Saltwater Kissed

Short Story

May 14, 2024

Leon had been fishing by himself for over a year, today marked a week and a year since his father had died. The boat felt like the space between life and death. Quiet, empty, eternal. He would’ve loved to have company today.

In the distance, he could see storm clouds, which were not in the plan for the day. He knew because he had checked the weather the night before and the morning of as was his habit. He pulled out his phone despite knowing that the service was trash and was met with the confirmation. NO BARS. He couldn’t even send a text or check the weather.

He began hauling in his net and making preparations to head to shore. He felt like the more he rowed towards the shore the quicker the storm clouds gained on him. In fact, it felt like he was rowing into the storm. Usually, the air above the water was quite warm but the closer the storm clouds approached the colder the air became.

Before he knew it the winds were rocking the boat and the waves had begun to feel like claws smacking a bothersome pest. In some ways, he guessed he was a pest to the ocean. It was this thought that made him feel that today was the day he would die.

As the panic began to creep in he thought of all the women he hadn’t fucked. He thought about his two German shepherds and who’d take care of them. He thought about his friends and never getting to drink with them again. He thought that it had been almost two weeks since he saw his mom. Mostly he thought God please don’t let me die today. My last meal can’t be bread and butter and coffee.

His tears dissolved into the seawater as another vicious wave slapped his face. His weeping became so violent he could not tell if he was shivering from the cold, the sadness, or the sheer terror. The rocking of the boat had become a mirror to his violent shaking and he knew it was only moments before he and the boat were separated.

Upon finishing the thought he could tell that the tender wood of the boat was no longer beneath him. He was hurtling in the air and could not tell which direction was rainy clouds and which was water. As often as he had been on the water he never thought it would be his grave.

As his body slammed into the water as if tombstoned by gravity he felt the air leave his lungs. No amount of powering through by his broad shoulders and tree trunk arms made any difference. The need for air was a fire burning through his lungs. He was ablaze with need and then there was silence.

Waking up to lips on your mouth is always shocking, waking up from death even more so. He opened his eyes and all but shrieked into the mouth of the woman who was working so feverishly to pump air into his formerly water-filled lungs.

Upon realizing he was up. She leaned away and he could see for the first time that she was more creature than human. In another timeline, he might’ve been terrified but having faced the water and drowned he only wanted to bend to her in praise and thanks.

“You saved me,” he said.

She tilted her head blinking slowly with eyes the color of black pearls. In the silence, he really took her in. He worked his way slowly from the crown of her head which was a mass of coily kinky hair decorated with small sea creatures, shells, and even bits of green netting.

Her broad nose was very flat on her face as if it had been pressed against the glass in a cage for too long. Scales were fading from the bottom of her jaw onto her neck where what he could only describe as gills were. Her chest was also covered in scales although the center of her chest was mostly what appeared to be human skin. He reached out to drag his finger across her collarbone and she allowed him. She watched slowly as if a predator waiting for her boundaries to be crossed so she could rip him to shreds. As he approached her gills she let out a gargle which he assumed was a laugh.

He looked up at her face to be sure and saw terrifying teeth. They looked like the mini version of the shark teeth they had hanging over the counter at his favorite bar in town. Seeing his reaction she shut her mouth trapping the monstrous teeth behind tender full lips.

She reached out this time touching his eyebrows. It was only then he realized that she did not have any. Her face did not need it anyway.

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As the sun began to beam down as if in retaliation to the storm from earlier her scales began to melt into her skin. He watched in fear and awe as her tail, which he had been too distracted to fully appreciate, split into legs. As his eyes widened she tilted her head again and smiled, this time with her mouth closed so as not to startle him. She moved them towards him. He accepted the invitation and touched them tenderly.

She wiggled her toes in delight and moved her feet slowly across the sand. He stood up and helped her get up too. He thought she would be wobbly instead, she moved with the grace of a hunter. Before he knew it she was sprinting with a terrifying quickness and a feline-like grace to the water. He followed without hesitation. As her feet touched the water she jumped and he could see her legs began to fold into one tail again. She disappeared into the waves and he stood there frantically searching for any sign of her.

