The Mermaid's Mirror

Chapter 48

The journey to the surface was long. Lena was weakened from the shock of her departure and had to rely on her mother to support her. Every mile that took her away from Nix felt like a fresh wound opening in her heart.

Close to an hour after they had left the village, Lena felt a tumult in her mind. She seemed to hear Nix's tortured cry as he discovered her betrayal.

She stopped swimming as the irresistible call of a merman came to her:

Heed my call.

Come to me.

We are bound.

Do not flee.

The pain and rage in his voice were so awful that she nearly turned back, instinctively wanting to comfort him. Then the image of Cole came into her mind again, and she forced herself to ignore the summons of her beloved. No human could have resisted the siren song, but Lena was not human.

When they reached the surface at Magic Crescent Cove, Lena's and Melusina's heads emerged from the waves simultaneously, far from shore. It was night, and rain speckled the surface of the ocean.

Lena took a breath of air and began to choke.

"You must breathe out the seawater," murmured her mother's voice in her mind.

But Lena sank below the surface again in a panic. Her lungs were breathing the ocean now. Would she be able to go back, or was she trapped here? She was afraid to leave this element.

"Do not fear," said her mother. "You can pass between the worlds now. Rise above the surface and breathe out the seawater. Go!"

Lena broke the surface again. Before trying to inhale, she forced the water out of her lungs, feeling tears come to her eyes with the effort. She coughed out the last of the salty liquid, then sweet night air was flowing in and out of her lungs.

Mother and daughter swam to the rocks where they had found each other, after so many years apart. Melusina found a place to pull herself up and reached for Lena's hand, helping her onto the rocks. Once out of the water, Lena began to shiver, her clothes and hair dripping, her legs bare. Rain pelted her, and after being immersed in water for so long, Lena felt like she could feel each raindrop individually.

"You must not linger," said her mother. "The night is cold, and they await your return."

Lena nodded. "Mama," she whispered.

Melusina held out the mirror, her eyes glistening with tears. "Whenever you wish to see your loved ones in the world beneath the waves, you need only look for us here. Merrow's edict did not forbid you to look."

Lena took the mirror. Now that she was here on land, about to lose her mother again—and abandon the man she loved—her determination began to fail. "What if—?" she whispered.

But Melusina's expression was blank and shattered. "No, darling," she said.

How will we survive? she thought. When Mama goes back to the village without me ... how will she manage?

Although her hand tightened with her need to keep the mermaid's mirror for herself, Lena handed it back to her mother.

"You keep this," she said. "It's yours."

She put her arms around her mother's small body and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mama."

Melusina clung to her daughter with primal strength, then released her.

Spent and despairing, Lena climbed across Shipwreck Rocks. With every step, she felt weaker and more chilled. Her soul was riven—she longed to slip back into the embrace of the sea, but she was desperate to get home to her family.

The journey across the jagged rocks seemed endless. Once she sank down on a flat stone to rest. She wanted to look back at her mother, but she was afraid that if she did, she would never leave.

When she reached the edge of the rocks, she jumped down.

Her legs buckled under her, and she fell to her knees in the sand.

***

The mermaid watched her daughter's progress from the farthest point of the wave-splashed rocks. When Lena collapsed on the sand, Melusina cried out. She could not go to her.

"Selena!" she called. "Selena!"

Lena struggled to sit up, then lay immobile, a small, drenched figure at the base of the rocks.

"Oh, nooo," moaned Melusina, "please don't let her be hurt."

She struggled to make her way across the rocks in the direction where Lena lay.

Then she saw a solitary figure moving across the sand, and she froze.

The man came closer to Lena and knelt down beside her. He moved her hair out of her face and spoke to her. Then he helped her sit up.

Melusina pressed her hands to her face, weeping.

The man put his arms under Lena's shoulders and knees, then lifted her off the sand. Holding her in his arms, the man looked directly at Melusina. "She's okay," he said.

He Sees me, thought Melusina. He has Seen me before. There is recognition in his eyes.

