The Mer Girl - Selkie Tales Short Stories by Ophelia Sikes

Author:Ophelia Sikes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: wales, welsh, mermaid, selkie

Chapter 4

Panic coursed through me as I frantically looked around the shadowed cave. Had I somehow pulled the belt loose while working my way along the damp sand? But, no, the clam was nowhere to be seen. And now, come to think of it, I hadn’t remembered seeing it since I woke up on shore.

Had I lost it?

Moa gave me a reassuring pat on the arm. “Calm yourself, child. If it is anywhere on the beach, Ryan and I will find it. And if it was lost in the depths, that is the will of the Kraken.”

Her face tightened. “Your sister should be grateful you are in one piece, thinking to send you out on a night like that. She was always a rash child.”

I nodded, my eyes still scouring the sandy floor hoping against hope that the clam would spring into being. “With my four older sisters up north, Meredith has the final voice. And she uses it every chance she gets.”

Moa turned toward the mouth of the cave. “Ryan? Could you come in here for a moment? Bring that dress I left with you.”

Ryan dutifully trotted in, a translucent white dress draped across his arms. His eyes fixed on me as he approached. His voice was a reverent hush. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered!”

Moa chuckled and took the dress from him. “You’re a good lad.” She turned and handed me the dress. “It’s the one I wore when I first met my Nate. I kept it for memory’s sake – I certainly can’t fit into it any more, myself. But it should suit you well.”

I looked doubtfully at the cloth which I was sure would scratch and tug. “Why can’t I just stay natural?”

She smiled. “I know, I used to feel just as you do. But we have to be practical. You are injured, and our search might take us a while. You should put this on – and transform - just in case anyone stops by while we are out looking.”

She gave a soft shrug. “I can’t imagine they will. Everyone in the village is busy making repairs. But it’s best to be prepared.”

I sighed. Not only did I have to get stuck on shore, but now I’d do it with the awkward legs? And stuck in this clinging net of plant and animal parts?

Moa’s gaze was kind but firm.

At last I took up the dress and wriggled it over my torso. It was as bad as I imagined it to be. It gripped and held in unnatural ways.

Then came the worst part.

I closed my eyes and clenched my hands. I breathed in deeply, held my breath, and …

My beautiful tail lost its glossy scales. The two halves split, separated, and narrowed down into bony, spindly juts of flesh ending in wriggling worms of knobs.

Ryan gasped.

I opened my eyes and looked down at my legs. “I know. Aren’t they awful?”

Moa chuckled in amusement.

She took Ryan’s small hand in her own. “All right, young one. Come on, now, we’re on a treasure hunt.

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