Magic Within the Waves

Chapter Four - Moving Through Sorrow

Chapter Four

Moving Through Sorrow

***

Once I had gotten back into the school routine, I saw it as a way to escape the empty house for a few hours a day. Even dealing with the plastic fantastics was getting easier. At the same time each morning, I sauntered to the bus stop with my head somewhere between the living world and Mum’s stories. And each night I would wander off the school bus and retrace my return hike home, taking a path near the hanging rock formation I had visited with Mum.

I found myself lingering on the very rocks Mum graced, watching the waves splashing up against the shore. Occasionally, I could swear I saw Mum’s red hair darting through the water, but I knew it was just my imagination playing on the words Mum had left me with – ‘For there I will be, swimming alongside the mermaids.’

Six months passed when I realised my nights were becoming a repetitive routine that consisted of homework, housework, sometimes calling Carmen or Ruth so I could keep in contact with the outside world … and curling up in bed to read one of Mum’s books. Solitude was now a large part of my life.

Dad came home from work at six-thirty pm, exhausted, and rundown. He handed me a small box of peppermint chocolates and a single yellow rose, knowing they were mine and Mum’s favourites.

Just sniffing the rose made me smile. It reminded me of something Mum had said, ‘yellow is the preferred colour of the jackbackroo – a tiny creature, no bigger than your fingernail. It’s best described as a mini wallaby. They search for anything yellow for their nest, and yellow roses are their favourite.’

‘I know it’s just us two, Bright Eyes,’ Dad pouted, realising my mind had flitted away momentarily. ‘But together we are strong.’

‘I know, Dad,’ I agreed, placing the rose inside the weathered vase in the middle of the dining table. ‘Together we are strong … and with Mum watching over us, we can do just about anything.’

‘You bet, you and me, we’re a father-daughter team not to mess with ... remember – I’m not me ...’

‘Without you ...’

‘That’s right Bright Eyes.’

After staring at the rose a moment longer, I turned from the table and continued with the dinner I had been stirring in the pan.

There was a squeak of a kitchen chair leg against the hardwood floor– a sign Dad had pulled back his chair and slumped into it. ‘That smells wonderful, Bright Eyes. I think Mum would be so proud of the way you have helped around the house. But you have always been like that– your Mum’s little shadow.’

I placed a bowl of satay chicken, or what Mum would call – dragon’s medley – in front of him. ‘This was Mum’s favourite. I used to watch her when she prepared it. I hope it tastes okay.’

‘Hmm, the big test ...’ Dad slipped the first forkful into his mouth and his eyes lightened.

I fell into my own chair and watched Dad hurry for another taste, and then another, almost finishing his entire bowl before I had got halfway through mine.

‘Wow, Mel this is amazing.’ He licked his lips and then wiped his mouth on a serviette. ‘I think I can do the dishes tonight. After everything you have done lately, you deserve a night off.’

‘But I don’t mind, Dad.’ I scooped up our bowls and placed them in the waiting sink, making the soapy bubbles foam up. ‘It gives me a chance to think.’

‘Bright Eyes, you have done enough, go and relax for a moment.’

‘Honestly, Dad, I don’t mind.’ Sighing, I turned back to the sink. The sun was setting through the kitchen window and once again the lone star appeared in the sky.

Its twinkle kept watch over everything I did – washing the dishes, cleaning down the sink and straightening how the curtains sat against the window. A shower of crimson light danced across my red hair. It was Mum. Her presence was in the sky alongside the star nymphs I couldn’t see. Why couldn’t I? I wanted to… the way Mum did. But all I saw were stars.

Dad stepped up beside me, the light of the lone star now making a halo out of his blonde hair. ‘Melinda, you do so much around the house and hardly ever go out and enjoy yourself. You are seventeen and I half expected you to be dating by now ...’

‘Dad,’ I gaped, my mouth hanging lopsided. ‘You’re not meant to be telling me to date! You’re meant to be stopping me from doing the wrong thing, you know– locking me in my room, sticking bars on my window ... buying me a chastity belt ... that sort of stuff.’

Laughing, Dad held my face between his hands. ‘My dear sweet, Bright Eyes, I think you have been locked up here behind bars long enough since Mum’s death. I have faith in you to think before you act and act with maturity. It was the way your Mum raised you. And there’s just so much of her in you.’

I hung the kitchen cloth blindly over the edge of the sink and leant back against the counter. Dad’s hands slipped away from my face. ‘I don’t know, maybe one day. I’m ... I’m just not ready to go out. It’s only been six months since Mum passed away and I need a bit more time.’

‘Alright but remember what I told you ... don’t fall into depression because I would be lost without my Bright Eyes.’

‘I won’t allow that to happen.’

Looking at his watch, he patted my arm. ‘I’m going to go watch my show, but if you need to talk, know I’m here for you.’

I kissed his cheek. ‘I know.’

He retired to the lounge room and moments later, laughter flooded the house. Dad did this at the same time every night – escaping to the lounge room to watch his favourite show. Any comedy that brought happiness back into our lives was fine by me.

Standing by the kitchen sink, I soaked in his cheerful laughter while. After I was satisfied, I finished cleaning down the kitchen table, swept the floor and rinsed out my cup. When I felt as though I had cleaned everything to the point every surface shone, I left the room and headed for bed, looking forward to snuggling up with one of Mum’s books and reading myself to sleep.

With my head on the pillow and the book – Mermaids, Myth or Fiction, resting on my chest, I found myself dozing before I had a chance to turn the second page. My eyelids put up a good fight but failed, pulling me into a dark dream – a memory of the past.

