Mermaids in the Backyard Read online

  “She doesn’t have to do that,” Lindy said quickly. She hated the idea of staying alone in the creaking, swaying house. But she hated the thought of needing a babysitter even more.

  Once again, a crackle of static swallowed her mother’s voice. “… but she’ll be there as soon as she can.”

  “Mom?” Lindy said as her mother’s voice cut out. “Hello?”

  The phone was dead. Lindy set it down and tugged at her hair. Now what? Suddenly she hoped Jessica would get there quickly.

  She looked out the back window. In the wind and rain, the yard looked like it belonged on some distant, sandy planet. The wind kept blowing the branches of the big tree against the side of the house. It sounded as if it was knocking to come inside.

  The ocean looked more frantic than ever. Lindy hoped the waves wouldn’t grab the bug house and pull it right into the sea. She shivered at the thought. Maybe it would float off like the houseboat she’d once seen on TV. Her room on the top floor would stick up like a buoy, swaying with the current.

  Then again, maybe the house would sink to the bottom of the ocean. Fish would swim in through all the windows, and barnacles would attach themselves everywhere. Maybe one would even stick to her dad’s bald spot when he came home.

  The thought made her smile a little. She stared out to sea, wondering if it was as stormy beneath the waves as it was on the surface. Were the fish waiting for the storm to pass just like she was?

  Her gaze slid closer to shore. The water was still rising behind the line of old-man boulders at the bottom of the hill. The huge rocks seemed to hunker down as waves kept crashing against them, sending more spray flying everywhere.

  Then she saw something else. She leaned closer to the window. It was hard to see through the blowing rain. Was there really something moving out there by the old men?

  Maybe it’s Jessica, she thought.

  Resting both hands on the glass, Lindy pressed her face to the window. There! She saw movement again. It looked as if someone was sitting in the tide pool.

  “Matthew wouldn’t be crazy enough to poke around out there now, would he?” Lindy mumbled. She squinted harder, trying to see past the streams running down the window.

  Thinking about Matthew reminded her of the day before. He and Jessica hadn’t believed that Lindy had seen someone out in the cove. Could they have been right? Had her eyes been playing tricks on her?

  The wind blew the rain away from the window for a second, giving her a better look at the tide pool. She gasped. She wasn’t seeing things. There was a person out there!

  “Help!” The storm was so loud that Lindy could barely hear the cry, even though the windows were cracked open to keep the house from getting too stuffy.

  Her arms and legs started to tremble. Who was out there?

  She raced to the front window and looked out. Still no sign of Jessica.

  The cry came again. This time it was drowned out by another rumble of thunder.

  Lindy clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking. She’d never been so scared in her life. Yet she knew she had to try to help the person out there.

  The wind grabbed Lindy as she dove out the front door. She held tightly to the handrail, worried that she might fall down the wet wooden steps. Somehow she made it safely to the bottom. She had to lean forward to make any headway against the wind-lashed rain.

  It seemed to take forever to reach the rocky side yard. As soon as she did, Lindy knew she hadn’t been seeing things. There was a girl in the tide pool by the old-man rocks! She had long silvery-blond hair plastered to her head by the rain. Her soggy green top clung to her pale torso.

  “Hey!” Lindy called. She skidded down the slope on the sandy path. “Are you okay?”

  The girl turned to look at her. Her eyes were huge and frightened. She cried out, but the wind swept the words away before Lindy could hear them.

  Lindy’s heart pounded as she fought the wind and the rain-slick rocks to get closer to the tide pool. She felt like she did in scary dreams sometimes, when she ran and ran and couldn’t get anywhere.

  Just then she heard another cry for help. This time it wasn’t coming from the girl in the tide pool.

  Glancing at the old-man rocks, Lindy saw another girl peering over one of them. She had coppery-blond hair and aqua eyes.

  “Please help my sister!” she cried, clinging to the wet boulder with both arms. “She thought she could surf the storm. Now she’s stuck!”

