Margaret: Chapter Six

“What?” I exclaimed as I opened the door again and rushed into the room. Amanda could manage on her own if no one went down to help her. “What do you mean someone like him? Gramps, you know what Seirra is?”

Seirra turned to look at me and I saw his lime-colored eyes glisten with solemnity. “He’s a Huntre, Margaret,” he informed me, “A merman who chose to be permanently human.”

“Whaaat?” Not even a day passed by since I met Seirra and my world had turned upside-down.

“Sit down, dear.” Grampa instructed me. “Let me tell you about me and what happened to my daughter.”

This was yet another mystery about these mermen that I could not help but be curious. The only thing missing was finding out that I am a mermaid myself. I shivered. Let’s hope that last bit would never be true.

I sat on the couch beside Grampa’s chair and signaled for Seirra to sit on the space beside me. No, I didn’t tell him to sit there because he’s hot but because there really wasn’t any other chair in the apartment’s living room. Grampa and I lived simply.

Silence filled the room for about ten seconds before Grampa decided to begin his tale. “I fell in love with a human girl and chose her over my own people.” He paused, and I saw a smile form in his lips as he apparently reminisced those days when his wife was still alive. “To be with her, I sacrificed the longevity of my life as a merman.”

“Mermen live far longer than humans. The oldest of our kind is now two hundred years old,” Seirra clarified.

I felt my eyes widen at his statement. “If that’s the case, why would your queen want a fountain of youth?”

“I remember that our queen did not want to look old,” Grampa told me. “Mermen may live longer but they also get wrinkly and weak as they age.”

“Oh.” I forgot about the universal obsession with looks. “Right. Got it. So what happened next, Gramps?” I asked.

“I am a different case from the Celaris. I voluntarily wanted to be human even without the infamous Key of Saol.” Gramps looked at the pendant hanging by my neck. “I had to go through the Huntre’s ritual and only if I don’t die do I become a human.”

“And you obviously didn’t,” I pointed out.

“Yes. Little did I know that a shorter life isn’t all that I had to sacrifice,” he declared sadly. “I looked too old compared to my real age by the time I got my legs.” He sighed. “Her parents thought we didn’t suit and disowned her. More problems arose and the worse was when she gave birth to my daughter, Alana.”

That was not what I expected for a worst problem and I was about to tell him so but his sadness stopped me. There must be something more to it.

“That was when I found out that I had to choose. I had to sacrifice one o-of t-them,” he said in a broken voice.

“Two legs for one human life. That was the pledge I had to say before I went through the Huntre’s ritual.” I saw tears fall down his cheeks. “I thought it meant my human life.” He took a deep breath. “But I found out too late that it meant the life of a human I love. There can only be one or none. My wife begged me to choose Alana—and I couldn’t deny her wish. We both wanted our daughter to live.” Grampa was sobbing more openly now. “T-the day after Alana was born, m-my wife d-died.”

I don’t usually cry easily but this was Grampa’s story. I didn’t know how much he had sacrificed just to be with the person he loved. Knowing this story made me admire him even more. This is the kind of story I wanted to have for myself—finding someone to love and will love me in return that we are willing to make sacrifices for each other.

Seirra and I gave Grampa time to calm down. It was then that I realized that Seirra had held my hand again as a gesture of comfort. I should tell him to remove it but I could not bring myself to do it. His hand on mine felt wonderful.

I could get used to this.

I shook my head a little to remind myself that I shouldn’t be thinking about the feeling of Seirra’s touch. I covertly removed my hand under his and tried to reach Grampa.

“Gramps, we can talk more some other day.” I squeezed his hand. “You can rest now.” I started to remove my hand but he stopped me. “Allow me to tell you about Alana, my dear. I don’t think I could bear to talk about it again some other time.”

I gave my grandfather a smile of encouragement as I decided to let him do as he wished. I know it was hard for him but I guess pouring everything out at one time was better than reliving the story multiple times.

“As you wish, Gramps.”

He inhaled deeply and tried to continue the story more calmly. “We were happy together—Alana and I. I thought our lives had become normal and my past as a merman was finally behind me. Who would have thought that my own daughter would have the same love story as her parents had?”

I swallowed the sobs that had suddenly formed in my throat. More sacrifices. And then I remembered something Grampa said. The merman took Alana away and she died. Could it be…? I abruptly turned to Seirra and saw that he was already looking at me. He was thinking of the same thing.

