The Mermaid’s Secret
Bzzzzz! My arm moves speedily to turn off the alarm as a soft white-gold light enters my room. My body plops on my bed as I pull the bed sheet to keep me warm.
“Happy Birthday to you,” my mom sings with a delicate voice, like the chirping birds in the morning. I immediately grab my pillow tightly to cover my ears. My body moves from left to right with haste.
“Happy first anniversary as a mermaid!”
“Thanks,” I say to mom. As she left my room, there was a thought that made my eyes wide open as usual: Should I tell Josh that I am a mermaid? But what if he tells others? Would he? But I CAN’T put ALL mermaids in danger. And it would be MY fault! All because I don’t want to lose Josh. But I can’t lie to him anymore. I just want to scream. Sobs fill my room as air does. Why can’t I have a happy day? Just one!
To find some reasons to smile in this stormy cloud I created, I jumped out into the ocean, making my long purple, rocky, tail appear with my bikini top.
“Hi Vale,” greets my fish friend Marco with a smile that can illuminate the depths of the sea.
“Hi,” I reply, with a rasping voice.
“You are not okay,” says Marco, shaking his head.
“I just don’t know what decision to make,” I mumble.
“Don’t you remember what we say here in the ocean?” He questions. I move my head swiftly from side to side.
“We say that when we don’t know what decision to make, there must be always someone who benefits from.” Marco looks at his watch and mentions with a powerful voice, “Now you must swim fast if you don’t want to be late to school.”
“You’re right. Thanks,” I give him a friendly smile.
When I arrived at the shore, I changed into a human. I was walking in hurry to arrive on time for school, but thankfully, I did.
“Valentina, hi.” My head moves to all sides and in the distance I see Josh.
He gets closer and says, “How are you?” Why does he ALWAYS need to ask me that? Doesn’t he see that I am NOT? My answer is a lie, as usual. “I am okay,” I respond to Josh, looking into his eyes and slowly moving my gaze to the ground.
After a few seconds, he exclaims, “Great!” Holding a hand on his neck, he adds, “I am wondering if after school, do you want to go to the beach?” I sigh. Josh opens the fingers of his hand and makes a wait sign. “Please don’t say no. You always say that. But don’t you remember you liked the water? You always did. You even competed in swimming. But suddenly it vanished.”
Ring! The alarm to go to classes saved me. Because if not, then an excuse I would have to create. But I am tired of lying! This is it! This is a perfect time. I am going to tell him. “There is something important,” I say with a trembling voice, “that I should tell you. Meet me in my locker after school.”
Josh vocalizes, “Okay. See you then.”
During classes, teachers repeated my name twice. They ask many questions, and I give them no answer. People give me weird looks because I’ve never been like this. My friends stare at me and their lips say, “Are you okay?” I say, “Yeah,” while nodding.
Ring! All classes ended for the day. How am I going to do it? How would he react? Josh is staring at me. And my mouth is still closed.
“So what do you want to tell me? You know you can trust me,” Josh breaks the silence.
I take a deep breath and say, “I am sorry. We can no longer be friends. I am afraid you would never understand it. Please, don’t ever talk to me again. Act as we’ve NEVER met before.”
I turned around and ran as best I could. I just CAN’T put my mom, nor the mermaid’s community in danger. My heart seems to be in a brushfire. It was as if a thousand swords had pierced my body. I am so sorry Josh. But NO ONE can know our secret. Sometimes in life, we need to make decisions that are hard to do, but they benefit us.