THE RESCUE

by AMANDA KESPOHL

Aboat capsized, tumbling a slim raven-haired girl into the sea. She hovered near thesurface,surroundedbyahazycloudofskirts like some sort of exotic jellyfish. Her legs thrashed against the currents that tried to draw her down. Her hands stroked futilely against the waves that tried to bury her. But the ocean was tireless, and she was not. In the end, it would swallowherwhole.

Below her, the mermaid's heart stirred with sympathy. With a flick of golden fins, she swam toward the place where the wind roared and the sky wept. Her strong white arms encircledthegirl’swaist.Verygently,shepulled herdownintothedepths.

Bubbles erupted from between the girl’s lips in a silent scream. Her hands clawed toward the surface as if she could pull herself up on her fingertips, like climbing a cliff face. But the mermaid was much stronger than any human girl.Crooninginhermusicallanguage,shedrew the girl down among the colorful coral formations and held her until her struggles ceased. When the girl lay wilted like a crushed flower in the mermaid’s arms, the mermaid let hergo.

Up, she floated, like an angel rising to heaven. Indeed, she glowed in the flash and flare of lightning. Only, the light did not subside as the rumble of thunder faded into silence. It intensified until the mermaid was forcedtolookaway.

When she looked back, the girl’s eyes were open, studying the rainbow iridescence of her new tail. Shrugging out of the cumbersome cloud of her dress, she swam in experimentalcircles.

"Now isn't that better?" the mermaid askedinhersingsongtongue.

"Yes," the girl burbled, her dark hair an inky halo around her pale face. “Much better.I’mnotafraidanymore.”

Together, they swam along the ocean floor, the mermaid keen to show her new friendthewreckwhereshe,herself,wasborn.