Ocean Spirit Chapter 13

During the cover of night, Grace visited Kuro’s tank again to finish reading the rest of her father’s journal to him. Somehow she had managed to shake Claudia off her trail again by some stroke of luck, but that still didn’t mean that the dark haired woman wouldn’t find her. For now, however, they had to use whatever time they had left to discover the rest of the secrets to her father’s journal.  

Kuro had propped himself back up onto the concrete platform, his arms folded across the floor and Grace was leaning against his arm, her legs stretched out with the journal firmly in her grasp.
She then cleared her throat and then began to pick up from where they had last left off.

“‘Yin, what’s going on? Is someone following us?’ I asked nervously.

‘Yes, and I know exactly who it is,’ she growled, her teeth glinting in the filtered sunlight.

‘Stay close to me.’ she added and I gave her a small nod.

‘Who is following us?’ I whispered. ‘Is it one of your kind?’

‘Yes and no,’ answered Yin. ‘He is a Mer, but not that of orca origin.’

‘Wait, so there are more people like you that aren’t orca? Wow, that’s-’

‘Shhh!’ Yin hissed, closing her hand around me and I was then suddenly greeted with the white flesh of her palm. My heart began to hammer against my chest; adrenaline was pulsing through my veins at the prospect of there being more than just orca-like Merpeople. I wanted to see this other Mer, maybe even talk to him, but that didn’t seem likely to happen right at that moment.

‘Whatcha got there Yin? You hiding something?’ a gruff, male voice vibrated through the water. I wanted to peer out from Yin’s fingers but she had enclosed both of her hands around me making it impossible for me to see what was going on outside.

‘It is nothing of your concern, Slash,’ spat Yin venomously.

The merman, who appeared to be called Slash, let out a booming laugh.

‘I know you have a human with you. I can smell it,’ he rumbled. ‘Don’t tell me you actually eat humans now? Wow, and here I thought you orca Merpeople refused to eat humans.’

‘You know just as well as I do that we would never eat humans, unlike your kind,’ she snapped harshly. ‘Now leave before I decide to make a meal out of you.’

‘I know you orca Merpeople do tend to feed on my kind, but I honestly don’t think you’ve got the guts to do it.’

‘Or I could call my pod over,’ hummed Yin. ‘I’m sure they could go for some shark right about now.’

‘Y-you’re not actually serious, are you?’ I could detect a hint of fear in Slash’s voice. It was clear that he was scared now.

‘Oh, I’m serious all right,’ replied Yin. ‘You better get out of here otherwise I’m calling them over.’

‘O-okay,’ mumbled Slash. ‘But you must tell me why you’ve got that human with you. I thought you didn’t like humans.’

‘That was before I met him,’ she snarled.

‘Him? Oh no, don’t tell me you’ve gone so soft that you’ve actually fallen for a human!’ A deep, rumbling laugh pierced my eardrums.

A fierce growl ripped through Yin’s throat. ‘It’s none of your business, shark. If you don’t leave right now I’m going to tear that stupid head of yours clean off your shoulders.’

‘Fine, fine, have it your way. But I know your little secret now…emphasis on little.’    

‘It’s none of your business,’ she snarled. ‘Now go!’

Twenty silent seconds went by and Yin refused to release me from her grasp. I waited a little longer and then I finally decided to speak up:

‘Yin, is everything okay?’ I said quietly.

All of a sudden I was greeted with light again and Yin’s face was right in front of me. Her features were creased and she looked troubled.

‘Who was that?’ I asked.

‘That was Slash, a shark Mer,’ she said softly. ‘He is someone I don’t want you to ever meet.’

‘So there is more people like you,’ I beamed. ‘I knew it! Oh, this is so amazing! Wait, you mentioned you have a pod - can I meet them too?’

‘No, you can’t,’ she breathed.

I frowned at her. ‘Why not?’

‘Because they don’t want anything to do with humans,’ she said.

‘But I saved your life! I mean, if we explain to them that I saved you all those months ago I’m sure they’ll-’

‘They won’t believe it. They have only known humans to cause them harm. It would be almost impossible to convince them that not all humans are bad. My pod isn’t exactly what you would call…open minded.’ said Yin.

‘I see,’ I rasped. I really wanted to meet Yin’s pod, but if I truly couldn’t meet them, then there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I was lucky enough to have met Yin in the first place. Maybe one day her pod would change their view on humans.

‘Oh, um, Yin,’ I said rather quietly.

Yin’s emerald eyes gleamed at me. I could see myself reflected in them.

‘Yes?’ she said.

‘About what Slash said about you…ah…falling for me…was that true?’ I mumbled.

Yin’s gaze suddenly darted away as if she was trying to find something interesting to look at.

‘Slash was just saying things to get me angry,’ she said stiffly.

‘But you didn’t deny it,’ I said.

Her gaze flickered back to mine and we stared into each other's eyes for a small moment.

‘Some things are better left unsaid,’ she finally said.

‘Yin-’ I started, but she instantly cut me off.      

‘But never mind that, let’s keep on going - there’s so much you need to see.’ smiled Yin, her face instantly brightened up and she cupped her hands around me before she took off into the ocean again.

