BIRTH TO DEATH - MERMAID REVENGE (1/2)

It was Brent and Brant Hecking's wedding anniversary. What better way than to celebrate it with just the two of them, right? Oh, and their pet dog Rosie too, of course. She shouldn't ever be left out; she was their bundles of joy, the light of their eyes, she was their daughter, as far as Brent and Brant were concerned. Maybe they would adopt a child along the way, and Brent wasn't entirely opposed to the idea, but Brant on the other hand, was perfectly content with everything, and he'd rather not ruin the life that they had now. Somehow though, the lake must have heard them, or was it that creepy mermaid statue guarding the entrance? It was subtle at first, a soft squeak of a baby, heard only by the sharp ears of their dog Rosie. Then it turned into a wail, and Rosie, being the curious and attentive dog that she was, stormed through the bushes and wet trail, barking into the night. Rosie never behaved this way, they thought, so Brant followed her, perplexed as to what had peaked her curiosity. But never in a million years would they imagine finding a baby crib, in the middle of a deserted park, her hair brushed softly by the gentle lake breeze. She was restless, she tossed and turned, and Brant tried to calm her down with no avail. Brent was much better, though; he did have a soft spot for children, and he managed to calm her down and bring her back to sleep. It was an enchanting moment. They both didn't know who the baby was, where she was from, and where was her parents? But what they felt so strongly in their heart was that, they wanted to care for this baby, to bring her into their family. And they did just that. --- They named her Matilda. It was apt, it was nice, and they both liked it. Well, Brant thought they could do better, but Brent was really up in arms over naming her that, so Matilda it was. Brent was the closest to Matilda anyway. He pampered her and spoiled her all the time, and it was probably wrong for Brant to feel jealous, but he felt that anyway. Sometimes, you just can't control your feelings, and his feelings were definitely hurt. Matilda couldn't understand why he was so distant. She tried to prod him, demand for his attention, he never budged, until finally, he decided to sit down and tell her all about his problems. It was funny, ranting to a little toddler about grownups problems. But he had no one else at the time, and he did talk to Rosie, but Rosie only went about chasing her tail. He didn't expect anything to happen after telling little Matilda that, but Brent came in right after, apologizing with a beautiful red rose in hand. Maybe Matilda wasn't a bad name after all. Maybe Matilda herself wasn't a bad idea after all. Maybe... The life that they all had right now, wasn't bad at all. Matilda wasn't too convinced. Every night, she dreaded going to bed. Sometimes she'd dream happy things, sometimes, she was left alone in a cold, dreary lake, with no one in sight, except for the giant mermaid made of stone. That night was no exception. She found herself back in that cold lake, her legs wobbled as she wandered around the place. She felt lost, she wanted to cry, and eventually her legs gave away, right in front of the giant mermaid statue. It was scary, she could feel goosebumps all over her skin, but then she heard a voice, a lovely singing voice, and the lake wasn't that cold anymore, and she can feel herself calming down with every passing second. The voice was soft, enchanting, and it came from behind the statue. As if sensing her presence, the voice stopped singing and hopped towards her. Matilda was stunned. She had never seen a beauty quite like this in front of her. The figure's long, wavy hair cascaded on her back, her skin glowed in the dark, but in a way, she looked very peculiar as well. Her legs were just one giant tail with sparkling scales all over, and her voice was unlike anything Matilda had ever heard. She was a mermaid. The mermaid asked her if she was scared. "Hear me sing, and I'll ease your pain." It was bewitching. Matilda couldn't draw her gaze away, and neither did Rosie, who somehow had reappeared before her. Matilda was no longer scared, but as her eyes fixated on that figure, she wondered... If she could be just like her. --- She dreamed of the mermaid that night. The other night too. And the night after that. Even when she was about to turn 10, she dreamed of her too. She loved every second of it. The mermaid taught her the language of music, the joy that it can bring, and every time she woke up, she can't wait to show her beautiful fathers the composition that she learnt. She loved seeing the pride and joy beaming on their faces. They admired her musical talent so much they often let her perform her pieces during their family events and functions, and she was going to perform at a special family celebration tomorrow too. Everyone was always in awe of her music - except for Rosie, but she didn't like a lot of things anyway - and she can't wait for tomorrow to come. But maybe it would be better if tomorrow didn't come. --- It was a lovely day. The sun shone bright, everyone was in a good mood, and Brent and Brant renewed their vows on their wedding anniversary with little to no accident, in the presence of their dear daughters, Rosie and Matilda. It was Matilda's birthday too, which made it extra special. Matilda's recital went without problems as well, and it didn't seem like anything could go wrong on this beautiful day. One slight problem though, Rosie was missing. She always wandered around too much and ended up being missing. And she couldn't be missing; she had watched Matilda blew the candles on her cake every year, and this year shouldn't be any different. Thankfully, Rosie wasn't that far off. She just lost the track of time, playing with another human who seemed to be the same age as Matilda, and he too was filled with joy. He seemed like a nice person, and his name was Lucas. He was also very friendly and amusing, and just like Rosie, Matilda found herself forgetting about her birthday cake, her fathers and the guests waiting patiently for her arrival. Maybe it was a good thing that she did, because right at that second, a fire was lit and off it went, blazing away and swallowing the entire room. The entire mansion. Her cake. Her friends. Her fathers. They were no exception. As if sensing this, Rosie dashed towards the blazing mansion, not caring for Matilda's call from behind her. Matilda rushed towards Rosie, but what she saw was horrific; the flame was too hot to handle, but she must save Rosie... If she were given another chance, would she save Rosie? And risked herself being swallowed by the angry fire? She would, she really would. And so, as she fell down on the cold earth, her skin scorched with fire, she thought, Maybe this was what it felt like to die. Maybe they were all destined to die today. Maybe... Right at that second, a figure emerged from behind the trees, her face swelled with anger. --- Matilda's head was heavy, her eyelids refused to open, her heart even more so. She drifted in and out of her dreams, her fathers were there, their faces warm and kind, then suddenly the dream took an awful turn, a scene at the wretched mansion, Rosie was missing, but there she was in that room with Matilda's birthday cake. Someone else was there too though, with matches in hand, ready to light up the fireworks... She instantly woke up, sweating all over. But it instantly cooled off, because somehow, she had been sleeping outside, at the...lake? Another person emerged from behind her, her eyes looking over with great concern, her legs replaced with scaly fish tail. This was her teacher, her friend, her sister. The mermaid from her dreams. She saved her. She saved Matilda and Rosie. She made a deal with the Grim Reaper, apparently. "You're here because I couldn't let you die," she said, "You're one of us, the mermaid of the sea. Why don't you rejoin us, and live your life as it should be?" Did she have a choice though? She was confused, lost, but Rosie was there, and instantly she felt better. A reminder of her happy life, the life with her beautiful family. And she was going to follow her towards the next journey. So off she went, following the mermaid's trail, but her heart was still heavy, she was still deeply in pain. The only thing that kept her sane was the melody in her brain, a song that she often sang to her late fathers. She sang them out, reminiscing of that happy moments, and somehow, it comforted her. She felt incredibly at peace. And as time went by, as she grew into adulthood, the song was still at the tip of her lips, waiting to be sung. So she sang, and she sang, hoping for a change. Hoping for a better future. But would she have that, in this cursed life of hers? TO BE CONTINUED