"I knew you were real," said the man softly. "She's your little girl, isn't she?"

Melusina nodded, tears and rain coursing down her face.

"I'll make sure she gets home," he said. "Goodbye."

He walked away from the rocks, cradling Lena in his arms, his long coat blown by the wind.

* * *

EPILOGUE

On a warm spring day, Lena stood at the boundary between her two worlds—where land melted into the sea.

Magic Crescent Cove sparkled like liquid jewels today—the waves small and unthreatening. But Lena knew its pretty postcard appearance hid dangerous tides. Maybe someday she would surf here again.

But not today.

"I'll just be a minute," she told her dad. She walked closer to the water's edge, looking for the sight of a head in the water—she couldn't help looking—but saw nothing but gray-green ocean. She bent down a few yards from the high-tide mark and placed the three palm-size stones she was carrying on the dry sand, their edges touching.

Then she turned away from the lure of the sea. She walked back to her father and said, "Let's go."

He nodded, and they made their way up the beach to the edge of the highway, where her dad's car was parked, two surfboards secured to the top.

"Hi, Denny," said Lena. She approached the man who sat watching the cove, ever vigilant.

He stood up, brushing sand from his long coat. "Hello, Selena."

She hugged him.

"I want to see her again," said Denny, as he always did.

"Me, too," whispered Lena.

Lena's dad walked up to them and shook Denny's hand. "Will you come for dinner tonight?" he asked.

Denny smiled and shook his head, as he always did.

"Bye, Denny. See you soon," said Lena, and she opened the passenger-sidedoor.

Her dad stood next to Denny, both of them staring out to sea ... the immortal, immeasurable sea.

"Dad, come on," called Lena from the car window. She was afraid one day he might not be able to turn away.

To her relief, he laughed and jumped into the car. "Okay, okay, keep your wetsuit on!"

"The waves won't wait," she added.

He laughed some more. "Oh, Lena ... the waves are eternal." The smile on his face fell slightly, and they looked away from one another, each thinking of a village beneath the waves and a beautiful mermaid who lived there.

Mother.

Wife.

Lena's dad started the car, releasing them from their reveries. He drove south on Highway 1, away from Magic Crescent Cove.

Ten miles farther down the road, he pulled into a spot on the side of the highway.

"Look!" said Lena, pointing. "There's Ani's Jeep! Oh, and Max is here, too. That's his car. Everyone is here!"

"Do you see Mom's car anywhere?" asked her dad.

"Not yet," said Lena. "Oh! There it is." She pointed at a green Volvo. Mom and Cole had not wanted to miss Dad's triumphant return to surfing. Lena suspected that somewhere on the beach, Mom had already been roped into a game of catch with Cole.

Lena's dad parked the car, and she jumped out to help him untie the boards.

She lifted down her brand-new custom-made Robbie Dick surfboard. The deck was sky blue with a smiling yellow sun on the nose, and the bottom was midnight blue with a bright moon in the middle and a spangling of stars across it.

Lena hurried down the verge to the sand. Her dad followed, carrying his own board, also a brand-new Robbie Dick original. It was a short board, with a green and silver Chinese dragon on the deck, and a yin-yang on the bottom.

Lena shaded her eyes against the blaze of the sun and studied the lineup. There was Pem. Farther down the row was Kai. Ani was riding a wave to shore, and Max was paddling out.

"Pem!" she shouted, waving. "Kai!"

Both of them saw her and yelled back. Kai was smiling.

It had taken some time, but she and Kai were friends again—mostly.

Lena's convalescence from her time under water had been difficult; she had run a high fever and couldn't speak. She'd been communicating with her mind for so long that while she was ill, she forgot, most of the time, to speak aloud.

Her friends had been told she'd caught a virus while traveling with Grandma Kath. Pem came to see her as soon as she was allowed, but Lena refused to see Kai. How could she, when the first word out of her mouth during her fevered dreams had been "Nix"?

