The Lost Mermaid

Chapter 2

The hour-long car ride was tolerated in silence as I repeatedly stole glances at Bash. I forgot he was hurt. I hesitantly reached over and touched his arm, making him jump.

“I’m sorry,” I said, starting to pull my hand away. “You’re hurt because of me. Can I help?”

He slipped off his jacket, tossed it on the passenger seat up front, grabbed some bandages from the seat pocket, and handed them to me.

“Thank you,” he said as I applied pressure before starting to bandage his arm. I gently wrapped his arm and stopped the bleeding.

He reached over, lightly brushing the section of his arm where I had bandaged it, and stared at me, smiling.

After a little while, Bash had crawled from the back seat into the passenger seat. He sat next to a beautiful brunette with short hair and the same stunning blue eyes.

As if reading my thoughts, he said, “I know you have no reason to trust us, but we’re here to protect you. It's not my place to tell you more”. He motioned to a road sign up ahead that read Coast.

“Take that road, Londyn,” Bash said to the driver.

They pulled the vehicle into a parking lot near the harbor and got out. The lot was vacant except for a lone man on a boat. Londyn put the keys to the vehicle under the seat and walked towards the ocean.

“This way,” Bash said, holding out his hand to help me over the rocky shore towards the boat. Bash and Londyn climbed into the boat. I grabbed ahold of Bash’s outstretched hand and carefully stepped over the side of the ship. Catching my balance, as the ship rocked at the extra weight, I took a seat towards the center of the ship.

Even as Bash reached out and shook the old fisherman's hand, his eyes lingered on me. Correcting himself, he greeted the fisherman with gratitude.

"It is good to see you, Joe, old friend. Thanks, thanks again for aiding us." The old fisherman laughed as he pulled the boat away from the landing, heading into the ocean. “I never thought I would see the day when Renae would return home,” the old fisherman said to me. Does he know me? What does he mean by return home?

“Sir? How do you know me?” I asked, nervous to hear his answers.

His enormous belly jiggled as he let out a deep laugh. When he smiled, it seemed to go all the way to his eyes. “Why my child, I saved you and brought you to the mainland.”

Did he save me? What was he saving me from? But I was too exhausted to ask right now. I sat back in the boat, enjoying the motion of the ocean and the smell of the sea. It felt so familiar. I closed my eyes. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep on the boat.

Standing above me was a beautiful woman—her brown hair lashing out in the wind. I could feel the woman's pain. I Saw her tears flowing freely. “I will always love you, Renae. Survive and come home to us.”

I woke from my dream and wiped the tears from my eyes. I’ve had this dream before, I said to myself. I felt so sad. I knew it was my mother, and I felt the loss. Was it a dream? Or a memory? Bash looked at me with concern in his eyes. “I’m fine,” I whispered to him but was saying it more for my good. He gently caressed my hand and smiled at me.

Londyn looked back and forth between us, intrigued at their connection. “Look, you can see the island,” Londyn said, pointing as the land was quickly closing in.

There was a sandy beach circling the part of the island that I could see and lots of beautiful green trees and flowers everywhere. Out from the shelter of the trees trickled a few people. They were watching the boat as it approached. I hope these people are friendly.

The fisherman threw a rope to the group standing on the shore, and a couple of guys about my age pulled the boat out of the water and onto the sand. The old fisherman and Bash climbed out of the ship, avoiding the water. Londyn jumped out and walked over to a younger girl who had been glaring at me since the boat pulled up onto the sand. “Give me your hand,” Bash said, reaching out to help me off of the ship. I looked at the people assembled. Besides Bash, Londyn, and the fisherman, there was the glaring girl, the two dark-haired boys who helped pull the boat in, and an older man and woman who looked old enough to be their parents.

The older woman walked up to me and gathered me into a big hug. “Oh my darling girl, you look just like your mother,” she said as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I looked back and forth between them all. Feeling very...

“Ok. You are all confusing the heck out of me. I don't know any of you. I've never been here before. Just tell me what is going on!!” I was on the verge of tears. Bash stood behind me and laid his hand gently on my shoulder.

“Let’s go inside,” he said as he gracefully led me behind the others. He guided me down a path that led into the woods and brought us to a waterfall. Bash pointed to a house near the waterfall.