  The second girl seemed to be around Lindy’s age, and the first maybe a year younger. Why were they allowed to surf in such a terrible storm? And why was the younger sister stuck? Lindy had seen Matthew wading in that tide pool yesterday. Even with the extra water from the storm, it couldn’t be more than two feet deep. Was the girl hurt?

  The waves rolled out. Some of the water drew back out of the pool, swirling around the boulders. Lindy’s eyes widened as she got a better look at the blond girl.

  Instead of legs, she had a long tail covered in shiny green scales tinted with lavender. A pair of lavender tail fins flapped helplessly in the air.

  The girl in the tide pool was a mermaid!

  “No way!” Lindy blurted out. “There’s no such thing as mermaids!”

  “Please!” The girl in the tide pool sounded terrified. “I have to get back to the sea!”

  “Can you help us?” the older girl asked, still clinging to the rock.

  When Lindy looked at her, she could see the tip of a tail swing up as the waves rolled in again. The older girl was a mermaid, too!

  Lindy’s mind swirled with questions. But one thing was clear. These girls—these mermaids—were in trouble. She had to help them.

  “What’s the matter?” Lindy asked the younger sister. “Can’t you get back to the ocean?”

  “I’ve been trying and trying!” the mermaid answered, the words pouring out of her. “The waves swept over those rocks and trapped me here in the shallows!”

  Lindy looked around and saw what she meant. The water came at least halfway up the old-man rocks on the ocean side. On this side, though, the boulders rose as high as her head. The mermaid would have to go all the way up the hill to get around them.

  “I told you we shouldn’t come so close, Sealily,” the older mermaid said.

  Lindy blinked away the rain running into her eyes. “Sealily?” She looked at the younger of the two girls. “Is that your name?”

  Sealily nodded. “Yes. That’s my sister, Coral.”

  Lindy glanced at the other mermaid, who smiled uncertainly. Just then the wind shifted and the rain lightened. In that moment, Lindy was able to look clearly into Coral’s face. Suddenly she had the strangest feeling that, somehow, she already knew her. That the two of them were meant to be friends. Maybe best friends. It was the strangest—and nicest—feeling Lindy had ever had outside of a dream.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, feeling shy as she smiled back. “I’m Lindy.”

  “Lindy—that’s a funny name.” Sealily’s voice sounded faint. A second later she fell facedown into the water of the tide pool.

  That made Lindy forget all about strange feelings and everything else. “Oh no! Did she faint?”

  “No, she’s okay,” Coral said. “Merpeople can’t breathe for long without water. That’s why Sealily can’t stay there in the shallows. Or Finneus, either.” Worry crept back into her voice.

  “Finneus?” Lindy said.

  Sealily sat up just in time to hear her. “Come say hi to Lindy, Finny,” she called in a singsong voice. “She’s the Drylander who’s going to save us!”

  For a second nothing happened. Then a small yellow creature popped into view beside Sealily. It had a knobby head that looked like it belonged to a cute little dragon.

  “Oh! A sea horse!” Lindy exclaimed.

  The sea horse let out a squeak of alarm and ducked beneath the surface again. “That’s Finneus,” Sealily told Lindy. “He’s shy with strangers.”

  “He’
s our pet,” Coral added. “He follows us everywhere.”

  Part of Lindy’s brain was still struggling with the whole idea of mermaids, never mind pet sea horses. But another part was figuring out the problem.

  “So the waves tossed you in here,” she said, pointing at the pool. “Then the big rocks kept you from swimming back out.”

  “Yes,” Sealily said. “And the small rocks, too. When I tried to crawl over them, they hurt my tail.”

  Lindy looked at the hilly ground around the tide pool. Sharp rocks were scattered everywhere. Well, almost everywhere.

  “What about going that way?” She pointed back the way she’d come. There was a short rocky area at the edge of the pool in that direction. Beyond was the soft sand of the path leading up toward the house.

  Coral looked worried. “She can’t breathe out of the water long enough to crawl all the way around. We’re too slow on the Drylands.” She flicked the end of her tail for emphasis, then disappeared.

  Lindy guessed she was diving back down into the water to breathe. Sure enough, the mergirl returned with the next wave.

  “I have an idea,” Lindy told Coral and Sealily. “I’ll be right back.”

