Flukes

Prologue



The brisk wind ruffled his hair as he pointed his boat down the coast. Marion sat at the front, large sunglasses concealing most of her face. Even from where he was, he could see the tiny lines along her mouth. They were the only indication of her grief. His heart clenched, and he had to swallow around the lump in his throat. Nothing seemed to help her with the emotional pain, and she had been drifting further and further away. Between the miscarriage and the destruction from the hurricane, things looked really bleak for their small family.



The refuge center they had taken over last year was in terrible debt and, after this storm, there might not be enough left to bother saving. They would be lucky if they were able to pull together enough money to even move out of the center. Shaking his head, he let his eyes travel along the shoreline, noting the debris washed ashore. His keen gaze looked for beached animals and grounded birds. He couldn’t afford to take in any more animals, but there was no way he could let them suffer.



“Ben!” Marion had a hand over her eyes to shade them from the light peeking through the clouds. “Look over there.”



Turning his head in the direction she was pointing, he grimaced. There were several deep-water buoys tangled together in what looked like a fishing net. Something was thrashing about and a pitiful keening noise reached his ears. Without thought he turned the Whaler in the direction of the trouble and sped toward the struggling animal. As they drew near, he cut the throttle and coasted next to the mess.



The loud squeal of a dolphin caught his attention, and he leaned over the edge of the boat to see how badly the animal was hurt. A large, old-style fishing net was wrapped around the buoys and the dolphin stuck inside thrashed when he tried to pull on the line wrapped around its tail. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his multi-tool and flicked out the knife. Slowly and carefully, he began to cut the net away from the dolphin’s tail and dorsal fin.



“Marion, come over here and pull the net closer. We’re drifting.” Something shiny flashed next to the dolphin and he paused to examine it a little closer, worried that there might be something in the net that could hurt the animal even more. Tilting his head, he moved a little closer to try and get a better look. Reaching his fingers into the net, he prodded the shiny material and was shocked when it felt soft under his fingers. “Marion, where are you? There’s something stuck in this net with the dolphin.” She didn’t respond and he tore his gaze away from the net to look over his shoulder. “Marion?”



“Do you hear that, Ben?” She was looking over the opposite side of the boat in confusion.



“Hear what?” Keeping his hand on the net so that the dolphin’s blowhole didn’t dip under the water, he kept his eyes locked on his wife. Something in her expression made his heart skip a beat. It was fear and determination.



“It sounds like a baby.” Her voice was so quiet he almost didn’t hear her over the water splashing against the boat. Shaking her head, she turned around to him and bit her lip for a minute. Taking a deep breath, she moved over next to him and grabbed firmly onto the net.



Not sure what to say, he looked back at the dolphin and pointed to the shiny area underneath. “See that? I’ve never see anything like it before. It almost looks like a scale, but it’s soft.”



Marion leaned over, and he could see the scientific part of her mind take over. “Maybe it’s not an animal. It could be some type of trash that was swept away in the storm. Finish cutting the dolphin free and then we’ll find out.”



He slid the knife back to the net that was wrapped around the animal and carefully began to remove the old ropes. He made soothing sounds as he worked, and was careful to not knick the dolphin, which was hard with the waves rocking the boat. The sound of another dolphin surfacing surprised him and he stabbed his knuckle. Muttering a curse, he looked to his right and smiled. There, floating next to the boat was a small dolphin. If he were to guess, he would say it was only a couple of months old.



“Look, Marion.”



“Oh, we’ve got to get the mother loose.” Moving her hands so that she had a better grip on the ropes, Marion smiled softly at the young dolphin. “Hurry, Ben.”



Renewing his efforts, he was able to get the dolphins tail free, but was rewarded with a mighty flick toward his face. Leaning back, he made shushing noises and looked over at his wife. She leaned closer to the dolphin and was whispering words of encouragement. Carefully, she moved her hand so that it could unloop the net wrapped around the dorsal fin before slowly working it over the dolphin’s head. Together they helped free the mother and watched as she turned to nose her baby.



Marion’s eyes stayed on the pair, tears dripping down her face to run along her soft smile. Reaching over to grab her hand, he laced his fingers with hers and pulled her toward him. She leaned into him for a moment and then pulled away gently. A soft mewling sound drifted over the water to his ears, and his wife tensed.



