The Sea Prince's Love

Chapter 4

Etrela sat barefoot on the beach, gazing at the ocean. She loved the feeling of the warm sand on her feet. This reminds me of when Mama would take me here, she thought. She would sing to me... what was the name of that song? I still remember the tune... She started humming a soft melody. Gradually she started remembering the words. She sang across the water, hoping somehow that, across time and space, her mother would hear.

The melody carried across the water and reached Kosrae's ears. He thought it was a siren at first, for what else can sing so beautifully? Then he noticed it was coming from the land. He thought some mermaid had gone too close to shore, and he started to swim towards the land to tell her to come back. Once he got within a hundred feet of shore, he stopped and surfaced. There was no mermaid in sight; instead there was a human girl singing on the beach. He was surprised at the fact that a human girl could sing as well as any mermaid. She had long reddish-brown hair that was partly braided down the back, ivory skin, and was wearing a long green dress. Kosrae swam closer to the land and hid behind some rocks. The girl was still singing. He decided to secretly give her something befitting of a mermaid, on account of her voice.

He swam away to the coral reef, searching for something. When he found a large oyster, he knew instinctively that it held a pearl by the way the lips of the shell lay. He put his hand on top of its shell, and whispered to it the almost inaudible language of the oysters and clams. The oyster opened slightly, exposing the large pearl within. Kosrae gently reached inside and took the pearl from it, being careful not to touch anything else. He patted the oyster's shell in thanks as he swam back to shore, examining the pearl. It was nearly flawless, and at least half an inch around. It was a perfect gift for the mysterious human with the gift of a mermaid's voice. He took a knife from his belt and carved a tiny mermaid into the pearl's side. It was risky, but to humans, merfolk were just a myth, and she did have a siren-like voice.

He made a sort of pillow out of seaweed, and placed the pearl on top of it, and placed the pillow in a basket near some things he thought were hers. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen. The two identical brown things were hollow, and had a strap over them. He rubbed one of them with his finger. It felt a little like a dolphin's skin, but it was dry and cracked. He cast a glance in the direction of the beach. Did she wear these?

Kosrae reminded himself that he had to get away from the beach. The girl could come back behind the rocks at any moment. He dragged himself back into the deep water, and in a flash of his tail, he was gone.

'G[pB