  She raced away. Several times she almost tripped or slipped. Finally she reached the open area beneath the bug house. It was nice to be out of the driving rain, though the wind still blew salt spray in.

  Dodging through the maze of stilts, Lindy made her way to the huge concrete beam at the center. There, on a row of hooks, hung several bright orange life jackets. She slung one over her arm, then ran back out into the storm. Soon she was back at the tide pool.

  “What’s that?” Sealily asked.

  “You can lie on this,” Lindy explained. “I’ll pull the straps and drag you. That way the rocks won’t cut you on the way to the path. And I can pull you around on the sand faster than you could crawl.”

  Coral stared at Lindy, her eyes huge with worry. “Are you sure you can pull her fast enough? She’ll only have a few minutes.”

  “Of course!” But suddenly Lindy wasn’t sure. “Uh, or if you want, we could wait for Jessica to get here. Then she can help.”

  Coral looked even more alarmed. “No!” she cried. “No one else can see us! We’re in enough trouble already, letting one Drylander see us! If our people find out …”

  “Okay, okay,” Lindy said. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can do it myself.”

  “Good,” Sealily said. “Come on, Finny. Let’s get you out of here first. Go with Coral.” She scooped up the little sea horse. He immediately wriggled free and popped back into the water, chirping loudly. Sealily grabbed him again. “Stop that,” she scolded. “I’ll be in the water with you soon.”

  Sealily stretched up, balancing on the last section of her tail. Coral stretched her arm out over the rocks as far as she could. She still couldn’t quite reach Finneus.

  “Maybe I can toss him over into the water,” Sealily said.

  “No!” Coral said. “The waves are too rough. He’d get smashed up against the rocks.”

  Lindy nodded. The sea horse was tiny—much smaller than Tara’s pet Chihuahua. “Try handing him to me instead,” she suggested. “I think I can reach Coral from here.”

  She reached toward Finneus. As soon as he saw her, the sea horse chirped loudly and tried to wriggle away. But Sealily held on to him.

  “It’s okay, Finny!” she said. “Lindy is our friend.”

  “That’s right, Finneus,” Lindy said softly. “I just want to help you.”

  Finneus stopped wriggling. He stared at Lindy with his tiny, dark eyes. When he chirped again, it sounded like a question.

  “Good boy,” Lindy cooed, slipping her hands around Sealily’s. Sealily slid hers out, leaving Lindy holding Finneus. His skin felt cool and lumpy.

  Lindy stepped back, then stretched out with both hands. Coral was waiting, reaching over the rocks.

  “I’ve got you, Finneus,” Coral said as she grabbed him. She smiled at Lindy. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”

  “Finny likes you, Lindy Drylander,” Sealily said as Coral disappeared with the sea horse. “He doesn’t trust just anyone.”

  Lindy wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never been trusted by a sea horse before. “I like him, too,” she said.

  Soon Coral reappeared on the other side of the old-man boulders. “Finneus is okay,” she said. “Now it’s your turn, Sealily. Are you sure you can do this?”

  “I’m sure. Lindy Drylander will save me, just like she saved Finny. Let’s go!” Sealily sounded almost cheerful. She stuck her face under the water for a second. Then she slithered out of the back of the pool and pulled herself onto the life jacket.

  Lindy couldn’t stop staring at her tail. Could this really be happening? Was she really helping to rescue a mermaid?

  Sealily gripped the life jacket with both hands. “Ready!” she said.

  “Hurry!” Coral urged. She turned and dove out of sight again.

  Lindy grabbed the straps of the life jacket. She gave a tug, but nothing happened.

  “Ready?” Sealily asked. Her voice already sounded breathier.

  Lindy gulped. Should she just give up and wait for Jessica after all?

  “Lindy! Are you coming?”

  It was Coral. Lindy saw her bobbing in the surf just beyond the beach. It was hard to see through the rain, but Lindy thought she could make out Finneus’s tiny yellow head beside her.

  Seeing them made Lindy feel a little braver. She’d promised to help the sisters. She couldn’t let them down just because she was scared.

