LEGEND OF THE MER (23 page)

~~~

One
night, as Titus and Lana snuggled in their home, he asked, “Do you think that my sister is falling in love with Micah?”

“I think it’s possible
.
”

“I do not like it.  I do not think that it would work for either of them,” Titus said sadly.

“Titus, how can you say that, my father was every bit as human as Micah
.
”

“At least he was able to understand our thoughts.”

“Yeah, but some of that occurs naturally between a husband and wife
.
”
S
he smiled and kissed him.

“I worry that he will bring harm to the pod.”

“Titus, he is a very kind man, I can’t believe you think that of him
.
”

“It is not that I think he personally will, but that he may get careless and allow others to know our secret.”

“I’m sure that if he truly comes to love Princess Tarra, he’ll make the same sacrifice that my father had to make for my mother.”

“That was a great sacrifice, as you know yourself.  It would be even harder for Micah to make it.”

“If two pe
ople truly love each other, the
n no sacrifice is too great for them to be together,” she said looking into his eyes.

“Yes, you are right.  Perhaps nothing will come of it and I worry needlessly.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.  Time will tell
.
”
S
he smiled and kissed him and they both fell asleep with their own thoughts of love for each other.

~~~

When the time came near for Lana to give birth, she was amazed at how she could hear the thoughts of her unborn child.  At first she thought that she was only dreaming it, but as time went on, she realized that the baby was thinking.  They were simple thoughts of comfort and warmth and the love
of its mother’s heartbeat. 
I
ca
n’t wait to see
what you look like, your daddy
and I have waited
for
you for
so long
. 

A part of Lana wanted her child
to be a complete mer like Titus and anoth
er part of her thought that the
child might enjo
y the life of a merwalker.  Lana didn’t care which
it was; she loved it and would live the life of a mer with it for the rest of her life.  Even if the child were a merwalker, she wouldn’t want the same experience for it that she had herself.  Her home
was now in the ocean and that’
s where they all belonged.

Pr
incess Cassandra, Princess Rema
and Princess Tarra stayed with Lana when her time came.  Prince Titus was not allowed in the small home.  Tempest was nearly as upset as Titus by not being allowed in.

It seemed like hours since Lana’s labor began.  Prince Terrance and King Titan tried to give Titus comfort.  Makoa could only try and lighten the mood by teasing Titus about how strict a father he would be.  Uly could barely contain himself for the excitement of getting a new cousin.  He hoped it would be a boy.

The labor was hard for Lana.  She was glad to have the comfort of the mermaids.  She was especially glad that Princess Cassandra was with her.  She had grown so close to her and felt like her daughter.  She appreciated having the wisdom and experience of her mother-in-law.  Nothing had prepared her for the amount of pain that she was having.  She could only hold onto Princess Cassandra’s hand as she softly sent loving thoughts to Lana and encouraged her that it would be over soon.

The child was finally delivered and Lana couldn’t believe how beautiful her little daughter was.  Prince Titus was brought in and looked at Lana holding their baby mermaid.  He was so filled with relief that the ordeal was over and that mother and daughter were doing fine.  He was also filled with such a deep love.  He went and kissed Lana, “I am so proud of you.  I love you both so much,” he said as he also kissed his new baby daugh
ter.  “Hello little Rose, it is
so good to have you finally with us
.
”
Titus
smiled
.

“Your daddy
and I are so glad
to see you.  A Rose truly blooms beneath the
s
ea,” said Lana as she kissed the top of her head.

“You are the most beautiful of all mothers,” said Titus as he ran his fingers beneath Lana’s chin and then kissed her once more.

“And you are the proudest of fathers,” Lana laughed to see him swelled with pride.

“Yes, that I am,” he smiled and took his daughter’s tiny hand in his and kissed it.  Little Princess Rose had a small tuft of light blonde hair, sparkling silver eyes and a tiny blue and green glistening tail.  She was already swishing it in the water.  Little Rose even had her father’s ears.

