The Waves Hold Secrets

Finally I got round to writing a new short story. I haven’t done anything along these lines before and so it was kinda fun to explore the possibilities. I’m quite happy with it, but as usual, any feedback or comments would be much appreciated.

The Waves Hold Secrets.

Cassie sat watching the sun come up over the waves on the beach. There was no other soul around and the only sound was the gentle washing of the waves on the shoreline. She liked it best this way. As the sun rose higher and the day grew lighter a lone Gull cried as it dived, looking for food, and Cassie followed it’s flight. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of silver. Turning her head she saw a huge silver fishtail disappearing back into the ocean. Cassie gasped out loud. Whatever it was she’d never seen a fish that big in her life before.

“Cassie.. Telephone” yelled her Mother Minnie up the stairs.
“Got it” she shouted back picking up the extension in her bedroom.
Placing the receiver to her ear she heard her mother put the phone down and said
“Hello?”
“Hey Babe, what ya doin?” asked her boyfriend Jerry.
“Oh hey Jerry, nothing much, just looking for something online” she replied smiling
“Oh, anything I can help with?” she asked.
“Nah, just something I saw this morning that’s all, I was just trying to find some information about it, no luck so far though” she said and sighed.
“Well how do you fancy taking a break and coming for coffee with me” he asked
“If you’re including a sticky bun in that, I’m game” she laughed
“You got it babe, I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes” replied Jerry, and saying goodbye, he put the phone down.

As Cassie turned to grab her jacket and head downstairs, an image on her computer screen froze her in her tracks. There on the screen was a picture of a tail disappearing into the waves, exactly like the one she’d seen that morning. Grabbing the mouse she scrolled down and read the text underneath it.

“I know this may sound weird to viewers out there, but this tail does NOT belong to a fish. It belongs to a Mermaid. I saw her a week ago when I was out taking pictures of the Sunrise over Clearview Beach. She has long flowing blonde hair and a beautiful slim body with a huge silver tail from the waist down. She saw me as I aimed the camera at her, and she dove, leaving me with this image of just her tail”

Cassie’s mouth dropped open. A Mermaid?? Was this guy deluded? Everybody knew Mermaids didn’t exist. Cassie checked the date of the article, it was written two years ago. Cassie turned off her Computer and grabbed her jacket as Jerry’s car horn pipped outside. But she couldn’t get the image of that tail out of her head.

“I don’t know what it was Jerry, but it was huge, then some guy on the internet has a picture of the same thing I saw and claims it’s a Mermaid!” exclaimed Cassie.
Jerry threw back his head and laughed loudly.
“A Mermaid??” he asked incredulously
They were sat in a corner of the Coffeeshop, with cups of coffee and a sticky bun in front of Cassie
“Yeah, a Mermaid, I mean, the guy must be deluded or something, he described her as having long blonde hair and a beautiful slim body with a huge silver tail starting from the waist down” quoted Cassie.
Jerry mimicked puking into his coffee and Cassie laughed in spite of herself.
“You gonna eat that sticky bun, or can I have it?” Jerry teased her.
“Touch that, and you’re dead pal” growled Cassie. Jerry laughed then leant over and kissed the tip of her nose.

Cassie groaned to herself as her alarm clock went off the next Morning. She did not want to get out of bed. She knew she shouldn’t have stayed out so late last night. She and Jerry had gone for Dinner, then to a movie, before stopping off for one last coffee before he dropped her home. It had been close to 11pm, but Cassie was due to get up at 4.30am for her usual morning run. Cassie snuggled down under the covers and contemplated staying in bed, then remembered the strange tail she’d seen the day before. That decided matters. Groaning again, she threw back the covers and headed for the shower.

Cassie stopped running and grabbed one of the poles holding the Lifeguards hut above the water level should there be a storm. Panting she bent over trying to catch her breath. The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing Cassie and the surrounding area in a fiery orange glow. Cassie glanced out to Sea, then did a double take. Was that a head bobbing up and down? Straightening up, she squinted against the rising sun, but couldn’t see what had caught her attention. Thinking she was seeing things she shrugged. A second later, her jaw dropped again as a huge silver tail flashed in the sun for an instant before it disappeared beneath the waves.

