Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

soul entwines with another, it’s all over until you can be together and make your commitment official to the public. I see why they insisted I wait. My soul, lit with a burning passion, wanted nothing but for me to figure out a way to be with her forever.
    The decision became easy. I’d run away. Living in the water at night as a merman would be far easier than trying to survive the elements on land as a human, lacking money and a place to stay. And mer to human conversion was dangerous to do alone anyway.
    Of course, I’d need to tell Ash something creative about why we couldn’t be together at night and why I didn’t live next door anymore. Then we had the mark of the promising to contend with—the matching symbol of our bond etched on our ring fingers like a tattoo. I studied the skin, noticing mine was already starting to show. Would Ash notice as hers filled in on her finger too?
    She’d need to learn the truth, and I had to do it in a way that didn’t scare her like the last time. When she saw us by accident a few summers ago, she screamed bloody murder—her voice permanently etched in my mind. I’d been forced to mind-wipe her back then, but now I didn’t have that option.
    And if the time to convert became necessary, careful consideration would be taken first. I’d never ask her to change for me. Getting married and living on land as undercover mers for the time being, like my parents did, might be the best.
    I groaned and took another deep breath of salt water. For my latest meal, one of Azor’s goons gave me a live sunfish in a cage and conveniently forgot the utensils. Was I supposed to tear the poor thing apart with my teeth? A deep fiery red, the fish darted around inside, looking for an exit. Identifying with his fate, I let him go. I didn’t have much of an appetite anyway.
    “ Be careful, Freddy,” I called out, watching him swim through the bars into the shark infested waters, headed towards freedom. He looked back for a moment as if to say “thank you” and slipped out of sight. I wished he could deliver a message.
    Tell her I love her and we’ll be together soon.
    I returned to my lowly spot on the floor and recreated the triangular peg board game with the fifteen golf tees, using shells as my placeholders to pass the time. Every once in a while, a crab would skitter by and try to hide under my tail. I’d shoo the nasty thing away. After a few days of this, I’d go stark raving mad.
    Tatch said she’d visit so I stared at the outer stone door through the bars, hoping she’d enter. If somehow she could flirt again and gain access, I’d be forever in her debt. I doubted Azor would ever allow it. Solitary confinement was part of my punishment.
    I scratched at my scales, trying to remove the nasty, slimy film that had grown over the top. Trapped in my mer form for what I suspected was over twenty-four hours with no way to switch was like depriving a caffeine addict their morning brew. Everything ached, including my soul.
    “ You’ve got a visitor,” Goon One said through the little slot in the stone door. I got up and tried to look like being caged wasn’t affecting my psyche.
    Maybe Tatch found a way to see me.
    When he pried open the heavy door, for a brief second, I could see Azor in his living quarters with some of his men crowded around a table. Then Badger came into view.
    “ Aye, Blanchard. Good to see ya,” he said and wrapped his arm around the brawny goon’s neck. They briefly pounded one another on the back.
    My shoulders slumped, relieved to see a friendly face, even if he was here to chew me out. At that point, I didn’t care. I needed the company.
    “ You here to see this lousy lot?” Blanchard asked with a guttural laugh.
    “ Aye. And talk sense into him.” Badger laughed with him which bristled my dorsal fin. “Kids.”
    I turned away and folded my arms over my chest.
    “ Lad,” Badger said with a “tsk” after the door shut. “Whatcha doin’ here?”
    I leaned my head against the wall and studied the starfish lining the ceiling. “Why do you care?”
    Badger lowered his voice. “I just be smoothin’ over ole Blanchard so I could have a private word.”
    I let my arms fall free and glanced over at him. He’d pushed his hairy eyebrows into a line, a concerned look covering his face. I believed him and moved closer to the bars.
    He shook his head. “What did ya do?”
    I closed my eyes. Though I knew Badge would never rat me out, rotting in