He waded waist-deep into the water searching for any sign of her deep brown skin against the sea foam. Leon felt a damp hand against his shoulder right before her tail came slapping against his mid section. He stood very still as she grabbed his hand and placed a tiny purplish orange shell in his hand. She took his hand, the one that held the shell, dipped it under water and back out. She then dipped under water and came back up. He understood and nodded in disbelief but with eagerness to confirm his understanding. He closed what little distance was left between them and touched her face again. She allowed him to linger, then dipped under the water and all but dissolved into the sea.

It wasn’t until Leon got home that he realized he never found his boat. In fact, he was beginning to doubt his memory was an accurate depiction of the events of the morning. He would’ve thought himself into disbelief if not for the tiny shell in his shirt pocket. That night he decided he would head back first thing in the morning and try the shell again. He debated on searching up lore on what she was but he knew. He’d heard enough stories, seen enough fairytales, and doubted that anything that existed online would be perfectly true. Instead, he decided to call his mother and tell her how deeply he loved her. He decided then that he’d make himself the biggest pot of stew wings and roast himself a breadfruit because he had survived and if he died tomorrow he’d want to have eaten something good.

Leon did not sleep well. He did not sleep at all. Every time he closed his eyes he was battered with the view of the sea from beneath right before he blacked out. So he headed out to the water before the cock crowed at its usual 5 am. He prayed that no one would be there today either. He had found the spot a few weeks back but you could never guess who’d show up as fishermen had a particular knack for following their gut to where the fish were. When he got to the water he remembered again that he had no boat. He was starting to think that the trauma of dying had stabbed some holes into his brain. He took his shoes off and rushed to the water. The shell would give him an answer one way or the other.

He dipped the shell in the way that she showed him and waited. He waited some more as the waves caressed his chest. When he thought he might’ve imagined it after all, he heard her gargle laugh behind him. Her scales were even more glorious under the rays of the sun in golden hour. He was particularly enamored with how her scales reflected on her brown skin like tiny lights were dancing across her. She splashed him with water and swam around him playfully. He tried and failed to keep up with her. She was faster than he thought possible. Eventually, she emerged again and motioned for him to grab her shoulder. She started swimming and although she began slowly he was beginning to get nervous. He could feel his stomach in his feet as he watched the shore slip away.

She swam for too long but he had committed to trusting her and so he was too far out to swim back so he had no choice but to hold on. As the thought crossed his mind he could see a mass in the distance. As they approached he realized it was a very very narrow strip of land. He could imagine that on any given day it could be swallowed by the water and almost impossible to find by memory or boat alone. She slowed as she approached the strip and stopped when they were close enough.

They crawled and she sprawled out across the sand. He watched again as her scales melted into her skin. He thought to say that she was beautiful but recalled that she could not understand him. Instead, he moved closer. Her eyes were closed and he did not want to startle her or violate her boundaries. He let the sun dry him off too as he waited patiently. Soon, she opened her eyes and blinked her slow blink at him. He moved closer and paused before touching her, giving her the space to stop him if she did not want it. She reached her hand out and touched his lips, then touched his eyebrows, then traced his jaw as if using her hand to store the memory of him for later.

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He was pleased and a little freaked out but mostly he was glad she had the foresight to bring them out here. It was private and he could enjoy her company without the fear of having to introduce her to someone, or having to explain her teeth, her gargle, her silence, or the hair that puffed around her full of things from the ocean floor.

As the sun moved higher into the sky Leon remembered that he had no water and was starting to feel thirst crawling down his throat. He paused, removed his fingers from her hair, and grabbed her face. She was displeased by his need to stand as she had grown quite comfortable strewn across his lap. He pointed in the direction he believed to be the shore. She pretended to look away as if saying it was too soon. He walked around, squatted in front of her, and showed her the shell. He pointed to her and the shell and she smiled as she traced the bridge of his nose.

She did not take him back to the part of the shore where she found him. Instead, she brought him to a tiny cave where he was elated to see his boat in one piece.

“I wish I could kiss you.”

Her response was a splashing of her tail getting water into the boat and drenching him. It reminded him that yesterday he was the ocean’s pest. Today he was something else entirely. He followed her until he could see the shore. A family had set up for the day. He could hear the music so he stopped rowing unsure of how much further she would go. She surfaced on the side away from them, placed her damp palm on his knee, and then smiled before melting again into the water.

By the time he got home, he decided that we was not even going to waste time tonight trying to sleep. Instead, he head out to the local bar. He ran into his cousin and they sat in the way cousins do not really saying much because everything that needed to be known was known. On his second cup of spiced rum, he debated broaching the subject of almost dying and of her, but it died in his throat drowned by the spice rum and fear. Eventually, they parted ways and he found himself under the guava tree in his yard listening to the sound of darkness.