“I told Alana about the complications of being in love with a merman but she fought for him. She fought for him fiercely. The next thing I knew she was asking me to go out,” he paused for another breath in an attempt to fight back another surge of sobs, “and she never came back.”

I closed my eyes, feeling his grief. I had never been a mother but I know what it was like to lose the people I love. I remembered how lonely it was when I lost my parents.

“If you don’t mind, sir, how did you know that Alana was dead?” Seirra asked in a calmer voice.

Grampa took five seconds to answer the question. “It must have been the work of a Celari Key-holder. One day I just found a letter in Alana’s handwriting, telling me how much she loved me and that we would see each other again in another life,” I saw his fist clenching tighter. “I kept that letter and read it every night. I know she’s never coming back. I just wish that I was there to tell her goodbye.”

I went to kneel in front of Grampa then held his hands. “I know it was hard, Gramps. Thank you for telling me. I love you.” I hugged him for about ten seconds then whispered to him that he should rest first. He could tell me more stories when he’s ready. Besides, I feel that Seirra could give me some answers about Huntres anyway.

Seirra and I accompanied the old man to his room and he dozed off almost immediately.

*****

I wasn’t able to get any information about Huntres until Seirra accompanied me to school the following day. It turned out that the trouble Amanda had was an early delivery of books. Considering how Books and Covers was only a small bookstore, we had to rearrange the storage area so as not to create a mess inside the bookstore itself. We also had to clean up the spare bedroom for Seirra then fix dinner for everyone.

When Seirra insisted to bring me to school, I almost begged him not to. He had the tendency to draw attention to himself and I really wouldn’t want to be the center of attention. His reason for going was quite sound though. He told me that we can talk about the Huntres during my break and he could use his waiting time to get clues about Marina.

Nothing personal and nothing to worry about.

That was what I thought.

We hadn’t even reached the gates yet and nearly everyone I know had already come over to meet the ‘new guy’. Seirra, damn his good-looking soul, never forgot to say that he was actually my long-distance boyfriend. He even made it more believable by either holding my hand or putting his arm around me. The most bothersome was when he kissed me in front of everyone before he left me to find my way to the classroom. Until now, I could still remember how his lips felt when they touched my cheek.

I shuddered. That meant nothing. It was only an act, I told myself over and over again.

I reached the cafeteria and sat with my friends from the Nightingale. It was an organization of singers and trainers with a division in every school. They would conduct annual conventions available for all members but required an acceptance letter from a panel of evaluators. I never passed.

I was discussing details for the upcoming concert of the school’s Nightingale division when Seirra sauntered in, seemingly oblivious to everyone’s stares.

“Wherever did you find a boyfriend as handsome as he is, Marge?” Kristina said with a sigh.

“Didn’t I say that we met online?” I said for the nth time.

“Pish-tosh! You are one lucky gal,” Elena retorted. “You’re probably the only girl in this school who would be able to meet a guy online who isn’t a pervert and a liar.”

Kristina and Stephanie nodded their heads in agreement. I was about to launch into a story I came up with before I slept last night but Seirra finally arrived at our table. He casually wrapped his arm around my back and I felt my skin tingle. Ignore it, I told myself.

“Hi girls! We meet again,” he greeted with a lopsided smile. “Mind if I borrow my girlfriend for lunch?”

My ‘boyfriend’ could charm a block of wood if he chose. I almost rolled my eyes at the ridiculous situation I got myself in.

“Oh sure! But we still have classes so don’t forget to return her, ‘kay?” Stephanie chirped in with a giggle.

“Shut it, Steph.” I glared at her and my other friends. “And don’t you two dare to join.”

Their only response was three sets of joyous laughter.

I just sighed and stood up with Seirra assisting me. As if he needed to. It was only an act, I thought.

“Thanks, girls! You’re the best,” he told them as he took my tray of barely-eaten lunch. He led me towards an empty table by the windows.

When we were both seated, he started digging into my lunch. I knew that the reason he was acting like my boyfriend was because he didn’t want to raise any suspicion but he told me he would start looking for Marina today. After class was supposed to be the time I got to see him again.

“So,” I began, taking my fork from him to stab a piece of chicken from my plate. “What’s up, honey?”