Finally she agreed to see Kai. She tried to give him back the pearl earrings when she broke up with him, but he insisted she keep them. Lena was relieved that he didn't seem devastated by her rejection—he must have suspected there had always been something lacking in their love. Maybe it had been the siren in her voice that attracted him in the first place.

As for Nix, Lena spent every conscious moment during the weeks of her recovery wishing for the memory-stealing cloak to take his image from her mind. If he could only know of the ache that lived inside her, he might forgive her.

But that terrible time was months ago, also, and Lena had tried to find peace in her return to life on land.

Her family and friends were safe and happy.

And there was still the sea.

It would never forsake her.

Cole came racing across the sand, his sturdy legs pumping. "Hi!" he yelled, and threw his arms around Lena. She staggered a little. "Ooof," she said. "You're getting good at tackles. You almost took me down!"

Allie arrived a moment after Cole, and Brian kissed her.

"Group hug!" yelled Cole, and the four of them wrapped their arms around one another. When they broke apart, Lena saw tears in her mom's eyes. She leaned over and kissed Allie's cheek.

"Safe surf, guys," said Allie, smiling and turning to follow Cole, who had taken off down the beach again.

Lena knelt down on the beach to wax her board before its maiden voyage.

Her dad joined her, expertly applying wax to his own board. He beamed at her. "It's been a long time coming, sweetie," he said.

"Too long! And don't call me 'sweetie' out there in the lineup."

"What should I call you?" he asked, laughing.

Lena considered for a moment, then said, "How about Seagirl?" With a bubble of glee rising in her chest, she stood up and hurried into the surf, calling back, "I'm just kidding, Dad! You can call me sweetie if you want." She tossed her board onto the blue blanket of ocean. "Woo-hoo!" she yelled, flinging herself onto the deck.

She glanced back at her dad, who stood at the water's edge. His smile had faded, and he looked almost... nervous.

"Get on your stick, Dad!" she called. You can do it.

But nearly two decades of avoiding the sea at all costs, not even wading into ankle-deep surf, made him hesitate. His caution had kept his family safe. Now he was about to trust in the honor of an old enemy.

Lena couldn't bear to watch him waver. "Dad, it's a promise!" she yelled, then faced forward and paddled out.

Max greeted her as she joined the lineup. "Hey, it's the Leenatic."

"What?" She laughed.

"Anyone who surfs Magic's has to be a lunatic. Or in your case, a Leenatic!"

Lena rolled her eyes at Pem and Kai. But Kai looked jealous, as if he coveted her nickname, and Pem laughed heartily, as if Max was the funniest guy in the world.

Lena's dad paddled to a spot farther down the lineup, and Lena beamed over at him.

As the next set of waves rose up, Lena's friends hung back, and Lena and her dad popped up on their boards with identical poise, taking their first ride together.



* * *



Dear Reader,

I spent an hour this morning at Maverick's Beach. The waves were small, and the sea was sadly surfer-less.

But it was a beautiful sunny day, and I had the beach to myself——a rare pleasure.

As I walked across the wet sand, a sea lion stuck its head out of the water. We gazed at each other for a while; then I waved. It watched me for another long moment before sliding beneath the surface.

Wading in the cold surf, I watched a skittering of sandpipers race close to the foam, digging their bills into the sand as the waves retreated. I admired a clique of pelicans skimming close to the water, and a solitary grebe bobbing on the surface. Then I sat on a rock and listened to the ocean's music. As waves curled around the Cauldron and washed over the Boneyard, I pictured Lena's fateful ride on a November day just like this one.

When it was time to go, I climbed the path leading away from the shore ... pausing to pay my respects at the stone memorial to Mark Foo, a surfer who died at Maverick's.

My fictional town of Diamond Bay is based on the coastal towns south of San Francisco. Likewise, my fictional big surf spot, Magic's, is inspired by the real-life Maverick's. In writing The Mermaid's Mirror, I took many liberties with the geography, oceanography, and marine biology of northern California. I'm an enthusiast, not an expert. Any errors in local flora, fauna, climate, or tides are mine alone.