On the third morning, he decided to bring his boat even though she could bring them anywhere. He needed to know he was free to leave on his own accord. He packed the boat making sure to bring her a guava to try. He petted his dogs and headed to the water again.

This time it did not take an eternity for her to arrive. He sat in the boat and pulled her in. He had not realized how slippery she could be. He watched again as her tail became legs and her scales faded, then began to row out into the water. Today was a good day. It reminded him of the day two days ago before the storm hit. He touched her thighs. She gargled. He dug into the bag and offered her the guava. She hesitated but bit into it mimicking his action. Her face twisted in disgust and he laughed more at the absurdity of the look on her face than her discomfort.

“What do you eat? EAT?” he stretched the word out as he motioned to her and her mouth.

She tilted her head in that way again and smiled with her mouth closed. She dropped into the water and urged him to follow and he did. He found himself going past the cave from yesterday only to find another cave. He would never be able to find it had she not guided him. The entrance was so narrow his boat could not fit. He got out into the water and was happy today that the current was not strong. As he swam deeper in he noticed an eerie glow. The cave was full of bioluminescent fungus.

He looked at the walls in awe. As he worked his way out of the water he realized he was standing on bones. The entire floor was covered in human bones and skulls of all sizes. The realization filled him with great dread. He looked around for her and saw her sitting atop a pile of bones. She motioned from the bones to her mouth.

“EEA AaAA A T” the word sounded like it had been strangled out of her. Her tongue had not been made for speaking English. She approached him with her sharp grace. He stepped back out of instinct. She stopped. He watched her face change into what he could only describe as confusion.

She approached again and he stepped back. She gargled but this one was not a laugh. She moved too quickly into the water and he realized there was nowhere to go. His boat was outside and she was in the water. He could hear his heart pumping almost as if it were bouncing across the cave walls. She crawled out of the water her scales absorbing the soft glow of the bioluminescence making her look as if he glowed too. She did not slow this time as she approached him despite his attempts to move away.

She reached her hand out slowly, waiting for his permission. He did not give it. She closed the space anyway frustrated and confused. Had she not saved his life? He tried again to move but, she closed the gap again. She stood and he had not realized that her tail had become feet.

He was pressed against the wall and she touched his face softly again tracing his jaw, his nose, the dip above his top lip. He turned his head away. She cried out and turned it back leaning in as if to kiss him. In his fear, he screamed and pushed her. She fell hard crushing a skull under her weight. She shrieked and he jumped into the water swimming viciously to escape to his boat. He felt her hand around his foot too late. Her grip was an iron anklet. He gasped swallowing water. She pulled him back onto the floor of the cave pressing her mouth onto his as if to kiss him. He panicked again and punched her. Instinctively, she bit at his arm pulling meat off his bone. His screams reached his boat and no one else.

She wept. She wept. She had not meant to do so. He wept in disbelief that he would be reduced to a meal. The cave did not know the difference between seawater and his tears. He thought of his mother again. Leon was glad he called her and that he drank spice rum with his cousin last night.

He had begun to grow cold. She was wailing. He wished he had stayed dead the first time. He prayed, prayed first for forgiveness, for safe passage into the afterlife, and for peace for his mother who would never get to bury him. She crawled above him wailing so loudly he felt his eardrums would explode. He closed his eyes letting the sensation of the saltwater kissing his feet take him away into death.

I have grown fond of writing dialogue so the writing almost none was a real change. I decided to keep as few spoken words as possible. I think this piece has potential to be even better. The current time as I finished writing is 2:11 am. I really enjoyed it mostly because I’m a big fan of mermaids and have only written one other mermaid story which wasn’t half as good as this one. I’m pleased and will continue workshopping it until it reached my standards. Hope you all enjoyed. Don’t be shy to shower praises in the comments (or polite critique too).

*I’ve finally set up a “buy me a coffee” page so if you’re not quite ready to become a paid subscriber but want to spare a little coin you can do so here!*

TELL ME:
Did you love or hate the ending? Is there a phrase or sentence that struck you? Do you feel bad for Ms. Mermaid? Do you think their relationship stood a chance if she never took him to her cave kitchen? Did you appreciate the lack of dialogue or did you want more?

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