The Girl Who Came From the Sea

She could remember her precise moment of birth.

As she hatched out on the back of a giant clam she became immediately
aware that she was different from the others who were bursting into
existence around her.

Where their mouths opened and closed in a frantic search for small,
sporadic particles of food, she possessed two fleshy protrusions that
allowed her to grasp great clumps of algae and cram them into her
mouth.

Where the existence of her tiny peers was cut short by thousands of
predatory larger fish, she possessed the intelligence to anticipate the
threat of danger and to move swiftly out of reach.

Within a few hours she had outlived all of those who had started life
on the clam's back with her and her heart soared with joy at the
discovery of this brand new world in which she sailed bravely on the
brink of discovery and adventure.

From her survival against all the odds she deduced that she was
superior to her siblings.

As the years passed she grew in stature and intelligence and on the
eve of her thirteenth birthday she looked up curiously from the dark
depths of the seabed to where the water was a paler shade of turquoise
as a strange orb of light shone above it. Something had always tempted
her to seek out the source of the light that she knew instinctively lay
at the top of the ocean. But for twelve years she had been content and
so she had resisted - and still she hesitated now.

What surrounded her was all that she knew.

The smaller fish and crustaceans were her sustenance and the larger
ones her companions with whom she swam and played. The rocky caves and
crevices were her sanctuary from predators and she had no need of
more.

But still the light beckoned, tantalising her with its promise of
adventure and riches beyond all that she now possessed. Often she would
wonder what lay beyond her world, though she assured herself that
nothing could be more beautiful than the home she had always known. Her
present happiness assured, she told herself that one day she would rise
to the surface of the water.

But not yet.

For a further five years she resisted venturing into the unknown -
until a sudden event stripped her of her safe haven and she was forced
to enter a strange, frightening world where nothing was the same.

It was then that she finally understood why she had always resisted
seeking the source of the light.

It started with something black and shiny that wasn't flesh and blood
but which moved with intelligent purpose towards her. As it grew nearer
her instincts took over and she swam for her life away into the unknown
waters that suddenly seemed less frightening than this terrible thing
that was invading her home. Sideways and upwards she swam until the
black thing grew small beneath her and she could breathe again.

But then it happened.

A deafening explosion turned the sea into a milky slurry that was
streaked with the blood of her companions. Particles of flesh and
seaweed peppered her skin and when the rocks beneath her split into a
thousand pieces and shards pierced her skin she screamed with pain for
a long time before finally blacking out.

Her new home was bright and warm.

Here she could breathe the air above the water as well as the air that
she took from it.

New companions who resembled her but were completely unlike her old
ones now delivered her food when she was hungry.

They brought bucket loads of delicious fish - much more than she could
eat. But these new companions didn't swim with her, nor did they allow
her to sit on their backs as they arced through the waters, narrowly
missing rocky boulders as they playfully made up games to frighten her.
She no longer had the task of foraging for fish among the turquoise
ocean for survival and she was no longer forced to seek sanctuary among
the rocks and crevices that lay on the seabed. Now she had no need of
sanctuary because she had no enemies who hunted her flesh for
food.

Her new world was a shallow, saltwater enclosure in which she swam at a
leisurely pace and had no need to dive into the dark depths for the
oysters that she loved. By day she was surrounded by people who made
strange noises as she swam around her pool.

Little funnel-shaped boxes boomed what she supposed was a form of
communication to the spectators and the announcements were accompanied
by applause that was louder than the roar of the sea. A strange golden
orb hung in the sky, causing her to blink and cover her eyes with her
hands because she was as yet unaccustomed to the brightness. Its heat,
too, caused her fair skin to redden and she was obliged to arrange her
long hair around her shoulders to ease the burning sensation that was
almost too painful to bear.

Nighttime was when she felt most comfortable. Her new companions left
her in peace to swim in her pool in silence, away from the throngs of
people who carried little boxes with flashing lights that hurt her
eyes. At night the golden orb went elsewhere and she could surface
without fear as the cool air soothed her burning skin. At night she
could dream of her former home and the old companions who made her
laugh with their antics and filled her with joy at their unconditional
fellowship. At night she could remember how it felt to be alive.

