The dull winter sun was breaking just over the ocean's horizon. It lacked the intense summer colors that could throw the morning sky into a fiery pitch. Instead, this sunrise was softer with muted grays and purples where brilliant oranges and reds should have been. Serena dragged her knees tighter to her chest for warmth in her spot among the sparse reedy grass on a rolling sand dune. It was a cold morning -- bitterly cold to be more exact. The wind sliced right through her heavy down coat biting at her muscles which ached from the long hours of sitting in place. Yet, she could not be moved. She had to allow the swell of the Ocean's song overtake her.
The music was always there just beneath the noise of the breakers. It called to her. It begged her to return to It. She had for an hour or two overnight but even mermaid magic couldn't warm the water surrounding her enough to make the temperature comfortable. If she couldn't be at home in Its depths, she'd sit here and listen to It. The music was nearly impossible to describe and she rarely ever tried to explain It those who could not hear It. It swelled with such joyous freedom as if all the organisms within its depths were coming together as one to praise Its beauty and the wonders It held.
Serena couldn't say the exact moment in her life that she heard the music. Certainly, she had been young. Perhaps it had been shortly after her parents had passed. Although she could not remember the first time she had heard the music, the vivid memory of the first time her grandmother had caught her staring off wistfully at the ocean with her head tilted listening to the ancient song would always remain burned into her mind. She'd been scolded quite vehemently for allowing herself to sink into the music and her grandmother's expression had been one of such abject and uncharacteristic horror that Serena had been too afraid to even ask her about the music.
Over the years that passed, there were times (months on end even) when she could hear the music if she and Sam were living in a town close enough to the sea. Sam didn't seem able to hear it and refused to answer any of her questions about it. Serena's own research on the topic came up short. However, she really never had the patience to learn her way around the Dewey Decimal system well enough to investigate such a specific topic.
The hypnotic music began the same summer she had found her greatest joy -- surfing. First the noise was so far off and faint that she would stare out over the horizon as the sun disappeared beneath the watery surface wondering if what she heard was merely a figment of her imagination. However, as the weeks and months progressed, there was no denying it. The sound would swell with the waves and swing with the tide. It seemed to beg her to dive into a breaking wave, feel the power of the ocean rush over her head, and allow the tide to drag her into its grip.
And then one day, she just had done just that and allowed the tide to take her.
"Serena!"
She turned to glance over her shoulder at the approaching man whose gaze was riveted on her in disbelief. Without even uttering a word of greeting, he dropped down beside her and pulled off his knit cap to give his shaggy blonde locks an absent shake or two."What're you doing in town? I thought you were surfing the winter circuit. You shouldn't be here and you know it."
Serena's frame tightened slightly at his version of a welcome. Her brown eyes turned back on the Ocean unable to meet that hard, almost angry look. "I had to come back, Boomer. I have a friend who needs me. It's just for a couple months." There was no way to keep the hurt from her tone. So many months in mermaid form had made her unused to the ebbs and flows of human emotion. It surprised her deeply just how quickly they could sneak up on her.
With a heavy exhale he tossed an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to his side and rubbing her far arm. "Look, Serena. You know I'm glad to see you but you know you shouldn't be here. You're too easy to track in human form, especially if you're going to stay in one city for a couple months. They're going to find you and when they do--"
A quick shake of her head cut him off. "You don't have to remind me of the consequences. I'm fully aware of them. I can't let go of my human side so I cannot let go of the people I love. Sam's spell protecting my heart is just too strong."
"Sam's spell is selfish! She thinks that she can protect you from them but she cannot!" His ruddy face was meant for sunshine and smiles so when colored with anger and twisted in horror it looked quite ridiculous. The mermaid in her wanted to laugh at the very sight of it. The human in her wanted to cry.
Instead of doing either, she just pleaded. "Sam needs me, Boomer. I'm half of her. She can't let me go and I can't ask her to." They needed her, right? Alain needed her. Sam needed her. Cor needed her. Perhaps they didn't anymore. Perhaps they were okay without her. Was it she that needed them? Was it really her refusing to let go of her old life? There were far more questions than answers.
His arm dropped from around her and, like a petulant child, he shoved himself up out of the sand, glaring down at her. "Then the Fishermen will find you, Serena. They will find you and slice you up to take what they want of you. There will be nothing that all my research or all Sam's magic can do about it. What good will you be to anybody when you're shark food and potion ingredients?"
"Then maybe that's what's best." The words that she was hoping would be drowned out by the incessant crashing of waves seemed hideously loud when spoken.
As Boomer's brows flew upward, disappearing beneath his shaggy locks, he dropped back a step in shock. His hard gaze inspected Serena from above for a long moment. She felt so small beneath it. No longer was she a fiercely free member of an ancient and mystical culture but now just a scared little girl. "You can't possibly be serious," he breathlessly whispered at last.
Serena pursed her wind chapped lips and lifted her shoulders into a shrug. "I'm tired of being torn. I'm tired of being able to love but not being able to be with the people I love. I'm tired of fighting the draw from the Ocean."
"If Sam lifted the spell this would all go away," Boomer said gently. "You would not love us anymore. You'd be free to be completely mermaid. You wouldn't care about RhyDin or the people here."
"I wouldn't care?" Serena asked with a bitter laugh. "What would the point of living be if I could not love?"
Too frustrated to argue any longer, Boomer gave an irritated shake of his head and turned his gaze out over the Ocean. "Come see me when you're done moping," he huffed angrily before turning on his heels to head back towards the boardwalk.
His fiery air was swept away with him, leaving a hollow, emotionless pit. A deep, mind numbing sadness came sweeping in to fill it like the tide reclaiming a sand castle. The bitter water overcame all her hard packed walls of sand fortified by little pieces of driftwood and plunged its icy hand right into the depths of the beautiful tower.