Lana wished that her own father could be here to see his little granddaughter, but she knew that in two year
’
s time, he would see her and it truly would be a mermaid day.

~~~~~

Chapter 15

THE BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE

It was nearly a month before Lana allowed herself some time on
Mer
Island
without baby Rose.  Princess Cassandra was more than willing to watch her and encouraged Lana and Titus to take some time for themselves.

Micah had been at the island nearly every day
waiting for the mer to visit.  H
e knew that Princess Lana’s time had to have come and that Princess Tarra must be helping her.  He began to wonder if he would ever see her again.

“Hello Micah,” said Princess Tarra as she hopped up out of the water and landed on the rock next to him.

“Bula Princess Tarra, I was beginning to think that I might not see you again
.
”
Micah smiled.

“Would you be sad if I had not returned?”
Tarra smiled teasing him.

“You know that I would, I love our time together,” he confessed.

“I know, I do too,” she said softly.

“Hi Micah,” called Lana as she walked up from behind eating a banana.

“Bula Princess Lana, I see that you have finally had your baby.”

“Yeah, she’
s a beautiful
little mermaid, just like her a
unt Tarra
.
”
Lana smiled.

“Then she must be beautiful,” smiled Micah once more to Tarra.

“We named her Princess Rose, after my father’s wife.”

“That is a fine name, where is Prince Titus?”

“He and Makoa are gathering clams for me to make a hot clam chowder.  It’s been too long since I ate my fish hot,” Lana laughed.

“I can imagine
.
”
Micah smiled and winked to Tarra.

“I will have you know that I have tried the seafood stew before and I did not find it that bad
.
”

“It’s true, she even knows how to make it,” said Lana.

“A mermaid who can cook, what more hidden talents do you have?” Micah teased.

“Princess Lana has even taught me how to sew, though I do admit that I am not very good at it,” she said with a half grin.

“Will wonders never cease, a mermaid who can sew!”

At that, Tarra had enough and she jumped into the water and flipped her tail completely drenching Micah.

He then jumped in after her and tried to catch her, but she was too fast for him.  He swam back to the rock.

“Yeah, those mer can be pretty annoying at times
.
”
Lana
smil
ed.

“Yes, I wish that I had their speed and strength.”

“Yeah, me too, but at least we can gather coconuts and fruit
.
”

“Do you need me to help you Princess Lana?”

“No, Levu was a good teacher and I have to admit, my webbed feet do help me climb the trees.  I’m even getting better at using my knife.  Besides, I know that Princess Tarra would like to spend time with you,” Lana said with a wave and a giggle as she left.

That made Micah very happy to hear it.  He had hoped that they were getting closer.  He believed that she was beginning to care for him as much as he cared for her.  Suddenly, another wall of water came crashing down upon his head, “Does that make you happy?”
Micah smiled to Tarra who was now surfacing and giggling.

“Yes,” she said as she once more hopped up on the rock.

“Then I am glad, I like to make you happy,” he said more seriously.

“You have made me happy since the first day I met you
.
”
S
he smiled.

“And you me, very happy,” he said while touching his chest with his closed hands and moving them forward in circles.

“What are you doing with your hands?”

“It means happy.  It is a language of the hands.  My cousin Joseph cannot hear or speak.  Our family speaks to him with our hands.”

“We mer have a language like that, only we speak to each other in our minds.  Your language is much more beautiful.  Show me more,” said Tarra interested in learning.

“Alright, I will show you this one, because it reminds me of you,” he said as he touched his forehead with his right fingers and moved around the left side of his face and stopped at his chin and smiled.

“What does it mean?”

“It means pretty, which is what you are,” he said softly.

“Do it again,” she insisted.

Micah did the motion again and after he stopped at his chin, he then slowly put his fingers under Tarra’s chin and gently pulled her forward and kissed her lightly on her lips.  They both just stared at each other for a few moments and smiled.

Then Tempest came up on his tail and danced around making clicking noises.

Micah looked to Tarra and pointed with his right finger to the left and moved in an up and down motion. 

“What does that mean?”
she asked with a grin.

“It means Dolphin
.
”
H
e smiled and went on to show her many more of the words in sign language as well as the letters.

When Titus and Makoa surfaced near Tempest, they did not understand what Micah and Tarra were doing.

Lana came and brought some of the coconuts she had gathered.  She saw Micah teaching Tarra sign language and saw Titus and Makoa watching them with confused looks on their faces.  She had to laugh to know that Titus could not understand what they were doing.

“It’s alright Titus, he’s teaching her sign language.  It’s a language that humans use when they are deaf or even mute.  That means that they’re unable to hear or speak.”

“Why would Micah use this language?” Titus asked confused.

“It is very strange,” said Makoa.

“Actually, I think it’s beautiful, almost like playing an instrument of the air
.
”
Lana smiled as Titus frowned.

“Titus, Micah knows another language of the hands,” called Tarra.

“Yes, that is just as Lana was explaining,” he said unimpressed.

“His cousin cannot hear or speak and yet, he can with the language of the hands,” Tarra s
ai
d enthusiastically.

“That is good.  Lana will you pass us some of those coconuts,” said Titus trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, here you go
.
”
S
he tossed them to Titus and Makoa who began crushing them and drinking the milk before tearing them apart for their meat.

“Congratulations Prince Titus on the birth of your daughter,” said Micah.

“Thank you, she is a treasure,” Titus swelled with pride and gave a wide grin.

“What is the sign for baby?” Tarra asked.

Micah put his arms together as if he were cradling a baby and moved them back and forth.  He coul
d not help but smile at Tarra because of
the enjoyment she was getting at learning the language.

“We have brought your clams,” said Titus as he handed the net bag to Lana and then he and Makoa decided to go and do some fishing of their own. 

Lana giggled because she knew that Titus was finding it difficult to see his sister fall
ing in love with Micah. 
I’m glad
he
’s
at least
letting her find love again, no matter the c
hallenges that she might face with
her choice
.  Lana went and built a fire and allowed the couple time to be alone.

“Thank you for showing me this language Micah, I love to learn new human things,” said Tarra.

“I like to teach you and I will teach you more for the price of another kiss
.
”
H
e smiled.  He waited for an answer and when she gave none and only smiled, he put his right hand to his chest and circled downward.

“What does that mean?” Tarra asked still smiling.

“It means, please,” he said so softly with a wide grin and leaned forward and kissed her gently once more.

“I suppose it was worth it
.
”
S
he smiled brightly.

~~~

Titus and Lana tried to visit
Mer
Island
a few times a week.  Lana loved going to the island, and Titus would not allow Tarra to go unchaperoned. Tarra was grateful that her brother was giving her some time to spend with Micah.

Each day was the same, Micah and Tarra sat on the rock talking and a lot of that was in sign language.  Even Titus could not help but begin to learn it so that he could know what they were saying to each other.  She was getting better at guarding her thoughts when her brother was around.  The few times he could hear her thoughts, it was mostly about how beautiful Micah’s smile was or the shape of his arms and chest and Titus decided that he would rather not read those thoughts.

Micah eve
n went fishing with Levu, Titus
and Makoa.  Micah and Levu used their spears and nets to catch the fish.  Titus and Makoa helped to push the fish towards their nets.  They were becoming quite a foursome of friends.

Lana and Tarra rested on the rock and talked, “You really are falling in love with each other aren’t you?” Lana asked her.