‘Hey, wait; hold on,’ I quickly said, deciding to give up on questioning her about our previous conversation, ‘just how many Merpeople are there?’

‘Well, there’s orca Mer such as myself,’ she explained. ‘And then there’s the shark Mer.’ she nearly spat the last part out like it was a vile piece of food in her mouth.

‘So how big are these shark Mer?’ I asked.

‘The largest grow around to be 70 feet long, not as nearly as big as my kind,’ she said, flicking her tail.

‘I heard you say before that they eat…they eat…’ I couldn’t muster myself to say the last part. Just the mere thought alone of something humanoid eating a person nearly made my body completely freeze over. It chilled me right down to the bone.

‘Yes,’ whispered Yin. ‘I am afraid to say that the shark Mer do often…often…’ she swallowed. ‘They do tend to eat humans.’

‘So these guys are pretty much like Jaws, only ten times worse and loads bigger?’ I coughed.

‘I guess you could say that,’ she said. ‘But I must ask who exactly this “Jaws” is?’

‘Oh, um, well, basically Jaws is a movie about a giant man eating shark that swam around terrorizing and eating people. It’s quite popular in human pop culture.’ I babbled. I never thought I would have to explain a movie about a shark to a giant mermaid.

Yin almost looked confused. ‘Why would humans like something like that?’

‘I guess you could say humans are rather strange,’ I chuckled which managed to also make Yin laugh softly.

‘You also said that you, uh, eat…um…’ I mumbled.

‘Orca Mer do eat shark Mer sometimes,’ said Yin.  

‘But wouldn’t that be…er…cannibalism?’ I said weakly.

Yin glanced down at me as if I had grown a second head.

‘Shark Mer are nothing like us,’ she growled. ‘They may share Mer traits with us, but they are completely different.’

‘O-oh…okay.’ I mumbled. I was rather unsure of what to say, but the thought of Merpeople like Yin eating beings somewhat similar to her own kind made me feel uneasy. Orcas did tend to eat sharks so I guess it was all part of the food chain, but still…  

‘We’re almost here,’ she smiled; Yin’s voice brought me out of my dark thoughts as I looked up to gaze at what was before us. We were nearing what appeared to be some sort of marvelous underwater palace. It had architecture that I had never seen before on land. Giant pillars decorated the palace, painted in a stunning pearl white. An enormous arch stood in front of the palace and Yin swam right through it while my mouth gaped wide open in amazement. The whiteness of the palace glistened in the sunshine like tiny shards of crystal. Many species of fish danced about through the giant structure, some I recognized and many I did not, along with a small pod of dolphins and jellyfish bobbed around the pillars.

‘Yin…’ I breathed, my mouth still hanging wide open, ‘This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to in my whole life.’

‘I thought you might like it,’ she replied with a warm smile. ‘This is a very sacred place to my kind; no other human has ever been here before.’

‘Wow…’ I murmured. I felt like I was in a daze due to the beauty of the whole place. A colourful assortment of soft, wavering fronds of giant sea anemones decorated the sea bed floor as I turned my gaze downwards. Before I knew it we were moving once again, this time straight towards the giant sea palace.

‘What is this place?’ I asked, snapping myself back to reality.
‘This is a very special place where my kind gathers.’ she explained, her soothing voice rumbling above my head.

‘Why are you taking me here? If it’s sacred then why a mere human such as myself should be even allowed to go near here?’ I questioned her. It felt wrong that she was letting me see something so special to her kind. It was almost like I was trespassing or something.

‘Chris, you saved me,’ she pointed out, flicking her tail harder. ‘I owe you my life and showing you this place is nothing compared to what you did for me.’

I could feel my face heat up at her response. ‘I’m honored, really,’ I mumbled as we drew closer to the palace. ‘I still don’t think I’m worthy of seeing all of this, though.’ I added.

Yin just simply grinned at me and swam through the palace doors. I took in my new surroundings, gazing up at the intricate structures of coral that decorated the palace walls and floors. Everything was a gleaming white and I could even see Yin’s and my own reflection in the floors. Statues of orca Merpeople stood before us as we traveled further into the palace.

‘I honestly have no words for this.’ I gaped.

We were soon greeted by large marble doors that opened into an underwater garden. Colourful rocks, corals and sea anemones were placed elegantly across the floor alongside more graceful statues of Merpeople. Yin stopped and then she suddenly released me from her hand.

‘We will be safe here. No shark Mer would ever dare trespass into this place.’ said Yin.

‘Wow,’ I said, swimming over to a rock to sit on, ‘this is like some kind of underwater garden.’

‘Yes,’ Yin said, smiling down at me, ‘you are quite right. I spent a lot of time in this sea garden with my mother when I was younger.’

‘Where is your pod anyhow?’ I asked curiously.

‘They are most likely hunting. But I can’t show you to them, remember?’ she replied.

‘Yeah, I remember,’ I let out a soft sigh. ‘But I would like you to tell me more about this “Ocean Spirit” you keep talking about, if that’s all right.’

Yin raised an eyebrow at me. ‘So you want to know more about the Ocean Spirit?’

