Once Upon A Times, Happily Ever Afters And Everything Between

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Evening melted away to twilight, the sky caught between the rusted hues of sunset and the bruised tones of incoming night. Waves crashed against the shoreline as Nora dug her toes into the sand, relishing in the last of that day's warmth. Her sneakers swung from one hand, her other currently occupied with holding Marina's.

"It's quiet here," she said, gazing toward the city. Far enough away from the Brights, she could look at the sky free of floating adverts and zeppelins - all the modern conveniences cities lauded, despite those same conveniences inconveniencing nature.

Nora glimpsed the stars, mentally naming those few constellations she still remembered from astronomy summer camps. She hadn't star gazed, and enjoyed it, since the family trip to witness the Aurora Borealis.

The moon was out in full force tonight, glittering over the sea like a giant diamond. When Nora thought about how her mother would prefer such a diamond princess cut and affixed to her finger, it didn't cause her to wince. She smiled. While the pain of her relationship with her parents never left her, Nora's current situation - employed at Seraphim, dating Marina, the rekindled closeness of her relationship with Lore - acted like a salve, replacing her parents' frigidity with warmth.

Nora had people in her life who loved her, who accepted her and cherished her. Who found her good enough as she was and not for who she ought to be.

Marina squeezed Nora's hand, the tips of her fingers tickling Nora's knuckles. "It's late fall. Not exactly prime tourist time."

As if the universe was out to prove Marina's point, they strolled past a closed surf board shop and boardwalk bar, both stores drowned in tiki decor. Marina nudged Nora's shoulder, her seashell purse swinging at her hip, a pair of sandals clutched in her other hand. "But I like it this way."

"Talk to any fish?" Nora asked as they breezed past an umbrella cart. The beach blanket she had shoved under her armpit shifted.

Marina kicked up a cloud of sand on purpose. When it had settled, Nora's bare ankles were covered in a film of beige. "They keep mostly to the depths." She padded her thigh, the soft cotton of her dress pressed against her skin. Seraphim's innovative surgery and technology hybrid gave Marina her human legs. The process could be reversed, as long as the mermaid's tail was preserved correctly. Nora feared someday Marina would opt for the surgery again, having gotten bored with her and with living on land, and go back to the sea. Another world waited for Marina below the surface, and no matter how much she denied it, it would always be her home. "If I wanted to have a proper chat with them, I'd have to give these up." She wriggled her toes, watching as the tide washed over them.

The words stifled the relaxed air between them. Nora breathed in sharply. "You could go back, any time," she said, letting her hand slip free of Marina's. She took a few steps forward, dropped her sneakers into the sand, and opened the blanket. It hovered in the air before dropping to the ground, a wrinkled mess of daisy-patterned cotton.

Marina sidled up to Nora, wrapping her hands around the other's waist. "I don't want to give this up." She took to her tiptoes and turned Nora's head so their eyes connected. Under such an intense stare, Nora froze. "You're a reason why I'm choosing to stay beached, but you're not the only one. And if I choose to go back to the sea," her mouth twitched, "It won't be solely because of you, either, Nora Campbell."

Nora peeled Marina's hand off her cheek and kissed each of her fingers. "Thanks," she said.

Marina stepped away, and tilted her head, playing it coy. "For what?"

"For knowing what I'm thinking. And saying the words I need to hear most."

She shrugged, and then sat down on the blanket, legs folded underneath her. She was quick to discard her sandals and yank her purse off. She patted the spot next to her. Obviously that was the seat Nora ought to take.

Nora plopped down, knees pulled into her chest. One hand draped over her knees, while the other occupied the space between her and Marina. She hoped it would be enough of an incentive for Marina to hold it. Within seconds, Marina showcased her knowledge about Nora, and cozied up to her, pressing her body into Nora's and interlacing their fingers together.

Nora wrapped an arm around Marina's shoulder and pulled her closer. Sunscreen and light perfuming the air. For a while, they sat in silence, the night air growing colder and more inhospitable with each passing minute. Despite the pimples running rampant on Nora's forearms, and the low clatter of her teeth as they rattled against one another, she didn't mind the cold. Instead, she took it as an opportunity to nestle into Marina and absorb her warmth; she was like an inferno espousing enough heat for the two of them to remain tolerant.

"How's Hannelore?"

Nora blinked, staring at both their fingertips. She'd painted hers recently, a darker version of the rainbow, that contrasted with Marina's neon take on the same colors. Still, they complimented each other. "You know," Nora said, turning to face her, "You're the only one who calls her by her full name." Her brow crinkled. "Hell, I don't even know if AJ knows that."

Marina shrugged. "It's a pretty name."

"Try telling her that." Nora sighed. "She's fine. Keeps trying to pry her nose into my business. Asks about you a lot."