“Cassie, you cannot be serious!” exclaimed Jerry
“I am Jerry, I KNOW something’s going on out there, I don’t know what but I need to know and I’m determined to find out!” Cassie groaned with frustration.
“Cassie, it could be a Dolphin or something” Jerry seemed not to understand
“Jerry, Dolphins do NOT have silver tails, and definitely not that size!” she shouted.
“I NEED to know what it is, do you not understand that?”
The woman at the next table looked round nervously.
“Umm, excuse me?”
“What?” snapped Cassie rudely.
“Cassie” sighed Jerry reproachfully. Cassie sighed and turned back to the woman with a fake smile on her face and said in a sickeningly sweet voice
“Yes, may I help you?”
Jerry dropped his head into his hands and groaned. The woman looked nervously at Cassie again and said
“I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation, are you talking about Clearview Beach by any chance?”
The smile faded from Cassie’s face and she regarded the woman in silence for a moment.
“Yes I am” she said finally. The woman looked frightened.
“Are you mad?” she whispered.
Haven’t you heard the legend of Clearview?”
Cassie frowned and Jerry lifted his head from his hands
“What Legend?” asked Cassie.
The woman stood and came over to Cassie and Jerry, and seated herself across from them.
“Well as the legend goes, there are Mermaids in Clearview Bay, they have been seen at Sunrise by a number of people on the Beach. An old man once saw a Mermaid and determined to get a closer look and maybe capture one, he took a boat out the next day”
“What happened?” asked Cassie eagerly.
“Nobody knows for sure” replied the woman
“He was never seen again, but the legend goes that if you get too close, you end up being destined to swim the waves forever”
“You mean…..” whispered Jerry horrorstruck
“As a Merperson yes” replied the woman gravely nodding her head.
Cassie and Jerry stared at her for a moment, then Cassie cleared her throat.
“That settles it” she said in a clear and determined voice.

The next morning Jerry walked down the Marina and met with Cassie at the side of his Father’s powerful motor yacht. Cassie had a bag with her Camera and rolls of film in, and a pair of Binoculars slung round her neck.
“Cassie, can we please not do this?” he asked knowing her answer and already resigned to his fate.
“We have to Jerry, I need to know. You’re not SCARED are you?” she jeered mockingly.
“No Cassie, I’m not, but you heard what that woman said” he replied.
“Jerry, it’s just a legend, that’s all” replied Cassie, and swung herself on board.
“Now, are you coming, or do I have to go by myself, the sun’s coming up, and I don’t want to miss anything” she finished.
Jerry sighed and swung himself onboard.

Five minutes later Cassie shouted over the noise of the engine
“Here should be okay”
Jerry turned the engine off, and came to join her at the side. Cassie scanned the horizon through the Binoculars for a minute then lowered them and sighed.
“Nothing?” asked Jerry hopefully.
“Not yet” replied Cassie “But we only just got here”
As if on cue, there was a soft splashing noise, and a head bobbed above the waves about 10ft away from the boat. As Jerry’s jaw dropped in disbelief, Cassie smiled and whispered
“Ohmigosh”

2 Months Later.

Sam finished rubbed his surfboard with wax and grinned across at his buddy Brandon.
“Great day for surfing huh? You sure were right about the waves being better at sunrise”
Brandon grinned back and stood up looking out to Sea.
“Yeah, looks like a couple of guys beat us to it” he replied gesturing out to where two heads bobbed up and down in the water.
“Looks like a male and a female” he added.
Sam squinted out to where Brandon was pointing.
“Yeah man, but they don’t seem to have Boards or anything” he replied.
Brandon squinted to get a better look
“You’re right man, you don’t think they’re in any trouble do you?”

Sam never replied. As the two stood watching, the two people suddenly dived and the boys were struck speechless as two huge silver tails flashed in the sunlight for an instant before disappearing beneath the waves.

Usual feedback and suggestions in the comments section please.

Ciao.