The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [60]
My sweet girl,
it read.
THIS IS YOUR FAMILY, HERE IN THIS HOUSE, AND WE LOVE YOU. BUT I KNOW YOU MUST WANT VERY MUCH TO SEE YOUR MOTHER. IF YOU WILL BE PATIENT, AND TRUST ME, I WILL HELP YOU. THIS MIRROR IS NOT THE ANSWER. LOVE, DAD
Lena balled up the note. Sure you'll help me, she thought. Sure I trust you.
She lifted the mirror to her face and waited impatiently for her reflection to dissolve. After a moment, darkness filled the mirror. Lena squinted; in it she saw not the fluidly drifting images of the undersea world but more of a deep gray mist. This was not the mermaid's home. The scene in the mirror was air, not liquid.
Lena listened intently, trying to figure out what she was seeing. Gradually, she heard the crash of waves on rocks and the muted sound of the foghorn. With a gasp, she realized that the sound of the foghorn coming from the mirror was echoing the call of the foghorn outside her window.
The gray mist lifted, and Lena could see a darkened figure on Shipwreck Rocks. It was Melusina, her face like a flash of moonlight in the blackness, her long hair dripping over her shoulders, her elegant tail curved around the rock upon which she sat ... the perfect embodiment of the mythical mermaid.
"Mama," whispered Lena.
Melusina sat very still, as if waiting. The cold did not seem to touch her.
As Lena watched, she saw Melusina open her lips and lift her head. Then Lena heard, within the mirror and within her own mind, the sound of singing. It was clear and sweet. First there were no words ... just the sound of a pure, inhuman voice full of longing and love. Then Lena heard that same strange language in her mind:
"Come to me, child of land,
To the water and the sand;
Come away from wall and door
To the rocks upon the shore."
Lena's breath caught in her throat. She's calling me.
For a single, swooning moment, Lena felt the summons of a mermaid. There could be no refusal, no denial.
Then it was her mother again, calling for her child.
Lena stared into the mirror, transfixed. When her song was finished, Melusina tilted her head, as if trying to recall something. Then she sang,
"By the light
of the blueberry moon
we sang this song
in Lena's room..."
Lena didn't know there were tears sliding down her cheeks until the scene in the mirror whirled away, leaving only her own face, wet and white. She grabbed her clothes and pulled them on. Then she put on her hoodie and zipped it up.
But the comb and the mirror wouldn't fit in her pockets. She tore off the hoodie and grabbed her jacket, sliding the comb and mirror into the deep pockets.
She opened her bedroom door.
The house was silent. She hurried downstairs, trying to be quiet, but adrenaline made her careless of the squeaks and creaks.
In the kitchen, she hesitated, wondering if she should leave a note on the message board.
No, she would be back before anyone woke up. Besides, what would she say?
Lena moved toward the sliding-glass door.
"Where are you going?" Allie's voice came from the corner.
Lena jumped and put her hand to her chest. "Oh, my God! You scared me to death!"
Allie didn't answer. There was a rustle from the shadows, and she stood up, holding a blanket around her. "What are you doing, Lena?"
"Taking a walk."
"No, you're not. You are not taking a walk at two in the morning."
"Yes, I am."
"Lena, I am very well aware that you have suffered a huge shock, and that your life is not the same as it was this morning. But whatever you may think you're doing, you are not leaving this house in the middle of the night. You're still my daughter."
"Your daughter?" Lena could not keep her voice down. "You lied to me, too! My mother is not dead—s he's alive! She's waiting for me at Shipwreck Rocks right now."
Allie stared at her. "Waiting for you?"
"Yes. I saw her in the mirror. I'm going to her, and you can't stop me!"
"Sweetie, wait. Don't ... it's not safe!"
"Leave me alone!" Lena wrenched