A fairy tale, Pt II

There once was a boy who was fascinated by the sea. His father was a sailor, his father's father was a sailor and as a child that what he knew he wanted to be. From morning 'til dusk he would wander the shore placing seashells, sand dollars, and any bit of glass that the ocean had smoothed into jewels into his pocket until they were ready to burst. He wanted to know what it was like to ride on the water; what mysteries did the ocean hold? He had heard the stories of the sailors passed on from generation to generation about the monsters and the kingdoms under the water. Someday, he told himself, he would find them out. 

One day he found himself a man, a sailor, trading goods from port to port always returning to his home at the end of his journey to his sweet, pretty fiance. His fiance had everything he thought he could ever want from a woman. She was blonde with eyes the cobalt blue of the Atlantic. She too was fascinated by the sea, it's creatures and it's shells, however she never set foot in the water. It's strength frightened her. So, she would wait at the port for the Sailor to come home. 

The Sailor was on his route to Morocco. The waters were still, a dead calm. The was a splash and he saw a glitter of a blue fin slip under the water. Too small to be a shark, he thought to himself. He ran to the bow but he couldn't see which way it had gone. That night, he lay on deck in a dreamless sleep, until he thought he heard a soft singing. It was so beautiful that he began to hum along only to have it returned with laughter. He woke instantly. Perched on the railing was a woman. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. It was a woman with dark eyes and dark hair. She had a long tail that twinkled like silver diamonds in the moonlight. 

So the stories are true? He asked not knowing he said this out loud.

She laughed softly at him and reached out her hand. On the inside of her wrist he could make out the three slits that were gills. She laughed when he noticed. 

You may come with me if you like, She said, You are the one.

Every fiber of his being longed to take her hand.

If you fear death, do not, you will be safe with me.

Every story he had heard, every swim he had taken, every shore, every shell lead him to this and still he stood there. The woman looked puzzled, she withdrew her hand and her eyes began to turn very sad. She had watched him and waited for this moment all her life.

I can't, he told her, the words barely audible

Tears fell from her eyes, they glittered as she jumped back into the water.

The Sailor returned to his town a few days later. His heart was twisting when he saw his Fiance. He began to spend his nights walking alone on the beach looking for the dark haired woman. His eyes scanned the horizon in vain. His Fiance told herself that this behavior was just nerves. She told him that they would be so happy. They were married the following day. The week of the honeymoon, neither of them spoke to each other. The Sailor tried to fool himself into thinking that everything was alright. He still woke in the middle of the night thinking he heard the woman's beautiful soft laughter. The pan in his heart throbbed and he grew more distant. His wife woke one morning to find him gone. The only thing missing was his boat. She did not scan the horizons for him. When the boat returned a week later empty she knew what she had known all along.