After his day of what most people might call normalcy, he felt almost like sitting on the rocks waiting for his illusion to return was tempting fate. Maybe he didn’t need the illusion tonight, or ever again. Maybe it was enough to just see Ashley two days in a row and remember that it was not only possible, but perfectly okay, to feel something other than loss and pain.
He’d forgotten how hard it was to get over Ashley. There was no way he wanted to go through that again. But being with her, he could see how easy it would be to fall in love with her all over again. The fact she was married was a complete non-starter. He was definitely not a home-wrecker. That was his father’s deal. He’s the one that broke up marriages like it was his job. Of course, to be fair, his mother did it on a regular basis too. That, however, was not going to be him at any cost.
As the sundown filled the sky at his back, he wondered if Ariel would come. A few people in his immediate area would surely keep her from appearing. It was a little disappointing that his imagination couldn’t create a better name than Ariel. That was so very lame. Of all the names in the world, he could have come up with something better than that. But no, he had to pick the only mermaid movie he’d ever actually seen in the history of mermaid movies.
A few minutes after the last person left his area, he moved down the large rocks closer to the water, hoping it wouldn’t take him much longer to get into the deep regions of his brain. Maybe he needed to see Ariel more tonight than ever before, to once and for all dismiss her as an illusion. Maybe that’s why he came here again rather than just giving up on it all.
Ashley definitely had him second-guessing his sadness. He’d been wallowing in it, enjoying the pain in a way, for so long he forgot what it was like to just exist. He didn’t want to be sad anymore, he wanted to move on. There was light at the end of the tunnel and he was running toward it full speed.
The sea was rough. The waves were slamming into the large rocks, sending a huge spray into the air ten feet over his head. He didn’t think there was any way Ariel would be able to stay at the base of these rocks and not get crushed.
With that in mind, he got up and started to navigate down the shore a little, to where the landing was softer. He got to the end and decided to head over to the sand where a small inlet between the breakers and the beach had long ago carved its way into the shore.
Jake took a short step and jumped over the wall, landing on the sand next to the little inlet. He looked around and didn’t see anyone. He was alone.
Cupping his hands to his mouth he yelled, “Ariel!” He’d never called her before. She usually just showed up.
She didn’t show up at first but then he saw some movement out in the waves. The glint of something catching the moonlight grabbed his attention. She was out there, bobbing in the waves but not coming closer.
He had a good idea what was keeping her from coming into shore. Something compelled him to dive into the next big wave and start swimming toward her. Ducking under the last curl, he came up for air right next to her. “Hey.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were going to swim out to me.”
“I wasn’t at first. But it looked like you weren’t going to come in.”
“The waves are too big. I can’t go to the shore when they’re like that. It’s just too hard to handle.”
“You’ll get slammed around.”
“I do like to breathe.” She winked. “You’re a good swimmer.”
“I’ve been swimming in these waves since I was five years old.”
“Me too.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I bet.”
“Were you born here?”
“Yeah, right here in Wilmington.”
“Lived here all your life?”
“No, I went to college up in New York City, stayed up there for a few years, but I missed the beaches and the warm air.”
“So you love to swim.”
“I do. It’s probably nice to have that fin.”
She flipped over and kicked a bunch of water at him, popping back up after her somersault. “Jealous? It makes it easier to zoom through the water. I can out-swim anyone.”
“But I bet it’s harder to walk,” he joked.
“Ha-ha, very funny.”
“Sorry, that was a low blow.”
“You’re smiling. I’ve never seen you smile so big.”
He treaded water against a big wave. “I am.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you. You have a nice smile.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a reason to smile.”
“Am I your reason to smile?”
“One of them.”
“Even better if you have more than one.”
“I was in such a good mood I didn’t think you’d come.”
Ariel ducked under the water and popped back up on the other side of him. “What sense does that make?”
Jake started to get tired from treading water. “I don’t know. I just figured you were a result of my sadness.”
She frowned. “I don’t know how to take that. Your mood doesn’t dictate whether or not I would come to see you.”
“A part of me still kinda figured that you were a stress-induced hallucination.”
She moved closer to him. “You still don’t believe I’m real?”
He nervously laughed. “I’m just going to play it out until one day you disappear.”
“How can I convince you?”
“I don’t know.”
She moved closer. So close he could feel her brushing against the length of his body. “Touch me,” she said.
Jake felt nervous but he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. The soft undulations of her fin kept both of them buoyant in the rolling waves.
She whispered in his ear. “Do I feel real?”
“Terribly real.”
They were cheek to cheek, but he felt her lips drawing close to his until they were kissing. Jake felt himself lost in her, and the water, and the world. He’d never had that floating feeling of kissing someone while he was actually floating under the power of something like this. He was kissing a dream, a fable. Either way, it was simultaneously the most bizarre and amazing moment of his life. But it was so real, so very real. The kiss was both innocent and sensual. He wanted to kiss her forever but there was one thing in the back of his mind.
She finally pulled back. “Now do you believe?”
He took a deep breath. “How could anyone deny that?”
“I can understand your skepticism.”
“Can you blame me?”
“This is why I don’t show myself to people often. It’s not good for anyone.”
“How many people have seen you?”
“A few.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I didn’t let them see me again.”
“How come you let me see you again?”
“I like you. I know my secret will be safe with you. I trust you.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
A car pulled into the parking area near the beach. The lights cast out into the water and fell briefly on them. Ariel quickly ducked under the waves. Jake sank with her. When the headlights extinguished, they popped back up.
She gave him another long kiss, and then kissed his neck softly. “I have to go.” Letting him go so he could tread water again on his own, she said, “Until next time.”
With that, she was gone again.
Jake treaded water for a few seconds and then headed back toward the shore. He got to the sand and removed his shirt, wringing it out and cursing himself for not taking it off before jumping in. He found his sandals in the sand where he’d left them and slid his feet into them.
As he approached the parking area, the driver of the car stood there smoking a cigarette. Jake walked up the beach to the gravel path and headed toward his car.
“Nice night for a swim,” the man said.
Jake nodded. “Yeah, not bad.”
“Gotta watch out for the sharks. They like to feed at night.”
Jake kept walking. “I’m not too scared.”
The man tipped his hat. “They like rare flesh. Be careful who you swim with, certain types of creatures attract them more than others.”
Jake stopped. “What?”
“You gotta be careful when you’re in the water. You can get in over your head really fast and before you know it, it’s too late.”
“Huh?”
“You spend too long in there and you’ll never make it back to shore in time before you find yourself gasping for air that never comes.”
Jake didn’t reply this time. He just kept walking to his car as the man gave him a creepy cigarette-drag grin.