Chapter 51: Bonus Chapter 1


    Please note* The first half of this chapter is a prequel of the events that took ce in the book.


    * * *


    Blue


    I often swam to the shorete at nights when I knew no humans were going to be there. I liked to sit by


    the rocks and stare at the stars in the sky. Sometimes, I liked to roll in the sand and collect sea-shells


    to make nes and today was no different.


    When the lights in the beach houses went out, I swam to the shore towards my favorite spot on the


    rocks. I made sure no human was there just like my brother Apollo told me to and sat down on the


    nearest rock. Apollo was my most favorite out of all my other siblings because he understood me on a


    different level. While I sneaked on the beach some nights, Apollo would cover for me and tell everyone


    that I was meeting my friend Oceana. If it weren’t for him, my family would never allow me this alone


    time on the beach under the stars.


    The sea was calm tonight, and the moon hanging just above the water. It was perfect. I stared at the


    moon mesmerized by its beauty.


    I brought my long blue hair to my left shoulder and squeezed the ess water from it.


    “Who the hell are you?”


    I froze in ce.


    The number one rule for mer-people was to never be seen by humans.


    I slowly turned out and found myself staring at a tiny creature.


    What kind of creature was he?


    And why was he so tiny? No! That had to be a child of a human. And he didn’t speak Greek. It sounded


    like English; he must not be from around here.


    I looked down and made sure the scales were covering me and my tail was immersed underwater.


    Maybe my night vision wasn’t very clear and I was seeing things. Maybe I was imagining the boy.


    “Hey, I’m talking to you.” He said again, pointing some kind of weapon at me. A red-colored weapon


    that was tiny like him, and he also had a box full of those weapons. Maybe I could die if he threw one of


    those at me, Apollo said humans were cruel and could kill merfolk if they discovered them with spears


    and other weapons like that.


    “Don’t kill me!” I said jumping back into the water.


    The human boy hopped off from the high rocks, stepping on the lower ones, he walked towards me


    holding the weapon in his hand. It didn’t look…sharp from where I was below…


    His pudgy little hand was raised towards me as he leaned into the water. “It’s a Cray. See?”


    I looked up at the boy who was adorable with golden-brown hair andrge silver eyes that kind of


    glinted like pearls in the moonlight.


    “W-what’s a Cray?” I asked.


    He blinked, “It’s a crayon, dummy.” He answered waving a t white board at me. He pointed at it. “I


    was drawing.”


    His palm was still open; the weapons or as he called them crayons were in different colors. Red,


    Yellow, Green…


    Humans sure had interesting stuff on thend.


    The boy was putting it back into the box when his little handles fumbled and the box emptied into the


    water.


    He stared at thest one that plopped in. At first, I heard soft sniffling until he began crying, wailing


    loudly. Fat tears rolled down his rosy cheeks and I was pretty sure he was producing a heavy amount


    of snot. The child wanted his crayon weapons back.


    The water wasn’t so deep so I went underwater and collected all the crayon weapons and handed them


    back to him.


    He stopped crying and stared at me in awe with those big doe eyes, “Thank you.”


    “Who’s there?”


    I gasped.


    I heard someone call out; lights shing close by so I dipped back underwater. I could get caught.


    “What are you doing here, kid?” The man asked, “Who were you talking to just now?”


    If the boy told them I was around, the guards woulde after me.


    And they would probably kill me.


    Or the tiny human could sell me for human money.


    “No one, I talk to myself sometimes.” He dered.


    “Where are your parents?”


    “They are sleeping inside.” He was pointing at one of the vis at the distance.


    “I’ll take you back, it’s not safe here and your mom might get worried.


    “ine is not my mom!”


    The guardughed, “Whatever buddy.”


    * * *


    I came back a few dayster because I didn’t want to risk being seen again, but another part of me


    wanted to meet the boy and thank him for not telling the life-guard about me. He seemed adorable and


    it was my only chance to talk to a human. The thought of making a new friend who didn’t belong to my


    world was exciting, but when I came to the surface, I was a heart-broken that he wasn’t there that night


    so I sat on my favorite spot and began star-gazing.


    “Hey, you!”


    My heart thundered so I jumped back inside the water.


    The boy was sitting on a higher rock and stepped down again. “Are you a mermaid?”


    “No.” I lied.


    “I saw your tail. Dad says lying is bad.”


    “Can you keep my secret?”


    “And what do I get in return?” He asked.


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    “What do you want?” Iughed, looking up at him.


    He frowned, “Is this the part where I tell you my wish and you grant it and then I have to pay the price


    by giving you my soul?”


    Iughed harder, “I’m not evil.”


    “You could probably eat me.” The boy was sassy.


    “I don’t think you would taste nice, to be honest, and I don’t eat kids.”


    “That means you eat adults?”


    I couldn’t stopughing, “No, I don’t. I’ll give you a gift soon, I promise. Now tell me, what’s your


    name?”


    “Hunter.” He told me.


    “Do you hunt fishes?” I asked him.


    He looked at me like I was crazy. “Of course, I don’t. And Dad told me not to talk to strangers.”


