A Twist of Fate: The Tale of a Mermaid

Chapter Four: Aiden

    They found him after the hurricane. The doctors said he suffered from internal bleeding, but aside from a few bruises, he shouldn't have bled to death. There were no internal injuries that could have caused him to bleed from his eyes, ears, and nose. The coroner signed my brother's death certificate as a brain aneurysm, and that was the end. That was the story we told. And it was the story the funeral director told right before they put my brother's casket in the ground.

    After the funeral, I had several people come up and give me their condolences. They all said the same thing. "I'm sorry for your loss," and "Jack was a great guy," lulled through the air until eventually, I blocked out their words. 

    I was the last one at the cemetery. Before the backhoe could fill in the grave, I picked up a handful of dirt and tossed it into the hole. "Rest in peace, Brother," I sighed. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my dress pants and walked away. 

    Beau was waiting for me in my truck. He’d already changed out of his suit, back into a pair of cutoff jeans, a black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and a backward baseball cap covering up his slicked-back hair. He was in the middle of kicking off his dress shoes when I climbed into the car.

    “Well this was a sucky day,” he griped.

    I laughed, startling Beau. “Dude, are you okay?” Beau asked, looking concerned.

    I nodded. “I just find it ironic that the guy who loved the sea was laid to rest six feet underground.”

    “I remember when Jack used to say the sea was his mistress.”

    “And we were too young to know what a mistress was,” I added, laughing. The smile on my face faded. “He deserves more than a quick burial. He deserved a…Viking funeral or something.”

    Beau climbed out of the truck, nearly falling on his face. “What are you doing?” I demanded. “What are you doing?” I asked again when he came around and yanked open my door.

    “Get out.”

    “No, this is my truck.”

     “Get out. I’m going to drive.”

    “Like hell.”

    “C’mon, Aiden. I have an idea of how we can better honor your brother’s passing. Now, let me drive.”

    With a groan, I climbed out of the truck. “Fine.” 

     Beau drove us out of Savannah, back to Tybee Island. It'd been almost three years since I moved, and everything still looked the same. There were a few trees down near the beaches, but everything else faired well in the storm. According to Beau, the hurricane lost its momentum and broke apart before it hit land. 

    I groaned when we approached the Tybee Pier. "I hate the beach."

    "Well, Jack didn't. What better way to honor him than a bonfire at the beach?"

    "Now? It's five o'clock in the afternoon. And the beach is crowded."

    Beau shook his head. "No. Not right now. We'll come back after sunset, but I thought we could scope out a nice spot. Then we can go back to Jack's, gather up all his old surfboards, some alcohol, and give him the farewell sendoff we both know he deserves." 

    "I guess that doesn't sound too bad."

    Beau grinned. "See? This is what best friends are for."

    "Pressuring me into throwing a party the same day as my brother's funeral?" I teased. 

    "If you don't want to..."

    "No, no, I want to." I looked up, scanning the crowded beach. I didn't like the beach, or more specifically, what lurked beneath the water. When I was nine, I got stung by a jellyfish, and I've refused to go back in the water since. Most of my swimming happened in pools where I could see the bottom clearly. 

    As I stared out across the beach full of people, I decided that, for one night, I could honor my brother the way he would have wanted. So, I climbed out of the truck and headed toward the rolling waves of the Atlantic Ocean. 

    "Wait for me," Beau called, clambering out of the truck. 

    I wasn't sure what I was doing, but the briny air made me feel close to Jack as if I could feel him in the breeze. We used to joke that he was part merman because of his addiction to the ocean. Living on Tybee Island, almost everyone was obsessed with the ocean, but Jack was different - more intimate. He used to talk like the ocean was its own person - as if they had some secret connection. 

    I used to believe it too. Jack always seemed to know when a storm was brewing, whether the waves were going to be unforgiving that day, or if it was going to be a good day for some deep-sea fishing. Every morning, six o'clock sharp, I could always find him at the edge of the pier breathing in the ocean mist. But he didn't have some secret understand of the ocean. The ocean was just a vast, ominous void that claimed whoever it wanted. This time it happened to be my brother. 

    My legs carried me just shy of the water's edge. The waves crept up the sand like tendrils reaching for me, ready to claim me as its next victim. I stared at the water, hypnotized by the push and pull, dragging sand and other pebbled into its watery abyss.

    "You alright?" Beau placed a hand on my shoulder. 

    "No," I admitted. "What was he doing out there? There had to be a reason he was out on the water during the hurricane. And what happened to the boat?"

    "They found Emmett alive, you know? Whatever happened messed him up pretty bad. He's was incoherent when they found him. He had similar injuries, but not as extensive."

    "What causes something like that?" I glanced at Beau before turning my attention back to the ocean. "He didn't die from a brain aneurysm." Everyone believed I was in denial, except Beau. Even if he did, he didn't say anything. 

    There was a commotion on our left coming from beneath the pier. A group of kids I used to go to school with crowed around one of the wooden legs holding up the pier. Beau and I exchanged a quick look before heading over to investigate. It wasn't rare for something to wash up on the beach. 

    We were both expecting a stingray, baby shark, or even a half-eaten seal until we heard one of the jocks say, "Looks like someone partied a little too hard last night." 

    Beau and I hurried over just as someone pulled out their cell phone and snapped a picture of the unconscious girl facedown in the sand. Other than the thin layer of sand coating her body, she was naked. Beau shoved the boys away while I pulled off my jacket. I was about to wrap the jacket around her when she began to stir. 

    "Get outta here, perverts," Beau shouted, shooing away the crowd. 

    She was petite and slender with long black hair down to the small of her back. When she sat up, she looked around dazed and confused. Then her eyes landed on me, and I was instantly captivated. Her eyes were wide, so dilated that I could barely see her shimmering blue irises. 

    I held the jacket out for her, but she backed away, frightened. She scanned the groups of people covering the beach, and her breath quickened. "You don't have to be afraid," I assured her, carefully wrapping the jacket around her pale shoulders. 

    She c****d her head to the side. 

    "Hey, maybe we should take her to a doctor," Beau chimed in. "Something terrible must have happened. I mean, look at her. She looks like a frightened rabbit." 

    I held out my hand to help her up, but she slapped it away. Her eyes froze, locked on the palm of her hand, turning this way and that. Her eyes trailed down her body, all the way down to her feet. Letting out a high-pitched squeak, she pushed herself off the ground like she was about to run back into the ocean, but the minute she stood, she toppled back over. 

    I quickly caught her in my arms, talking softly, trying not to startle her. "Easy. Here, let me help you." I turned to Beau. "Let's help her into the truck. We'll go back to Jack's and get her some clean clothes, maybe call a doctor." 

    Beau nodded, looped one of her arms around his broad shoulders, and helped me carry her to the truck. She could barely hold herself up, wincing each time she put pressure on her legs. "Hold up. I think she's hurt." 

    Once Beau dropped her arm, I scooped her into my arms, carrying her the rest of the way to my truck. I could feel her eyes watching me, studying me. I didn't look down until I set her in the cab. Our eyes locked, and I could feel myself drowning in her. 

    She opened her mouth to speak, but what came out was the most beautiful, haunting song. Her hand reached up, cradling the side of my face, drawing me closer. 

    There was a tightness in my chest like I was struggling to breathe, but I didn't care. It was like I knew all I needed was her...and that song.