Storm At Sea

I rose up just above the water's rough surface to watch as the ships' captains fought desperately to navigate through the storm. I knew their target point - ships often passed through these waters - but I was afraid the storm had caused them to sail quite drastically off course.

I submerged and flicked my tail to swim a bit closer. If only I had warned the sailors ahead of time. I saw that storm coming from miles away. But if I had revealed myself, the men would have died all the sooner - my father would have seen to that. So I continued to follow them at a helpless distance, keeping my flaring gills beneath the water.

Suddenly, a giant wave grew up, surging toward the ship closest to me. I cried out, not in my own terror, but in fear for the people aboard that ship. There was nothing that saddened me more than to see humans drown in my ocean. I didn't want to watch. But my eyes were glued on the scene unfolding before me. I could hear the men's yells just before the wave hit. The ship tipped violently, bending unbelievably close to the ocean surface. Barrels and other strange items dumped out of the ship, but to my great relief, no humans were among them.

Then I heard a scream, like that of a seagull's cry. I whipped my head toward the sound and squinted. A small dark shape bobbed in the water about a hundred feet away from the closest ship. Someone shouted a name above the wind.

Oh, no, my heart sobbed.

Not one of my Merkin had ever attempted to rescue a human before. I was going to be the very first. Without another thought, I dove under the dark water and raced toward the human.
As I neared the human, I realized it was a young girl, no older than my little sister. The girl flailed her arms, gurgling and spewing saltwater from her mouth. Then with a gasping cough, she dropped beneath the surface. I shot beneath her and pulled her back up. For a moment, my thoughts were so muddled, I had no idea what to do or where to go with this unconscious human girl beneath my arm.

I shook my head clear and remembered an island I knew was close by.
The going was not easy - trying to keep the girl's head above the water and at the same time trying to keep my gills unexposed to the air - but I got her there safely. I laid her on the sandy beach, well away from the water and went to hide behind a sharp rock jutting out from the water.

Dawn lit the horizon behind me, claiming victory over the storm at sea.

The girl stirred, awoke and seemed to look around. She stared towards my rock and I ducked lower, eyes hovering just over the water.

I knew the girl would be safe on the island. If her human family loved her as much as I believed, they would find her. And maybe receive a little unknown help along the way.....

I smiled to myself, sank into my ocean, and drifted out into the deep.