  She gave another pull on the straps. This time she felt the life jacket slide a little on the rocky ground. Another tug, and it slid even more.

  Sealily hung on tight. She let out a cry that sounded like it might be a mermaid version of “Wheeeee!”

  That made Lindy smile a little. She couldn’t help noticing that Sealily’s voice sounded weaker and shakier than ever, though. Pulling harder, she heard a rrrrrip! as the life jacket caught on a rock. Still, she kept pulling.

  A few seconds later, the life jacket slipped onto the sand. Now all Lindy had to do was pull Sealily up the path and around the rocks. Then down the beach to the ocean.

  Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide. Lindy’s arms ached. But she kept going. Pull. Slide …

  At last she crested the hill. She couldn’t stop yet. Yanking the life jacket around the corner, she started pulling it down the beach. She expected it to be a lot easier now that they were going downhill instead of uphill. But the wet sand clung to the life jacket and slowed it down. When Lindy glanced back, Sealily looked pale. Her eyes were half closed, and she wasn’t saying anything.

  Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide. The water was only a few feet away. Lindy’s muscles felt like jelly, and she could hear Sealily panting. Could they make it in time?

  Then Lindy saw something else. Coral was crawling out of the surf. She looked scared but determined.

  “We’re coming!” Lindy called to her.

  Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide.

  Coral crawled forward and grabbed another strap. She pulled, wriggling backward toward the waves. Lindy glanced down at Coral’s tail. It had to hurt her to crawl over the rough sand. Yet she wasn’t complaining.

  “Almost there,” Lindy said, huffing and puffing.

  “Ready,” Sealily said faintly.

  Lindy turned to look down at Sealily and saw the mermaid’s eyes fluttering all the way shut. That gave Lindy extra strength. “Arrgh!” she cried, giving a big pull.

  Her foot caught in the wet sand. She felt herself flying backward. But she kept hold of the straps. Her fall yanked the life jacket forward at the same moment an extra-large wave rolled onto the shore. It washed over Sealily, and she burst into motion. Both she and Coral spun through the water as gracefully as birds flitting through the air.

  “Whew!” Lindy gasped. She hardly noticed when the wave poured over her. She was already soaked from the rain.

 
She rolled over to watch the mermaids swimming away. For a second she thought they weren’t going to stop. But when the next wave rolled in, both sisters came with it. So did Finneus. He didn’t seem shy at all now. Lindy laughed as the little sea horse bumped his head into her hand. He reminded her of her old neighbors’ friendly Siamese cat.

  “Thank you, Lindy Drylander!” Sealily cried joyfully, flicking her tail. “Thanks for helping us!”

  “Yes.” Coral wriggled closer and grasped Lindy by the hand. “We’ll never forget you.”

  As the waves pulled out and the mermaid’s hand slipped out of hers, Lindy said, “I’ll never forget you, either.”

  “Hey!” someone cried.

  Lindy spun around. Jessica was hurrying around the corner of the bug house. One hand clutched the hood of her raincoat to keep it from blowing off.

  Oops. Lindy realized she’d been standing there staring out to sea ever since the mermaid sisters had disappeared beneath the waves.

  “What are you doing out here?” Jessica demanded when she got closer. “Good thing I saw you before I called Sheriff Tom! I totally panicked when I got here and you weren’t in the house.…”

  There was more, but Lindy barely heard it. She still couldn’t believe what had happened. Mermaids! She’d just met two real-life mermaids.

  Finally Jessica noticed that she wasn’t listening. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking worried. “What are you doing standing out here in the storm, anyway?”

  “Nothing,” Lindy said. “I guess I was just looking for, you know, sea monsters and, uh, mermaids.” She held her breath. If Jessica had ever seen a mermaid around there, maybe she’d say so now.

  Instead, Jessica just looked annoyed. “Stop goofing around. You could have been struck by lightning!”

  Another yell came from up by the house. Lindy looked over and saw Matthew jogging toward them.

  “What are you two doing out here?” he asked.

  “Getting wet,” Jessica told him. “What about you?”

  He grinned. “The triplets were screaming at all the thunder. I saw you guys over here, so I sneaked out.”