3: Amber Encounters Mermaid

The afternoon was serene and Amber was not busy with any chore, therefore she stood inside the parlor downstairs, admiring the portrait of the mansion on the wall. A squeak at the main door caught her attention and she looked to find the door already swinging open by Isis’s hand as she let herself inside the house. 

The woman was always elegant, Amber thought. With her beauty, it was hard to imagine she could be as stern as she was. She looked like she couldn’t hurt a fly but Amber doubted that. 

She traded her thoughts over some manners now, remembering she had been raised well. (“You’re a good heart,” Her mother would say).

Amber greeted Isis with a smile and went back to eyeing the portrait, pretending not to notice how Isis had just ignored her greeting by not returning the smile. She was also careful not to show how affected she was by the disregard. She was not even prepared to confront her because she had been there long enough to know it would turn out badly for her. She would be accused of disrespect and she wasn’t a disrespectful girl. (“You’re a good heart,” Her mother would say).

Isis approached her direction and Amber stepped aside to accommodate her. Isis began to study the portrait as well and Amber noticed the look of longing on her face which caused her to wonder why but she didn’t have to wonder for long.

“Great, isn’t it? The King’s palace.” Isis commented and Amber nodded to that, in total agreement with that particular view.

“My dream,” Isis continued, “is for my Rhea to marry Arnold and live there someday.”

Amber didn’t know what to think of the dream except that well, everyone was entitled to have a dream.

“You have any dreams, Amber?” Isis inquired and Amber’s face lit up at the thought of her dream.

“One day,” Amber replied dreamily, “I will become very wealthy and help the poor.”

Amber was neither prepared for the shocking look Isis gave her, nor for the sudden burst of laughter that escaped Isis next, her actions slowly extinguishing the light off Amber’s face.

“You want to save the world?” Isis mocked, laughing as she headed for the stairs. “Keep dreaming.”

Amber’s face had fallen with disappointment that weighed on her like a ton of sand and she felt like disappearing underground. Was there no hope for the realization of her dream? Was her dream really funny or perhaps meaningless? Wasn’t it something to be encouraged? Wasn’t her dream honorable? What was wrong with helping?

With a great effort, she willed herself to halt the kind of negative questions plaguing her peace of mind because deep down she knew that her dream was honorable. 

Her mother had said there will be challenges. She had said, not everyone will like or believe in her dream no matter how good it was. It was the way of the world, she had said. That was why it was hers. She alone was responsible for pursuing it and fighting to see it come to reality. Besides, Miriam had said, dreaming was free so why be held back from dreaming because of challenges?

With these positive thoughts, Amber mentally chased away the negative energies Isis had stirred up about her dream and welcomed the positive energies her mother’s advice brought. She was grateful for her mother who believed in her dream. 

But then, she observed that the negative energies were at war with the positive ones. It was hard but she expected the positive to win. They fought even as Amber, by night in her room before she went to bed, sat at her dresser, staring at the portrait of her parents. She had a forlorn expression on her face as Isis’s mocking laughter rang bitingly in her head, the sound as unpleasant as musical instruments playing with no harmony. Yet the sight of her parent’s portrait gave her strength, hope, and faith.

“My dream may sound hopeless,” she said to the smiling portrait of her parents. “But at least you believe in me mother just like Father would have done.” 

Her father… she briefly thought about him. She had faint memories of being carried by a kind-faced man. Miriam had told her that when she was five, he had gone to get materials for her sculpting work when he got caught in a storm and drowned in the river. His body was never found. It was the reason Miriam had stopped sculpting. Before that, Miriam was known as the best sculptor in Upland. The sculpted image of the handsome man on their front porch was her mother’s handiwork. It was a mirror image of her father, people said and she had always confirmed it in her parent’s paintings before her. 

The sculpture was the last Miriam had made after her father’s disappearance. No one had been able to convince her to sculpt again because sculpting reminded her of the loss of her husband.

“Don’t worry mother,” Amber said to Miriam’s image. “One day, you will be happy and maybe start sculpting again.” Her father would have wanted that, she believed. Her mother had said as much. 

As for me, Amber thought, I will pour all my strength into my tasks. I will give my best. This mindset stuck with her as she continued to work in Isis’s house. It stuck with her as she prepared to wash dishes the following day which was blessed with a clear azure sky. 

Amber was at the waterfront at Isis’s house with a basin in her hand and on the ground was another basin as well as a basket full of dirty dishes, cups, and cooking utensils. Also standing by was a bottle of liquid soap and a large tray with a small jar inside containing a sponge. 

Amber used the basin in her hand to fetch water from the river, filling it. She turned half its content into the basin standing by. Taking the bottle of liquid soap, she opened it and turned some of its contents into one basin, replaced the lid, and laid down the bottle. Afterward, she stirred the water, watching it produce bubbles.

Having prepared the washing water, she took out the sponge, thrust it in the soapy water, and grabbed a cup, washing it with the sponge from a kneeling position. She worked quickly and was done with the cup, she thrust it into the other basin with clean water and picked up another cup, giving it the same treatment as its predecessor.

As a laborer, her appetite was working for her. Her hunger drove her on. She will work as long as it enabled her to help. Her wages may not be enough but at least it could help her mother. Amber noticed that the water had started to trouble.

“What’s happening with you?” She wondered, seeing as a spot close to the shore began to twirl and twirl. 

Amber paused, watching the phenomenon intently. But the twirling ceased and the waters became calm again. She breathed a sigh of relief and realized that she hadn’t known how tense she had been getting. She looked down at the dirty dishes, ready to continue her work when she heard a loud splash from the river. 

Looking up in time, she saw a mermaid spring out of the river like a dolphin only to dive back inside. Amber’s jaw dropped in surprise. She slowly rose, straightening up with her face aghast as she kept watching the river incredulously. Another spot in the river before her began to twirl again and the mermaid sprang up, resurfacing from the river and taking a whirl to face Amber. 

The mermaid was stunning with the features of a young woman in her early thirties. She had long hair with blue alluring eyes. She watched Amber’s surprised face, hers expressionless as Amber remained rooted, transfixed. As suddenly as she had appeared, the mermaid dove back inside the waters with her fish tail in the air. 

It was the last thing to disappear inside the waters and at that point, Amber placed a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming with the shock of what had just played out before her eyes. She did not know why she had seen what she saw but she knew it would be difficult for anyone to believe this mystical encounter of hers. 

For a moment she wondered if she would tell anyone. Seconds later she decided to try one person.