Mermaid

She curled her legs into her chest and moaned in protest as her father pulled the comforter back, unveiling her to the biting cold of the dark morning. He drew her curtains to let light in, but to no avail, as the sun had not yet lit the night sky. She only arose in pity after hearing the anticipation in her father’s voice as he urged her to rise. Her forehead was pressed against the glass for the duration of the car ride along the coast, her warm breath forming a ring of dew on the window. As the car neared a halt at the harbor, the girl and her father emerged into a thick fog, so thick that she could see nothing and finally peeled her face from the glass. She followed her father to the boat, dragging her feet behind her while her dad skipped across the dock. She sat cross-legged on the deck, wrapped in a thick, grey blanket with a frown on her face. She sat here quietly as her father carefully navigated out of the harbor. As the boat picked up speed, the wind bit her cheeks and the splashes of seawater stung her bare legs. Once they reached open sea, the fog had lifted and the sun finally began to rise above the horizon, leaving a film of orange on the glossy surface of the water. Suddenly, an abrupt movement caught her eye. She abandoned her blanket and rushed over to the starboard side of the boat, just in time to see a glimmer of golden hair followed by a great emerald tail flowing in the swell and illuminated by the sparkle of the sea. Mermaid, she thought to herself. “Daddy, come quickly!” she yelled frantically. He stopped the boat and rushed to her side, but the only evidence of the beautiful creature was the foam disrupting the surface from where her tail had flicked with great force to propel her further into the depths of the sea. “What is it, darling? Have you seen something?” An enormous grin erupted across her face and lit up her eyes so they glowed like now risen sun. “No, never mind, Daddy, I made a mistake. There’s nothing to see here!” From that day on, she joined her father on his boat weekly, always leaning over the side waiting for the aquatic beauty to once again show herself and reveal to her the magic of the ocean.