Chrysolite was slightly pissed that Sardius was walking faster than her. She was trying to keep up, explaining how she had enjoyed herself; one hand was pulling her flowing gown up while the other hand was on her head, securing the tuxedo wrapped around her head. She ran ahead of him and stood in his path, making sure his path was obstructed. Sardius rolled eyes thenthen tried to walk in the other direction but she obstructed him again.
"Why are you doing this?" He finally had to say.
"Finally, you're talking!" She exclaimed smiling, waving a hand across his face for him to notice her.
He explained to her that night was fast coming and they should both be home. She protested that he wasn't even listening to her story. Why was he torturing her anyway? If only he knew what he does to her.
She grabbed his hand forcefully, pulling him close to look at her. "What is wrong with you Sardius?" Down went the wrapped suit from her head, the red streaks in her hair glowed in the moonlight.
He swallowed carefully when he saw her fiery hair, then he picked up the fallen suit and looked at her."Did Michael give you this because of your hair?" He indicated the suit with the direction of his eyes.
"Yes," she nodded, "something in my hair?" She snorted.
He pulled her in this time that she gasped. She hadn't expected it. She watched as his hands slightly caressed her, touching her hair and then covering it with the suit like a turban. He wouldn't want people staring strangely at her.
Her heart was pounding as she stared up at his face. Her lips parted, she couldn't breathe.....
"You barely know yourself Chrysolite. I wish you do." He finally met her eyes, froze,e and stared deep into their depths. An eternity rolled by and he began to wonder if they shared nothing more than friendship.
Chrysolite suddenly blushed and looked away. "I begin to wonder if you know me more than I know myself." She smiled at him.
He laughed hearing that.
"I have nothing to do with Michael. He likes me of course but I do not like him." She explained, growing red in the cheeks again.
"I never asked you." He replied to her.
"Well, I thought you should know." She met his look.
As he turned his face away from hers, his heart danced with pride. This was better than what he'd been thinking. Why should he be thinking otherwise? Slowly, he reached for her hand and held it. Her hand was soft and tender, he wanted to hold it forever. Startled, she looked up at him and noticed that he wasn't looking at her. Was he shy?
But then, he noticed her startled look and said. "If you don't like it, I could.....," His hand was slowly leaving the comfort of hers. Swiftly, she grabbed his hand and blushed against how entangled their hands were for the first time in a long time.
"No, I do like it. I like it quite well." She confessed to him.
********
She was smiling all through the night even as they parted ways. Her grandmother suspected that Sardius must be the reason. Her hair returned to its usual color before she went to bed. When she woke up the next day a Sunday, she went straight to her mirror, picked up her hair brush suddenly had the urge to brush her hair. She was so happy still thinking about what had transpired between her and Sardius the previous day.
Suddenly, she stopped short. She touched her hair. Something was wrong. Streaks of red appeared on her, this had Chrysolite wondering what was wrong with her. She looked back at her reflection and rubbed both eyes to know she was in the mirror.
Then she screamed, her eyes had turned red. She blinked back severally but it didn't go away. A while ago, her Iris were dark but transformed to a bright red, how come?
She screamed again.
"What is wrong with you Chrysolite?" Her mom yelled from the parlor when she heard the screams.
The door opened and in came her mother. "Chrysolite......," Onyx flinched when she saw her daughter. The truth can never be hidden. Now was the time or never.
"Mum, what's wrong with me?" Chrysolite asked as she turned to face her mother.
Onyx's hands began to tremble, something was amiss. The door opened again and time and time, Coral Marble walked in. Her mouth slightly had an oval shape when she saw her granddaughter.
"Mum, grandma..what is wrong with me? Please tell me." Chrysolite asked again as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
Onyx looked at her mother to say something, anything. The time she dreaded the most was finally here.
"Chrys, is everything alright?" Marcus's voice boomed in the distance, his footsteps could be heard coming toward Chrysolite's bedroom.
"Oh my God!" Onyx quickly shut the shut and shouted. "Honey, there's nothing wrong. Everything is alright." Onyx reassured him as her hand rested on the doorknob.
