Falling For The Mermaid

LOSS

THEON’S POV

“Hello mother?” I jovially spoke through the phone.

“Hello, I just figured you are the son. I have picked this phone along the route to Tudor and I am sorry to announce that the owner of this phone has been involved in a terrible accident,” The stranger dropped the bombshell.

“What!” I muttered despite the relentless ramming of my heart against my own ribcage as I left the phone to drop from my hands.

“Theon, what is wrong? You are never this clumsy.” My sister Teresa Prattled looking at me her eyebrows arched upwards.

For a moment I felt like I could not breath like somebody had stuffed stones in my airways blocking any passage of air. My lips parted then closed. For someone else I looked like a fish in water but I could not help it.

“Theon, is everything okay?” Teresa asked in a shaky voice.

“Mother was involved in a terrible accident Tessa,” I said this as tears freely fell from my eyes.

“Tell me it’s a lie,” A whimper of fear escaped from the back of her gut as she slid on the wall to sit on the floor.

“I wish it was a lie.” I blew several breaths getting on my feet.

“Hey sister come, we have to go and check on her.” I urged her using all the ounce of energy left in me.

“I don’t know if I will ever live if she dies.” She testified.

“Come on sis, she will be okay. Mother is a strong woman and she will make out of this fiasco alive.” I held her up and pulled her into the hug.

“Mother will be fine, let us keep praying,” I reassured her cupping her cheeks before we chose to head to the hospital.

The silence in the Mercedes was deafening but the tension was hard to miss. I was so afraid of the uncertainty.

We rushed to the reception and the Receptionist told us to wait for the doctor for our mother was in the operation room. We sat on the waiting area waiting for the doctor. No word was exchanged between us. Everyone was deep in thought mostly praying for our mother to be alright.

“She is dead already. She is an old hog anyway,” My heartless step brother joined us and started talking s**t over the whole predicament.

“You shouldn’t be here Tyler.” Tessa said through gritted teeth.

“You adopted son, at least when she dies I will never have to deal with you.” Tyler went on pestering us.

“She is my mother too,” I insisted and tried my very best to stay calm about the whole thing.

“If she dies, you will die too.” He stifled a yawn as he plumped on the coach.

Good thing, the doctor come from the emergency room. If not, I don’t know if I would survive the tribulations from my step brother. He always hated me from the first time I was brought to the family after his parents picked me near the ocean and chose to adopt me.

“How is she doctor, can I see her?” My sister Tessa asked.

“Yea, though she is in the intensive care unit,” The doctor showed us the way and the three of us walked right ahead to go and see our mother.

The oxygen tubes aided in her breathing. She had bandages all over and it was really sad seeing her like this. She is supposed to be strong. She has raised us well after our dad passed on ten years ago thanks to liver cancer.

She doesn’t deserve to be like this.

It happened in a flash of a second and we watched helplessly as my elder evil brother turned the life supporting machine off killing our mother in an instant.

                                             **

Tyler is always Tyler and there is nothing we can do about it. Sometimes I really wonder how someone can have a heart of a stone like him. Our mother always told us to tolerate him and that is why we never took a step to report him after what he did back in the hospital.

Tessa had managed to talk to the doctor who was honest with us and told us that our mother’s brain was kind of distorted and she could not live past twelve hours. That is not to mean that what Tyler did was justified. He was a bad person and we had to stick closer and try to understand him for he was one of our own. He was our brother.

Mother was laid to rest at the family cemetery just near the house. We live by the shores of the Indian Ocean. In other places, where we had built our house could be a five star hotel but our parents loved the waters so they invested on building our family house next to the beach.

My dad worked in the Ports Authority as the manager. After he died, my mother took the position.  Shipping and Ports usually has a lot of money and that meant that we were well off as a family. Their position in the company was to be inherited so after her death, our Elder brother Tyler knew that it was in his place to occupy the position the parents were having earlier.

This particular day, I had gone with my sister Tessa to swim in the ocean and also to chill as we think of what next now that our mother had died.

Most of the time I kept comforting my younger sister about the death. Despite me feeling bad about everything, I had to be there for her. Tyler on the other hand did not care. All he was waiting for is for the lawyer to come and read to us the will and testament that our mother left.

“Mum always told me that mermaids live in the ocean,” Tessa said once we had sat by the shore allowing the waves to touch our feet.

“Come on Tessa, don’t tell me you believe in that.” I laughed for the first time in a long time. It is funny that she believes such creatures can exist. Is she four years old?

“Theon, I swear, mermaids are real,” She gasped totally thrown by the fact that I did not believe in mermaids.

“Tell me you were watching the Little Mermaid,” I frowned.

“Of course I was,” She jested

“That is exactly what I am talking about. You allowed these animations to cloud your mind,” I explained to her.

“Mermaids are real, what is wrong with you,” She insisted throwing a handful of wet sand to my feet.

“You are asking for a wet sand fight aren’t you?” I tattled.

We threw each other wet sand playfully and all the time Tessa kept telling me to believe in mermaids. Of course I wouldn’t believe the existence of those beings. It is like telling me that vampires do exist yet the theory of them come about when the victims suffering from scurvy had some weird symptoms like bloody mouth.

“You have a lot to celebrate, aren’t you? Let us see if that will be the case now the lawyer is waiting for you guys so as to read the will and testament that mum left.” Tyler smirked.

“We are coming,” I told him. Tessa and Tyler were not in talking terms. Tessa did not even afford to look at him after everything he had one.

After Tyler scurried off, I hugged Tessa who had started crying because every time she sees Tyler, she remembers of how she had killed our mother.

“Everything is going to be okay,” I reassured her.

“Do you think so? I want to leave this house Theon, I want to.” She groaned.

“Don’t leave me alone, take my hand. We will go through this together,” I reassure her before we embraced each other for a long time and walked to the house.

Tyler was seated next to the lawyer and Tessa and I sat at the opposite end.

“Get done with it already,” Tyler ordered glaring at him.

“Allow me to read the will and testament of the late Emily Woods. For the apartment and the business I have in Sunrise town I will leave it to my daughter Teresa woods.” I etched a smile at Teresa who smile back. She always loved to live in town and not near the ocean and that is why I was happy for her. She got what she always wanted since we were kids.

“This managerial position at the ports, I will leave it to my son…” The lawyer paused for a moment and I never really knew why he would do that yet that is clearly what belongs to Tyler. Not anyone else.

“Theon Woods,” He spoke louder than before and I was shocked by the whole thing. I wasn’t expecting that.

“Are you sure about that?” Tyler asked with an edge in his tone.

“Of course I am.”

Tessa jumped and hugged me tightly.

“At least he doesn’t have to get that position.” Tessa kept laughing and I was too startled to do anything.

“I swear Theon on my mother’s grave, you will not take that position,” Tyler yelled.

“There is nothing you can do about it, “Tessa laughed at him.