“I’m okay. I’m going to get the first aid kit and see if she will let me look at her back. She had some lacerations that didn’t look so good.” Marion patted his hand before moving toward the back of the boat. He watched her for a moment to make sure that she really was okay and then turned back to the mess next to his boat. He would have to call the Coast Guard to let them know about the buoys, but he might be able to get the net out of the water before anything else was caught. There was also the question of what had been under the dolphin.



Grabbing the net, he hauled it toward him with a grunt. Something in the net shifted and he jumped back in shock. His heartbeat sped up and he looked quickly over his shoulder toward his wife. She was kneeling and speaking softly to the dolphin. Swallowing convulsively, he moved back to the net and peered down at the sad face looking up at him with sightless eyes. Red hair lapped around her face and his eyes drifted down to where her body seemed to taper off. At first his mind wouldn’t grasp what his eyes were seeing. He stared and stared, but it just didn’t make sense. It was as if his brain refused to process what he was seeing. It shouldn’t be possible; it wasn’t possible and yet there was all the proof that his scientific brain could ever want.



“Ben?” Marion moved next to him and gasped. She leaned over the edge of the boat and pulled at the net. “What are you doing? Help her!”



Grabbing her shoulders, he pulled her away from the woman in the water. “Stop, Marion. She’s already dead.”



She covered her mouth and looked away. That strange mewling sound floated over the water again, making his shoulders tense while he held his wife closely. After a moment, Marion looked back at the woman tangled in the net and frowned. Getting back on her knees she reached for the net. He started to stop her but understood what she was being drawn to.



“Careful.” Leaning down next to her, he cut the ropes away from the woman’s face and watched as his wife gently unwrapped some seaweed from the net so that they could see better.



“Is this real? Can this be real?” Marion gently touched the soft, supple scales. Her face was pinched in astonishment and sadness. “A mermaid?”



Not sure how to answer that question, Ben shook his head. He didn’t tear his eyes from the mythical creature in front of him until the injured dolphin swam next to the boat and made a mournful sound. Looking into the sad eye of a generally upbeat animal made his heart clench.



“Marion?” He nodded his head toward the dolphin.



“Oh. I can almost feel how sad she is.” Marion ran a hand over the dolphin’s back. “What do we do? Should we take the… body… back with us?”



Under her words, Ben could hear Marion’s disgust and confusion over what would happen to the poor mermaid they found. Looking from the dead eyes of the woman floating in the water to the soulful eyes of the dolphin helped him make up his mind.



“We cut her adrift. I can only imagine that she would normally be at rest in the sea.” As if there was no other option, he began hacking at the rest of the ropes around the woman’s tail.



“You’re right.” Carefully, Marion moved some of the hair back from the mermaid’s face and closed her eyes.



After what seemed like hours of carefully cutting the netting away, they were able to see what caused the death of the beautiful creature. Tangled in the ropes and pinned between the buoys, a large piece of wood punctured her side. Carefully, he pulled the offending chunk out of her side and tossed it into the boat. As they pulled her body out next to the boat, the injured dolphin swam near enough to gently touch the mermaid’s arm with her snout. Marion washed some of the blood from her hands in the sea and watched sadly as the dolphin made another mournful sound.



After a moment, the mermaid’s body started to drift away from the boat and the dolphin kept pace. When he could no longer see them, Ben turned back to his wife and shook his head. He wondered if they would question this time years down the road. It was insane, impossible, and yet they had touched a mermaid and let her body float out to sea. If they brought the body back to shore, the discovery would have saved their refuge. It would have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in much-needed money.



“We did the right thing.” With a relaxed grin, Marion turned to pick up the mess from the first-aid kit. His heart felt lighter, as if her small smile undid clamps that had been wrapped around him. Deciding that it was time to alert the Coast Guard about the buoys, he moved toward the radio on the large center console. As he picked up the handheld receiver, the mewling sounded again over the wind. It was louder this time and sounded as if it was coming from nearby. Turning to see if his wife heard it, he saw the dolphin and her baby coming along the side of the boat. Marion leaned over the edge and gasped. She dropped to her knees and reached over the side.



“Marion!” Sliding along the wet deck, he reached out and grabbed her shoulder.



