The Wicked Tide

“What’s Out There? Under Those Waves!”

In the small coastal town of Helmsmouth, Dr Sophia Turner sat on the dunes and watched the waves roll in. White horses breaking violently onto the beach.

It was always like this on the northeast coast of Scotland and she loved sitting here. Listening to the waves and birds overhead, breathing in the fresh sea air. The sea had always been a friend and foe to her. She was a marine biologist.

The government commissioned her to assess the impact on marine life after a mysterious shipwreck was discovered just offshore.

Fishermen had seen the local dolphin pod behaving strangely. That, and the absence of the normally abundant lobster population, concerned them enough to report it. Sophie was both bemused and intrigued as to what was happening.

She looked at her watch, picked herself up, brushed the sand from her clothes, and trundled along the beach to the harbour. She was to meet Captain Finn MacIver, a local fisherman who had witnessed the strange dolphin behaviour.

As she approached his boat, the Gallus Galleon, he looked up from tying the ropes and checking his lobster pots. “Did you sleep in?” he said, “Half the day has gone.”

“It’s still only half-seven,” she replied.

“I’ve been up since first light, half the day has gone,” said the captain. A seasoned fisherman, he had lived in the town all of his life. His early relationship with the sea was one of hard but rewarding outdoor work. He carried on the family tradition of lobster fishing when his father passed away years before. He had taught Finn to fear and respect the sea.

His relationship with the sea now was less respectful and more antagonistic.

Three years ago he was with his wife and son out on their pleasure cruiser. He had done that many times before and it was their fun time and relaxation from work. Fierce storm clouds rolled in from the horizon very quickly and unexpectedly. They were pitched and tossed on the relentless waves during the storm. He had never seen anything like it in this area and his wife and son were thrown overboard. He could not save despite his best efforts. Then, suddenly the storm ceased and passed over. It was as if a malevolent force had whipped up the storm, claimed their lives then disappeared.

Since that day, he had harboured a grudge against the sea’s dark forces. Not long after that, fishermen had discovered the shipwreck. It was very strange as Finn and his fellow fisherman had not seen any wrecks in that area and had been fishing it for years.

That’s when strange things started to happen.

The dolphin pods avoided the wreck, and a couple of them washed up on the beach—something that had never happened before. The lobsters and other marine life had migrated away from the area too.

 During the investigation of the shipwreck, strange events unfolded. The ship had once belonged to a notorious pirate from the area, Captain Blackheart. It was said that he had the power to control the tides.

One night, another crew was fishing near the wreck and came back to port ashen-faced and very scared. They swore they had witnessed the ocean glowing an eerie green colour and saw ghostly figures of sailors, wailing and moaning, on an old pirate ship.

Finn and Sophia had been in the local pub, going through what had happened and witnessed a sudden raging torrent that threatened to engulf the town. It was all too familiar to Finn and he recounted the tale of his own experience to Sophia. Witnesses said the sea had come alive with monstrous creatures, lashing out at the harbour. They reported seeing giant tentacles snaking through the waves, dragging boats away into the depths of the sea.

During all the hullabaloo and making sure people were safe, Finn pulled Sophia to one side and said they needed to speak to Lila. She was a middle-aged woman, living alone in a cottage on the cliffs, just outside the town. She was rumoured to be a direct descendant of Blackheart and had a strange affinity to sea creatures.

As they approached her cottage, they thought that it was deserted but Sophia saw the curtains move in one of the windows. Lila opened the door of the cottage and invited them inside.

She said “You’re Finn MacIver! Aren’t you?” She sighed and sat down on a threadbare chair that had seen better days. “You’ll be here about the storm I suppose?”. They all huddled around the coal fire and Lila revealed that she had a journal belonging to her ancestor, Blackheart. She retrieved it and laid it on the table.

The journal detailed the last voyage of The Mermaid, Blackhearts’ ship. Some parts of the writing were smudged and unreadable, but it mentioned a curse binding his crew's spirits to the shipwreck. A stolen artefact, restless souls and a huge storm were mentioned but undecipherable in places.

