| Four Years, Two Months, & 17 Days |
| Four years, two months, and 17 days since I'd last walked along this stretch of beach. Brynne and I strolled across the white sands still warm from that day's blazing sun as the sun set into the horizon. Nothing had changed. The water remained placid, small waves lollling their way into shore. The lone rock still sat amidst the calm ripples of water. The lone rock where I'd seen my mermaid. I smiled when I saw the algae-covered rock, the memories of my mermaid floating throughout my mind. But then the smile vanished. Vanished from my face as she had vanished from my life. "Something wrong, sweetheart?" Brynne asked, lacing her fingers with mine. "You're awful quiet today." We'd been in the Bahamas for about a week, but this evening was the first time we ventured to the beach that held so many vivid memories for me. I pulled her aroung me and pressed her back against my chest, resting my chin on the top of her head. Together we watched the sun sink lower into the ocean, the sky turning magnificent shades of orange and pink. The bright ocean waters darkened with the setting sun and soon we were staring at a vast sea of black dotted with the reflection of the pale moon and glowing stars above. She tilted her head and gazed up at me with her gorgeous blue eyes. "I love you, Nick," she whispered, her warm breath hitting my neck softly. "I love you too," I whispered back. I kissed her lips lightly and returned my gaze out toward the lulling waters. I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the cool tropical breeze brush across my skin. I opened my eyes to the feel of Brynne's warm lips against the cool skin of my neck, the soft, satiny fullness brushing across my Adam's apple. I moaned lowly in my throat at the feeling, my hands caressing her bikini-clad frame. Together we lowered ourselves to the sun-warmed sand, our lips connected and our hands roaming each other's bodies. I lost myself in her. Our motions one in the open vastness of the black tropical sky. Her moans reverberated off the bluffs and dunes around us and my mind wandered to the first and only time I made love to my mermaid. Remembered her moans of utter content and pleasure. We laid naked uner the atramentous sky, Brynne's cheek resting on my dewy chest, listening to the quiet surf making its way inland. "We should go back to the hotel," Brynne stated softly. I nodded, but didn't move. I was lost in the memories of Seraphina. Lost in the recollection of laying on the beach after making love, naked like we were now. Lost in the image of the words that left her pouting mouth on the day we said goodbye. Brynne sat up and tied the strings of her bikini top around her pale breasts. "Let's go, Nicky," she said, sliding the bottoms over her slender hips. I nodded again, rising to my feet and stepping into my cotton shorts. She left me standing there looking out into the empty sea as she made her way up the bluff to the parked car. I sighed as I gazed outward, staring at the lone rock. A constant reminder of what I had once found and then lost. My eyes fluttered closed and I inhaled the sweetly-scented tropical air. The smell of salty ocean water filling my nostrils. I opened my eyes again and gasped in shock. There on the lone rock sat my mermaid. "Seraphina?" I called softly. A smile parted her full lips, the perfect white teeth gleeming under the moon's bright light. I jogged toward the calm waters, leaping into the ocean and diving under and inbound wave, my eyes never leaving her beautiful face. I swam with easy strokes out to the algae-covered stone. But as I surfaced at its side, I noticed tha she had disappeared. Once again. Slowly, I trudged out of the water in saturated clothing, the water squishing in the leather sandals strapped to my feet. 'What the hell is wrong with me?' I asked myself silently. I caught up with Brynne at the car, her eyes wide in shock, confusion, and worry. "Nick! What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, stroking my damp cheek with her warm hand. "What are you doing, sweetheart?" "I don't know," I whimpered. I sank to my knees as the tears began to fall down my already wet cheeks. Brynne knelt before me, caressing my hair and face tenderly. "Nick, honey, tell me what is wrong," she demanded lightly, a slight wavier of concern in her voice. I buried my face in her chest, my body racked with sobs of confusion. What the hell was I doing? What was wrong with me? Could it be hallucinations of unclaimed desires and wants that made me feel like I was going insane? She rocked me back and forth, soothing sounds to calm me whispered through her lips. When my sudden, unexpected outburst had subsided, she helped me to my feet and into the car. "Let's get you back to the hotel We can shower, eat something. Maybe that will make you feel better," Brynne suggested. I nodded solemly, sitting limp in the passenger's seat. I laid my head on the open window frame and let the air whip around my face as Brynne drove to our place of stay. I wanted to tell her that there were things she didn't know about me. She was my wife. We should have no secrets. But I realized that this would be the one secret that she would understand and it could ultimately destroy our union as husband and wife. Four years, two months, and 17 days. It couldn't have been her. |