I’ve decided to dedicate a weekly newsletter of some of my backlist publications. This first one, a mermaid story, has been taken off the market and is not available at retailers. But it’s a popular story and I’d love to make it available to my fans. So if you’d like to read it, go ahead and subscribe and follow along.
“The sea is a cradle of mystery.”
So begins the prose set to a haunting melody in Pouraka's book trailer. “Entities shielding one another, caring for one another so that those things which are sacred are not violated by strangers.”
Mankind's science has unraveled obscurities in our world, traveling through outer space as easily as he explores molecules. Yet the ocean remains vague, a pounding mass whose greatness has been unexplored in comparison.
Creatures similar to the human species, mammals that give birth to young and grow hair, live in the deepest abyss of the sea. Yet we treat them as strangers, aliens that we know little about and, in many respects, treat as lesser than ourselves. Abuse even.
They congregate as colonies, in schools and pods caring for one another, defending each other. Studies show that they speak to each other and surely in the case of spinner dolphins, they dance with each other. Their delight is in freedom, and I can't help but wonder if the very essence of their being intimidates mankind.
If mermaids and mermen did live in the deepest waters, what would they think about men? Having lived side by side with dolphins, orcas, gray whales, and the multitude of species that call the reefs their home, the currents their roads, the ocean floor their cradle, how would they view the intrusion of humans?
I grew up by the Pacific Ocean. I'm certain that when one falls in love with the sea, it will always beckon you no matter how far from a body of water you live. I think that when you breathe that salty air long enough it becomes a part of you. I well understand the sailors' dilemma. How a man can spend months on a creaky boat bouncing on swells that rise well overhead, suffering through the blast of a storm or enduring days of blazing heat with nothing but water to mirror the sun's rays. Still, they set out again and again because they had a taste in their mouth that was insatiable. It's little wonder that in those endless days of sailing, stories of mermaids would take form. Half-human, half-sea creature
Indeed. A link between two worlds. Such is the story of Pouraka. Pouraka is not only a romance that accentuates the natural and unyielding love sea mammals have for one another, but it also speaks of the everlasting battle between the meek and the strong, the powerful and the powerless.
Pouraka
Chapter 1 The Threat
All life comes to the same end, whether on land or in the sea. Tas could accept that. Death did not disturb him, for a mer’s passing was graceful, as is the swaying of the ocean under a summer moon. If his mother had died naturally, he would have taken comfort in knowing she was fulfilling the final cycle of life.
But she didn’t die naturally.
Because of that, grief would adhere to him as mussels to the pilings under the pier; skeletons of forgotten shapes crusting over remnants of a once-living creature.
Tas will never forget.
“Come on,” his brother said softly, leading him away from their mother’s grave. “Mom wouldn’t want us to mourn so long.”
Tas let his gaze settle one last time on the sandy mound. Ripples of sunlight filtered through the water in the shapes of dancers that seemed to beckon the fallen mermaid to return. Or were they his own hopes, visualizing her as a hapless phantom putting an end to his nightmare? Soon her body would be consumed by living organisms, transformed into clams, sea snails, and sea stars. Rainbow coral would grow over her, and colorful fish would hide in its branches.
Tama patted him on the back. “Life goes on. There’s work to do.”
Though Tas swam from his mother’s grave that day, the darkness of death went with him.
The work was seasonal. This time of year, storms in the west uprooted masses of kelp and pushed it toward the coastal waters. Should it be allowed to congregate, the vegetation would suck oxygen from the fragile aquatic life in the cove. The mer-clan took it upon itself to disperse the floating heap. Some of the broad leaves would be woven into baskets by the mermaids, some used for food, and some scattered to open waters where it would drift again out to sea.
The weeds were heavy and difficult to maneuver. If the mermen weren’t careful, they could easily be tangled in the long gangly branches and drown. Unknotting the kelp was an art taught by the elders and handed down to the next generations. Because of the mermen’s skills, rarely did causalities occur. Still haunted by the horror of what had happened to his mother, Tas worked attentively yet kept a keen eye out for intruders. A raid on the mermen during a kelp harvest would be a catastrophe.
“Pull harder, Tas!” Red, a young and ambitious merman called out. Red’s head bobbed above the surface, his brilliant hair bright against the blue water. He yanked a long string of kelp taut, jerking the end that slithered through Tas’ hand. Tas tugged in the opposite direction and the mass fell free.
“Look out, Tas! Dive!”
Tas bolted. Red disappeared with a splash followed by a dark shape hitting the water after him. A harpoon whistled by Tas’ ear. He dropped into the seaweed as other harpoons sped by.
“I’m hit!” Tama’s mer-utterance rumbled in the water. Tas pushed through the kelp in search of his brother, and when he saw him tangled and bleeding, he raced to his side. A harpoon protruded from Tama’s flank, buried deep in his flesh. The rope that was attached to the projectile tightened and yanked Tama through the weeds. Above them, a propeller agitated the waters and beyond that, he could see the hull of a boat. Tas grabbed onto Tama, adding his weight to slow the drag, hoping it would give him more time to remove the harpoon.
“Flee, Tas. Get out of here!” Tama protested but Tas wouldn’t do any such thing. He wrenched at the spearhead; the triangular barb cut more flesh on its way out than it had when it penetrated, but at least Tama was free. Blood gushed from the wound and Tas guided Tama’s hand to press against it.
“Hold that wound closed as best you can while I swim you out of here.”
Tas dropped the weapon into the kelp and pulled Tama away, under the seaweed toward the other mers that had escaped the attack. He carried Tama through the currents into the darker waters toward their home.
This is so exciting!