The Mermaid in Me

Chapter 22 - Coral Beach

My mom can tell where my mind must be at, she keeps taking glances of me. I can feel the pressure. I haven’t touched my dinner. The whole town is so different than ours. The people passing by seem so friendly, like out of a book. Each stopping and talking to one other, as if they know the whole town. It amazes me, someone should know something about a missing child, especially after 17 years.  

My mom begins to brag. “This town is very special to your father and I, it’s where we began our family.” 

 She looks at me, and she has tears rolling down her face.

My dad places his hand on her back, as she continues. “We were young and in love when we came here, almost 18 years ago.  We sat at this little restaurant many times, debating if we should keep the little girl in the sand. This town hasn’t changed much. It’s filled with the same fun and beauty.”

She looks at everyone directly in the eye. “I want her to have an amazing trip, she deserves this from us. This is her birthplace and where we started our family.”  

It is silent at our table, as she glares at them.

 Looking for anyone of them to give her a stink. I’m really happy about this.

“I want Sandy to feel free to ask and do what she feels the need to do! We will follow her and what she wants to do after this dinner. No moans or groans about it.” 

I can’t believe my ears! I get to have freedom in the town. My eyes light up as everyone is looking at me.

 I can barely hold in my excitement and Luke can tell. His hand is on my thigh, practically holding me down from jumping up.  

I shriek in joy. “Oh, Thank you! I am so excited to finally be here! I honestly just want to go down to the beach after we eat and see where you found me.”

 My heart flutters in excitement at the thought of my feet hitting that sand.  

My dad chuckles at me. “You got it, Sweetheart! Now please eat something before we leave, we noticed you haven't touched a thing. We don’t want you passing out on us.”  

I put my head down and eat as much as my stomach can handle. As the rest finish, my dad pays the bill. I get in as much as I can.

We all gather together and head out. You can tell we aren’t from around here. We may live close to the beach but the vibes are so different here.  

We follow a boardwalk to a bench, and my parents stop to discuss the exact spot I was found.  

Luke grabs my hand and squeezes it. He can feel my anxiety, and thankfully he hasn’t said much. Actually, he hasn’t said much to me at all tonight. But I haven’t really thought much about us, since he got in the car either. He seems to just go with the flow. How is he so dangerous to me? He seems to enjoy this. What are Devin and Tasha talking about?

I can feel the water pulling me towards it. I look over and see a spot that just feels right, as if it’s pulling me to it. I run over to it while dragging Luke along. I stand right in front of the water, as it splashes my feet, it tickles my toes. I also feel a surging of power throughout my body. It feels like electricity, running from my toes up to my head. I can feel this immense power and a weird feeling on my patch. I want to look at it, but I can’t.  

Luke looks at me with a grin, “Something is changing in you, and I can see it.”  

I reply softly, “Yes, it’s just being here. It makes me happy. I think this was the spot my parents found me. It sure feels like it.”  

I know this because as Tasha said my heart would lead me and this is the spot. I know she isn’t lying to me, I feel different.

He keeps pushing for more. “Are you sure that’s all?”  

I look at him, knowing I can’t tell him what I really feel, but it’s hard to hide.

“Of course, you heard my mom. I am just happy to find my birthplace and I bet my mom will agree.”  

I start to yell and wave for the others. “Is this the spot?”

I finally get their attention, after waving my hands, and screaming like a maniac. “I think, I found it! I think I found it!”  

My mom comes rushing over first, looking at the sand, and comparing it to the water, then back at the bench. 

She nods at me and Luke. “Yes, this is the spot! I don’t know how you knew, but this was the spot. Just back up a few steps, and you were in a little dugout spot. An adorable green eyed baby looking up at me.”

 She points to a spot in the sand before she continues. “Laying right here, after sunset. It was dark but we weren’t far from that bench. That’s my marker. And every night after we found you, we would sit at that bench and wait for anyone. We had posters of you on every corner. I didn’t want you to not have your family. But I also didn’t want you to be in the foster system. I knew if we couldn’t find your parents you were meant for us.”  

I stand in the exact spot she found me. I can feel my body filling up with hope, a feeling of belonging to something, even if it’s human or mermaid.  

I gleefully shout, “Oh, mom! I’m glad I ended up with parents like you! I know it hasn’t been easy with me. But I feel better, just knowing what I can.”  

She practically pushes Luke over to hug me. They all follow suit, and I have a huge family hug going on. The love is real and flowing.  

I try and yell, “Okay, I can’t breathe now. I feel your love. I know who my family is. You have to let me go! Can we just watch the water for a moment?”  

I look over at Luke and smile, he smiles back at me, and my eyes light up.  I feel complete at this moment knowing, I was placed here for a reason.

They let me go, and each finds a spot in the sand next to me. Luke, of course, is right smack next to me. My parents are snuggled together, whispering about something.  

It’s all so surreal for me. Like I’m watching a movie about me.  

As I watch the waves come in, I notice that my patch starts to hurt. Not in an intense way, but an aching that I haven’t felt before. Is it because I’m by the water?  I can’t help but touch my leg. I don’t want anyone to notice, especially Luke.  

He looks over at me in curiosity. “Why are you holding your leg? Did you hurt it?” I cannot hide anything if my life depended on it.

I keep my eyes on the water as I speak, as to not bring notice. “No, it’s just a birthmark. I guess I didn’t realize I was holding it.” I let go of it, knowing he has his eyes on me.  

He whispers at me, “Oh okay, I was just making sure you felt fine. If you need to leave or want to escape from the group to explore, I would love to.”   

Ughh... I can’t leave the group with him. That’s going to lead to me giving into him. I know he wants to see my leg. I don’t know why it hurts, but he’s the last person who needs to see it. It might be glowing under my pants.

I cuddle closer to him in reassurance. “I don’t want to leave my family, let’s stay together, and enjoy this little town I was born in. That is all we are here for.”  

Knowing darn well, I’m going to be doing some observing of things.  He doesn’t need to know, I promised Tasha.

I don’t believe a human left me in the sand, but I will go along with the story to please everyone.