1 - Mermaid: Origin of Species by Heather Renee

Author:Heather Renee [Renee, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mermaid#1
Published: 2018-05-09T13:20:52+00:00

Grave News

It’s raining. June through November is what we call “hurricane season.” Up until Dorian enlightened me to the possibility that mermaids might be causing the storms, I believed that all ocean gales were caused by disparate temperatures between the cooling upper atmosphere and the warm waters of the Atlantic.

Today is Papaw’s funeral. It’s been two weeks since his departure from our world, but thanks to Julia’s event planning skills, I’ve arranged a modest service and in-home reception to follow. In the past, my social anxieties would have prevented me from managing this kind of ceremony, but I’m now fueled by a lust for life that pushes me through tasks that I would have run from just a week ago. It is as though every day I grow increasingly stronger, wiser, and more comfortable managing my new powers.

Gone is the agonizing tickle in my chest of self-doubt that used to taint my decisions and hold me back from every aspect of life. I’m no longer restrained by fear. My heightened consciousness has made me engage, with laser-like focus, on the things I want to accomplish.

When Janie Pierce told me that I would be put in foster care, I didn’t even flinch. A few quick internet searches on my cell phone revealed there was hope. Papaw left everything in my name. Overnight…I became a millionaire. Because of my financial independence, I was able to petition the courts for my emancipation and I will soon become the first minor on Anna Maria Island to be legally recognized as an adult. Julia was not too thrilled about my decision to enroll in homeschool, but after everything that’s happened, I prefer to pursue my studies independently.

I immediately resigned from my server position at the Sandbar and was not surprised to learn that Brett Michael was no longer working there either. The word on the street is that he has begun turning his life around. I heard he is back in College, studying for a degree in business, and that he is rekindling things with Jessica. I’m so happy for him. If his epiphany, that night in the hospital, was anywhere near the metamorphosis I am undergoing…I know he will succeed.

“All done…” Julia says, stepping back to admire her work.

Together, we have transformed my entire house into a tastefully decorated space for the post-funeral-reception. Several cylindrical vases in varying sizes adorn our memory table. Water fills the tubular glasses, halfway, with leafless twigs, topped with floating tea light candles. Scattered throughout the communal space are framed pictures of Papaw with my Nan. In the trunk that Papaw gave me before his passing, I found a beautiful family picture of all of three of them together. My Mother appears to be in middle school and I use it as the centerpiece along with a lovely sunflower funeral spray embellished with yellow iris, blue delphinium and purple larkspur.

“What time do the caterers get here?” she asks, checking her phone for the time.

“Four-thirty,” I say as I reapply my lip-gloss.

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