Fates: Chapter Forty-Three

Seirra

I woke up long before dawn.

Thinking back on everything that had happened in the past week, I still couldn't believe that I was going back to Aquania with Margaret.

I got off the bed and walked over to the window. Marina's old apartment had no curtains and no view. The narrow street was still as ugly as it was before. The walls were dirty and garbage was scattered carelessly by the dumpster. Near the corner, a pair of drunkards swayed towards the sidewalk and finally gave up walking. I imagined them moaning from their hangover and I averted my gaze as I thought how hopeless some humans could be.

The gloomy darkness slowly gave way to light. The sunrise could never look beautiful with nothing but walls to see, and yet I couldn't help but feel elated about what was going to happen today.

Problems continued to lay ahead of Marge and me. However, I knew that Margaret must leave without feeling burdened--not of what was to come and definitely not of what she was leaving behind. I resolved to make her departure as easy as possible.

I dressed in a blue collared shirt and jeans. If we were going to reminisce and recreate Margaret's lost memories, we might as well dress casually, just as we always did those twenty-nine days I stayed on land.

A blue velvet box lay on the small table beside my bed. I walked over and lifted its lid. Inside was a gold ring with a small diamond on it. It was simple and yet, it was the most valuable jewel that I had ever held.

At first I had thought that there was no need to do something like this but as each day passed, I realized that Margaret will always be a human at heart and to ask her to marry me by giving her a ring will be a precious memory that she could hold onto.

We, merfolk, probably had no reason to propose using a jewel but Margaret would greatly appreciate this. Not because she wanted something extravagant but because I knew that she would know that doing this meant that I truly loved and accepted her.

And there was no better day to offer this to her than today. I took the ring out of the box and placed it in the chain that held the Crystal Key of Saol.

I originally bought the ring from a jewelry store but the diamond now possessed magic from the Key. It was a risk that nobody had ever thought of doing but when I resolved to propose to Margaret, I had decided to ask the Key to protect her mind from insanity.

At first, I thought that nothing had happened but when I accidentally placed the two jewelries on the bedside table, the diamond on the ring reacted. When the Key and the diamond touched, they emitted a small green light, indicating that the diamond had acquired a small amount of power.

Somehow, I felt sure that as long as Margaret was wearing the ring, the effects of her transformation as a mermaid will lessen.

I smiled as I placed the chain back around my neck and went out of the room.

We were supposed to meet at the beach at eight in the morning. It was not the right time of day, considering how we first met early in the afternoon, but since I only had today to give Marge everything she could not remember, I figured the time of day was no longer as important.

I ate a piece of sliced bread and left early. Mornings on land are actually quite beautiful. There weren't many people roaming the streets and the morning sun did not feel as if you were being cooked in a furnace. It was more like feeling the warmth of freshly baked bread against your skin. The surroundings seemed even more alive and colors tended to shine brighter.

I took my time going to our meeting place, savoring my last day on land, but still managed to arrive twenty minutes earlier than we had planned.

What came as a surprise was that Marge was already there. What was even more astounding was that she was wearing the same blouse she was wearing when we first met. Turquoise matched her blue eyes well and complemented her hair beautifully. She was wearing a cream-colored skirt this time, instead of the black slacks she wore that fateful day.

Suddenly, everything seemed too good to be true. She was all that was beautiful and it felt as if I did not deserve her. She was giving up her whole life--possibly, even facing more dangers--yet the only thing I could give her was myself.

Was this really the right thing to do?

And then just as I was asking myself the same question again, she turned and saw me standing behind her. It took her a few seconds to react but when she did, she seemed to be answering all of my questions. Her eyes lit up when she recognized me, and for the first time this week, she grinned genuinely. No fear, no doubts. She smiled as if she had been waiting forever for me.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked as she walked towards me.

It took me a while to answer--still awestruck that she appeared happy to see me--that she touched my arm to snap me back to reality.

I stared at her hand on my arm for a few seconds before asking, "What's happening?"

Her smile faltered but she kept it on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Not that I don't like it, but why do you seem so happy? Did something happen?"

Understanding dawned on her and her smile gave way to wonder. She turned back to the sea and took a breath.

"I woke up very early today and without meaning to, I ended up going here just before sunrise."

She looked ethereal with her hair being blown by the wind and the morning sun adding a golden glow all over her. She struggled to explain what was really going on in her mind but it was clear that she wanted to tell me everything about it. My chest tightened with an overwhelming sense of peace as I watched the play of emotions on her face.

"Do you know what I realized?" She paused but it was obvious that she was not expecting an answer. "All my life I've always let my past constrain me. Somehow, without meaning to, I've been making decisions based on what everybody in my past would have chosen for me. Not that I hate them for it, but..."

I finally moved closer and took her hand. Her head snapped towards me in surprise but she did not pull away. For some reason, it was obvious that she took comfort from my touch. And that was more than I could ask for.

"But when I met you, I finally understood that it was high time I start making decisions about my future and stopped dwelling in the past." She cleared her throat and then looked straight into my eyes. "And I think my future is with you."