"Really? You sure sweetheart?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah, just Chrys going through the pre-puberty stuff, you know." Her voice trailed off as the footsteps of her husband receded. Onyx turned around only to meet the shocked expression of her daughter.
"Why are you lying to dad, mum? Look at me, I look insane! Who am, I a mother?" Chrysolite looked down at herself. She was dressed in some purple pajamas, and her fiery red hair was roughened in curls and tangles.
"Sit down with me dear while I tell some tales." Coral Marble pulled Chrysolite to sit with her on her bed.
Chrysolite looked puzzled. Tales? When she was in a mess she could barely comprehend. She turned to look at her mother as she withdrew her hand from CoralMarbless.
"Tales? I sit and hear tales?" Chrysolite shook her head in negation as she made for the door.
"Baby! Please, just do this one thing for me. Listen to her baby." Onyx grabbed Chrysolite's shoulders.
"Leave me alone I used to wonder why granny isn't old and why she does a lot of funny things and how it might pass down to me." She said as she looked from mother to granny.
Onyx didn't say anything, she kept quiet as she watched her daughter move to sit with her grandma. Coral Marble started her tale.
"The story goes back to when your mother was a girl."
Onyx stood by the door in fear of her husband intruding, she didn't want him to see this. How would she explain it to him? He might hate himself for this, after all, Onyx was the cause of all this. Onyx had to let her mother do storytelling, she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth.
"Chrysolite, you're not of this realm, this world. Believe me, your traits are far more dominant than your mother's" said Coral Marble.
"I'm not of this realm? What dominant traits do I have?" Chrysolite's eyes shone fiercely.
"Chrysolite, for your safety, please listen to me and try as much as possible not to interrupt me." Coral Marble said mildly. "Your mother, me, and you are powerful goddesses although my powers have been fading since I left the realm." Coral scoffed.
Chrysolite narrowed her brows irritatedly. What was she saying?
"Mother, we have no time. We have to tell her." Onyx said.
Coral Marble held her granddaughter's hands and asked. "Have you ever felt peace whenever you're at or beside a pool or perhaps a fountain of water?" Coral Marble asked.
Chrysolite's brows rose in surprise then she nodded.
"See Chrys, you're special, you're powerful 'cause you don't know that."
"Powerful? Special? Those are vain words." Chrysolite scoffed.
"They're true my love." Onyx came closer.
"You're a mermaid and a very powerful one." Onyx finally explained what they'd been trying to say to her.
Chrysolite was looking from her mother to her granny in surprise, then she laughed as she shook her head. "What's the meaning of this? Is this some joke or what? Me? A mermaid?" Chrysolite pushed her Granny's hands away.
"No, my love. You're what we say you are. That is why you have these uncontrollable powers." Onyx sat on the other side of Chrysolite.
Chrysolite stood up with a weird smirk on her face. "I cannot be deceived mother." She said.
"So, you think we're lying to you?" Onyx questioned.
"I don't know. Is dad also a merman?" Chrysolite wanted to know.
"No, my love. He isn't." Onyx replied to her.
"And you married him?" Her hair glowed brightly.
"Chrys, please you only need to love yourself for you to be able to control your powers." Coral Marble tried to reach for her but Chrysolite stepped out of her reach.
"Does Dad know you're a mermaid?" Chrysolite asked her mother.
"Yes, but that doesn't stop him from loving you. I thought perhaps that his genes might be dominant and everything would be okay." Onyx explained to her daughter.
"I can't believe this. This is but a story." Chrysolite walked backward to the door.
"Love please."
"Does Dad also know about my dominant genes?" Chrysolite asked.
"No love. Please, do not hate us for hiding this from you."
Chrysolite laughed slightly then she yanked out the necklace from her neck and stared at it. "And this was to protect me?"
"How did you know about that?" Coral Marble didn't act surprised.
"Sardius." She answered.
"Sardius?" Onyx turned to look at her mother.
"Looks like everyone in the world knows who I am. Sardius told me that I barely know myself. How foolish I must have been in his sight."
"How come Sardius knows of this?" Onyx whispered to her mother.
"Now is not the time to know about that mother. This is about me and you guys hid it perfectly well." Tears raced down Chrysolite's face. And as she cried, the reds in her hair faded.