Further reading suggested that returning the artefact to the wreckage of The Mermaid could break the curse.

Sophia said, “We need to find the artefact! Is there any mention of what it is?”

“Nothing,” said Finn.

“There’s something here about a mermaid,” Sophia chipped in. “It says ‘the charm has gone’, any ideas?”

Finn leapt up and shouted “Eureka!” and did a little jig. “The Mermaid was the name of the ship,” he continued. The figureheads on the bows of the ship were seen as lucky charms to the sailors. They were not only the eyes of the ship but guided them safely home, as well as being the spirit of the vessel.

“Wait! There’s something else here,” Sophia was reading from the journal. “The crew found the figurehead on a deserted island and secured it to their ship!” she read on, “Storms and huge sea creatures, all being controlled by a group of mermaids. Here’s something, the figurehead contained a mermaid's soul and served as a talisman to all sea creatures. “What else does it say about the figurehead?” Finn asked.

“Only that it was washed up on a beach on the Northeast coast of Scotland.”

“Why have the storms only been seen recently though?”

At that Lila spoke, “I can shed some light on that!” Tears were welling up in her eyes as she continued. “I am the mermaid figurehead! During the storm and the attack on the ship, I broke loose and was washed ashore. Some fishermen found me and carried me to this cottage.”

“What about the recent storms?” Finn asked again.

“I took human form and buried the figurehead behind the cottage. I am dying now and my soul needs to be returned to the figurehead and given back to the sea for the curse to end.”

“I always knew this day would come and my ancestors have sensed this too. They are only trying to get me back to where I belong.” Lila slumped further into the chair.

“How can we help?” Sophia asked.

“I need to be near the figurehead when I die. When my soul transfers back to the figurehead, place me within the shipwreck. This will end the curse for the sailors and bring peace to my ancestors.”

“We can do that for you Lila.” Finn chipped in.

“One last thing before it’s too late!” Lila said. “Sophia, have you ever wondered why you like the sea so much?”

“No, I just always have.”

“You are one of us too, I sensed it the moment I saw you.” She watched the reaction from Sophia. “You don’t know, do you? You can come back with me to fulfil your destiny too.”

“Eh, I can’t get my head around that. I can’t just leave my life here.”

“Just think about it,” Lila said.

Finn unearthed the figurehead, brushed the dirt off it and carried it into the cottage. He placed it on the floor beside Sophia, who rested on the bed. “Your wife and child are OK, they are waiting for you. She is a mermaid too and had to come back to us to help fulfil the prophecy.”

“I will be ready by morning Finn, Goodnight and thank you.”

Fin and Sophia stayed at the cottage but little was said, they both had things to sort out in their heads.

The following day Finn and Sophia loaded the figurehead onto Finns' boat. They stopped above the wreck, donned their diving gear and placed it inside the captain’s cabin. As they emerged from it, they something very strange. Ghostlike apparitions were swimming towards the boat.

They were mermaids and swam all around Finn and Sophia. Lila swam out from the cabin over to Sophia. She held her hand out and Lila took hold of it.

One of the mermaids swam right up to Finn and smiled at him. He knew it was his wife, they embraced and swam towards the rest of the mermaids.

Lila, Sophia and Finn swam away with the mermaids knowing they would never set foot in Helmsmouth again. As they swam away, the wreck of the mermaid disappeared. 

The press caught wind of Finn and Sophia’s disappearance and the tales of sea creatures terrorising the town.

‘What’s Out There? Under Those Waves!’ That’s what the headline said. There was no wreck, no ghostly sailors, no mermaids and no sea creatures. Authorities dismissed the event as mass hysteria and closed the file, labelling it as a tragic accident.

The sea returned to its natural state. The dolphins, lobsters and other marine life also returned. The curse was broken and the town was saved from further wicked tides.

Eventually, everyone just got on with things.