Page 3 of Riding the Tide

Kannon came to the sliding glass doors of the bungalow. “Okay! Dinner’s ready. You guys come on in, fix a plate, and take it back outside. It’s too nice of an evening to eat inside.”

Marcus sighed silently. Of course they were sitting outside eating by the stinky pool. As much as he hated the indoors, he’d rather be in there than out here with the stench of chlorine surrounding him.

DINNER WAS nice, and once it was over Marcus volunteered to help Kannon clean up. Nisha turned on music to play by the pool, where Brett and Brooke were playing. After Marcus and Kannon finished cleaning the kitchen, they returned outside, too.

Nisha joined them by the pool, and Marcus barely sat before Nisha picked Kannon up and threw him in. Marcus laughed as Kannon surfaced, spluttering. Nisha dove in, and soon there was entirely too much splashing going on. Marcus watched as the two couples started a rousing game of Chicken. At least, that’s what Kannon called it.

Marcus never heard of it. Brooke sat on Brett’s shoulders and Kannon sat on Nisha’s. Soon Kannon and Brooke were trying to push each other off their mate’s shoulders. Why they were playing in pool water when the ocean was the backyard was beyond Marcus. The chlorine stunk.

He shuddered. Sitting by the pool was nearly more than he could stand. Then, of course, was the fact he was the fifth wheel in the group. Yes, he knew some human sayings. He was sixty years old, after all.

The sun dipped below the horizon. The urge to return to the ocean was growing by the second. He didn’t mind visiting land, but unlike Nisha and Brooke, there was no one pulling him to it. This was another reason why he didn’t want a human mate—he loved the ocean too much to live anywhere else, even for a short time.

Finally, the couples in the water calmed down, and seeing his chance, Marcus quickly bade them goodbye. Everyone climbed out of the water to see him off and, of course, Brooke insisted on hugging him. He swore she did it so he’d reek of chlorine, too. Maybe she and Nisha were used to the scent, but he wasn’t.

He left the bungalow and walked across the sand. The island they lived on was riddled with a cave system, which was a good thing considering they used them to transform. Plus, Kannon and Nisha lived in a very remote area. The other side of the island, where Brett’s resort—Blue Waters Resort—was located was quite populated.

Nisha told him once he purposely moved to the other side of the island so there’d be room between him and Brooke. Nisha loved his sister, but he also believed being too close could be problematic.

The residents in his territory often stashed waterproof bags in the underwater caves where they transformed. The bags held clothing such as shorts, shirts, and flip-flops which could be used when they needed to walk on land in human form. There they could transform.

He’d only dressed in shorts. Clothing restricted his movements, and he didn’t like wearing them any more than necessary. When he had arrived, Kannon briefly joked about no shoes, no shirt, no service. After a brief explanation, he finally understood what Kannon meant. What could he say? Shirts were uncomfortable the way they fit, and shoes… Well, most of the time he didn’t even have feet.

He strolled along the water’s edge, the gentle waves splashing around his ankles. The beaches here were left in their natural state, unlike on the other side of the island where the resorts were located. He wandered along as dusk gave way to night.

This was his favorite time. He did enjoy the sun beating down upon his head, but nighttime… There was something about the ocean during the night. It was never tame, but at night it was more… dangerous. Wild. Invigorating.

As he walked along the water’s edge, the predators of the night called from the jungle. They fascinated him even as they scared him. Land animals were so different from what he was used to in the deep, blue sea. Sharks were nothing to mess with thanks to their merciless drive for food and endless curiosity.

Merfolk respected the creatures, but it didn’t mean the two predators didn’t clash, too. Nisha wore a necklace full of shark teeth as proof of his unwillingness to back down. Fortunately, his kind came equipped with built-in protection.

Sharks weren’t the only dangers lurking under the waves—eels and sea snakes were just a few, along with other mers. Then there were the humans. Frankly, he thought they were the most dangerous of the predators. They were certainly the most destructive.

A sharp whistle from the water caught his attention, and he stopped. Farther out was a pod of dolphins signaling to him. It never ceased to amaze him how they recognized merfolk in human form. He glanced around to make sure there were no prying eyes. Nothing on land caught his attention, and all he could see in the water was a small dinner cruise ship, but it was quite a distance away.

Some resorts offered a dinner cruise package—a few hours on the water which included a nice dinner, a band for entertainment, and drinks. But this one was far enough away he wasn’t concerned about it. He slipped off his shorts, dropped them on the sand, and ran toward the water.

He waded in, the water grabbing at his legs almost as if welcoming him home. As the waves hit him he dove into the water. He cleared his mind and let the transformation to his preferred form begin. The water cradled him as the seconds ticked by. His body tingled, especially his lower extremities.

A sharp, sudden pain washed over him as his tail formed. The gills opened, and he stretched, shaking out his tail and flexing his caudal fin. The dolphins called to him once more, and he swam towards them.

None of them knew why it was easier to go from legs to tail. Not only did it take less time, it didn’t hurt. Well, not like forming legs did. It stung some, but it was nothing compared to how bad it was bringing forth his legs. Maybe it was the fact that everything melted together and reformed—there was no tearing. He didn’t know and didn’t care.

Gray shadows cut through the water as the dolphins called out, greeting him like an old friend, their calls and clicks beckoning him to come further out. He cut through the water with a mighty thrust of his tail, heading toward them. Even though there was no sunlight, he could see perfectly in the dark waters. Joy spread through Marcus as he joined the pod of about fifteen dolphins.

They swam together, their tails flipping smartly as they played. Bodies turned in a rolling, graceful dance. Marcus hung suspended in the water, watching the dolphins interact. They moved toward him, their tails moving up and down.

They twisted and turned, darting back and forth in the water, rushing at him and then away. He laughed softly and called to them, his sounds similar but not exactly like theirs. Moving together slowly they circled around him turning cartwheels. He ran his hands over the smooth bodies as they bumped against him.

Time lost all meaning as he swam with the dolphins until the low drone of a motor caught his and the dolphins’ attention. Eagerly they swam toward the slow-moving ship, but Marcus hesitated. There were humans on the ship. The dolphins might enjoy interacting with them, but he couldn’t.

Still, if he didn’t surface he should be okay. Once he was deep enough he couldn’t be seen, he peered up. The dolphins showed off for the humans who leaned over the railings, pointing and laughing. Marcus chuckled as he listened to the dolphins.

The little imps were hoping the humans would throw food to them. Even over the noise of the ship’s motor and the excited clicks of the dolphins, he could hear the human voices, but he couldn’t distinguish their words.

Losing interest, he swam from the ship. Once he was far enough, he surfaced and flipped his long hair out of the way. A warm tropical breeze swirled around him then moved on. There was nothing he enjoyed more than the moonlight on the water. It was a beautiful sight, and one he treasured.

Then the wind shifted, and a scent—the most tantalizing fragrance he’d ever smelled—slammed into him. Heady and tropical, the smell reminded him of Wright’s Gardenia, one of the Seychelles’s loveliest trees. Its white flowers were speckled with deep red splotches and its scent was strong… something he shouldn’t smell this far out in the ocean.

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