The Mermaid's Mirror

Chapter 9

Lena felt a flash of panic when she woke up. Am I on the beach again?

Then she felt her mattress beneath her ... solid, not sandy. She saw the four walls of her room, covered with glossy waves ... not the vast expanse of the Pacific. She relaxed, rolling over to see her clock radio. 5:40.

Earlier than usual, she thought, closing her eyes.

She tried to recapture the remnants of her dream. A woman's voice had been singing: "By the light ... of the silvery moon..." But wait, it wasn't a silvery moon, in her dream. It was some other word—blueberry moon. Lena smiled in the darkness. The mind was a mysterious thing.

Oh! Lena's eyes flew open. Today's my birthday.

She climbed out of bed and went to her window. She pushed the curtains aside and gazed out at the darkness. A full moon hung in the sky, looking enormous. The harvest moon, thought Lena. Then she smiled. A silvery moon.

She climbed back in bed, snuggling down under the covers, but sleep would not come.

I guess I'm up, she thought. Might as well go for a walk.

She pulled on warm clothes and paused by her desk, looking down at the photo of Lucy she had removed from the photo album. She touched a finger to the image, and felt a surge of longing for her mother. "It's my birthday, Mama," she whispered. "I'm sixteen today."

Padding quietly down the stairs, she wrote on the dry- erase board:

OCTOBER 10!—went for birthday walk—back

for pancakes—chocolate chip!

She slipped outside and hurried down to the beach. She took a deep breath once she reached the sand, filling her lungs with cold salt air. My first present of the day, she mused. The beach.

She headed north, in the direction of Magic Crescent Cove. The beam of light from Pelican Point Lighthouse winked at her over and over, as if beckoning her. "I'm coming," she whispered.

Why don't you ask my sister to teach you to surf? she heard Kai's voice in her head. Lena stomped her feet on the packed sand. I should have said yes.

She grabbed a long, pointed piece of driftwood and dragged it behind her as she walked. She stopped and wrote the words I WILLS URF in the wet sand.

The tide was still out when Lena came to the bend in the cove where Shipwreck Rocks loomed. She walked close to the water's edge, then climbed across the wet rocks and jumped down on the other side.

The sky began to lighten, imperceptibly at first. Just blackness, then a dark gray color, then pearl gray. Lena found a dry log farther down the beach and sat down. She rested her eyes on the sea, listening to the endless roar of the ocean, feeling tiny on the earth.

The sun rose, casting a weak October light through the clouds. Seagulls appeared as scribbles in the sky, wheeling and flapping. It must be getting close to seven now, thought Lena. I should probably head back.

But she lingered, gazing out to sea, her soul peaceful and open.

After another moment, her eyes focused on a distant rounded shape beyond the breakers. Two shapes. Dolphins.

She stood up, trying to see better. It was rare to see dolphins along this stretch of coast, and even more rare to see them this time of year. They circled and dove. Was that a third dolphin? Lena walked closer to the water, looking intently.

A wet head rose between the two dolphins. Was it a sea lion? How cool! It was like they were playing. She lifted her arm to wave at the sea lion.

No, the head was bigger and rounder than a sea lion's, without the characteristic snout. Lena's arm dropped as the head rose farther out of the water.

It was a woman.

The hair on the back of Lena's neck stood up. Her eyes widened. Was she seeing things? How could a woman be swimming out there in the middle of the ocean? Between two dolphins? Lena didn't blink.

The woman saw her, too, and seemed to be looking back just as intently. Lena could see the pale face, so definitely not a sea lion's face, but the woman was too far away for Lena to make out her features. As they stared at each other, the woman seemed to rise higher on the water in an effort to see Lena. Her bare white shoulders were above the surface now.

It's really a woman, thought Lena. Not a sea lion. She must be freezing ... she doesn't have a wetsuit on!

Just as Lena was beginning to think she should run for help, the woman disappeared below the surface, leaving a ruffled patch of empty water behind.

Oh, my God, is she drowning? thought Lena, her heart racing. I can't just stand here and let someone drown!

Agonized, she waited to see if the woman would come up for air again. Just as she was about to turn and run, she thought she saw the head break the surface again, slightly closer now. She peered out to sea, wondering if she should call to her.

It was definitely a woman. Her face was still too far away to be clear to Lena, but it looked as if her mouth was open in astonishment.

They stared at each other, as if no one else on earth existed, a long silent moment of vision. Then, as Lena opened her mouth to call out, the woman disappeared below the surface again. As she dove, a glistening silver tail flashed out of the water and disappeared back into the sea.

***

Heart racing, the mermaid dove. She swam in a panic, her thoughts scattering like frightened fish. No, oh, no, her mind wailed. No.