Chapter Five
‘Either you run the day or the day runs you.’
Jim Rohn
I’m not a party girl in the slightest.
After I left Macy’s late in the afternoon, I returned back to the Glass house to get ready for Lainie’s celebrations. I’d found that Chris was still at the police station for a late night at work while Nevada made herself useful at Macy’s as a temporary night bar attendant. I’d walked into my room to find a black box labelled ‘Noir’ and a smaller box with ‘Gucci’ written on it. The larger box, I’d found, was a gift from Nevada and Lainie - a tight, black dress that covered the cleavage and showed off my short legs - while the smaller showcased a pair of strappy black heels that made me tower above my usual height.
Lainie had come in with an hour until party time, showing off her own tight black and red dress. Her lips were ruby red once again and her eyes were rimmed with thick, black winged eyeliner. It made her eyes pop, while her hair was braided intricately by Nevada before she’d left. Lainie had offered to become my own personal makeup artist and hairdresser, setting my hair into a messy but sexy set of windswept curls hanging loosely from a long, high ponytail.
My makeup was mostly natural, with nude lip gloss and eyeliner matching Lainie’s. I reluctantly wore mascara, but at the very least I’d been able to avoid the use of fake lashes. I couldn’t stand them. Finally, my nails were replaced by instant-drying fake nails that were painted as French tips in a nude shade. They squeezed on top of my natural nails, and I had to avoid rough handling to stop the glue from coming loose. I didn’t even want to consider the idea of taking them off right then.
Starden was the first guest to arrive, and I decided to take to the balcony rather than stay and listen to my sister’s giggling as he played with the silky, tight material. I remained on the balcony, watching as the sun set and more and more people arrived. It wasn’t long before music shook the house, thick with bass drops and alcoholic beverages being served. No wonder Chris and Nevada had stayed away - I couldn’t stand to think of them as my parents anymore.
I wasn’t Iris Chassidy Glass anymore.
I was nobody.
I couldn’t stand being in my room anymore, finally I stepped tentatively into the hall, using my antique key to bar my room from unwanted visitors. I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone making out in my bed, tearing up the sheets and pillows. Already my sister was well in her element downstairs. I descended onto the ground floor, squeezing between people and earning a few glares and the occasional good birthday wishes. Continuously I pulled at the hem of my dress, trying to make myself as small and insignificant as possible. It was obvious that the majority of these party-goers were here for either my sister, to satisfy their perverted minds or to simply party until the hours of early morning.
My only reprieve came fifteen minutes later when I stumbled through the front door and found the cool summer breeze of night blowing across my sweaty face. My hair was coming loose and I removed my shoes as I crossed the street and dangled my feet over the edge, tingling as the sea mist rose to tickle my toes. The energy coursed through me, zipping like an electric shock up my spine. It was tantalising, the feeling of being so close to the water and not being in it. I wanted to dive into its darkness and envelop myself in its waves. To swim right now was just the purest temptation, like a meth addict being offered a piece of crystal.
What made it eerily beautiful was the presence of the moon above the water, but it wasn’t silvery white that the water was tainted. Instead, a deep violet glow emanated from below the water’s surface, growing in intensity the longer I sat there. I panicked slightly, moving my feet quickly from the edge and onto the green of the grass. It prickled my feet, almost painfully so as I peered down into the small waves lapping against the land. It shimmered, and for a moment I could have sworn I’d seen a tail in the depths. I leaned closer, trying to gain a closer look when I was pushed from behind.
I screamed as I fell into the water, kicking my way to the surface in time to find a group of drunken boys from school running back to the house. I recognised one of them from school, a star champion along with me for many years on our swim team. I would have my revenge later, but I instead turned my focus on the shimmering of what could only be described as glitter in the water. There was movement through the water nearby, and I squinted as I tried to make out what it was that was causing it. I was met with only more glitter and darkness, right before I saw it again.
The tail.
It shone brightly, as though it were illuminated with its own inner radiance. It splashed brilliantly, spraying my face with droplets of salty water and I blinked against the saltiness. The waves rose, dragging me under and blinding me with darkness. I thrashed, my legs and arms weighed down by something that felt both thick and thin simultaneously. The undercurrent swept around me, dragging me deep down into the ocean. Coral scraped against my skin, seaweed wrapping around my limbs. I gasped for breath very well knowing that I would be met by only air escaping from my lungs.