“Ben, it’s a baby.” Looking up at him, Marion gave a mighty sniff and looked back at the water with large eyes. “They brought her to us.”



Looking down into the water, he clutched the edge of the boat until his knuckles turned white. There in the water with the two gentle dolphins was a tiny mermaid. No, that wasn’t right. It was a young mermaid. If he had to compare it to a human child he would say it was roughly the age of a toddler. Perhaps a year old, but not much more. Her dark hair drifted around her head and shoulders as she shifted to float on her back. He couldn’t help but stare at the gorgeous teal tail that matched her tear-filled eyes.



Marion made a soft cooing sound and the small mermaid shifted her gaze to Marion’s. Ben watched as the child’s face seemed to brighten, a smile pushing at her plump cheeks. With a tiny hand, she reached out toward Marion and made an impatient sound. When Marion responded in kind, the mother dolphin swam forward and made a threatening sound.



“Marion.” He said her name in warning, scared that perhaps the dolphin hadn’t intended to bring the child to their boat after all.



“Shh. She brought her to us for a reason. She just wants us to understand how important this is.” Slowly she lowered her hand to the dolphin and looked the animal in the eye. “We understand. We will take care of her. I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that she is never hurt.”



Holding his breath, he waited while the dolphin seemed to ponder his wife’s words. After a moment, she moved closer to Marion and used her snout to push at her hand.



“I promise.” His wife said the words quietly before reaching for the tiny tyke with a tail. Pulling her out of the water, she cuddled the small mermaid to her chest and made soothing noises. The mermaid’s pudgy hand reached up to touch Marion’s cheek. Moving closer, he leaned over his wife’s shoulder and looked into the bright blue eyes of the little mermaid. When she turned her shy smile in his direction and waved her pudgy fingers, he was lost. In one short afternoon his entire life was turned upside down. His home had been destroyed. He saw a mermaid. And now he was a father.



Chapter One



- Meena -



“There goes the neighborhood.” Violet stood on her tiptoes so that she could peek out of the empty tank. Her feet slipped in the soap on the wall and she scrambled to keep from falling.



“You say that every year.” I couldn’t help but snort as my friend looked up sheepishly. Leaning down, I picked up Vi’s push broom and handed it back to her. I tried to not think about the fact this would be the last year she would be working the summer at Flukes. From now on she’d have internships for college every summer. And I’d still be here. Doing the same thing. I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped my mouth. Part of me really wished that I was going to college too, not the one being left behind.



“Well, it’s true every year. They stomp around and glare at everything. None of them do a good job, and we end up having to pick up their slack.” Violet scrubbed at the tank wall with a vengeance, the lather from the soap spraying angrily into the air.



“It’s better than having to do it all ourselves. Mom and Dad really need the help this time of year, and those kids have to work off community-service hours. It’s a win-win situation.” Stopping for a minute, I brushed the loose hair out of my eyes. “Besides, it’s only for a couple of months.”



“Meena. I don’t want to spend my summer vacation with those flukes.” Violet looked at me as if I was crazy. “And this year we don’t even have customers to distract us for the first couple of weeks.” Dad decided to close the sanctuary to tourists so that we could try to get everything back into shape.



“Flukes?” I frowned. When I heard my father’s voice addressing the arrivals, I looked up.



“The outcasts, miscreants, freaks, flukes of society. Their whole lives are flukes. Kind of appropriate that they come here. Flukes.” Violet huffed. I didn’t say anything and she stopped, her eyes widening with apprehension. “I mean…”



I looked away from Violet and bit my lip to keep from laughing. Let Vi sweat it out for a minute. Served her right for picking on the outcasts.



“Meena, I didn’t mean… You know I don’t think…” Dropping her broom, Violet threw herself at my back and wrapped her arms around me. “I love you, Meen!”



Pretending to ignore Violet, I bent over awkwardly and grabbed a handful of suds. Turning quickly, I worked the soap into Violet’s hair and laughed. Squealing, she tried to shove me away from her but only succeeded in sending us both to the ground.



“You stupid fish!” Violet lobbed a handful of bubbles. Puckering my lips, I made a fish-face. Violet laughed and threw more bubbles in my direction. Grabbing the nearby hose, I pointed at Violet. She slid backward on her butt and made sputtering noises.