    “I’m not a stranger, Hunter. I’m your friend.” I smiled, “My name is Blue.”


    “That’s a strange name. How old are you?”


    “I’m one eighty-five. What about you?”


    Hunter was shocked to hear that, and it took him a while to recover. “You’d be my great-great-great-


    great grandma. I’m…I’m…well, five and a half.”


    “In human years, I must be around eighteen,” I exined. I don’t know why I was offended because he


    said I could be his grandmother. “I’m not that old.”


    “I have to go Blue, it’ste and my dad might get worried. Can we meet again tomorrow, same time?”


    I felt a little sad that he was leaving; it was fun talking to him. “Sure. I’lle back.”


    He gave me a two-tooted grin, “Great! See yater, Ariel.”


    Who’s Ariel? I had a feeling the boy was mocking me.


    * * *


    Hunter and I were bing best friends soon. He brought me a cake and some delicious food from


    thend called biscuits. We star-gazed at night, we colored his book together with the crayon weapons


    and I would help him pick up shells. He was a very picky boy, and liked to take only the shinier and the


    unique ones.


    “Look, Blue. I drew something. Can you guess?”


    There a round blob of orange and some scribbles of blue on top of it. The blob also had a smile.


    “A sea urchin?” I asked.


    His face fell. “It’s you.”


    I didn’t think I looked like that…but, okay, I guess.


    “Do you live here in Greece?” I asked him on the fourth day of our meeting.


    “Nah,” He answered, making a sandcastle. “I came here for vacation with my family.”


    “What’s a vacation?”


    “Say, Blue, my dad has lots of money. I can ask him to build a huge fish tank the size of a room in our


    house and you can stay there with us, and you can sleep in my room too. We’ll be able to y every


    day; I have lots of toys at my house and a swimming pool. I want you toe with me.” He said


    without stopping to take a breath.


    I looked into his expressive silver eyes to see if he was joking again but I could feel he was sincere. “I


    really appreciate the offer, Hunter, but the ocean is my home. I can’t leave my family.”


    “Oh.” He said, a beatter and his bottom lip began trembling and his eyes filled with tears. “But you


    said you’re my best friend…”


    “I’m your best friend, but I can’te with you, darling. I’m sorry.”


    He burst into tears and started running in the opposite direction towards the vi he was staying in. He


    tripped over something and fell face-first into the sand, picked himself up, and resumed the crying and


    running again. I’d made him upset when he was naturally quite taken to me.


    * * *


    Hunter didn’t speak of taking me back to his country for the next few days and I assumed he’d forgotten


    about it. He spoke about his friends and school and how he wanted to be an artist when he grew up.


    “Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.


    “I don’t know what that is. I have a fiancé, his name is Adrian but I don’t think I’ll marry him.”


    “Well, I’m d.”


    I giggled, “Why?”


    He gave me a sly grin that showed off his cute dimples, “Because then I can marry you when I grow


    older.”


    I couldn’t stopughing, and his face was turning red. I couldn’t imagine it, the chubby little boy that


    looked like a doll and wore swim trunks that had brown bears on it wanted to marry me. Iughed


    harder.


    “Sure. You’ll have toe back to the ind though, to Zakynthos, and propose to me.”


    “I’ll be old enough to travel alone. I’m sure I can do it.”


    I decided to tease him back, “How many years do I have to wait for you to grow older?”


    “I don’t know. Until I go to college maybe. I’m five and a half right now. It won’t take too long.”


    “Okay, that’s a deal,” I said, smiling. “Oh, I almost forgot. I got you a gift.”


    I handed it to him but he didn’t seem happy to receive it. “It’s just a mshell.”


    “Open it.” I urged him.


    He opened the seashell and was surprised when he found the pearl inside. “Wow. That’s so cool.


    Thanks, Blue.”


    “I spent hours looking for that just so I could give it to you.”


    There was an awkward silence as he continued to stare at the seashell.


    “Blue, I’m leaving tomorrow.” He said finally.


    “I’m going to miss spending time with you. You’re my first human best friend.”


    “And you’re my first mermaid best friend.”


    * * *


    The next night, I came to the beach earlier than usual. From the distance, I saw some people putting


    bags into a van and I knew that Hunter was leaving. If I could just say goodbye to him onest time. I


    saw his brother calling out to him and there was no sign of my little friend.


    Hunter’s mother walked around the beach crying with a baby in her hand, “Hunter!” She turned to her


    husband and asked him, “Where did he go? We have to cancel our flight!”


    Hunter was missing.


    Fear clogged in my throat. Where was he?


    I swam around the outer areas of the beach and looked around for him. When I came back to his


    favorite spot near the rocks, I heard soft voices of someone sobbing.


    Between two giant rocks, he sat there alone with his knees pulled to his chest.


    I tried to crawl into the cramped space, there was still water sloshing from the waves so there was no


    possibility of me losing my mermaid’s form.


    “Hunter.”


    He looked up at me with his tear-stained face. “I don’t want to go home.”


    “Don’t be like that, darling.”


    “I want you toe home with me.” He sniffled.


    Poor little boy.