Months passed and her sadness increased. With nothing to occupy her
days she grew fatter and lazier, drifting into a restless sleep
sometimes well before nightfall. Scales began to drop from the
magnificent tail of which once she had been so proud but which now
lacked its former lustre. Her small breasts were now painfully heavy
above rolls of flabby tissue that had settled upon her formerly
streamlined body. She lacked energy and she felt bloated in her
swelling body.

Until now she had never realised that she could feel what humans
called 'ill.'

It was during these months of inactivity that she began to learn
something of the human language that was spoken by her new companions.
One day, as a familiar face emptied a bucket of fish into her pool, she
cleared her throat and articulated the word that she had practised for
weeks.

"Rob?"

Robert Dalloway stopped abruptly in his tracks.

"Take me home, Rob," she whispered. "I die."

Robert moved towards the edge of the pool, staring down in wonder as
this beautiful creature addressed him personally. Until now she had
never spoken a single word since her captivity and he was overawed by
the fact that she had chosen him as her first contact.

"You are home, Merriel," he said. "This is your new home. This is
where you can be safe."

"Safe," she echoed. "Merriel safe."

"Yes!" he cried. "You - Merriel - safe here with me, Rob."

She shook her head.

"I die here with Rob," she sighed. "Take me home. Please."

Their eyes met for a long moment and Rob gasped at what he saw in the
green depths of hers. Desperation mingled with sorrow and suddenly she
reminded him of a snared fox he had once seen in the woods near his
home.

"No," he said sadly. "You stay here."

A moment later he was gone and she was left to experience something
else for the first time; the feel of tears on her cheeks.

After that afternoon she begged Rob to take her home every day but his
answer was always the same. He watched her decline with a heavy heart
but was powerless to do anything about it. It was more than his job was
worth to take her back to the sea. He had a wife and four children who
depended on his weekly wage and he could do nothing to jeopardise that.
But each time she begged him, in spite of his resolution he began to
feel his willpower weaken. She had become a mere shadow of the
beautiful creature who had come to SeaPark months ago and with the
fading of her beauty he concluded that the ticket sales would diminish.
He was right.

Two years later the manager of the park handed him a blue card.

"I'm sorry, Rob. I'm going to have to let you go."

The crowds had stopped coming to see the creature who now lay
dangerously close to death in a pool that was stagnating because none
of the park staff could be bothered to maintain it. In a few weeks she
would cease to exist.

It was then that Rob made his decision.
That night he remained hidden in the staff changing room after
everyone had gone. When darkness fell he crept towards Merriel's pool
carrying a wet towel. She was there, as he knew she would be, floating
on the surface beneath the moonlit night that had been her only
sanctuary from the life that she hated.

"Merriel?" he whispered urgently. "Wake up. I've come to take you
home."

In the moonlight he saw her eyes snap open and for a long moment she
gazed at him in hopeful anticipation.

"Really?" she whispered. "Will you?"

He nodded and she swam to the edge of the pool, hoisting herself onto
the rim. In seconds he had wrapped her in the wet towel and was
carrying her to the car that he had parked a short distance away.

The journey to the cove was short and silent. There was no need of
words because he knew what she was feeling by the smile that played
around her mouth and the twitch of her nose as they approached the
seashore.

In a few minutes they arrived and he carried her from the car to the
small jetty from where thousands of boats had been launched on their
maiden voyage to unknown territories. This time the 'vessel' knew her
destination.

Wordlessly he unwrapped the towel and placed her on the edge of the
jetty.

"Go now and be happy again," he murmured.

And as she slid into the water it didn't matter that he was now a very
poor man. For him he had been made the richest man in the world by the
look of gratitude in her eyes as she slipped beneath the water. To his
great joy she emerged a few seconds later, treating him to a last
glimpse of the magnificent tail that would strengthen her speed until
she reached the place that she called 'home.'