Friends Between Worlds

Maggie walked down the familiar path, enjoying the warm summer breeze, the hat keeping her hair out of her face. Summer was coming to a slow end which always had her feeling a little melancholy. Winter was lonely, her only friend gone to warmer climes. She wished she could go too but she couldn’t.

She made it to the beach and kicked off her shoes, digging her toes into the warm sand, before setting off for the rocks. Climbing them was something she could do with her eyes shut. She avoided the sharp ones easily, taking care not to fall or be knocked over by a wave. Then she dropped down into the well-hidden cave, glancing around before sitting to wait.

A minute later there was a splash and Kai surfaced. She grinned at Maggie and Maggie grinned back. Kai’s grin was a fierce thing with her sharp teeth and claws, but Maggie hadn’t been scared of her in a long time. Maggie moved to sit on the rock ledge, letting her legs dangle in the water even as Kai pulled herself up on the same ledge, her beautiful purple and pink scaled tail floating in the small waves.

Maggie opened her bag and put out the food she had brought, all of Kai’s favourites, discovered over the last five years. They didn’t talk, they never did, Kai had tried to mimic human speech before but it didn’t work, the same when Maggie tried the sounds Kai made. But it didn’t matter, they didn’t need to speak, they understood each other. They were the best of friends. Honestly, Kai was the only friend she had and she wondered if it was the same for her.

Learning Kai’s name had been difficult and she wasn’t sure she pronounced it right at all, but it was as close as she could get. Hearing Kai try to say Maggie had been ridiculous and they had both been laughing. Every day that Maggie could get free of her responsibilities, she would come to the cave. She didn’t know about Kai’s life, what her friend did, but she came as often as possible too. But Kai was only around in the spring and summer, when the weather and water began to cool, she would leave for somewhere else. Maggie supposed that it was like the rich who would head south in the winter to chase the warmer weather. Maybe her people couldn’t take cold water?

Kai leant closer, opening her hand, and Maggie smiled as she showed her the pieces of colourful coral and strange stones.

Two days later, when Maggie returned to the cave, Kai never came. She was gone for the winter.

***

Maggie slipped into the water, kicking her feet to keep her head above the surface, feeling a clawed, webbed hand take hers. Kai watched her and Maggie took a deep breath before nodding. And then she was being pulled under, through the tunnel, and out of the cave into the open sea. They only did this at the height of summer, when the sea was at its warmest for both their comfort. It was exhilarating and scary all at once. She knew Kai would never keep her under too long or take her anywhere dangerous but try telling her instincts that.

If anyone knew, they would think she was crazy for trusting Kai but she did, she couldn’t explain why. They didn’t need words to understand each other, to be friends. Kai got her in a way no one else did, she’d always been a loner. Sure, she had ‘friends’ but they were just at school. At the end of the day, she walked home alone.

Sometimes, she wondered what it would be like if she was like Kai or if Kai was human. Would they still be friends? But something like that wasn’t possible.

***

She felt like she was flying as she ran as fast as she could towards the docks. She had to be in time, she had to. Maybe it wasn’t Kai? But even if it wasn’t, she couldn’t let anyone suffer what those men had been laughing about. She was gasping for air, her lungs burning, her legs starting to shake even as she caught herself on a crate, trying to remain quiet as she caught her breath. She looked around, there weren’t too many people there which was good for her.

And there was the ship they’d mentioned, unguarded as far as she could tell. It made sense since they wouldn’t want to bring attention to it. If she hadn’t been walking by right when she had, then no one would know. She moved as silently as possible towards the ship, almost shaking with adrenaline and fear. If she was caught…

She made it to the side of the ship and slipped over the rails, landing with a soft thud on the deck. Magie froze in place, barely breathing, but there was no noise, no alarm sounded. Okay, she could do this. She crept along the deck, hiding as best she could amongst the crates waiting to be unloaded. She reached the stern and found where a bunch of nets were secured, trailing down into the water. Peering over the side, she saw her, Kai, tangled in the net, her head above the surface. Would it be enough to detach the nets or would Kai remain tangled?

Maggie went to work on the nets, feeling them slowly loosen. She looked down again at a splash and found Kai looking up at her. She pressed a finger to her lips, hoping Kai would get it, and she did, going still and quiet in the water. Just as she was about to undo the last knot a heavy hand slammed down on her shoulder.

“Well, what do we have here?” the man slurred, alcohol heavy on his breath,

Maggie shuddered but then reared back, slamming the top of her head into his chin even as she slammed her foot down as hard as she could. He cursed, letting her go, and she ripped the knot free before leaping over the side.

The water was icy as she hit it, it was early spring, the water only just beginning to warm during the day. At night though, it was almost as cold as in winter. A familiar hand gripped hers and pulled her under, Maggie barely remembering to take a breath. She opened her eyes to find Kai’s wide with fear, the net still tangled around her tail. She ignored the burning in her lungs to pull at the net until it came free.

Kai pulled her through the water briefly and then they surfaced, under the dock, letting Maggie suck in desperately needed air. She took some deep breaths, hearing loud shouts in the distance. The sun would be rising soon, they had to get away. She’d never turned to face the man and it was dark, that should protect her identity. But Kai needed to get as far away as she could before they began searching the sea.

Maggie nodded and they were off again. They surfaced briefly for air a few times and then they were in a familiar tunnel, emerging in their beach cave. She shakily hauled herself from the water, limbs like jelly. She flopped onto cold, hard stone, breathing heavily. “We did it,” she whispered, watching Kai tilt her head to the side. “You have to go Kai, it’s too dangerous. Swim far away.”

She grabbed the burnt stick she’d brought ages ago, drawing on the rock. It was a stick figure for Kai swimming far away. Kai frowned at her, shaking her head, but Maggie nodded, fighting tears. She hated it, she didn’t want her friend to leave her. But what other choice was there? How long would they search for her?

Eventually, Kai swam away and Maggie forced herself to climb out of the cave and head home. Hopefully her parents would believe that she’d snuck out for an early morning walk since she’d dried off in the cave. She was glad to find the house empty when she entered, going to shower off the salt water and quickly wash what she’d been wearing. She made some food and went about her day as normal.

And for three weeks, she went back to the cave and then the docks every day but there was no sign of Kai or any other of her kind in the water. It was for the best.

***

She’d never expected to return to her childhood home. So much had changed since those innocent days. Her parents had died in an accident, they had left her the house and honestly, she needed it. She glanced down at the bundle in her arms, they had never met their grandchild, they hadn’t even known she’d given birth. The last time they had talked, she’d still had a month to go and Tom’s work was going well, his ship was due in the week before her due date. And now she had her daughter but no husband or parents. His ship had gone down in a storm, no survivors, the same night she had gone into early labour.

She watched her belongings be carried into the old house, tipping the men before they left. Going inside brought back a flood of memories, ones she had mostly buried over the years. She got Alice settled into her crib and then went around opening up the house to air it out.

Later that evening, she walked along a familiar beach, her daughter wrapped up warm in the evening wind. She stopped when she saw the rocks that hid the cave and then moved to sit on them, watching the waves. She pointed out a dolphin in the distance to her daughter.

And then she froze, staring out at the sea where a figure surfaced. Their eyes met and she knew…Kai. And then the mermaid was gone, scales flashing in the light of the setting sun.

Maggie smiled softly. She had never known but had always hoped that her friend had made it away safely. And now she knew that she had. And then she laughed as Kai surfaced again, a small form with her. they vanished into the growing dark and Maggie stood to return home. They had both moved on from the innocent girls they had been but those memories would always link them. Even if they never saw each other again, they would always be friends.