My body ached, my muscles screaming with the intense pain of lack of oxygen. Yet even though I was a confident swimmer, I was useless against the power of the ocean. It was a powerful monster, gorging itself on my body as I tumbled to the ocean floor. The light above grew dimmer as I sunk, my eyes blinking as I continued to witness the beauty of the violet underwater world. Fish swam past, and even a shark, but nothing seemed to be fazed by my presence.
Gold flitted between the rays of light cast from the houses across the street, leaving me watching in awe as clarity streaked through my sight and I saw the world for what it was. Down by the bottom of the sea the bubbles danced their way back to the surface, my jaw falling open as I experienced what could only be described as my own personal version of heaven. I couldn’t feel any pain and the tingling I usually felt in my toes spread, the feeling enhancing as it shot up through my muscles and I shuddered with the sheer pleasure. My lungs constricted, and I choked despite the pure rapture I was under.
There was a slight give in the water, leading me to the false hope that I would be able to scramble to the surface by the time I ended up drowning. It wouldn’t work, I knew, but I could hope. I spread my arms, hands cupped against the water like wings expanding to capture the breeze under their feathers. I flexed my muscles, crying out in agony as I clawed toward the surface. There was little else keeping me below the surface, freedom so close I could taste its toxicity across my tongue. So close, yet so far …
That was when I heard her.
It simply wasn’t possible, but somehow I managed to hear a voice emanating through the water. It originated from below, at the heart of the glowing violet light. Cold tingles traced down my spine, seizing my muscles in place and I found the fight leaving me. Instead, I focused on the voice, enchanted by its harmonic quality and the vibrations that reverberated through the waves. Reluctantly, I gradually lost control of my body and drifted down … down …
The lyrics weren’t easily interpreted but I did manage to hear the words ‘ocean’s lullaby’ amongst the mumbled words. Deep inside, my soul tumbled inside me restlessly but the music performed by the magical voice was dragging me deeper. There wasn’t much light available from down here, and I noticed silently the first sign of the lightening morning sky. How long had I been down there? I had no idea but I didn’t really care. The final remnants of the give in tidal movements vanished, effectively pulling me down with the strength of a whirlpool. The suction was horrible, as though hundreds of octopodes were wrapped around me and sucking the very life force out from deep inside me. The light from above was dimming but it seemed to be growing from below.
I barely registered when my feet slid along the sea floor, my skin caressing along the shells and rocks as though it were no more than the softest of silk. My hair skimmed against my cheeks and shoulders, soft and smooth. There wasn’t much that didn’t tempt my senses, pleasuring every inch of my skin. I finally sat upright, blinking ag
ainst the sheer strength of the light before me. The tail I’d seen earlier stretched out before me, and I couldn’t even move as I scanned upward to meet eye-to-eye with a beautiful woman. She approached me, her voice cutting off as she smiled and reached out with webbed but elegant fingers.
Her lips were full but her skin was lacking in colour and texture. There was no doubt at all that she would burn severely if she were left in the sun’s rays unprotected. Her high cheekbones sported a fresh, thin cut that sat jagged, leaving her skin appearing pallid, sickeningly so. Her body appeared to be thin and malnourished, leaving me able to see her rib cage through her skin. She wasn’t clad but her hair was long and as blonde as the midday sun, weaving around her body in a magical cloak. The thickness alone was amazing, making it noticeably challenging to sport had she walked above the water.
I watched for a moment longer, but my shock vanished the moment she opened her mouth and spoke to me, her voice clear as it rang through the water in the most beautiful and musical of tones.
‘Welcome, daughter of the sea,’ she addressed me. ‘It has been a long time.’
Finally, whatever spell I had been under broke in that instant. I screamed, startling the beautiful woman and her eyes widened as I thrashed. I kicked off from the sea floor and headed for the surface, ignoring the woman’s pleas for me to stop and listen. Finally she swam above me, drawing my eyes upward and to the realisation that I wasn’t going to make it in time. The pain returned with shocking effect, ripping at my insides as though I had swallowed a thousand knives. I thrashed, unable to take it anymore.