The Ocean would always reclaim what It deemed It's property.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff82/bethanyrbin/Serena%20SL/21.jpg
((Litchfield Beach, SC. October, 2008.))
The music was always there just beneath the noise of the breakers. It called to her. It begged her to return to It. She had for an hour or two overnight but even mermaid magic couldn't warm the water surrounding her enough to make the temperature comfortable. If she couldn't be at home in Its depths, she'd sit here and listen to It. The music was nearly impossible to describe and she rarely ever tried to explain It those who could not hear It. It swelled with such joyous freedom as if all the organisms within its depths were coming together as one to praise Its beauty and the wonders It held.
Serena couldn't say the exact moment in her life that she heard the music. Certainly, she had been young. Perhaps it had been shortly after her parents had passed. Although she could not remember the first time she had heard the music, the vivid memory of the first time her grandmother had caught her staring off wistfully at the ocean with her head tilted listening to the ancient song would always remain burned into her mind. She'd been scolded quite vehemently for allowing herself to sink into the music and her grandmother's expression had been one of such abject and uncharacteristic horror that Serena had been too afraid to even ask her about the music.
Over the years that passed, there were times (months on end even) when she could hear the music if she and Sam were living in a town close enough to the sea. Sam didn't seem able to hear it and refused to answer any of her questions about it. Serena's own research on the topic came up short. However, she really never had the patience to learn her way around the Dewey Decimal system well enough to investigate such a specific topic.
The hypnotic music began the same summer she had found her greatest joy -- surfing. First the noise was so far off and faint that she would stare out over the horizon as the sun disappeared beneath the watery surface wondering if what she heard was merely a figment of her imagination. However, as the weeks and months progressed, there was no denying it. The sound would swell with the waves and swing with the tide. It seemed to beg her to dive into a breaking wave, feel the power of the ocean rush over her head, and allow the tide to drag her into its grip.
And then one day, she just had done just that and allowed the tide to take her.
"Serena!"
She turned to glance over her shoulder at the approaching man whose gaze was riveted on her in disbelief. Without even uttering a word of greeting, he dropped down beside her and pulled off his knit cap to give his shaggy blonde locks an absent shake or two."What're you doing in town? I thought you were surfing the winter circuit. You shouldn't be here and you know it."
Serena's frame tightened slightly at his version of a welcome. Her brown eyes turned back on the Ocean unable to meet that hard, almost angry look. "I had to come back, Boomer. I have a friend who needs me. It's just for a couple months." There was no way to keep the hurt from her tone. So many months in mermaid form had made her unused to the ebbs and flows of human emotion. It surprised her deeply just how quickly they could sneak up on her.
With a heavy exhale he tossed an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to his side and rubbing her far arm. "Look, Serena. You know I'm glad to see you but you know you shouldn't be here. You're too easy to track in human form, especially if you're going to stay in one city for a couple months. They're going to find you and when they do--"
A quick shake of her head cut him off. "You don't have to remind me of the consequences. I'm fully aware of them. I can't let go of my human side so I cannot let go of the people I love. Sam's spell protecting my heart is just too strong."
"Sam's spell is selfish! She thinks that she can protect you from them but she cannot!" His ruddy face was meant for sunshine and smiles so when colored with anger and twisted in horror it looked quite ridiculous. The mermaid in her wanted to laugh at the very sight of it. The human in her wanted to cry.
Instead of doing either, she just pleaded. "Sam needs me, Boomer. I'm half of her. She can't let me go and I can't ask her to." They needed her, right? Alain needed her. Sam needed her. Cor needed her. Perhaps they didn't anymore. Perhaps they were okay without her. Was it she that needed them? Was it really her refusing to let go of her old life? There were far more questions than answers.
His arm dropped from around her and, like a petulant child, he shoved himself up out of the sand, glaring down at her. "Then the Fishermen will find you, Serena. They will find you and slice you up to take what they want of you. There will be nothing that all my research or all Sam's magic can do about it. What good will you be to anybody when you're shark food and potion ingredients?"
"Then maybe that's what's best." The words that she was hoping would be drowned out by the incessant crashing of waves seemed hideously loud when spoken.
As Boomer's brows flew upward, disappearing beneath his shaggy locks, he dropped back a step in shock. His hard gaze inspected Serena from above for a long moment. She felt so small beneath it. No longer was she a fiercely free member of an ancient and mystical culture but now just a scared little girl. "You can't possibly be serious," he breathlessly whispered at last.
Serena pursed her wind chapped lips and lifted her shoulders into a shrug. "I'm tired of being torn. I'm tired of being able to love but not being able to be with the people I love. I'm tired of fighting the draw from the Ocean."
"If Sam lifted the spell this would all go away," Boomer said gently. "You would not love us anymore. You'd be free to be completely mermaid. You wouldn't care about RhyDin or the people here."
"I wouldn't care?" Serena asked with a bitter laugh. "What would the point of living be if I could not love?"
Too frustrated to argue any longer, Boomer gave an irritated shake of his head and turned his gaze out over the Ocean. "Come see me when you're done moping," he huffed angrily before turning on his heels to head back towards the boardwalk.
His fiery air was swept away with him, leaving a hollow, emotionless pit. A deep, mind numbing sadness came sweeping in to fill it like the tide reclaiming a sand castle. The bitter water overcame all her hard packed walls of sand fortified by little pieces of driftwood and plunged its icy hand right into the depths of the beautiful tower.
The Ocean would always reclaim what It deemed It's property.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff82/bethanyrbin/Serena%20SL/21.jpg
((Litchfield Beach, SC. October, 2008.))