Catch of the Day
Catch of the day
Sam sat down by the ocean and looked out into the rough tide slamming against the rocks. A tear ran down his cheek as he thought about his wife leaving him for someone richer and more successful. She had taken their three children with her and moved clear across the country.
Earlier in the day, Sam was at work when his boss asked him to come into his office. The work that Sam was producing wasn't good enough for the company anymore and they had to let him go. It wasn't fair because he had worked there for the past ten years.
Then the engine light came on in his car and when he went to order a cheeseburger they had forgotten the extra pickles. It was combination of little things and major things that was causing Sam to look down at the sharp rocks and crashing waves.
“Goodnight, world.” Sam said as he stood up and looked down.
The second before he jumped he saw her in the water and for a moment he regretted jumping but everything was black. When he finally understood what had happened, it was very dark and the moon was shining on him.
Sam was alive! But how?
She was looking down at his face and Sam had never seen such a beautiful face before in his life. Her golden hair was curly and her eyes were the most magical shade of blue. Her skin was perfectly pink with no blemishes or scars and her lips were full and rosy.
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“You jumped off the cliff,” she said. “Why did you do that?”
“My life is meaningless. I have nothing to live for anymore.”
“But you look so young and you have so much life left. Why die now?”
“You wouldn't understand it,” Sam replied and tried to sit up but she had a strong hand on his chest.
“Life is going to get better. I promise that the worst is over. I saved you and now your life will change.”
“Why did you save me? Who are you?”
“Shhhhh... don't ask questions,” she said and kissed him on the lips.
When Sam looked down at his feet, he noticed that she had a fish tail instead of legs and her lungs looked like gills. She was wearing a bra that looked like sea shells and Sam thought that he was dreaming.
“Who are you?” Sam tried to ask but he felt so sleepy.
When the sun rose, an old man was poking Sam with a stick and the tide was washing over his face. Sam sat up and looked around but he didn't see any sign of the mermaid from last night. When Sam stood up, the old man took off running but he was no concern to Sam.
Sam got back to his apartment and there was an eviction notice on the door. Great. He had thirty days to get his shit and get out and now since he didn't have a job, he would have to live in his car. Life kept getting better and better, as the mermaid had told him last night.
Sam took a shower and made a cup of coffee. Then he thought about her and he tried and tried to brush it off as a dream but he couldn't. He remembered jumping but he didn't know how he ended up a mile away on a beach. Was he really saved by a mermaid? Could it be real?
Life will get better, she had promised him but Sam didn't know what to believe.
Later that day, Sam filled out a job application with a company that had a job available similar to his old one but he then he just ripped up the application. He didn't want anymore of sitting in an office and dying on the inside. There were twenty nine more days to go until he was kicked out of his apartment and he decided to pack up a bunch of stuff to donate.
Later that night, he went down to the beach where he had woken up next to the mermaid. When Sam looked out into the dark tide, she was peeking at him from behind a rock. Sam couldn't believe it at all. She was real and she was swimming towards him, letting the waves take her to him.
Sam ran out into the ocean, not really caring about his clothes, and when he met her, he thanked her to give her a hug. She smelled like rotten fish and salt but it was a really good smell.
“Is life getting better?” she asked.
“No, it's staying the same,” Sam told her.
“But is it getting worse?”
“No,” Sam answered.
“Good! I only see good things happening for you.”
“Who are you? What is your name?”
“Melody.”
“Thank you, Melody. Thank you so much for saving my life!”
“You are welcome and from now on, things will get better.”
The next day, Sam donated all that stuff to charity and was left with a couple of pictures of his kids. Sam didn't know where he was going to go or what he was going to do but he missed his kids and he cried. He got a part time job selling plants and yard items but he only had a couple of weeks left to find a new place.
When he went down to the ocean that night, Melody looked at him with tears in her eyes. Sam asked her what was wrong and at first she wouldn't tell him but then she said she did something she would regret.
“I love you,” Sam said. “How can you come live with me?”
“I'm a mermaid. I can't go anywhere.”
“But I love you so much and I worship you. You saved my life and you were right, life is getting better.”
“I can't see you anymore,” Melody told him. “This is the last time I will see you.”
“What? Why can't I see you anymore?”
“You'll understand in time,” she told him with tears in her eyes.
“Don't cry! Talk to me,” Sam said to her but she shook her head and pulled away.
The next night Sam went to the beach but he didn't see her and the whole week he went and didn't see her. When he went to work, people were looking at him funny because he was having problems walking and his legs were itchy.
“What is that on your knee?” a customer asked and Sam looked down.
It looked like a scale.
“Melody!” Sam cried that night as he ran towards the rough waves under the moon light.
The minute Sam hit the water, his legs had turned into a fish tale and he knew how to swim. His lungs turned into gills and suddenly he knew how to breath underwater with the fishes. Melody swam up to him.
“I'm so sorry,” she told him. “When I kissed you, I turned you into a merman and I didn't mean to.”
“It's okay. Life is getting better already,” Sam told her.