"Typical dolphin," Marina nodded, as she cast her gaze out, the ocean waves calmer than they were earlier, "though she means well. Excited to see them next week?"

Nora beamed. "I am. Haven't seen Prince in ages. Though I think Lore's going to make me his unofficial caretaker for the weekend while she catches up on some z's." Nora stroked Marina's hair, mindlessly raking through her soft curls.

"Hey," Marina said. She turned away from Nora and moved away, reaching for her purse. "I have something for you." Tucking her hair behind her ears, she unzipped her purse and began delving into its depths, a diver on a mission to retrieve the most pearls off the ocean floor. When she'd found whatever it was, she searched for, her face light up, like a switch had been flicked on. "Ah," she fisted the air in triumph, "Found it." Her other hand held her phone and a pair of tangled headphones.

She hurried back to Nora's side. Nora took the headphones and started undoing all their knots, remembering how much she enjoyed untangling the Christmas lights when it was time to put them up, while Lore complained about it and smoked.

Once they were knot-free, Marina plugged them into her phone and stuck one earbud in her ear. The other dangled in the space between them. Marina pouted, grabbed the earbud, and held it up. "You're supposed to use this one."

Nora placed it in her ear, bending down so as not to pull the cord too tight. Suddenly, sounds flooded her brain. A torrent of them, sonorous and sad. Low hums and forlorn purrs harmonized with duplicates of themselves, creating the sensation Nora was listening to not one singer but hundreds. It was otherworldly.

"What is this?" she asked, eyes half-closed as the music ferried her from this state of being to another on the backs of each note. Tears pressed against her eyelashes. The emotion of the song echoed deep inside her marrow.

Marina's head settled on her shoulder. "Whale songs."

Nora's eyes snapped open, the earbud threatening to fall from her ear. "You actually made a playlist?"

She waved her phone in front of Nora's face. Sure enough, there was a list of tracks under a list entitled, 'For Nora.' "Told you I would." She jutted her chin, as though Nora's disbelief had wounded her, but Nora couldn't have known she'd been serious about whale songs. "It's fifty of the finest." She returned her head to Nora's shoulder. "This one," her voice was low, softer, "happens to be my favorite."

The low moans crescendoed in Nora's ear. She leaned back. Gauzy clouds drifted in front of the stars. "Can you make out what they're saying?"

Marina shook her head. "Whales speak different variations of their language. One sound could have multiple meanings."

Disappointment swelled inside Nora. The song's droning replaced by louder, faster rumbles.

"I can feel what they're trying to convey."

Nora turned. She felt the whale's song change, not just in tempo, but in the message. "I think I can too."

Marina raised an eyebrow. "And what do you think they're saying?"

"That," Nora clenched her jaw, the song ending with staccato murmur, "that things get better."

That something ending meant something else was beginning. Nora'd heard it her whole life, but never believed it. Things got better. Spring always comes. A light's at the end of the tunnel. For Nora, the light at the end of her tunnel, her eternal spring, her 'better' had been a showcase of her flaws, a succession of her failures. But she'd continued drifting through life, thinking one day the universe would take pity and gift her with something more.

"You have to make what you can better," she added, her voice little more than a whisper.

Marina glanced up at her, the blues and greens in her eyes like seaweed caught in a whirlpool. "Huh?"

"The things within your control," she clarified. "You have to make them better. My grandma used to say you have to grab your moon, determine your own tide. You don't dare let it lead you, or else you spend a lifetime drifting." Nora glanced down, remembering the times with Mamie Eloise on her back porch sipping tea, or in the garden. All the wisdom she imparted on Nora, who'd been too young at the time to consider it with anything more than a shallow understanding. 

"Have you?" Nora blinked. "Well," Marina dug her heel into the sand, "Have you grabbed your moon?"

Nora turned toward the ocean, watching as the moon's reflection rippled across its surface. "I think it's a process," she reached up, placing her hand in front of the moon and curling her fingers like it was something tangible, something within her grasp. "It's one small step after another."

Marina's hand shot up in front of her, mimicking what Nora was doing. She placed her fingers opposite so it looked like together, they propped up the moon. "I think you'll get there, eventually."

Nora nodded, slowly lowering her hand. She looked deep into Marina's eyes and smiled. "I think," she brought her hand to Marina's cheek, "I'm headed in the right direction."

Under the light of the moon, on a secluded beach, after being serenaded by the hopeful music of the whales, and being wholly captivated by a mermaid, she leaned in and gave Marina a kiss.

Once upon a time, Nora Campbell took a job at Heaven and sure enough, she ended up in the sky, the moon perfectly within reach.

THE END 

Final Word Count: 27,569 out of 20,000 (That's it! Nora's story is complete!!!)