and swam away. Soon, they were engaged in a fun game of tag, and before they knew it, the sun had set, and it was time for the male to go. He hugged her, and stroked her hair (just like her mother used to) and bid her goodnight.
He came back every day afterwards, and played with her until the sun disappeared from the sky. Thus, a beautiful friendship began.
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Just as abruptly as her boy - as she had started to call him - appeared in her life, he vanished. And his departure was even more crushing to the mermaid than her mother's disappearance, for this time he left of his own volition. Everyday, she stayed on top of the rocks, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the return of her best friend. She even took to moving to the small little alcove that filled with the tide, just to be closer to the shore.
Then, finally, her boy came back.
But he did not come alone.
A horrible thing, it can only be described as a monster, came with him, coughing up foul smoke. It stopped by the sand, and out of its belly several more boys came out. Except, they weren't like her boy. They were bigger, meaner, scarier. And as she watched her boy's face change to a mixture of fear, guilt, and self-loathing, she got a terrible feeling in her stomach. All she could hear was the sound of her heart beating loudly in her ears, and the harsh cries of the creatures on the shore. The mermaid did the only thing she could do: she swam away.
A sharp pain blossomed on her side as she jumped into the water, and she felt black enshrouding her like a heavy cloak, draggin her down to the bottom of the ocean.
The beautiful mermaid lay still on the seabed as black sleep claimed her.
"Never go above the water, for if someone sees you, something bad will happen."
the end
p.s.: seaBED = sleep. haha.
(just like a disney fairytale :S)