Forever(10)

The CD player cast an iridescent glow across our room. I pushed the ‘on’ button and eased onto the end of the bed. The black night fought to curl around me as I listened to the lyrics. They swirled in the eerie light and I closed my eyes.

Another haunting song teased tears from me. When it finally finished, I wiped my face and felt my skin prick as I picked up on Thayde’s presence beside me.

“Are you all right?” He asked. His strong hand enveloped mine.

“I have a feeling our time here is nearly over.” I admitted, leaning my head against his shoulder. “I don’t want to leave this place. I want to stay here forever.”

“That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” He agreed.

I didn’t answer. Living here would be paradise, but I also knew that I couldn’t run away from my problems. They would have to be dealt with; headed off at the pass.

“What were you doing?” My voice broke, making me cough.

“I wanted to get you something so you would always remember our time here.”

“I have a beautiful tattoo to remember!”

“Yes, I know. But you know merfolk – we like our trinkets!”

“Thayde! You didn’t spend anything on me did you?” I tried to read his face. Yes, yes he did. “It wasn’t a lot was it?” I grimaced, keenly aware that money meant nothing to merpeople.

“No!” He lied.

“Thayde!”

He opened his hand revealing a small black velvet box which I took with some reluctance. I knew he liked to spend money on me, but really, it wasn’t necessary. I loved Thayde and that was enough for me.

“Just open it, Morgan.”

Grasping the edges, I did as he asked. Inside, nestled against the white silk background, lay two Tahitian Black Pearl earrings. Tahiti is known world-wide for harvesting the best black pearls. They were exquisite. I ran my fingertips over their smooth surface.

“They’re gorgeous, Thayde, thank you so much.”

“You like them?” He pressed.

“I do.” I searched for the words. “They are unornamented and natural, yet so elegant and beautiful in their simplicity.”

“Like you,” he said, making me nearly drop the box. Did he really mean that?

“Of course I meant that!” Thayde took my face in his hands. “You’re exactly how you described those pearls. And that’s what I’m going to call you from now on.”

“What?” I asked.

“You’re my Pearl.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed my face. I placed the little box on the bed behind me. Thayde still wasn’t wearing his shirt and I ran my hands down his sides, my fingers tracing his sinewy muscles. When his kisses met my mouth, his hand met my waist and he lifted me back onto the bed, curling me underneath him with one arm and pulling me with him until we were perfectly aligned.

“I think we should try and forget about the Genif and finish what we came here to do.” Thayde whispered, touching his nose to mine. I reached forward and grabbed a handful of his hair.

“You’re able to convince me entirely too easily,” I pulled his face to mine. His hand slid down my thigh and he began to pull my dress up when all of a sudden my cell phone began to ring. “Ignore it,” I panted.

“What if it’s something important?”

“It can wait!” I kissed his mouth and he relaxed, but when the cell phone began to ring again, we both stopped. Sighing, I rolled over and pulled it from the side dresser. The picture on the phone was my father, Tammer.

“You know, we’re sort of on our honeymoon,” I answered, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted.

“Naira’s sick.”

The old familiar feeling of fright leapt through me and I sat bolt upright. “What do you mean she’s sick?”

“A few days ago, she woke up paler than we’ve ever seen her and she wasn’t able to walk. She’s been throwing up a lot of blood. Elan’s attempts to heal her have not worked – Naira’s passed out every time.”

Thayde sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist and he rested his cheek on my shoulder.

Tammer’s voice broke. “She’s started growing.”

“What do you mean ‘growing’?” I asked and Thayde stiffened as he read my mind.

“Abnormally fast. We’ve consulted with our doctors but they can’t make head nor tail of it. She’s too big – way too big for her age.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I ended the call and turned to Thayde.

“You think she’s going to die?” Thayde asked and I shook my head.

“Not if I can help it. They don’t know what’s wrong with her. I don’t want to cut our honeymoon short, but we’re going to have to.”