‘Did you see that?’ Mum asked, grabbing my hand as a child, and lifting me onto her lap.

We peered through the window at the pitch-black night sky to see two tiny gold stars flickering in the distance. There was nothing else around them, no moon, and no clouds, just endless darkness that consumed my room, darkening the cream walls and the lamp on my bedside table.

Sighing disappointedly, Mum reached up and pulled the curtains down, separating us from the outside. ‘Sorry Mel, we missed it. Why is it… when the star nymphs come out to play, we miss them? If only you could see their long silver hair and big blue eyes, then you would understand they are the true definition of beauty. Out of all the nymphs, the star nymphs are the most amazing.’

‘I never see them,’ I pouted, ‘but I really want to.’

She squeezed me into her chest, rocking me backwards and forwards. ‘I’m sorry honey, one day you will see them and then you will finally believe, even if I have to capture one for you.’

I was only eight and I wanted to believe more than anything. The hard fact was, as we peered out the window that night, I was unsure if Mum had seen a star nymph or if it was just her vivid imagination. ‘Mum, I’m too old to believe in these mythical creatures. Anyway, I have been waiting for years and I still haven’t seen any garden gnomes, picking flowers in the glow of a full moon or seen the crystal glass wings of a fairy, dancing around a blossoming flower or even the fins of a mermaid when we go swimming at the beach. I think such things were made up either to frighten children or help put children to sleep. They are not real.’

Mum’s deep green eyes narrowed in on my face, but she didn’t frown. Instead, her lips spread into a warming smile that encased me like a hug. ‘I don’t understand how you could be so naive about such magical, beautiful creatures. I have seen tree nymphs scurrying through the trees and water nymphs dancing through the lakes and the rivers, all of them wearing the clothes I designed. I have been close enough to see the beady black eyes of a drop bear and feel the sharp points of the spiny antlers of a hopperscotch.’

‘But I have never seen one. Why is that? I look so hard Mum, but they don’t show themselves. Don’t they like me?’

‘Of course they do.’ Mum tilted my chin in her direction. ‘I know they do … because I do.’

‘Then why don’t I see them?’

‘Ah, Bright Eyes because you have to keep your mind wide open and believe,’ Dad added, stepping through my bedroom door and into the light of my side-table lamp. ‘That’s what your Mum always says.’

Groaning, with my head hung, I slipped off Mum’s lap and climbed into my bed. ‘But Dad, I do try. They still don’t show themselves to me.’ I brushed my long golden-orange hair out of the way and laid my head against the pillow. ‘It’s not fair.’

Kneeling beside the bed, Mum leaned over it and tucked the blankets around me. ‘Maybe it’s not that you don’t look hard enough, but because they are just unsure of you. I was lucky a tree nymph gave me the power to see them everywhere. Magical creatures can be very sneaky, very smart, and sometimes very naughty. They can cause trouble when you’re least expecting it. And other times they are sweet and beautiful.’

She ran her fingers through my hair, watching how it trailed across her palm. ‘Try and remember ... fairies and nymphs are very shy and only come to those whom they trust. Gnomes and goblins are known as little tricksters so they will do anything to make you believe you’re only seeing things when in reality they are just brilliant at hiding and camouflage.’

‘So will I see one soon?’

‘If you continue looking with your mind wide open, anything is possible.’

‘If I remember correctly,’ Dad interrupted, joining her at my side. ‘Unicorns and Pegasus are pros at camouflage too. They will only let themselves be seen by a human if they feel safe. That’s what I’ve learnt from your Mum, and she knows everything when it comes to these things.’

‘Have you ever seen one, a tree nymph or a water nymph, Dad? And how are they different from fairies?’ I yawned.

Chuckling, Mum leant her face in close to mine and drowned me with her sweet floral perfume. ‘Your Dad hasn’t, not yet, but I have. I have seen a water nymph and dressed her. She was so cute with her spiky blue hair… The second she was dressed she hid, and I never got to see her again. As for the difference, there isn’t much… except fairies have fragile wings and if we touch their wings, they will no longer be able to fly. While nymphs could pass for normal humans except … they are very tiny. They become human-sized if they fall in love with a human. The thing is if their love is not returned, they shrink again.’

‘If you wake up early in the morning you might be lucky enough to see the sun nymph.’ Dad winked at me as he switched off the light and took Mum’s hand.

‘I will keep my mind open … I do believe…’

‘Goodnight Bright Eyes.’ He blew me a kiss.

‘Sleep well honey,’ Mum added, and they both left the room together.

Once all the lights had been switched off throughout the house, I closed my eyes and repeated ‘I believe,’ over and over again until I fell asleep.

Waking with a start, I found myself back in the present. The book I had been reading was open at a page about mermen. I wiped the sticky sleep from my eyes and studied the page. ‘Mermen are different to their female counterparts. Unless they are high-ranking officials, they have legs with scales trailing down the back, webbed feet, and dress in whatever they find in the ocean. Some have been known to steal upon the land when no human is present and collect the clothes left behind.’

‘They are one of the first discovered magical creatures who have been known to fall in love with humans and give up their powers to be with them. But don’t be fooled. Mermaids and mermen have a gift that can entice and bewitch the human. Some men have been known to fall to their death after meeting a mermaid and others have sworn, they have been saved by these magical creatures.’

Sighing, I closed the book. ‘It would be amazing if I could see a mermaid or a merman. In fact, it would be amazing to see any mythical creature like Mum could.’