Lynn Combs

The following short story was entered into The Springfield Writers Guild’s 2020 summer writing contest. The prompt for this short story was to write a 750-word (or less) story or a one-page poem of any genre about “A Most Memorable Vacation.“

A weeklong argument with his parents culminated in Ned sulking in the back seat of the family SUV for the three-hour drive to their summer beach house. He wouldn’t admit it now, but he loved the beach house and the action-packed boardwalk with all its many attractions. Problem was, during the last month of school all his friends talked about there days of swimming, barbequing, and dancing under the stars at the nearby river. His parents agreed to a one-week delay so he could spend time with his friends, but a week hardly seemed fair to Ned.

As they reached the beach house, almost before the car stopped, Ned hopped out, announcing he was heading to the beach: his earbuds playing loud so any comments from the parents were drowned out.

The nearby beach was usually quiet. But off to his right was the boardwalk and the crowds it attracted. In no mood to be around people he quickly strode through the water in the opposite direction to the hidden cove he considered his own private beach.

He was sitting in the cove throwing pebbles into the water when a slight movement near the rocks caught his eye. At first, he dismissed it as sea otters which frequented the cove, but something inside him insisted he go investigate. Climbing over the larger rocks he looked but couldn’t see anything. About to give up, he saw a sparkle in the water. Careful of the wet rocks, he moved toward the shiny object. As he reached for it a large splash hit him in the face.

Stepping back, he wiped salt water from his eyes. When he could see again the shiny object was gone. He was about to resume his search, when his parents interrupted with a phone call, he knew it was pointless not to answer. The Johnsons from three houses down had arrived and they were starting the barbeque. Ned rolled his eyes; the two much younger Johnson kids drove Ned nuts. He sighed and reluctantly headed back.

***************

Lying in bed that night Ned couldn’t get the shiny object out of his mind. A shell? No, they don’t’ sparkle like that. A coin? No, he has never seen a coin that shiny. A rock? No, rocks are too dull. A gem? Maybe there could be Pirate treasure out there, nah. Slowly he drifted off to sleep.

Up early, after a night of dreams where everything shined, Ned grabbed a quick breakfast, packed a lunch and his diving gear, left a note for his parents, he headed straight for the cove. Ned returned to where he first saw the shiny object. Searching all day with no luck, he began to think he imagined it, but that shiny object continued haunting his dreams. He just had to find it.

For most of the summer, every free moment was spent searching, but no luck. About to give up, once again he caught movement in the corner of his eye. A splash led him to dive into the water only to see thousands of tiny bubbles that seemed to surround him, then to lead off in one direction. Swimming after the bubble trail, the water darkened around him. He soon realized he was in an underground cave. Despite warnings from his father of the dangers of cave diving he still felt compelled to follow. Feeling the water become shallower, he stood up in a large open cave. The air was stale but breathable and there sitting on the sand was something he never thought he would see…

A mermaid.

Awed, he realized she was scared and trying to back away. Then he saw it, her tail, covered in shiny scales just like the object he had seen that first day. Ned noticed something else, her tail, tightly tangled in a net and obviously causing her pain and great distress. He knew he had to help her.

Seeing him she appeared to panic and seek a way back into the water and escape. Approaching slowly, Ned realized he needed to calm her in order to help her. He started to sing the lullaby his mom used to sing when he was scared. Slowly, she calmed and stilled. Then Ned crept closer, pulled out his dive knife and carefully cut her free.

Taking a single scale from her tail, she handed it to Ned as she slid back into the water and swam away. Ned finally held the object he had searched for all summer.