The Lady Of The Lake

As the weeks progressed and Viv spent more time with Allina, the more the black-haired woman remembered about her encounters with the mermaid. There were still some gaps in her memory, but she was too happy to notice. All the time she spent with Allina felt like an adventure. Viv often slipped out at night now to meet the mysterious mermaid. Whether it was swimming in the ocean or waiting for Allina to emerge from the water on her human legs and walk with her along the beach, they enjoyed each other’s company immensely.

To Viv’s intense embarrassment, Allina seemed to find her stories about her mundane life more fascinating than her own supernatural existence. Despite her youthful looks, Allina had been alive for at least five decades already; that was decidedly more years than Viviane’s meager 23 years on the planet. Mermaids didn’t understand the concept of ‘birthdays’ in human terms, so Allina wasn’t certain what her exact age was.

Knowing that the mermaid was at least double her age made Viv feel uncomfortable. The mermaid had lived so much already and unearthed incredible mysteries deep within the vast ocean; these were miraculous feats that scientists would never discover in this lifetime or the next. And yet, Allina never once belittled Viviane for her lack of life experience. She took Viviane’s multitude of queries about ocean life in her stride and showed the utmost patience throughout.

The mermaid told Viv that she wasn’t the only one of her kind; there was a small group of them living in a secret dwelling underwater. Allina never said where her home was and Viv was wise enough not to ask. She knew how much Allina’s clan meant to her and giving up their location to a human was the highest form of treason which all sea creatures acknowledged. If it meant she could stay in her life without any harm coming to her, Viv was content with keeping her new friend’s secrets.

Viv came home from work one evening, her head in a happy daze. She found Wendy sitting at the living room table, still wearing her work clothes and poring over a calendar and an assortment of papers. After her long shifts at the gym, Wendy was usually too tired for anything but vegging out on the couch and watching reality shows.

“Wendy? What are you doing?” Viv was fairly certain that the shorter girl with coral green hair and long bangs that covered her eyes was allergic to reading in any and every form.

The shorter woman looked up at her best friend. Her dark brown eyes had purple rings under them from staring at the papers before her for several hours.

As a rule, Wendy loathed doing research of any kind. Whenever she and Viviane had partnered up for projects during their school days, Wendy had let (read: begged) her best friend do what she deemed as boring and unnecessary research on the topics while she honed her public speaking skills, which were exemplary in comparison to her introverted friend.

But after weeks of observing her best friend’s abnormal behaviour, Wendy had no choice but to get the answers to questions she hadn’t wanted to ask in the first place.

“Viv! Thank God you’re home, we need to talk.”

“Can it wait till later? I’m meeting Ally in a little while.”

Wendy frowned deeply, making her eyes look more serious than usual. It was exactly as she had feared all along.

“That’s exactly why we need to talk now. Viv...I think you need to be careful about all the time you’re spending with Ally.”

Viv’s happy mood deflated and her smile vanished. “Why would you say that?”

“Remember how you initially couldn’t remember Ally, even after she saved your life and the time after that when you saw her on the beach?”

Viv chuckled at those recent memories. “Yeah. I guess my brain got soaked with too much seawater after all.”

Wendy shook her head vehemently in response. “No, I don’t think so, Viv. Allina’s a mermaid ― her powers and strength come from the moon, right?”

“Right.”

“I think something about Allina, her very existence maybe, is messing with your memory.”

“What makes you think that?” Viv unwittingly took a seat beside Wendy at the table and staring at papers her friend had printed from various websites. “Wendy, what is all this?”

“I’ve been researching mermaids on the internet for days now: folklore, mythology, real accounts...”

“Why would you―”

“And I found this.” Wendy pushed a piece of paper towards Viv.

Viv studied the contents silently. The more she read, the blacker her expression became. When she finished reading, she glared stonily at Wendy. “‘Dee, what is all of this?”

Wendy drummed her fingertips ominously on top of the paper. “They’re documented cases of sailors, divers and other regular people who nearly drowned at sea and miraculously survived somehow. But none of these people could say exactly how they were all rescued.

“A professional swimmer named Jennifer Brooke from San Diego couldn’t explain why she ended up taking a swim late at night in the ocean three months ago; she routinely trained during the day in the indoor swimming pool at her gym before that incident. After Jennifer Brooke was rescued, she told the coast guard and police officers that she was somehow ‘drawn to something which resembled a large fish.’ Brooke claimed that whatever it was compelled her to swim to it.”

Instead of being creeped out like Wendy hoped, Viv laughed outright. “Maybe Jennifer was compelled by a craving for tuna.”

Wendy slammed her fist onto the table, which stopped Viviane’s silly attempts at humor. “This isn’t a joke, Viv! There are similar stories to Jennifer Brooke’s, ones that make even less sense than hers. A man named Marco Aquino from Tivoli in Italy was found in a fugue state by life guards on a beach in Ostia a year ago. Ostia is a seaside community and nearly 40 miles away from Tivoli. Aquino has a phobia about the ocean and beaches in general, so why would he go there in the first place? All he could tell the police afterwards was that ‘a beautiful Sirena told him to meet her in Ostia and promised him wonderful adventures if he came swimming with her.”

“That doesn’t prove anything, D. Maybe this Marco dude was just mad horny for this Serena chick―”

“Not ‘Serena’, Viv, 's-i-r-e-n-a'. It's the Italian word for ‘siren’. Or...mermaid.”

Viv chuckled again, but it was more forced this time as she tried to fight down her growing alarm. “I still think you’re reaching, Wendy. Maybe Jennifer Brooke and Marco Aquino had nervous break-downs or histories of poor mental health before those incidents that the authorities didn’t know about.”