‘Stop! Stop!’
I screamed, bubbles escaping in varying sizes from my mouth and I oddly envied them. They would reach the surface. They would reach the oxygen I so deeply craved. Whatever force that kept me alive down here was fading and it didn’t help that the woman’s panicking and shaking hands were pressing over me. Light streamed from the woman as she enveloped me in a tight embrace, wrapping my entire body into a tiny bubble of human flesh. My soul ached for freedom and I pressed my lips together in a bid to keep from scaring her again. I oddly cared for her, recognising her slightly from somewhere I had been once before long ago. I listened to her, her lips close by my ear as she uttered beautifully majestic and lyrical words in my ear.
‘Hush now, Iris. Hear my presence. Listen to my words as I say this: Breathe, my daughter. It is time for you to return to us.’
With a kiss on my forehead, she hushed me as I began to whimper, my eyes beginning to cloud over as peace instantly blossomed in my heart and spread throughout my body. Her own body glowed brighter around me, both surrounding me and filling me with her magical essence. It was then that I truly accepted that I wasn’t going to die and that what I was seeing was real. It no longer felt like a dream, or even a nightmare. The pain faded and in its place, pleasure once again filled my every cell. I stopped thrashing my legs once again and found that when they settled together, they seemed to form a united entity.
My eyes flitted in the direction of my hands, my fingers spreading wide as I watched the imperfections begin to smooth over and the skin stretched, forming a delicate and shimmering blue web between each gap. My mouth opened and I gasped, aware of the sudden rush of water into my body and through my lungs. It would have meant certain death, but I was stunned to find that instead of water-logging my body, it filled me with the vital essence I’d been trying to get out of swimming and my connection with the sea for years. Only when the transformation was seemingly complete did I look down and finally see the sky blue scales that had formed a tail where my legs used to be. I lifted it, using the woman’s grip on my arms to keep myself upright as I reached forward and skimmed my fingertips along it.
It was breathtakingly beautiful, but even so proved to be too much. I turned toward the woman, shaking free of her grip as she levelled her gaze on me and her lips pulled into a wide grin. Her elation spread to encompass her entire body and she laughed in sheer bliss. Meanwhile my panic was beginning to cut through the pleasure, taking away my own elation and the magic of the moment. I stretched out and took her by the shoulders, shaking her furiously. Tears were forming in my eyes but the sea water carried them away easily. With gritted teeth, I glared at her.
‘What have you done to me?’ I demanded, watching as her head slammed violently back and then forward again. Then just as quickly as the rage had come, it settled and I released her from my grip. Without her body in contact with mine to keep me upright and my own … tail … refusing to budge, I drifted silently to the sea floor again. This time, I didn’t notice the beauty the same way. No longer under her spell, I saw the sea different from anything I had ever experienced. Everything I saw was faultless, but it soon began to all fade. The woman swam before me, looking grim as her lips settled from her wide grin into a formidable thin line.
‘Iris, I don’t know how to explain any of this to you,” she murmured, her voice still musical but I was no longer ensnared by her magic. Instead, I looked up into her eyes feeling miserable. I was changing and I had no idea how or why. This was meant to be impossible.
I guess I’m a somebody after all, I thought to myself, wondering if - maybe - this woman was in fact my biological mother.
‘There is a lot to explain,’ she began. I found, though, that though she began to speak more and more, my ears were beginning to switch off and my body began to drift. With half-lidded eyes, my body swayed and the woman moved to catch me. She appeared to be unsurprised, but even so I watched as she called over her should and murmured my name over and over again. The energy was escaping me at a fast rate, proving that both the shock and the energy the transformation had taken a large toll over my body. In the final moments before I shut my eyes, the water pressed hard against my ear drums and left me completely deaf to the words that she was undoubtedly saying. That was when the light appeared.
Four finned women.
Five sets of hands pressing against my body.
Finally my eyes slid shut and my body couldn’t hold out any longer. The hands faded, their touches becoming nothingness as unconsciousness loomed like a cruel haven over me. It took away the pain, the pleasure and the unbelievable, leaving just me. My core. Everything that I was remained, lingering in a darkness that appeared to be eternal and everlasting.
One last breath was taken before I finally passed out completely.