The Heart's Content

As soon as Alastor left for work the next day, Beth and Charlie eagerly headed to the beach for a long-awaited afternoon of carefree swimming. Unfortunately, their excitement made them less cautious about their surroundings. To their surprise, Mr. Pentious was out fishing nearby—a method he often used to calm his nerves after a long day of dealing with Valentino. Today had been particularly challenging, as Valentino had berated and barked at him for failing to find another creature to add to his circus.

"Stupid Val." He groaned. "Why doesn't he just go find a new act by himself?"

He cast his fishing line into the water and settled in, waiting patiently for a bite. After five minutes, he felt a strong tug. Gripping the pole tightly, he began to reel in the line as quickly as he could. But whatever was on the other end was fighting back, pulling fiercely in an attempt to escape.

"Whoa! This one must be huge!" Mr. Pentious exclaimed, his excitement palpable.

He put up a good fight, but ultimately, his prey proved stronger. In an instant, he was yanked from the boat and plunged into the sea, where he encountered the most extraordinary creature imaginable.

Caught on his fishing hook was the fin of Charlie, the real-life mermaid. Not a fish, not a dolphin, not a sea turtle—she was a being with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. He could hardly believe his eyes. He had always known mermaids existed, but he never expected one to venture so close to human civilization.

He reached out to grab her, but the sudden encounter startled her. In a flash, she thrashed her tail and darted away, swimming faster than any creature he had ever seen. Fortunately, Mr. Pentious was a strong swimmer and managed to stay conscious after the impact. Had he been knocked out and at risk of drowning, Charlie might have returned to rescue him, providing him the perfect opportunity to capture her. But he knew that such an opportunity might still arise in the future.

"A mermaid!" He exclaimed as he surfaced for air. "There's a mermaid here! Ha! Valentino is going to owe me big time for this!"

He revved the motor of his boat and began searching for her, but Charlie had already swam far from him. As soon as she was out of sight, she pulled herself onto a rock by the shore, and Beth quickly draped her beach towel over her.

"Did he get a good look at you?" Beth asked, concern etched on her face.

"I don't know if he saw me long enough to remember my face, but he definitely recognized what I am." Charlie replied, pulling the towel over her head.

"Let's not panic. Panicking never solves anything."

"What if he comes looking for me?"

"We'll make sure he doesn't find you."

"How?"

"Simple. We'll stay out of the ocean for a while."

"Stay out of the ocean? For how long? I can't be away too long. My skin and scales are used to saltwater. If I stay out too long, it'll become dreadfully sore and blistered."

"I don't mean to sound insensitive, but you may have to deal with that. If you're caught by the person who saw you, you might never see the ocean again. I know you want to believe that humans are good—and many are—but some if them are very bad, just like your parents believe. You need to be careful for a few days."

"But what if he searches for me on land?"

"Why would he look for you on land? He saw you in the ocean and doesn't know you can grow legs. If he looks for you, it will be in the ocean and only in the ocean. That's why you're safer on land."