A Final Good-Bye

It started with mirrors received on their thirteenth birthdays, and now it looks like their story is coming to an end.

“Just breath.” I heard the familiar voice say in my mind. At this point though, I wasn't sure if it was my own, or if it was hers. My breath was sharp, cutting through the air as I ran across the water.

My chest was tight as my wild, red hair whipped around, blocking my sight from time to time. It didn't matter though. I didn't need to see with my eyes. I could feel her with my heart.

“Just breath.” I heard her say again. This time I was sure it was her. I let out a frustrated scream as I kept running across the water's rippling surface. Two years ago, I wouldn't even think this action was possible. Everything changed when I got the mirror.

The mirror. It was one that was delicately crafted showing two mermaids. One reaching downward, the other reaching up. The two would swim in endless circles in my dreams, trying to reach each other. I had received it for my thirteenth birthday. After looking into it one night, I saw the truth behind my life, and the story revealed itself. Our story.

The voice in my head had gone quiet for far too long. A panic ran through me, faster than my current running speed. Salty tears burned my eyes as they ran down my cheeks. It was hard to breath without her.

“Just breath!” I screamed to the top of my lungs that were on fire from all my running. I quickly wiped my tears away with one hand, never stopping from running. Suddenly, there was a figure far into the distance. My calves ached and burned, mocking me and daring me to try running just a little longer.

I had to though. She needed me.

As I got closer a heaviness lifted from my heart. The figure went from a shadow on the water's surface, to a girl who looked like me.

“We're the same.” Her words rang true in my memory still. The girl in the mirror.

Her tail was gone, but she still looked the same. She laid still on the water, as if she were as light as a lillypad. The two were one in the same. They both belonged on and in the water. I finally was able to stop running now. No longer were we swimming in circles trying to reach each other. What happens now though?

Her head moved slightly as she looked up at my panting figure.

“Just breath.” She managed to say, barely above a whisper. I turned my eyes from her to the empty spot beside her.

“That's where I belong.” I thought to myself, knowing that if I laid down beside her, our story would come to an end. I was tired though. My lungs were still burning, along with my legs.

I dropped to my knees slowly and crawled to the spot beside her before laying down. Tears rolled down my cheeks even though I didn't have the energy to cry. She shifted again, enough to where she could look me in the eyes without struggling too much. Neither one of us wanted to move anymore.

That's okay though, and we knew that.

“You ran...” Her voice faded out.

“I had to...” I replied, my voice fading as well. Neither one of us needed to speak above a whisper. The tale of the mermaids on the mirror was coming to an end. They were finally together.

Though it was night, I could see her green eyes were the same as mine. Everything was the same. Then again, we were twins. Here we lay, breathing in the salty sea water, under the moonlight.

Her breathing was becoming more shallow and slow, as was mine. I was surprised when I felt her grab my hand so suddenly. I gave her a not too questionable look, but one that was enough to ask, 'are you okay'.

“Ayelet....I'm scared....” She said quietly. It was something that she didn't need to say though.

It was something that we were both feeling.

I squeezed her hand ever so slightly. She had used the last of her energy to grab my hand in fear, and I used the last of my own to hold her hand to reassure her.

“I know....So am I....” I replied.

We laid there quietly, looking at each other. Watching one another as tears rolled down from our eyes and joined the ocean water.

“This...It isn't the end though...right?” She asked me. She had never had anyone to ask these kind of questions to before.

I thought to myself for a moment. How cruel would it be if this was the end. We finally have each other, only to be separated again. The mirror comes to my mind again and reminds me of a story.

“Hey...remember that mirror you got for your birthday?” I asked her, taking in a sharp breath.

“Y-yeah...” She managed to stutter through her tears.

“I found out what the mirrors were for...” I smiled at her and began telling the history behind our mirrors.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who carried the genes of a mermaid. Some would say she was cursed, but she considered herself blessed. Her family in the future would carry on this gene, but only will the ones born every four generations ever inhabit it.

The reason why the woman carried this gene was because she had asked the moon to save her children from drowning. Her two little girls.

The moon agreed to save them, but said that the twin girls would never be able to see one another. One was to be given to the sea, and one was to be given to the land.

That's how the story of the mermaids on mirror began. When the two girls eventually passed away, never getting to reach out to each other, their story ended. When their story ended, the prophecy had begun. The only difference to this story was that the girls were destined to meet, even if the moon didn't wish for them to. They needed each other.

After I had finished telling her the story, I saw that her eyes were closing slightly.

“What happened...to the girls?” She asked me.

“They were finally able to meet...They spent the rest of their lives together under the moon...” I replied, taking in another deep breath. We stayed silent for another long moment. Her eyes were becoming heavy. Too heavy for her to keep open any longer. My eyes were the same. They felt as if someone had tied a bag of sand to my eye lids. It was almost time...

“Ayelet?” She said in her whispered voice.

“Yes?” I asked. She gave me a small smile before continuing.

“I...love you...”

Just as she said those last words, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and left.

“I love you too....Marina....” I said, taking in a shaky breath. I took one last long look at her still body. She was still holding my hand. I thought about the things we both had gone through just so we could end up here. At least now, we could be together. We were the mermaids on that mirror. We broke the deal with the moon. We needed each other though...

I looked at her hand again with my tired eyes and gave it another reassuring squeeze even though I knew she wouldn't know I had done it. Closing my eyes, I felt that it was harder to breath than ever before. I didn't feel it as much as I felt my fatigue catch up with me. I felt my legs start to go numb, along with my hands. No more goodbyes...Just good nights....

The two girls lied by one another as the moon looked at them. Their hands still joined together and their bodies limp and lifeless. What could they be doing in another life? They will certainly meet again, and again. Next time though, the moon promises them a happy ending where they can live out their lives together.

They needed each other. That's why they ended up this way. They wanted to show the moon...

~The End~

Author's Note

This was a story I had started to write when I was younger, but I never got around to finishing it. My grandma had brought up how she wanted to at least know how the story would end, so I wrote this. The original story was called "Finding Marina" but this one is only the ending, so that's why it's called "A Final Goodbye".