The Mermaid's Mirror

Chapter 13

The song in Lena's mind was bittersweet, full of lilts and trills, but with a minor-key melancholy. She hummed along, trying to memorize it. I hope I remember it when I wake up, she thought.

"Lena," said a voice in her dream.

Yes, she answered.

"Where are you going?"

Magic's, she said.

"Why?"

It's Magic there.

Then someone touched her arm, and Lena woke up.

She was standing next to the sliding-glass door in the family room, her hand on the lock, her mother next to her.

Mom kept hold of her arm. "Sweetie," she said. "Are you okay?"

Lena blinked a couple of times, orienting herself. It was dark outside the glass door, and the family room was in darkness, too, except for a small circle of light cast by the table lamp in the corner.

"I'm okay," she said, noting the worry on her mom's face. "What time is it?"

"It's five a.m.," said her mom. "I got up early because I had some work to do." She released Lena's arm. "You ... you were humming again. And your eyes were open." Lena heard the unspoken part of her sentence:Just like that day on the beach.

Lena flashed on her mom saying, "...straight to the ER next time." She scrambled for a convincing explanation. "I got up early, too."

Her mom studied her for a moment, then said, "You did?"

Lena looked at her reflection in the dark glass. Luckily, she was dressed ... not still in her pajamas. "Yes."

"But you didn't act like you saw me."

"I ... didn't," she said. "I was thinking about something else."

"You said you were going to Magic's." Lena's mom was still tense, but Lena could see she wanted to believe her daughter was okay.

"I couldn't sleep," said Lena smoothly. "I thought I would take a walk."

Now Mom was shifting from worried to adamant. "Absolutely not, Lena! I don't want you out walking in the dark."

Lena shrugged and moved away from the door. Mom would feel better now that she thought Lena was clueless, rather than delirious. "Okay. This is super-early for you to be up, though, isn't it?"

Her mom went to the couch and picked up her laptop. "Yes, well, you know me: the hardest-working lazy person in the world. There were some loose ends I had to tie up today before the trade show." She settled on the couch. "You're welcome to sit with me, but you'll have to read or do something quiet. I need to concentrate."

"That's okay. I'll just go back to my room," said Lena.

"All right, sweetie."

Lena felt her mom's eyes on her as she walked out of the room.

Instead of returning to her bedroom, Lena went into her dad's study. She opened the window and stared out into the darkness, hoping to see a sliver of ocean in the distance. She breathed in the sea air and listened to the foghorn.

Why is it called Magic's? she thought.

That stretch of coast was officially named Crescent Cove. That was the name on all the signs on the highway. Why did the locals call it Magic Crescent Cove?

Maybe someone saw something magical there.

Lena closed the window and went down the hall to her room. She climbed in bed. It wasn't even five thirty yet; she might as well try to go back to sleep.

She closed her eyes. Images of perfectly formed waves rolled through her mind. She rode the waves ... no surfboard necessary. In her waking dreams, she dove and turned and shifted with the tides, all by herself. Not even a wetsuit.

Like the mermaid, she thought.

***

The mermaid woke from fitful slumber.

She had drifted for days in the magical cove, hoping to see the girl again. She knew it was madness to linger here, risking discovery, but she could not depart. When she was hungry, she found a reef full of mussels. When she was exhausted from hours of scanning the shoreline, she allowed herself to sink into restless sleep.

She draws me as powerfully as any Siren, mused the mermaid. What gifts does she possess?

Finally, weak and wasted, the mermaid abandoned her vigil.