If you are interested in learning more about marine life, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has an amazing website: www.montereybayaquarium.org. I'm grateful to Jim Covel in particular for answering a question about the region's bioluminescent marine life.

I relied on my favorite wave-rider—my sister—and several other sources to describe the rush and danger of surfing. Again, any errors are mine alone.

The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting beaches, promoting open access to beaches for everyone, fighting ocean pollution, and educating the public about the environment. Learn more about them at the website www.surfrider.org. I have chosen to make a donation to this foundation in honor of the The Mermaid's Mirror, which is, after all, my love letter to the sea.

L. K. Madigan

November 13, 2009

Half Moon Bay, California

* * *



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mom and Dad, thank you for reading and praising my childhood book about mermaids (eighty pages, complete with illustrations). And thank you for providing a home where creativity was applauded. Your early encouragement may well be the reason The Mermaid's Mirror exists today.

If this book manages to capture the heart and soul of surfing, it is due to the influence of my sister, Michelle. She shared her surfing experiences with me, and I did my best to convey her joy and awe. She lives far from the ocean now, but will always have the heart of a surfer. Love you, Peeps. I promise one day I'll finish the sequel.

Awesome editor Margaret Raymo shines a light on my work, illuminating places I forgot to explore. Thank you for believing in my story about the surfer girl and the mermaid. I am extravagantly glad that this book, which is so close to my heart, has finally made it out into the world. Oh, and thanks for letting me keep the zombie joke.

Deep appreciation to the entire Houghton Mifflin Harcourt team, especially Karen Walsh, Lisa DiSarro, Linda Magram, and Carol Chu.

Super-sharp agent Jennifer Laughran continues to astound with her wit, wisdom, and editorial insight. I am eternally grateful to have her as champion of my books.

I worked on this book sporadically over eight years, and many writers critiqued it in a variety of versions. If I tried to list them all, I would end up forgetting someone, so forgive me if I limit my thanks to the intrepid members of my current critique group: C. Lee McKenzie, Heather Strum, Melissa Higgins, Yvonne Ventresca, and Sara Bennett Wealer. They dare to read unwieldy first drafts and never run away screaming.

Special thanks to Lisa Schroeder, who reminded me of the differences between writing for middle-graders and writing for young adults. Not only is she a model of kindness in the wide world of children's literature, but she is one of my best friends. This author thing would be much harder without her.

Great love and gratitude goes to Beverly, who not only reads my books and comments thoughtfully, but sculpts beautiful mermaid artwork, of which I have been the lucky recipient.

My dear friend Jo read this book when it was a middle-grade manuscript and loved it so much that she read it to her fifth grade class. Her faith in my writing over the years has been a gift.

Lindsey Leavitt, Saundra Mitchell, and Sonia Gensler are ... well, they're all really necessary to my writerly happiness. As are the Debs (www.feastofawesome.com).

Many thanks to my friend Martha for graciously allowing me the use of her name, and Leslie's.

Surfing sage and board-maker extraordinaire Robbie Dick read through the manuscript to check for surfing goofs. Thank you, Robbie.

Benita's singing inspired some of the song choices in the book; I have her to thank for "Bowlegged Women."

To my talented teen readers: thanks for the great comments on the manuscript, Taylor (T-Dog), and thanks for being my very FIRST teen reader, Brittany (so long ago you're out of your teens!).

I borrowed the idea of braided yarn anklets from my young friend Iris. She is a strong, smart teen who makes the demanding discipline of tae kwon do look easy, and I'm glad to know her.

I saved the best for last: Unending love and heartfelt thanks to my husband, Neil, who first listened to me describe the idea for this story almost a decade ago, and never stopped believing it would one day be a real book.

And of course, big love and heartfelt thanks to my son, who has adapted to life with an author mom and is proud of me. But not prouder than I am of him! Love you, NBW (more).