As Blue As The Ocean!

Chapter Six

I was up before I had to go into work. I end up going down to the beach bright and early in the morning. I gather up an saltwater seaweed that I could find into a bucket. I was sure the merman was starving himself.

I wanted to make him eat. And get some answers from him. I also wanted to know more about him. I figured that if I did that then he might warm up to me. I also wanted him to give me my necklace back.

I head back to the house with the seaweed an hour before I had to be clocking into work. I clean the seaweed. Then I cook it. And I put it into a lunch bento box for the merman.

He was going to love me. Or at least like me a little for this. Cleaning the seaweed off was really sandy and disgusting. As I was cleaning up the sand that escaped in the sink, my mother comes in.

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"Hi mom" I greet her hello.

She yawns as she gets a cup of coffee, I had made a pot. "Morning! What on earth are you cooking? It stinks in here" she mutters as she crinkles her nose up.

"Sorry the aquarium has a new creature they will be displaying soon. Gary has me studying it and taking care of it. The creature made a connection with me. And I have to feed him" I mention.

"Him?" mother murmurs as she takes a sip of coffee. "How can you know if a fish is a boy or a giril"

I slipped up. "Gary told me" I sigh. "I made seaweed for the creature. No worries. I cleaned the sink out when I was done. Well I better go" I tell her.

"Seaweed? How do you know it eats that?" mother wants to know.

"I just do" I sigh. "You and the whole town will know more when we place the creature on display. Not yet though. I can't say more about it"

"Okay then" mother nods and smiles at me.

"Mom can I ask you something?" I say.

"Sure, go ahead. You know you can ask me anything Elissa" she vows.

I think on how to word this correctly. "How did you find me again? On the beach. I was wearing that necklace to?" I ask her.

"Well no, I found you on the beach yes. And the necklace washed up that day right beside you. The name read Elissa on the thing. We thought it was pretty, so we named you Elissa" she tells me an explanation.

I feel my stomach sink with a bit of disappointment. "So, my birth mother did not leave me the necklace?" I wonder.

She shakes her head. "We do not know where it came from" she tells me. "sorry dear"

"Thanks mom" I say softly. "I have to go before I am late for work" I announce.

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I grab my seaweed. Then kiss my mother goodbye on the cheek. I grab my purse and car keys. I rush out the door. I hop in my car once it was unlocked. Then set the items down in the seat.

I get my seatbelt on then drive off to work. Thinking back on the things my mother told me about the day she had found me laying on the beach. Why was an infant laying on the beach? Alone? Who would leave a child like that? Why me?

Mother had told me they tried for months to try to find where my birth mother went off to. They made a police report. When nothing came up and no one was looking for me then they began the adoption process. Mother had loved me. Father to.

They had already adopted kids. They always wanted another. They saw me as their blessed chance to adopt again. They gave me a good life. They never lied. They told me I was adopted. And how they found me. They never once kept anything from me. That I knew of.

So maybe I was not the Elissa who owned the necklace from the sea. But I was still Elissa. Maybe to Mr. Merman I was nothing special. But my parents thought I was. I was still Elissa. He could not take my name away from me.

I wondered who the Elissa was he was looking for. And why she went missing? Maybe if he trusted me, he might tell me more. For some reason I was feeling connected to this story. To this Elissa!

I get to work. I clock in. Then head to the back room to talk to Gary. I wear a lab coat. I grab one of the other men's. I got wet the last time I worked with that merman. I did not plan on getting wet today. I see Gary looking over at computers. Working on something. I tap him on the shoulder.

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"Hi Gary" I speak up.

He turns his head and looks at me. "Hey glad you are here" he tells me.

"Did you guys get the merman to eat?" I ask him.

He shakes his head no. "Sorry we could not. We got seaweed from the health food store. But he would not eat" he tells me. "We did as you said"

"He does not eat that kind! This kind" I tell him as I hold up the bento box. "Leave me alone again with him. I will try to get him to eat" I promise Gary.

