Returns

Neon tendrils in shades of crimsons, tangerine's, salmon's and honey weaved seamlessly together in a flawless tapestry as a new beginning whispered on the distant horizon. Before her, hundreds of cockatoos flocked together like a white sail as they celebrated the dawning of another day. The crisp dewy air of another Spring morning had her inhaling deeply as she looked out across the glass like surface of the lake, it's navy surface set alight in the brilliant colouring of the approaching dawn.

The moment, however fleeting and seemingly insignificant pulled on something deep within her as she felt the calloused, warm hand of her friend squeeze her shoulder reassuringly as they both continued to stare at the rising sun.

" Just like the dawn unfolding before us, this will be a new beginning for you as well Natalia. A chance to return to the place...to your home. "

Glancing sideways, the emerald haired young woman took in her friend's profile as he continued to watch the approaching day. How he managed to stay so calm...so collected despite their current reality had her wishing she could have his relaxed temprament. Was that a human trait...to be so calm? Or was it simply the trait of the man...the human that her father had chosen to be her protector until the war raging in her home kingdom settled down. 

It had been 24 years since she had fled from her Kingdom, the Kingdom that she was an heir to...a Kingdom whose King,her father had requested she return to 2 months ago. Next to her Ralph, squeezed her shoulder once again...the soft golden lighting of the Dawn highlighting the laugh lines around his eyes and the slight wrinkles developing on his forehead. He was approaching 50 now, his human life so short compared to the lengthy lifespan of Merpeople...her people. 

Despite being 32 years old, her fantastical heritage meant that she would age very slowly for the next several millenia, essentially she would look to be in her early to mid twenties for hundreds of humans lifetimes. It saddened her that this man that had practically raised her, who had taught her everything about the world as she knew it would be in her life such a short time...despite the significant part he had played in it. 

How he knew about the existence of Merpeople and ended up working for the King of the Merpeople, at least the King of the Mer colony that lived in the largest lake in Australia she didn't know. What she did know, was that she was expected to return to her home under the water immeditaely and to simply leave her human life behind. The war was over and her Dad's party had won, she was to return and take her rightful place as the heir to the throne. Her opinion on the subject didn't matter, not at all. Besides, the potion she had taken at 8 years old was wearing off...the potion that had been allowing her to live on land, in the human world for all these years.

She could tell, it had started small at first...her hair darkening to it's now emerald shade and her eyes lightening to a lilac colour. These superficial changes had soon led to more substantial differences...differences that she struggled to live with, like breathing. Not even the asthma puffer which had been helping for a little while could save her now, her mermaid body was simply rejecting the atmosphere...it longed for the watery world that was her birthplace.

Ralph had insisted that she return back to her world after his last communication with her Father several days beforehand...she couldn't blame him not really, although she hardly remembered her Dad the fact that he ruled millions of merpeople meant be probably was used to having his demands met. 

Rubbing her lightly scaled hands together, she studied the tiny, irradescent plates that had been blooming over her body for several weeks now. She knew it was time, but it didn't make the reality any easier to swallow. It was time to return back to a place she could barely remember, It was time to return to a family that had sent her away and not been in contact with her directly for 24 years...for her own safety, but still...it stung a little. 

She didn't even know these people, the one person that she loved in the whole world would be gone before she would be allowed back on land again. The one person that had been the father figure for most of her life would be just another human she would outlive, another human life gone too quickly as she returned to a world she barely knew...a world she was expected to rule one day yet she didn't even feel at one with her peoples. She didn't feel like a mermaid, she felt human...at least on the inside.  

As the first initial rays of the sun crept over the motionless lake she found herself sighing softly as her last day of being a land dweller begun. She had until the full moon rise to return to her people, that meant she had approxiametly 12 hours. 12 more hours to fit a whole lifetime of human living into. 12 more hours to make the most out of her time left with Ralph before they departed, probably for the last time. Humans weren't allowed in the land of Mer and she was certain she wouldn't be allowed back out into the human world in the next century, not after being gone for so long. 

" This isn't goodbye forever Natalia. I may be old...well getting older anyway, and compared to you my life is fleeting. However, I promise you that we will see one another again...even if it just for a short period of time my child. You are the daughter that I could never have, a daughter I am incredibly proud of. I know you will make your family, your Kingdom proud just as you have to me."

His voice didn't waver, his calming tone as steady as always yet she could tell he was emotional, his tone heavy with things that didn't need to be said.

" So let's go Nat, let's go spend your last day amongst the land dwellers in style."

Offering her his hand, she gratefully took it as they headed back to their Lakeside villa...the burning orb of the sun rising steadily behind them.

After spending her day playing with Ralph's dogs, hiking in the mountains and consuming all the nutella and chocolate that was possible in such a short time...she knew the hour was upon them, she needed to go home.

Neither of them being big on goodbyes, she simply hugged the older man who had been her father figure for nearly a quarter of a century...the weighted silence saying more than words ever could.

As she dove into the chilly water of the lake, the water embracing her like a warm hug she knew that she was making the right decision. The bubbles that enveloped her taking her back to the familythat had sent her away as the man that had watched her grow up simply stared at the large blue moon reflected in the lake. The slightest traces of ripples in the lake's silvery surface the only sign of the mermaid he had raised as his own.