Blue Sea: A Tale of Two Tails

***Kira*** Rain was falling heavily across town, with dark clouds as people rushed against traffic, trying to get out of the rain and get to their homes. As I watched the droplets trail down my shutters, it occurred to me that I had been staring outside for hours now, at people walking past, hoping that she would show up as they said. The humans couldn't see it but the portal was opened up ahead, light shining through it as if waiting to drop an emissary from the other world here on their beloved earth. But to my dismay, no one came or at least not the one I was expecting. "You're going to cause a flood in the city, Kira." Haley's voice interrupted me. I could see her reflection on the glass, her small wiry frame standing behind me. "Hi Haley." I turned slowly to look at her. Her black hair was already streaked with white and her black eyes were thoughtful as she stared at the city too. Haley was my best friend and the only one I had had in years. Centuries. "They'll survive. They always do." I smiled as I said that but she wasn't smiling at me. She frowned. "I'm human too and I've aged a lot." She added placing emphasis on a lot. "Girl, what do you mean by that? You don't look a day over 60. Have you looked in the mirror lately?" I teased her. Haley rolled her eyes at me and took the Italian sofa, stretching her legs on the centre table. She did look a day over 60, since she was nearing the big Six O. "I'm almost 60, Kira. I look like your mother." She said in disgust. "Can't believe I let all my curves go to waste. What I wouldn't give for a taste of immortality." She sighed dejectedly. Here we go again. It was usual for us to have banters such as this. I turned back to watching the window, the rain falling in drizzles now. "Trust me, you don't want to be immortal." She chuckled. "Says the lady who looks 25 when she's actually -" then she paused dramatically. "Girl, how old did you say you were again?" "On paper or on the timegram?" "Paper darling. Paper." I tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, turning back to face the window. The portal was still open. She would be here soon. Soon. I wish I could tell how soon because it wasn't defined when the prophecy was given. "27." "Right. That's Duncan's age and he has taken a liking to you." Duncan was her first and only boy. She had Three older daughters that he followed by birth. "If only he knows." I said. "Right? If only he knows that this babe here is older than his momma." "Want me to show him how old I really am?" I asked. The halo of light was getting brighter. Maybe the emissary would soon show up. "Oh no please, you can't. He'd freak out and never stop talking about it." I laughed. "Yeah right." Then there was an odd silence and then I heard her footsteps approach me. She took her place beside me, staring out at the city too. "What are you so sad about Kira?" She asked placing her hand on my back. I didn't respond. Thunder rumbled and lightning struck. "I miss him." She sighed. "Baby." "He's coming back. He promised me that he would. The prophecy said -" She interrupted me. "Darling, it's been centuries now. Almost 500 years and he hasn't come. How long would you wait, you don't have much time yourself to live." I chewed my lip. "I can wait." "You can't. No, you can't. You shouldn't have to wait that long for a man to show up, honey. You're better than that." "You don't understand." "I do sweetie. You need to live again, you need to give your heart to someone else. Someone who would protect and cherish you forever." Tears streamed down my cheeks and the rain started to pour down heavily again. The weather was as unstable as my emotions. "But he has my heart." "You can always take it back." I shook my head at her. She didn't understand the gravity of this matter. That the very life I wanted to live depended on him and if he didn't show up then I'd fade away like I never existed. "When you give your heart to someone, you can't take it back unless they give it to you." "How? What does that even mean?" She asked in exasperation. "It means I need him to show up or else I'll die a miserable death. It means that my life is in his hands and I'll never be able to love,to live, to break free of this cursed immortality if I don't get my heart back." She mused quietly. "You never told me this before." "I couldn't tell you. That's why I'm always waiting for the emissary to herald his presence, only then would I be able to know how to get back my heart from him." "So your heart is a pledge then?" "Yes, it was a pledge." "Isn't there some sort of penalty for withdrawing your pledge? I don't know how it works in your kingdom though." I bit my lip again. "Yes, there is a penalty Haley." She looked at me intently then turned back to watching the clouds. "What is the penalty?" I touched my neck. Already, I had started to pay the price, my skin hardening with scales, turning me into a monster. Something like a crocodile. "It doesn't matter." "There must be a way to get you out of this." "There is but it wouldn't work without my heart." "Which is?" "I must find true love but how do you love when your heart isn't intact?" I asked her. Then suddenly, the halo expanded, striking the earth with vibrations. "She's here!" "Who?" Haley asked her curiosity heightened. "The herald. The emissary has arrived."