A Mermaid for Christmas - Nichole Chase Page 0,2

of the ropes around the woman’s tail.

“You’re right.” Carefully, Marion moved some of the hair back from the mermaid’s face and closed her eyes.

After what seemed like hours of carefully cutting the netting away, they were able to see what caused the death of the beautiful creature. Tangled in the ropes and pinned between the buoys, a large piece of wood punctured her side. Carefully, he pulled the offending chunk out of her side and tossed it into the boat. As they pulled her body out next to the boat, the injured dolphin swam near enough to gently touch the mermaid’s arm with her snout. Marion washed some of the blood from her hands in the sea and watched sadly as the dolphin made another mournful sound.

After a moment, the mermaid’s body started to drift away from the boat and the dolphin kept pace. When he could no longer see them, Ben turned back to his wife and shook his head. He wondered if they would question this time years down the road. It was insane, impossible, and yet they had touched a mermaid and let her body float out to sea. If they brought the body back to shore, the discovery would have saved their refuge. It would have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in much-needed money.

“We did the right thing.” With a relaxed grin, Marion turned to pick up the mess from the first-aid kit. His heart felt lighter, as if her small smile undid clamps that had been wrapped around him. Deciding that it was time to alert the Coast Guard about the buoys, he moved toward the radio on the large center console. As he picked up the handheld receiver, the mewling sounded again over the wind. It was louder this time and sounded as if it was coming from nearby. Turning to see if his wife heard it, he saw the dolphin and her baby coming along the side of the boat. Marion leaned over the edge and gasped. She dropped to her knees and reached over the side.

“Marion!” Sliding along the wet deck, he reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

“Ben, it’s a baby.” Looking up at him, Marion gave a mighty sniff and looked back at the water with large eyes. “They brought her to us.”

Looking down into the water, he clutched the edge of the boat until his knuckles turned white. There in the water with the two gentle dolphins was a tiny mermaid. No, that wasn’t right. It was a young mermaid. If he had to compare it to a human child he would say it was roughly the age of a toddler. Perhaps a year old, but not much more. Her dark hair drifted around her head and shoulders as she shifted to float on her back. He couldn’t help but stare at the gorgeous teal tail that matched her tear-filled eyes.

Marion made a soft cooing sound and the small mermaid shifted her gaze to Marion’s. Ben watched as the child’s face seemed to brighten, a smile pushing at her plump cheeks. With a tiny hand, she reached out toward Marion and made an impatient sound. When Marion responded in kind, the mother dolphin swam forward and made a threatening sound.

“Marion.” He said her name in warning, scared that perhaps the dolphin hadn’t intended to bring the child to their boat after all.

“Shh. She brought her to us for a reason. She just wants us to understand how important this is.” Slowly she lowered her hand to the dolphin and looked the animal in the eye. “We understand. We will take care of her. I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure that she is never hurt.”

Holding his breath, he waited while the dolphin seemed to ponder his wife’s words. After a moment, she moved closer to Marion and used her snout to push at her hand.

“I promise.” His wife said the words quietly before reaching for the tiny tyke with a tail. Pulling her out of the water, she cuddled the small mermaid to her chest and made soothing noises. The mermaid’s pudgy hand reached up to touch Marion’s cheek. Moving closer, he leaned over his wife’s shoulder and looked into the bright blue eyes of the little mermaid. When she turned her shy smile in his direction and waved her pudgy fingers, he was lost. In one short afternoon his entire life was turned upside down. His home had been destroyed. He