‘Well, yes,’ I mumbled. ‘I mean, if you don’t want to tell me about it that’s fine too-’

‘No, I will tell you,’ she said, swimming over to a nearby large rock that was jutting out of the seabed and draped herself over it. ‘I think you deserve to know who the Ocean Spirit is.’

‘R-Really?’ I babbled rather embarrassingly.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she gazed down at me. ‘Yes. You saved my life after all and I did say I would tell you more about my kind.’ she said and then cleared her throat. ‘The Ocean Spirit is the one who brought life to the ocean and she is the one who controls it. She has many powers, far greater than us Mer, and one of those powers includes wish granting.’ she explained.

‘Wish granting? B-but that’s impossible!’ I exclaimed in disbelief.

A soft frown began to form across Yin’s features.

‘Nothing is impossible,’ she corrected him. ‘The Ocean Spirit has powers that you humans can’t even begin to imagine.’

At this point I thought it was best not to anger the giant orca mermaid that lay threateningly above me, so I quickly decided it was best to apologize to her.  

‘I’m sorry Yin, I did not mean to offend you in any way but it’s just that on land wishes are the stuff of fairy tales.’ I said hastily.

‘Mermaids are the stuff of your so called fairy tales as well, but here I am,’ she grinned.

‘Good point,’ I admitted in defeat.

An idea suddenly struck my brain. ‘So if the Ocean Spirit can grant wishes, can she grant wishes to humans as well?’ I questioned her.

Yin stared at me. ‘Hm, I have not considered this before. No human has ever asked the Ocean Spirit to grant them a wish…’ her voice trailed off. ‘But I believe if the human could somehow prove themselves worthy of the sea, then perhaps the Ocean Spirit would consider their wish.’

‘You really think so?’ I asked.

‘I do not know for certain,’ Yin answered, tapping a clawed finger on the rock she was laying on, ‘but it is certainly possible.’

‘Is there any chance that you could ask the Ocean Spirit if a human could have a wish granted?’ I mumbled.

Yin’s emerald eyes widened and she let out a chiming but rumbling laugh. ‘Oh, you humans make me laugh so much. As if I could ask the Ocean Spirit something like that!’ she laughed.

‘But it’s worth trying, isn’t it?’ I persisted.

‘Why do you want to know so badly? Is there something you desire?’ she said, her blazing green eyes boring into my skull.

‘Ah, funny that you should ask,’ I chuckled halfheartedly, my gaze darting to a couple of clown fish resting in an anemone. ‘There is something, actually…’

‘And what would that be?’ Yin pressed.

‘Hey, wasn’t I supposed to be the one asking questions?’ I said.

‘I’m allowed to ask you questions as well.’ she huffed.

‘Well, the thing that I want is a bit far-fetched…’ I mumbled.

‘Nothing is too far-fetched for the Ocean Spirit.’ said Yin.

I let out a deep sigh. ‘Okay, you really want to know what I want to wish for?’

‘Of course.’ she replied.

‘I want to become a Mer,’ I stuttered, playing with my sandy-blond hair anxiously. ‘to be like one of you.’

Yin simply stared at me, her mouth hanging wide open in shock. I could tell that she wasn’t expecting my wish to be that.

‘W-wait, are you actually serious?’ she said, rather surprised and shocked. ‘What about your life on land and your family? All of your…uh…marine biology things?’  

‘So you’re saying it’s possible, then?’ I beamed. The mere thought alone of become a Mer was just so exciting to me. I had always been fascinated with the sea and everything that lived in it since I was little. But since I had met Yin I wanted more than anything to learn what it meant to be a Mer and becoming one would quite literally be a dream come true.

‘Uh, well, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible…’ she murmured. ‘But you didn’t answer my other questions first.’

‘My life on land was already devoted to the sea,’ I said. ‘I don’t care about my family or friends. I would much rather be with you.’

Yin appeared to be caught off guard by my response as she stared at me with a rather startled expression. I could’ve sworn her face flushed dark red.

‘You…you would really give up your human life just to be with me?’ she said softly.

‘I’d be crazy not to. I mean, you’ve taken me to this place which is sacred to your own kind and you saved my skin from that other Mer we encountered earlier. You made sure that I was safe. I owe my life to you.’

Yin seemed to be at a loss of words. She kept opening her mouth to say something but no sound came out.

‘Wouldn’t you rather think this over first? I mean, if you became a Mer there would be no going back.’ she said after a moment of silence.

I paused for a few seconds to ponder over her comment. Yes, it would be logical to think over something as major as this. After all, I would be giving up everything I had ever known to live a life in the sea and this was only my second encounter with Yin. I needed to know her better as well.  

‘Perhaps you are right,’ I said after much thought.

A warm smile lit up Yin’s elegant features. She was truly breathtaking to look at.

‘Good. While you think it over, why don’t I show you more of the palace?’ she offered, extending an open palm towards me. ‘You still need to tell me more about yourself and the human world as well. I’m dying to know all about it.’

I clambered hastily into her waiting palm and beamed up at her.

‘I would love to.’ I smiled."