The Heart of the Ocean
A Mermaid who can't Swim

“She’s a mermaid,

but approach her with caution.

Her mind swims at a depth

most would drown in.”

-J. Iron Word

Life has a strange way with things. Everything runs its course -relationships, friendships, situations. Until the circle is complete and everything has fallen into its rightful place. Things you’ve been wondering about, finally make sense. People leaving and reappearing reveal their reasons. Situations that confused you are explained. Behaviors that hurt you are clarified.

The pieces of the puzzle are put into place.

The image is finally clear.

It’s an odd feeling -it’s like you have a moment of revelation. You feel like you’ve realized something that was always there -right in front of you. Something that was always bothering you and yet, you couldn’t put your finger on it. It feels like there was a veil right in front of your eyes that prevented you from learning the truth. You were so close and yet, so far. And now...now, the veil was pulled away from you. The truth is so obvious and yet, you were so obviously oblivious.

It blinds you.

It confuses you.

And yet, everything makes sense.

The emerald eyes staring at her belonged to a familiar stranger. They were filled with an ocean of emotions -with unsaid words that the tongue was having difficulty creating. They were filled with tears -of happiness? Of frustration? Of sadness? Aide was having a difficult time understanding him. The man had managed to redeem her grandmother speechless.

Colvert Clayton.

Her grandfather.

They had moved to their living room as Alexandra’s knees had failed her. The elder was lying down on their comfortable sofa as the green-eyed man wiped her tears away and gently caressed her cheek. Aide watched them closely as she sat on the armchair across from them. They seemed to be in their own little world. She felt like she was intruding and yet, she couldn’t leave her grandmother alone in her state. Grandfather or not, she didn’t know him. He was a stranger to her.

“Who are you?“, she finally asked.

His green eyes turned to her -they seemed to soften.

“You look just like her”, he managed to whisper, “Beautiful.”

“Stop it! This is serious!“, Aide finally yelled, “You can’t just appear on our doorstep after so many years like nothing happened! Do you even know how difficult it was for her? Do you even care?”

His eyes widened at her outburst. Of course, he cared. He always had and always will. The situation was more complicated than they could think -things hadn’t exactly gone according to plan. He had spent years away from his mate -away from their family. Did she really believe he had left them of his own free will? That he wanted to leave them? That he could return and yet, he chose not to?

He felt like a heavy weight was put on his shoulders. For Thalassa’s sake, he didn’t even know his family had grown bigger! The girl -no, his granddaughter...she had every right to be angry at him. He was never part of her life. He was a stranger to her -someone she had never seen before in her entire life. Someone she considered dead. He had no right to expect her to welcome him with open arms. He had a lot of explaining to do.

“C- Colvert...”

He stared at the love of his life, smiling softly at her. She had changed -her skin was filled with wrinkles and her hair had turned from dark brown to a silky white color. She had grown older as had he. And yet, her chocolate eyes hadn’t changed one bit. They were just like he remembered them -they were the eyes he had fallen in love with.

“Is this real?“, Alexandra asked in a small voice, “A- Am I seeing things?”

He took hold of her trembling hand, leaving a small kiss on the inside of her palm.

“This is real, anima mea”, his voice was filled with emotions, “I promised you I’ll come back, didn’t I?”

“T- That was so many years ago...“, Alexandra sobbed slightly.

“I’ll always find my way back to you”, he swore to her, “No matter what.”

Aide didn’t say anything. She just let her grandmother hug him tightly and cry between his arms. He might be a stranger to her, but to her Nana, he was her whole world. She didn’t want to ruin their moment. She made her way to the kitchen, making chamomile for her grandmother and a cup of coffee for her. This was going to be a strange and difficult day.

She returned back a few moments later, giving the cup to Alexandra. She seemed to have calmed down, but she was still keeping the stranger close to her side. As if he would disappear any second now and never come back to her. As if this was just a dream and at any moment she’d have to wake up.

“Thank you, dear”, Alexandra gave her a grateful smile.

An awkward silence fell between them.

“So-”

“Why-”

The man stopped at Aide’s voice. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Aide didn’t say anything after this.

“I think a formal introduction is in order”, Alexandra smiled gently, “Colvert, this is Aide -our granddaughter. Aide this is your grandfather.”

“It’s nice to meet you”, Colvert managed with a voice filled with emotion.

“I thought my grandfather was dead”, Aide said firmly, “You said so.”

Colvert flinched at her words. It was the truth -he wasn’t a part of her life. And yet, the truth hurt. Because this didn’t happen out of his own free will. He just had to live with the consequences.

“We had a child...“, he suddenly said, “Where are they?”

Nana seemed to freeze at his words -her body becoming rigid. He didn’t know, Aide realized. He didn’t know he had a child and most importantly, he didn’t know what had happened to her father. Well, that was going to be extremely difficult for him to digest.

