Demonic Waters 1

Change is essential for life, from the change of baby to adult, or the change in status from single to married. But, any change can cause ripples in our lives. As babies, we had simple tasks that others did for us. However, as adults, we get different tasks that we had to do by ourselves. I prefer not to make any ripples in life unless I have to. My name is Caesar and this is my story.

"Caesar! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" My friend James yelled out by the entrance.

Unlike other merfolk, my house is partly above water. One section has a rock table with herbs and potions above the water; I am not sure what they were for. One section is my bedroom, which is completely underwater. My house is covered in the mixes of dry and wet; at least it makes it harder for thieves.

"Caesar!" My friend called out again.

I moved out of my bed and floated up to the cave hole. I pulled myself up onto the dry hallway.

"I'm coming!" I yelled out as I slowly moved to the entrance.

I feel like a snake sliding across the ground. I saw my friend sitting on the edge of the entrance waiting for me.

"Why don't you move up to one of the normal houses? You know ones that are completely underwater."

I rolled my eyes at him right before falling into the water.

"Why would I even want to live nearby the other merfolk?" I told him as he slid in. "You know the rumors that they say about me and my family."

My father died when I was a baby from a stray shark attack. My mother disappeared when I was eleven years old. Some say that she was banished, others say that she died, even a few say that she figured out how to live with the humans. Because of bad luck, many of the merfolk believe that I am cursed.

"Puh-lease! Not everyone believes that your mother was a sea-witch!" I almost forgot about that one. "My father didn't care when he took you in."

I had to swim harder to catch up with him as he swam away. His father is one of the teachers here and he was very kind to me.

"Why do you always drag me along on your crazy land adventures?"

"Because you want to see them dancing, wandering free all day in the sun as well." I had to nod my head at him. "Now hurry up! The light is leaving!"

We had to stay hidden in the many plants to dodge the patrols as we continued. Times like this, I wish that James' tail were not so flashy with its golden color. It makes it hard to sneak out around here. He used to make fun of my tail by saying it made me look like a naked human because the tan color matched my skin.

"Look! We're almost there!" He pointed up and I could see the flashing lights above the water.

He dashed up and almost left me behind in a flurry of bubbles. It was a good thing that I knew where he was going; otherwise, I would have lost him. I swam up to our rock, and I had to help myself up because he was already at the top, watching the show. He enjoys the shows because of all the humans. I enjoy them because the lights make his tail sparkle like millions of colored pearls.

"Isn't this always so amazing? Oh, what would I give if I could live out of these waters?" He said and his tail was flapping in excitement.

"Yeah, they are amazing," I said while watching him more than the show.

There are moments when I hate myself for falling in love with him. However, days like this, I cannot help but stare at his golden hair and bright blue eyes. I have tried before to tell him about my crush, but every time, he is more focused on humans than me. We stayed up watching the humans until the colorful lights faded and almost all the humans left the beach.

"Caesar, I have a confession to make." He said as we turned to face the moon.

My heartbeat started to quicken and I tried my best to calm it down.

"I think I'm in love!"

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

"With who, James?" I tried to keep my voice from sounding too hopeful.

"With a human king! His name is King Leo!" I could feel my heart breaking with every word. "He found me napping on the beach last week and we have been talking ever since."

"Why are you telling me this?"

'Only a week? I have been by your side for ten years.' I thought as I tried to hide my tears.

I wish he would have told me this when we were underwater. So I could cry without anyone knowing. Merfolk can cry, but it is only noticeable above water because our eyes dry out.

"Oh, I was telling you because I didn't want you to be alarmed when I go see him right now." He got up and pointed.

Even in the dark, I could tell that there was a waving human at the edge of the beach. He got up and started climbing to the edge of the rock.

"Have fun, I should be heading home soon," I told him with very little emotion in my voice.

"Thanks! See you tomorrow." He told me before he fell off the edge and dived in the water.

I felt the tears running down my face as I watched him swim up to the human. I took one look at the human, and I realized why James would fall for him. Even at this distance, I could tell that his dark hair would be softer than mine would. I pulled at some of my hair to look at it. Under the water, it just looks like dead kelp because of the brown color and waviness of it. But, above the water, it feels and looks like dead kelp. I could hear their laughter, from all the way out here, as they talked.

'I need to get away from here before I cry all the water out of my body.' I thought to myself before going into the water.

The main city was glowing beautifully tonight, and it felt like it was mocking me. Unlike James, I prefer to live far away from the city as I can. I got to the underwater cave entrance and swam in. I climbed up and went to where the potions were. Unlike other merfolk, my mother always wrote down her notes on paper, like a human. She had ways of keeping the paper dry as she brought them in.

I carefully wiped my hand on the sponge on the table to dry my hands. After flipping around her notes, I finally found something.

'Midwinter, Caesar is getting so big! I wish that his father could have seen him.'

I flipped to the next page.

'I saved a human last night. A winter storm knocked him off his ship. He made my heart flutter just like Caesar's father used to.'

I was surprised at her notes.

'Today, the human found me again and we started talking. I found out he is a prince! A human prince!'

It looked like they talked for a few seasons. I wonder why I do not remember her leaving so much.

'I found something that might help me, but it means I might have to leave Caesar behind. So I will wait until he is ready.'

I felt bad that I delayed her happiness. She loved me even though I knew she was only eighteen when I was born.

'I got all the ingredients ready for the tea. It is too dangerous because if done wrong, it can be deadly. Two people must drink tea at the same time. It could be a human and merfolk or two merfolk. The two people must truly love each other or it can kill either one or both of them.'

I had to shuffle the papers around to find the next page but part of the page was torn off.

'I never cared that people would call me a sea witch but Caesar came home from school with bruises all over his body. He fought some children that were calling me rude names. Even though he had a torn fin, he had a huge smile on his face.'

I looked at the now small tear on my fin.

'I have to leave now to protect him. I have the tea ready and I do not know if I will live happily or die in pain. But I hope Caesar will still live happy without me around.'

That was the end of her notes but I turned my head to look at the glass bottle. I found it shortly after my 17th birthday; inside contains a note from my mother.