CHAPTER 48
She laughed a bit too loudly. It was the only thing that told her her heart hadn’t fully stopped. “Mermaids?” she repeated, a bit too incredulously. There was no way he could be serious.
But he nodded, as serious as could be. “Yes, mermaids.”
“Aren’t they just a myth?” Surely, no grown man could believe in such a thing, right? her heart begged. But would it really be so unbelievable since they were, in fact, real?
Oh Lord, it was suddenly so hot and it felt difficult to breathe, like something was crushing her chest. But she fought it off as she scanned the water.
She didn’t see Kallias now, but she was sure she hadn’t imagined it. He probably couldn’t stand the idea of her with another man and so he thought he would spy. But what if Mr. Wilson had been the one to see him and not her? What then, Kallias?
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Wilson said, and she was so flustered she forgot what she had even asked.
“My mother certainly didn’t think they were a myth.
She was obsessed with them. She swore she’d seen them.
” Then as if realizing what he’d said, he quickly started stammering, “She was a smart woman, of totally sound mind, I promise you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t consider it.
But she grew up on the coast and she swore she’d seen them.
Creatures of intense beauty and strength, like angels come to life. ”
Well, that sounded a lot like Kallias all right.
“And what were they like?” If the woman really had seen them, well, it certainly didn’t hurt to learn more. What if they were succubi and incubi and she had merely fallen into a trap?
“She said she had heard one sing once. A beautiful sound that was hard to describe, like waves and heaven all in one.” He looked sheepish.
“Her words, not mine. And she said they were smart. She’d leave out puzzles she’d make with food in them to see if they could solve them.
Apparently, they always did.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Goodness, Daria, I don’t know what’s come over me.
I thought I’d take these memories to the grave, crazy as they sound. ”
“It’s okay,” she said. She dare not say they weren’t crazy—though she wanted to—because that would then leave the question of why any sane person would say so. He’d press her; he’d assume with her living on the coast like his mother that she had seen them too.
“And did she ever get near one? Animals steal food all the time.”
He shrugged. “I know. Squirrels can get through seemingly everything I throw at them. And the mice! Bah!”
She laughed at that. Yes, thank God they’d always managed to kill any rodents as soon as they got them on the island. She did not want to be living with mice.
“She swore she’d seen some. She said women mostly, with beauty to rival Aphrodite herself.
” He paused. “Daria, forgive me. I know you’re kind, but I also know how ridiculous this sounds.
That’s why I’ve never shared it with a living soul before.
But you’re taking it so well. Have you…have you seen them too? ”