"Sure" Gary sighs. "Fine. Go for it"

He shoos everyone out of the room. I walk to the latter. I climb up to the plank with the bento box. I sit down on the board. Mr. Merman ignores me as he lays there at the bottom of the tank. He was wearing both necklaces. Still they begin to glow when I am there. Odd.

He glances up. He spots me.

"Hey come here!" I order him as I wave his way. "I have food for you. I think you will eat it" I promise him.

He glares at me. 

I get nothing.

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"I am only trying to help" I vow. "I swear" I say.

He swims up to me. "What makes you think I will eat that?" he asks me.

I open the lid to the bento box. "I got seaweed fresh from the ocean. I even cooked it" I brag.

I hand him a fork.

He snatches the box from my hands. He begins to scarf down the seaweed like a starved dog would. Startling me a bit. Then in a blink of an eye he was finished eating it. He tosses the bento box to the side.

"Well I did it. I found something you do eat" I mention.

"Do you have more?" I hear him ask.

He had to be starving.

"I will get more. This afternoon" I vow.

He nods. "Thank you" he says at last.

"Well I talked to my adopted mother. She told me she found that necklace washing up to shore when she found me laying on the beach alone" I tell him.

"You were left on the beach as a child?" he wonders.

I nod. "I never knew my real mother. I thought before that necklace was left to me by my birth mother. But I guess I will never find her. Or know her" I sigh. "Oh well. My mother had given me a great life" I say. "I can't complain"

"You are not Elissa" he warns me.

"Oh, but I am Elissa" I state back. "mother saw the name on the necklace. She liked the name. So, I was named Elissa. I might not be your Elissa you are looking for. But that is my name. You can't take that away" I warn him.

"Oh" he sighs.

"What happened to your Elissa?" I ask him softly.

"Free me and I will tell you" he offers.

I shake my head. "I would love to. But I can't my hands are tied. I love this job. I would lose it" I warn him. "Besides there are cameras all over here. I would get caught." I tell him. I point to the cameras.

"Just as well I can't trust you" he snaps.

"What do you mean? You do not even know me" I scoff.

"Human!" he mutters under his breath as though it was a dirty cuss word.

I wince. "Water sucker!" I snap back.

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Then he looks at me confused. We both start to laugh a bit.

"Sorry, I hate being here. I need to get back" he grumbles.

"How did they catch you? Are there more of you?" I wonder.

"Thousands of us yes there are. And I will never lead them to my people" he says.

"I understand that" I say.

"To answer your question Elissa is the daughter of the king of the sea. The witch turned the daughter into a human. Leaving us no choice but to leave Elissa on the land. To be raised by humans. Leaving the mother broken hearted. I was to marry Elissa one day. She is my betrothed. I will never marry unless I find her. The witch was killed. Breaking the spell. And Elissa can return to the sea as a mermaid. But I have to find her. They caught me when I was to close to land trying to find that necklace the queen left with Elissa the day, they brought her to land" he explains to me.

I get a chill deep inside of me hearing his story.

"I am sorry you were captured" I tell him.

"Me to" he mutters.

"What is your name?" I want to know.

He looks at me. "Kavan" he lets me know at last.

"Kavan, a noble name. I like it" I say it out loud.

He nods. Then he goes back down in the waters. Ignoring me.

"Kavan wait! We were connecting" I call back to him. "Let's talk" I beg.

"Are you going to help me escape?" he demands to know. I can hear his thoughts.

I shake my head. "I can't, I told you" I sigh.

"Then we have nothing more to say" he answers back.

He was not going to trust me. Because I would not help him escape. Could I? Did I dare try? I would lose my job if I tried. I felt badly for Kavan.

And for this Elissa he spoke up. I was getting deeper into this mystery. And this merman was all I could think about these days. I wish he would trust me. But it was never going to happen.

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