    “I told you I’d wait for you no matter how long it took,” I promised.


    “I DON’T WANT TO GO!” He shrieked almost making me deaf.


    “Would you at least let me hug you?” I asked.


    Hunter threw himself into my arms not a slight bit bothered by the scales on the lower half of my body.


    Apollo said that humans would be disgusted after they saw mermaids in their true form, but Hunter


    didn’t seem the slight bit fazed.


    I knew I needed to do the right thing no matter how badly it broke my heart. I felt so guilty, but there


    was no other way. “It’s a small game. Close your eyes.” I touched his cheek. “And don’t open them until


    I tell you to, okay?”


    He obeyed me as I watched his eyes fluttered close.


    Mermaids never cried but I felt some wetness on my cheeks. “You can’t cheat.”


    “I won’t,” he said.


    When I whispered to him to open his eyes, he was alone in the secluded space, and I was watching


    him from the other side of the rocks from the distance. Hunter was confused until he heard his mother’s


    voice call out to him and he ran towards the family, havingpletely forgotten about his mermaid


    friend.


    I had to erase his memories.


    He was just a child, and I couldn’t let him be tormented by the memory of me, or have him hope that he


    would find me someday. He would grow up to be a fine young man and find a girl he could love one


    day.


    * * *


    “Hunter!”


    I woke up breathing hard, my heart racing against my chest. A sheen of sweat covered my body and I


    had goosebumps all over my arms. I looked at my surroundings and realized I was in my bedroom.


    Just to be sure, I pulled theforter away to check if I had legs and yes, I did.


    “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” My husband asked in his sleepy voice. “You had a dream?”


    I turned to look at him,


    He ran his fingers through his short golden-brown hair and his silver eyes cut through me with an


    intensity that still immobilized me and rendered me speechless. He was gorgeous no matter how many


    times I looked at him. My gaze shifted towards the mermaid’s mark on his arm.


    “Baby, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”


    “The children?” I asked.


    “They’re asleep in the other room.”


    He sat upright against the headboard and pulled me against him. He brushed my hair away from the


    nape of my neck and his fingers toyed with the strings of the gown. “I could make all those bad dreams


    go away.” His voice was a low timber when he whispered into my ear.


    That had to be a dream, right?


    I couldn’t have met Hunter all those years ago. It wasn’t possible!


    That snotty little chubby-faced boy, was that really my Hunter?


    I turned to face him and he touched his lips to mine, his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. His calloused


    hands rubbed my shoulders, “Talk to me.”


    “When you were little, did you go to Greece?” I asked.


    “Yeah, I remember traveling to Greece on a short trip when I was around five.”


    “Where in Greece did you visit?”


    He seemed to give that a thought, “Uh…not that I would remember all the ces but I do recall going


    to an ind called Zakynthos and staying there for like a week on a beach resort. Why? You wanna


    visit Greece? Maybe visit your family for a while…we could n a trip there. Kids could stay with me at


    the resort.”


    A chill ran down my body. He had indeed been to the ind. I could swear the dream wasn’t my


    imagination, I knew it had happened.


    It’s just that it was hard to visualize that timid little boy to be this broad-chested, muscled,


    handsome man.


    “You were a cry baby when you were little, weren’t you?” I blurted out.


    Hunterughed, “Well, Ryan said I cried for the smallest of things, but I think he was a bully right from


    the start. Mom mentioned that I lost at the beach when their flight was scheduled in two hours. And it


    seems to me like I had a little adventure.”


    Of course, you did.


    If I’d met Hunter before, and I’d erased his memories, why couldn’t I remember him?


    Or maybe when I returned home and came back to the beach a few times, I missed seeing him and


    asked Apollo to erase my memories of meeting Hunter. That could exin why I didn’t remember any


    of it.


    Hunter’s lips trailed my jaw to my corbone, his teeth grazing my skin. “You’re so lovely.”


    I scrambled out of bed and heard my husband groan behind me. I walked out of our bedroom and went


    into the children’s room.


    The triplets were soundly asleep when I entered their room. Hunter followed behind me but stayed at


    the door. I just needed to confirm something.


    Jude’s bedside table had a nightmp and right next to that was an open m seashell with a shiny


    large pearl inside it. I picked up in my hands and I was getting really emotional. I’d given him the


    seashell; you couldn’t just find something like this in a market here.


    The boy that I’d met was indeed Hunter.


    I felt Hunter’s arms wrap around me, “I brought that on my trip from Greece, but it’s kinda strange that I


    don’t remember who gave it to me.”


    I put the shell back on the table, fresh tears streaming down my cheeks.


    “Do you miss your home that much?” he whispered to me when I walked out of the room. He pushed


    loose tendrils behind my ear. I saw the fear clear in his expressions. He was scared that I’d changed


    my mind about being his wife or having our children because I preferred my old life more than this.


    “This is my home,” I said the same thing that I’d repeated countless times. “With you.”


    He kissed the top of my head. “I love you.”


    “I love you, too.” I smiled, and thenughed at the memory of the boy from my dreams. “I’d like to take


    you up on that offer about that trip you just mentioned.”


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