“Viviane, even the names of the victims all have something to do with water in one form or another! ‘Brooke’ comes from the word ‘brok’, which means ‘small stream’. ‘Aquino’ was derived from the Latin word ‘aqua’, which means ‘water’. I don’t know if mermaids always lure people to them with water-related names, but the stories are too similar to be coincidences. Mermaids are also sirens; so many urban legends are about them luring innocent sailors to their secret coves. You’ve encountered a mermaid for the first time in your life and even your name is related to water in some form.”

“That’s crazy, Wendy! My name means ‘honour‘ or ‘wisdom’!” Viv snapped impatiently.

The shorter girl looked dismayed. “That’s ‘Lauren’, your first name. I’m talking about your given name, ‘Viviane’. You know what it means, right?”

“Not exactly, but my mom told she got the name from a story about King Arthur she loved reading as a child.”

“Well it sure as shit wasn’t the story about King Arthur and the round table! It’s the one where King Arthur gets Excalibur from a fairy queen named Viviane ― who’s also known as ‘Nimue’ or... ‘The Lady of the Lake’.”

Viv was a much better actress than even she thought. She forced herself to look disdained, even though her heart was palpitating in her chest. Now she remembered the stories her mother had told her as a child about Viviane, her name-sake: the nymph-like creature who rose from the waters beneath Avalon to give King Arthur the mighty sword Excalibur that would vanquish his enemies and set him on the path to his true destiny.

Viviane had always loved that story, until now. Not when it seemed like the only life she’d known was crumbling down all around her. “So that’s your theory, ‘Dee? That I’m somehow being ‘lured away’ like Jennifer Brooke and Marco Aquino were? Even if my name has something to do with water, I trust Ally. She wouldn’t hurt me. Ever.”

Wendy shook her head and Viv saw true remorse in her friend’s eyes. “I don’t think Ally did anything intentional. Don’t you get it, Viv? It’s like she said all along – mermaids generally don’t interact with humans except in extreme cases. Like when she saved your life. Allina’s never even shown you where she lives because she’s afraid someone will harm her and her family. Maybe mermaids have the power to distort a human’s memory: like a built-in defense mechanism that prevents humans who come into contact with them from seeking them out afterwards.”

Viv thought over her friend’s words for close to 20 seconds before something else occurred to her. “Even if that’s true, then why can I remember Ally now after all those other times?”

“It’s true, you do remember her better than the first time. But aren’t there still gaps in your memory wherever Ally’s concerned? You couldn’t remember meeting her two weeks ago for a late night swim.”

Viv scoffed complacently “I was really tired that night! Do you always remember every single boring detail of your life?”

“Of course not, but I don’t care about that nearly as much as you obviously care about Ally. Surely you’d remember more about someone you care about, Viv.”

Viv was angry, and it was confusing the hell out of her. She stood up, her hands trembling at her sides. “You’re wrong about all of this, Wendy! I remember seeing Ally a few nights ago – what do you think of that?!”

This time, Wendy grinned at her friend’s challenging demeanour. “Really? And what did you two crazy kids do together?”

“What we always do together, we-” Viv’s cheeks, which had been hot with rage before, suddenly paled. Wendy grew concerned when her friend put a hand to her forehead as if she was in pain. “I...I can’t remember. B-b-but that doesn’t prove anything, Wendy! Ally and I probably just went swimming; that isn’t creepy or dangerous!”

Wendy shook her head and pointed her finger at the calendar she’d been studying when Viv first came home. She’d marked certain days with red circles. “I made notes of all the times you’ve spent with Allina, including the night you nearly drowned. And they all fell on nights which had full moons. Allina’s mystical powers, like the ability to change from a mermaid to a human, are at their strongest on those nights.”

“It could just be a coincidence.” Viv murmured, believing her own logic less and less.

“I don’t think so, Viv. It all fits and I’m worried about your friendship with Ally. You’re losing yourself.” Wendy’s eyes swam with unshed tears.

Viv started crying too, but her expression was resolute nonetheless. “That’s not true, I’ve never felt more happy and complete till now. Allina is...amazing, Wendy. When I’m with her, everything in the universe feels right. So don’t patronise me by saying I can’t think for myself in this respect. No amount of magic in the world could make me feel something this strongly, something I’ve never felt for anyone else before.”

It was the first time Viv was saying these things out loud. And Wendy saw the truth of it reflecting in her hazel-green eyes. “Oh my God. You’re in love with her.”

Viv gasped in amazement, the statement clearing up so many more cobwebs in her mind. She’d never felt more free and chained all at once by her own heart. “So what if I am? Don’t tell me you found that in your ‘research’ too?” Viv sneered at her best friend, her heart pounding loudly in her own ears.

Wendy pulled her hair in exasperation. “Viv, you can’t be in love with Allina. She’s not even the same species as you!”

Viv laughed derisively at this and grabbed her house keys. “Thanks for giving me your blessing. Ally’s probably wondering where I am, I have to go.”

Despite her exhaustion and frustration, Wendy found enough energy to run after Viviane. She sidestepped her best friend and deliberately got in her way so she couldn’t leave. “Viv, wait! What if you lose all your memories from getting too close to Allina? Please don’t do this, I’m begging you.”

Viv wanted to stay and comfort her friend because she was so obviously distressed. But her desire to see Allina more won out in the end. “I’m sorry, ‘Dee.”

With tears running down her cheeks, Wendy realised that her best friend was being sincere. But it was too little too late when Viviane got past her somehow and closed the front door, shutting her out completely.