Silken Tide by Danielle E. Gauwain

Author:Danielle E. Gauwain [Gauwain, Danielle E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Published: 2015-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

“One day, she’ll feed you. The next, she’ll leave you to starve.” His father took a drink of his whiskey.

“Who?” Mark sat gently next to his father on the step, as if the wood beneath him would cave in at any moment.

His father motioned with his index finger toward the water while still holding his tumbler of whiskey. It only took Mark a moment to realize that he was talking about the ocean. Then, his father continued.

“She gives life. She takes it away. She’ll make you fall head over heels in love. Then, she’ll turn around and break your heart.”

Mark sat and considered that both he and his father were insane. A father and son driven mad by the sea. However, Mark had never heard him speak of any mental illness in the family. Maybe his father had too much to drink and he was letting the whiskey do the talking. But, how would he know about the whispers that taunted Mark in his sleep and during his waking hours? Crazy or not, Mark needed to know more. His father sat in silence for several minutes. Just as Mark was about to stand up and dismiss the entire conversation as the ramblings of a drunken man, his father grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down to the step.

“I was young and reckless,” his father began. “I wasn’t watching what I was doing. I was just trying to pull as many pots as I could that day. When I went to throw my last cage into the water, the rope got tangled up around my foot and over the edge of the boat I went. Can you believe that?”

His father chuckled as if he had told a joke. He reached down for the bottle beside him and refilled his glass. Then, he filled the empty glass and handed it to Mark. Mark didn’t drink whiskey, but he didn’t dare refuse his offer. After his father took a gulp from his glass, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and continued.

“Over the side I went and straight down with my cage. The more I tried to break loose of that rope, the more I got tangled. Just when I thought I had met my end, someone, something freed me. I must have lost consciousness at some point, but when I woke up I was back up on the deck and there was this beautiful face looking down at me. Eyes like I’d never seen before. Deep like the ocean. She was marvelous. Long, black hair and fair skin. It didn’t make any sense. How did a woman get on my boat? Was I dreaming? When I got a better look at her, I realized she wasn’t what I thought at all.

“Yes, she had the face of a beautiful woman. But the rest of her wasn’t human. I thought for a minute, ‘Man, that salt water is making you crazy.’ But it was right in front of me.

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