Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,114
I shuddered at the word “recovery”, and looked up to see Ethan’s face had gone completely bloodless.
The harbormaster told Ethan where he had secured the inflatable, said a few awkward words about Dutch being a hero, and hurried away.
Ethan clung to me like a drowning man, and I could hear Abby’s heart-wrenching sobs in the background.
“Ethan, I saw him. I know he’s alive,” I said, looking him squarely in the eye. I took his face in my hands, “Please believe me.”
“How can that be?” he choked out.
“Sit down,” I said seriously, and led him to the kitchen table. He looked numb. I sat down next to him, taking his hands in mine, needing to make him listen.
“Ever since I met Lorelei I’ve been seeing, well, having... visions.” He looked at me like I had gone completely out of my mind. Determined, I went on, “Sometimes I see an image and blurt out something in mermaid– something I know will happen. I don’t know how, I just know. I get that it sounds crazy– but I saw Cruz being a famous designer, and I saw the house you’re going to build.”
He put his head in his hands as I continued, “When I met your dad in the hospital, I saw he was going to be with Abby. I saw a picture of them standing together, before they even saw each other. And just now I saw your father. He’s in the water, and we have to go get him!” He looked up at me with sad, grim, skeptical eyes, “What exactly did you see?”
“He was in the waves, holding onto something white.” Ethan put his head down again. “Like a box or something…” I remembered, and added, “He was wearing something bright orange.” His head snapped up and he looked at me with a flicker of hope.
“Ethan, we can get him, I know it.” He stood up out of his chair and I hugged him, overwhelmed with relief, “Let’s go!” I said.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, “I am.” He went to go get his gear with me following after him. A deadly calm passed over me, and my mind was made up.
“You need me to find him,” I said firmly, “I’m coming.”
“No. It’s too dangerous out there.”
“Ethan, they can help. I can make them help me.”
He stared at me, “Are you out of your mind?” he asked.
I looked at him with steady serious eyes, “It’s safer for me than it is for you. I can talk to them. You can’t. They owe me something, according to them. We can make a deal.”
“No,” he said, fear in his blue eyes.
“I’m going– with or without you. You can’t stop me.”
“Marina–” he choked out. He had no idea how pointless arguing with me was.
“My mind is made up. Are you going to make me swim?”
He finally gave in, but he really had no choice, for I meant every word with all of my heart.
He put on his wetsuit and gave me another one to try. It was much bigger than mine, so I slipped out of my boots and zipped it on over my clothes. I felt calm and still inside, certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that we needed to find Dutch and bring him home.
He explained to me that his dad had an orange survival suit onboard his boat, and if he had managed to get it on he might still be alive. We only had a few hours of daylight left, and Dutch certainly couldn’t survive overnight in the water. He made me swear to hold on tight, and warned me that the waves would be strong enough to throw me out of the boat.
Cruz was on the couch with Abby, who was completely beside herself.
“This isn’t such a good idea…” he said, his voice tight with tension. I turned and looked at him with fiery eyes and he stopped. We ran out for the inflatable.
The wind was screaming and the waves were massive as we motored out of the harbor. I held onto the boat tightly and began calling for Lorelei. I tried to imagine talking to her in mermaid and focused on the water. Ethan was steering, heading out in the direction of the last known sighting of his dad’s boat.
A head popped out of the water, followed by two others. Each one was shimmering, iridescent and otherworldly beautiful. My heart raced wildly in my chest.
“Sisters! I need your help. ” They all smiled in recognition.