I had no idea why she was saying all of these but her words struck me so deeply that the next thing I knew, I was pulling her into my arms. And then I felt her hugging me just as tightly.

When we finally pushed back, she gave me a grin then asked, "So this was where we first met?"

"Yeah. You even wore the same blouse," I replied, taking my cue that today was really meant to be light and happy. "And this was where you first accused me of being a rapist."

She stared at me in horror before she said, "I did not say that!"

I gave a roar of laughter then said, "Yes, you did. It was a very similar reaction when you saw me naked in the park near Grassfield."

It was apparent in her face that she was remembering that day--the same day she and Robert were attacked. There was fear and sadness mixed with a resolve to find a way for that day never to happen again.

I could not let her think depressing thoughts again so I mimicked her voice in hopes of cheering her up.

"I have never seen you naked!"

That finally caught her attention and she looked at me sharply, one eyebrow raised as she said, "Excuse me? My voice doesn't sound as annoying as that."

"Of course, it does," I replied, still using an exaggerated version of her voice.

She laughed while shaking her head in exasperation.

"Shut up and let's go."

I gave her an answering smile and reached for her hand. She seemed to be expecting it as her hand met mine halfway. I looked at her questioningly but she was staring straight ahead and did not see my reaction.

She was acting like everything was normal, like it was natural for us to hold each other's hands. I let it go and decided to just enjoy the day, knowing that it would be better for her to completely accept things early on.

I surprised her by going to her house next. She hesitated by the door and turned towards me.

"Why are you sending me back home?"

"I lived here for twenty-nine days, you know. I figured it would be better for me to tell you all that happened here first. After all, we did go here right after we met at the beach that first day."

She was still a little skeptical but she let me in anyway. Amanda was already there but besides greeting her a good morning, we went straight upstairs.

"This place held so many memories even though I had only been here for such a short time," I blurted out as soon as we were in the living room.

"It will always be special," Marge replied. "This has been my home for about half my life that I could not remember calling any place else as my home."

She motioned for me to sit but instead, I went to look out the window.

Knowing it might take us some time before going to our next destination, she went to the kitchen and brought back two glasses of apple juice.

I took mine silently as she went to sit on the couch.

"Grampa knew what I was the moment he saw me. He was going to give me a warning after you left to help Amanda but you never got to help her because you heard Grampa calling me out on my identity."

I turned and faced her as she tried to absorb what I was telling her.

"After that, I guess you can say that our lives have changed forever. Soon, Grampa revealed the story about his daughter-who, at that time, I didn't know was my mother."

"Seirra..." Marge whispered, looking as if she wanted to cry.

It made me smile. She always showed how much she cared about others.

"You looked just as sympathetic right now as you did last time. Although I wished I knew he was my grandfather, I'm happy I got to know him." I gave her a wider smile, which almost enchanted her. "And I can't thank you more because you led me to him."

She was surprised at how I described her role in reuniting me and my grandfather that she stuttered her reply.

"Seirra, I-you know it was just...I don't know, coincidence. I didn't do anything."

"But you did, Marge. You agreed to help a stranger-a mythical creature, at that-and helped me find out the truth about me, my past and my future. You could have chosen not to help right from the beginning."

"I..."

She seemed even more confused and forlorn that I decided to stop patronizing her.

"Okay. How about we just agree that everything happened because it was destined to happen and we both didn't have anything to do with it?"

That seemed like an good idea to her and she finally smiled back.

"So, what else happened here?"

"Nothing much. Just that...this place was where everything seemed both normal and mystical. This was where we talked a lot about each other, where I had small talks with Grampa."

I paused yet Marge did not feel inclined to ask more. She simply waited for me to continue.

"But this was also where I was always reminded that the two of us are different. An entire species of difference. Sometimes I would lie on the sofa and stare at the ceiling, thinking about Aquania, my father and you.

Often, I would fall asleep thinking about how funny you were, how beautiful, how sarcastic, how fussy, sexy, charming...and then snap--I'd remember that I was supposed to look for Princess Marina, my future wife."

I snorted as I took a glimpse at Marge. She seemed to be processing my words.

"You can just imagine how frustrating it was. Especially when I found out that you were my Fate."

"So...this place really was quite meaningful to you." She sighed, as if she too, was frustrated. "I wonder if...I wonder if I ever thought of you that way before." She looked straight into my eyes and said, "Do you think my memories will ever come back?"

I saw the longing in her eyes, knowing how badly she wanted her own memories of the things I have been telling her. And it was a knife to my heart to tell her the truth.

"They're never coming back, Marge. Dreaming of me was a total mystery but your memories, well, maybe some of them might return if there was a trigger. But for all of them, I doubt it, Marge. Sorry."

She took a deep breath, then gave me a close-lipped smile. Her sadness was almost tangible.

"I was just thinking that maybe if I had them, this wouldn't't e so confusing."

"I know and I'm sorry." I walked toward her and held out my hand. "Shall we go to those other places?"

She smiled back and took my hand.

"Okay."