There was a knock again.
I inhaled deeply, trying to push the sickness back inside me. It wasn’t even dawn yet. Who in the world could it be?
Rising on wobbling knees, I went to the door. In the dim light, I saw the silhouette of a woman standing there. I opened the door.
“Kate?” Her hair was dripping wet and she had an envelope clenched in her hand. She pushed the envelope toward me.
“I went to the hospital…” she began then paused. When she looked at me, the light in the kitchen caught the deep sapphire hues in her eyes. She looked sad. No, she looked something beyond sad. She had the strangest expression on her face. She looked at the envelope.
I took it from her, seeing the name of the hospice on the envelope. I slid the papers out, seeing what she, no doubt, had already discovered.
“Will you come with me?” she asked.
“You’re all wet,” I stammered.
She smiled, dug into her pocket, and pulled out something, handing it to me.
I opened my hand.
Placing her hand in mine, she set something in my palm.
I opened my hand to see that it was filled with red beach glass. “I thought you said it was rare,” I stammered stupidly.
“Not if you know where to look.”
I set the envelope and beach glass on the table. I turned to grab my jacket, but the nausea wracked me. Uncontrollably, I rushed to throw up into the sink. My hands clutched the side of the white porcelain basin as I wretched over and over again. If I hadn’t felt so miserable, I probably would have died from embarrassment.
With my eyes closed, I heard the refrigerator door open followed by a snap as she opened a can of soda. I then heard the cupboard.
“Here,” she said, after my vomiting had subsided.
I opened my eyes to see her standing with a glass of ginger ale in one hand and a napkin in the other. I took the soda from her and sipped slowly, wiping my mouth.
“Will any of these help?” she asked, picking up the medicine bottles.
I pointed to the one on the end.
She handed it to me.
She wore a very strange, almost serene, expression on her face. What in the world was going on with her?
“Kate?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She motioned to the bottle.
I took two pills, swallowed, and washed it down with the soda. There was a small bottle of mouthwash sitting beside the sink. I picked it up and cleaned my mouth. How humiliating. I turned and smiled abashedly at her.
Kate nodded affirmatively then reached out for me.
I slipped on my boots and followed her outside.
It was still dark outside, but you could feel dawn on the horizon. Taking my hand in hers, she led me through the woods toward the shore.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the lake.”
“Why?”
“For the sunrise.”
“Kate?”
“No questions, Cooper,” she said, squeezing my hand.
She led us through the dark and soon we emerged on the rocky shoreline. With my stomach empty, the medicine worked fast, dispelling my nausea. But still, my body felt weak and pain lingered in my stomach. My organs were beginning to fail. My end was nearly here. I could feel it.
When we reached the lakeshore, we stood hand-in-hand looking out at the water. Kate eyed the horizon, her blue eyes wide, then she turned and smiled at me. Standing with her back facing the lake, she then did something very unexpected. Kate pulled off her white T-shirt, revealing her full, naked breasts. She then slid off her shorts to reveal she was naked underneath. I looked away.
“Don’t,” she said. “Look at me. All of me,” she whispered.
Turning back, I let my eyes slide down her beautiful body. She was perfect, large breasts above a trim waist, her legs and arms athletic. I let my eyes slide down her waist, down below her bellybutton, to her secret feminine parts. She was so beautiful.
“Now you,” she said.
“Me?” For a brief moment, a flicker of embarrassment flashed through my mind. I was already aroused. What would she think about that? But then I realized, if she was that brave, then I had to be brave too.
I pulled off my clothes, feeling the cold air surrounding me. It nipped horribly at my ears and toes. When I pulled down my jeans, then my boxers, I felt shy for a moment. But then I saw Kate’s large eyes on me, smiling, that strange wistful expression on her face as if she were holding back tears.
“Let’s go,” she said then, grabbing my hand, pulling me toward the water.
“But…but its freezing,” I protested.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” she asked.
The sharp poignancy of her reply wasn’t lost on me.
“Come on,” she said then led me into the water, splashing me as I followed after her.
I couldn’t help but laugh in spite of myself. I chased her into the waves, feeling nothing but joy. She kicked water at me, laughing and squealing as I grabbed her, tumbling us both into the water.
Without thinking, I pressed my mouth against hers. I swooned as I felt a dizzying sensation. Her warm lips pressed against mine. I held her wet, naked skin, feeling her warmth as she leaned against me. I felt her heart beating quickly and the grit of sand on her fingers as she ran her hand across my back. A moment later, however, she pulled away.
“Come on,” she said, then dove under the waves. I watched the water where she disappeared then saw a strange golden light.
“Kate?” I said, stepping forward into the chest-high water. She didn’t come back to the surface. Light glimmered under the waves. It seemed to move like it was alive. “Kate?” I called again. The light moved toward me, and a moment later, Kate broke the surface of the water, her head and neck just above the waves.
“The sun is about to come up,” she said as she looked over my shoulder toward land. “Will you carry me to shore?”
“Carry you?” Was she hurt? Surely she knew I was in no condition to carry anyone.
She nodded then swam toward me, that golden light trailing behind her. She put her arms around my neck then pressed her body against me. When she did, something felt odd, but warm and soft like silk.
“Carry me,” she whispered again.
I reached under the water and slid my hand down her back but something felt strange.
Kate giggled.
“What? What is this?” I asked as I slowly made my way back toward shore. As I did so, the golden light around Kate began to glow brighter and brighter and soon I could see what felt so different. “Kate,” I whispered aghast as I stared down at the bundle in my arms. I had gone into the lake with the loveliest woman I’d ever met in my life, but was returning to shore with…a mermaid.
“Take me to shore, please,” she whispered.
I looked at the horizon. The sky was illuminated gray with the first edges of pink lining the skyline. What I was seeing was a miracle. I was being shown a miracle.
I carried the lovely creature in my arms and set her down on the shoreline beside me. Her long emerald-colored tail stretched out on the shore. I stared at her in amazement.
Kate reached out, took me by the chin, and then kissed me lightly. Then she gently lay me down beside her.
“I’ve walked the Earth for nearly three hundred years,” she whispered then, pausing to kiss me on my forehead. “But I never felt love for any human until I set eyes on you. There is a spirit inside you that deserves to live, a goodness in you that is coming to an end too soon. I can’t let that happen,” she said, then looked off at the horizon. Sunlight shimmered from land out onto the lake. When Kate turned and looked back at me, an enormous tear was streaming down her cheek. The tear glistened with golden light.