Gift From The Sea
by Kristen Fife


Nick and Natalie walked along the windswept beach, the gibbous moon
illuminating the sand and leaving a trail of scintillation along the waves.
Their hands were loosely grasped together, and a feeling of magic and peace
had settled over them. Nick carried a duffel bag with their shoes and beach
towels in his left hand. The gentle lap of the waves was the only sound
either of them heard. Until Nick's sensitive ears picked up a sweet singing
over the sound of the waves. It sounded like a cathedral choir crossed with
a symphony of violins. He didn't recognize the language, which was startling
since he knew over fifty tongues.



"Nat, do you hear anything?" He leaned softly to speak in her ear. She
wrinkled her forehead and concentrated.



"Sort of. Is someone singing?"



Nick nodded and they stopped to listen to the sound, both becoming
entranced. After about ten minutes, Nick started forward, pulling Natalie
along behind him. He was walking much faster than their previous amble. As
they got closer to the music, it became louder and, if possible, more
magical than before.



Suddenly Nick froze. Natalie walked a pace ahead of him until she realized
he had stopped. She turned to him.



"Nick?"



He was staring at a spot several hundred meters in front of them. His
enhanced sight was showing him something that Natalie could not see. His
eyes were wide with shock. He dropped her hand, then turned to her.



"Nat, wait here. Please." His tone was firm, but soft.



"Nick, why, what's going on?"



"If I'm not seeing things, both of our worlds are about to be turned on
their ears. I'll be right back." He leaned forward and planted a light kiss
on her lips then started walking forward, slowly.



Natalie watched him. The light, while soft, was bright enough for her to see
him. He walked toward what appeared to be a rock on the sand, except that
she saw it move, then he bent down. She frowned. Was it some sort of beached
animal? Maybe a dolphin? Her curiosity aroused, she started walking forward
cautiously.



As she approached, she could tell that Nick was holding something upright.
As she got closer she realized it was a woman. Nick seemed to be pulling
something away from her torso. When she was within three meters of them, she
stopped and gasped in shock. The woman didn't have legs.she had a tail with
flukes on it. A MERMAID?



Her voice quavering, she started moving forward again. "Nick? Please tell me
I'm hallucinating or having a dream?" He looked up at her, a smile tugging
at his lips.



"No, you're not. This is an honest-to-God, in the flesh, mermaid." He winked
at her, then bent back to the task he had started, which apparently was to
untangle the mermaid from what appeared to be a portion of a net that held
her confined.



The mermaid looked up at Natalie, and smiled. Her face was delicate and pale
in the moonlight, her long hair flowing around her face and down her back.
Natalie slowly walked forward, trying not to startle the ethereal creature.
She dropped to her knees beside the two magical beings. She realized she had
a silly smile on her face. She reached a hand out tentatively to touch the
mermaid's cheek, noticing that her skin was a cold as Nick's. The mermaid
inclined her head into Nat's caress, and a sweet humming seemed to come from
her.



"Nick, can she speak?" Her voice was soft and full of wonder.



"I don't think so. I think the singing is how she communicates. Although she
does have some rudimentary empathic abilities, which is how I realized she
was here. It appears that she got caught in this net and washed ashore with
the high tide. She doesn't seem to be in danger, just uncomfortable. This
net is really twisted, and I've had to literally rip it apart piece by
piece."  He continued to pull at the net, concentrating his strength on each
tangled section. It continued to loosen grudgingly.



As he worked on freeing her, Natalie just watched the mermaid and listened
to the music she was creating. She felt a sense of joy and fleeting images
of freedom and play among the waves whispering along her consciousness. The
mermaid was looking at her, smiling and crooning.



Finally, Nick pulled the last piece of net from the mermaid. She looked up
at him, and put her arms around his neck, her meaning clear. She wanted him
to carry her back to the water, as she was too far from it to reach unaided.
He carefully put a hand around her back and slid the other one under her
tail. He stood slowly, surprised by how heavy she was. Before he started
walking to the edge of the waves, the mermaid took her left hand and reached
for Natalie.



Nat took her hand, noticing the webbing between the fingers. The mermaid
pulled her close and placed a kiss on Natalie's cheek. As she did so, Nat
felt a suffusion of gratitude and hope fill her. She pulled back and the
mermaid put her arm back around Nick's neck, and he took her to the water's
edge, then waded in until he was waist deep. He lowered her into the water,
and before she let go of him, she pulled his head down to her own and kissed
him on the lips. Then she slid into the water, and the last thing he saw was
the flash of flukes as she headed toward the open sea. He turned around and
walked back to Natalie, who had pulled a towel out of the duffel bag he had
dropped. He grinned his thanks to her. He put the towel around his waist,
and slid his slacks off. His bathing suit was underneath and would dry much
quicker without the pants.



Natalie was still staring at the waves, a look of awe on her face. Nick was
grinning, his own part in the adventure something that would stay with him
as long as he lived.



Finally, Natalie turned to face him. "You know, this has been the second
most incredible night of my life."



He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "The second? What was the
first?"



She tilted her head to look up at him and smiled. "The night I met you, of
course." He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. A sweet singing
surrounded them, full of magic and joy.