Magritte

Maggie heard the sounds of the ocean. She kept her eyes closed, but she heard the rush and flow of waves and felt sandy rocks beneath her. I must be dreaming, she thought. I must have fainted from fright on the Queen’s chamber floor. She slowly opened her eyes and saw she was in fact on rocks in a little inlet of water near a great ocean. Half of her was submerged in the small pool. She couldn’t swim, but the water was very shallow and didn’t cause her much concern. Her circumstances were cause of concern though. She struggled to stand and with shock realized her legs were gone. Wha?! She looked down to where her legs had been and saw a huge fish tail instead. She might have admired this tail at another time or on a fish as it was quite lovely. The same shade of fiery red as her hair, but seemed to shimmer in a thousand different colors in the sunlight with a long flowing soft fin at the end.

When she struggled to stand she bent the tail the wrong way, and a shooting pain went up her spine. Maggie cried silently and flopped back down. I am a mermaid! What a cruel, cruel joke of that witch Queen! Magritte Loveling could not swim. She was in fact terrified of any large bodies of water ever since she had seen a dear friend of hers drown as a child. For a bit it was a struggle for her mother to even give her a bath! Maggie was not scared of the water as she once was, but she never learned to swim-and avoided oceans, lakes and rivers as much as possible. She examined herself as best she could for any other alterations.

Her face felt the same from what she could tell by touch and what she saw in the water reflections. Her hair was no longer bound, and hung flowing and free and waved in the sea breeze. She was naked she realized with embarrassment-or mostly. She had some sort of shell top that barely covered her breasts. The top was made from large clam shells in a pinkish and gold hue. Maggie slammed her fist against the rocks and tried to wail, but no sounds issued from her throat. What am I going to do? This is ridiculous! She was scared and shocked but also angry. Of her three sisters she was the one known for her temper, and goofy sense of humor. Oh, how she wished she could find something to laugh at now!

She looked around and saw the sun was setting and would be dark soon. She wanted to find shelter and get away from the ocean as she noticed the tide was coming in. She did not want to drown and die without ever seeing her sisters and mother or knowing what became of them. A nearby mountain was several yards away and might provide some shelter. She was going to attempt a wriggling crawl towards it when she heard singing nearby. The breezes carried snatches of song to her, and she scanned the shoreline hoping to see someone. There! In the distance she saw a slender figure walking towards her. She could barely make out a boy or young man really carrying a long pole and skipping along the shoreline. He did not see her, and for a moment she thought he wouldn’t as she was half hidden in the little pool of water behind some rocks. She waved her arms wildly and tried to shout, but seemed to have lost her voice. I am only frightened, she thought. Calm down! She opened her mouth to yell at him again, but nothing would come out. He was passing her! She struggled to crawl out of the pool and into a better position for him to see her, and she watched him intently willing him to turn his head. If he would only turn his head! The young man tripped then and in catching himself, he turned his head and finally saw her. He gave a little half wave to her and ran over to assist her. She sank back down with relief. But when he realized she wasn’t human his steps slowed and he kept a fair distance to her, staring at her-his mouth hanging wide. “Oh, it’s not all that bad”, she wanted to say, but no words would come out. She shook her head wildly, angrily instead and he backed away even further. Calm down Mags! Calm down, she coached herself. You are scaring the boy. He may be your only help!

She calmed down and waved a hand at him to beckon him closer. He stared and shook his own head. She pleaded with him with her hands and eyes. Dear lord, what do my eyes look like? She wondered, Fishy eyes? He stepped a little closer. She pointed to herself and shook her head. She waved her arms all around her, pointed to herself and shook her head again. Curious, the boy stepped closer, and Maggie realized he was about her age and quite handsome. He had blond unruly hair that danced in the wind and his skin was tan as a bronze shield. Whoa. She thought. If she couldn’t talk she’d be speechless anyway. He was looking into her face then, and seemed to like what he saw as he gave her a shy smile.
“Please don’t kill me” he said then, “I’ve heard stories of your kind. But you seem in a bit of a predicament. If you behave, I’ll help you back into the ocean.”
“No!” She tried to scream, and she shook her head at him.
He must have seen the genuine terror in her eyes though, as he immediately held his hands up, and said gently “Okay, Okay. What is it you need?”
Maggie thought a moment, then held up a finger. Ah ha! She then scratched into a patch of sand: Im Maggie Im human.
The boy knelt to see what she had written, then immediately stood up. “I’m a sorry…er..miss…I can’t read figures like that. But wait!” He jumped up and beamed a huge smile at her. “My mum can! Be right back!”
And before Maggie could raise a hand to protest, the boy ran off leaping over rocks and puddles of water. He runs like the wind, she thought. She put her head wearily upon her arms and flopped her tail in the small pool. She could hear the ocean itching closer and closer, the waves getting louder and louder. She closed her eyes and prayed the boy and his mother would return soon.