Pretty Fin

  As the seconds passed, he felt no different. No ill feelings overcame him. His breathing was fine. His acuity, the same. His theories were precise. He could breathe in the gas that emitted from the ground. He was immune.

  King Zaire swam over it. Finally coming to the Dark Lair. He looked around, puzzled at first. He entered the opening and soon emerged on the other side. He swam straight up, coming up from the water. His first entrance into earth’s surface was met by tragedy. Something burning bright in the distance. He thrashed his powerful tail and swam to the source of the flames. It was a large object. A strange odd shaped vessel. It was engulfed in flames. Near it, a small round floating object. He swam over to it and peeked inside. He was surprised to see a baby crying, right next to its obviously dead mother. Burned over a large part of her body and bleeding from every part of her skin. The baby appeared to be comforting her. Her small hand placed on her mother’s back.

  The king took the baby and the bags. He dove back into the water. The baby appeared to be in distress. There were no bubbles coming from her mouth. He raced back to the surface. The baby choked. She held onto him, terrified. He rubbed her back. It was what he saw her doing to her mother. The baby calmed down. She seemed exhausted. She laid her head on his shoulder as he floated.

  The king looked around. He examined the baby. She had fallen asleep. He lifted her up out the water and looked at her legs. They appeared different. Missing was the fine, shiny, soft flesh that fused when the tail formed. He was confused. Her skin was not right. He pulled up her little top and looked at the side of her chest. She had no openings. The king soon realized that although she looked it, she was not nermein.

  He thought long and hard about how to get her home with him. His handling of her, had not woke her. Her head still on his shoulder. He was in the middle of the ocean. No land visible. And it appeared her family had perished. The king thought about the best way to deliver oxygen to the child. He wondered if he covered her mouth, would she breathe the small amount of air he would leave in his lungs. It was dangerous. If he left too much, he could be crushed under the weight of the water. If he didn’t leave enough, the baby would die. He had to try.

  He entered the water, released some of the oxygen, put his mouth over the baby’s airway and swam hurriedly back to Madaka.

  Unimagined Love

  L

  ance and Fin returned home from a day of shopping. He took her to six stores and purchased everything her heart desired. She purchased items typically not standard for normal everyday shopping. He delighted in being her personal tour guide. He enjoyed the look on her face as she discovered new things. A trip to the local mall was the best time he’d had in a long time. Spending money on himself never bought him the same joy as spending it on her. She gave him a new found appreciation for items he normally took for granted.

  Like the nearly half-hour it took her to select a toothbrush as she excitedly looked at each one, remarking on the colors and shapes. And the nearly hour-long time it took for her to pick the nail polish she wanted. Lance chuckled as she tried on twenty colors, placing multiple colors right next to one another. Her fingers like rainbows. The colors too beautiful to leave any one of them behind.

  Security came and Lance made the situation less awkward by telling him she was new to the store. Fin placed every polish inside the basket. Cleaning the shelf completely, as Lance looked on. He didn’t care about the strange looks he got from people as they passed by. Fin was excited and eager to test every product. And he wanted her to enjoy the moment.

  Lance found it refreshing that she lacked the awareness of the value placed on the dollar. He’d had his share of women wanting to date him for his wealth. Something that he was used to, but still annoyed by. He longed for a real connection. A deep and meaningful bond. It was easy to fall in love when certain things like money, was out of the way. He was glad to be in position to accommodate her.

  He had deep pockets. He could buy their inventory. Fin’s interest and intrigue was priceless. And Fin wasn’t totally clueless. She believed that some sort of trade would occur at check out. She just wasn’t sure what Lance had to trade. She was shocked that all he had was paper. Strange paper with writing. She looked at him. “I’ll explain later,” he said to her, as he turned his attention back to the cashier and smiled. “Thank you,” he said, as he placed the bags in the cart.

  The cashier glanced at Fin. She wondered why the woman seemed so out of place. So enthralled, with what she had in her basket. Maybe the woman was an ex-con, returning home after years of being locked away. Or maybe, she’d awakened from a coma and was now being reintroduced to the world. She didn’t fit either scenario. But it was puzzling nonetheless.

  The two left the store. Fin was thrilled. She caught the looks from the cashier. She didn’t care. This was her journey. She was new to the things that were so commonplace for those around her. She was excited. And she had no apologies. Lance loaded his SUV with more bags and it was off to another store. This time a clothing store. Fin was still in his clothes. An old pair of jogging pants and a tee shirt. She wore a pair of Nike flip flops. The one thing she struggled with. In Madaka, there were no shoes. Everyone walked barefoot.