Bereft

It was as tho' the universe in all its vastness rose up between her and the mighty vessel that bore him steadily away. She recalled how his hair glistened, wet with the cold brine, as he leaned from the prow of the ship, when just a moment ago he had first seen her, and believed.

There was something ancient inside them that met and knew itself in that moment.

The excitement of curiosity was there, but more present to them was an unspoken and untaught knowledge of their intrinsic oneness. Two creatures that lived worlds apart met for the first time. The meeting felt like an exotic homecoming. It was then that he believed. Probably the singlemost important acquiesence of his life. A gut feeling, powerful though it may be, is superficial at best compared with that inner knowledge that is solid as bedrock, but more often than not tiny as a pebble. Oh, not that a woman going about living in the oceans with the body of a fish was a small matter for belief. But to know in an instant that she belonged to him and he to her- to accept it, inspite of the fear and incredible obstacles that separated them - there lay the greatness. He felt an enormous sensation that he was letting go of something huge . . . common sense, he feared. But hardly before that emotion had passed he was overwhelmed by the sweetness of peace and completion, the intensity of which he had not heretofore known existed.

He looked down at his enchanting sea-maiden be-jewelled with water droplets, and gazing into her sea-green eyes full of fear and trust, lay bare the contents of his heart. Nothing passed between the two that could conventionally be considered communication. But by some power, they knew not what, the minds and hearts of the two became one.

There was something between them that was both born and threatened with death all at once. He knew he would have to fight for it. The jarring stab came with the militant call of his commanding officer to make sail at once. The commotion of the men on board, the strange voices and sounds startled her and sent her plunging into the glistening depths. She could not help being easily startled, being skittish in nature as fish are wont to be.

For a moment there, amidst the waves and alone, she reflected. She was ecstatic and in disbelief of all that had passed. She felt as though she had just lived a lifetime in a single moment. Her heart flared up with overwhelming joy and that courage that belongs only to a woman in love. Three flicks of her powerful tail sent her swiftly gliding up to his blurry image above. She pierced the surface just in time to meet his deep brown eyes and join them in one last dance. He was leaving her. Why? She could not understand. She knew not the ways of men, nor the wheres or whens of their comings and goings. She had no control, no way of finding him. Her heart sunk, and she felt utterly helpless. How could this happen? Happinness so close at hand, now rent from her very bosom. She looked to him in desperation. His answer came as bright and strong as the rising sun, through those brown, earthy eyes, "Believe in me".