“I didn’t know...I’m sorry, anima mea. If I knew you were pregnant, I’d never leave your side. Where is...he? Or is it a she?”

Aide froze. He didn’t even know if he had a son or a daughter.

“Our boy, he...“, Nana’s voice was shaking, “Owen, he...”

“He’s dead.”

Colvert’s form became as still as a statue. His green eyes were filled with extreme pain as they gazed at hers. His mouth opened but no words came out. It wasn’t easy to tell a parent that their child died. Even if it happened years ago. He didn’t know. A lot of things had changed since he left. He thought that he’d return and everything would be the same. Life goes on, whether you are present or not. All you have is moments, memories, and regrets. And with them, you’ll have to live until the end of your days.

“How?“, was all he could utter.

“Car accident”, Aide explained simply, “It was many years ago.”

He didn’t talk for a while.

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault”, Nana tried to comfort him.

“I should have been here”, he shook his head.

“Colvert-”

“My only child died. Years ago. And I didn’t know.”

“Colvert-”

“My mate had to take care of our grandchild on her own”, he mumbled to himself, “And I wasn’t there.”

Alexandra shook her head in denial, touching his cheek gently.

“I should have been here”, he managed to whisper, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh, my love”, Alexandra had tears running down her cheeks as she hugged him, “You are here now, that’s all that matters.”

“I should have been here!“, his voice trembled with emotions.

“Yes, you should have”, Aide nodded in agreement, “My question is simple. Where were you all these years and why didn’t you come back?”

“Aide!“, Nana exclaimed in bewilderment, “This is not the right time! Let him rest first. He just found out his son is dead.”

Aide didn’t answer her. She stood up to leave, but a large hand took firm hold of hers. His eyes were filled with desperation -he didn’t have to ask. He wanted her to stay. She did so, without uttering a single word.

“Let’s take things from the beginning, shall we?“, Aide asked gently.

Colvert nodded in agreement.

“You are a merman”, Aide stated as a fact.

“I used to be part of the Royal Guards of Atlantis”, he confirmed her suspicions.

“My grandmother is your soul mate”, Aide stated yet again.

“She’s the better half of my soul”, he kissed the elder’s forehead, “I met her when I was on a mission with the rest of the guards. Almost gave me a heart attack when her smell reached me in the middle of the battlefield.”

Aide looked at her grandmother in confusion.

“You’re not the only one involved in a shipwreck”, Alexandra explained further, “However, at least I knew how to swim.”

“Nana!“, Aide sighed in frustration.

“You don’t know how to swim?“, Colvert asked in bewilderment.

“I don’t know why you make such a big deal out of it”, Aide sighed.

“Because you’re a mermaid, my dear.”

A moment of silence followed.

“I’m a what?”, Aide asked in confusion.

“Your grandfather is a merman, darling. He passed the gene down to your father who was one-half a merman. Your mother, Sophia, was also a human, which makes you one-fourth a mermaid.“, Nana tried to explain as simply as possible.

“That’s impossible”, Aide managed to say, “I’m not a mermaid!”

“Your grandfather is a merman. Your father was half a merman. You have a merman as a mate. And yet, you think it is possible for them to live, but impossible for you to be one of them?“, Alexandra rolled her eyes in tiredness.

“She has a mate?“, Colvert asked in surprise, “She’s way too young!”

“Easy on the sarcasm, Nana! I’m so damned confused!”

Alexandra shook her head in denial.

“First of all, she’s not too young. She’s a grown-ass woman and she can do whatever she wants. The kids have been through a lot already, don’t you meddle in their business!”

“But-“, he didn’t stand a chance.

“No ‘buts’, love”, Nana shook her finger, “What I say goes. And secondly, sarcasm is my middle name. I thought you understood, my dear.”

Colvert gave her a watery smile.

“You haven’t changed a bit, anima mea.”

“I would hope so”, Alexandra caressed his cheek gently, “There is no use to change something that is already perfect.”

Colvert laughed as Aide shrugged her shoulders. Nana Alexandra was a teen at heart and that would never change. She had been through a lot in her life and yet, she stood strong and fearless. The woman was an example to be followed. She was her role model and the closest person she had to a mother. And she was extremely proud to be called her daughter.

“Now, my dear. Off you go. Evander must be wondering where you are. It’s not polite to keep your mate waiting”, Alexandra shooed her away.

“But I have so many questions-”

“You can ask your grandfather anything you want when you come back”, Alexandra cut her off quickly, “He’s not going anywhere this time. I’ll make sure of it.”

Aide didn’t push any further. She was out of the door before her grandmother could tell her twice. She hadn’t seen her mate in a day and she had missed him terribly. She didn’t know how her grandmother felt after seeing hers after so many years apart.

“Anima mea-”

A finger was placed upon his lips.

“Silence”, Alexandra whispered, “I’ll be the one doing all the talking.”

And she crushed her lips to his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 28!!

Latin translation:

1. anima mea: my soul

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