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Frano smiled up at me.
‘Isn’t she wonderful?’
I nodded and thought about the satin sheet.
‘The way she has been laid out with care... there must be others like her.’
Frano stood, his head only inches from the ceiling of the cave.
‘I intend on searching the entire island for others. That’s why I brought you along and not my men. I want you, my future wife, to be a part of this amazing discovery.’
I smiled as we made our way out of the cave, our heads bent.
‘Thank you, Frano, for thinking of me.’
I thought of my father, and how long he’d chased his dream of mermaids. How silly so many of the locals had thought him to be.
‘What’s wrong?’ Frano asked when we stepped out of the cave and into the enchanting clearing by the crystal-clear pool.
‘My father believed in mermaids for his entire life and so many from my village laughed at his claims. Now that I know that mermaids are true, I wish he was here to share in the discovery. And not only that, I wish that I knew how he lost his life. We never found a body.’
‘We may still find a live mermaid, Nada,’ Frano said, his voice low against the tinkling sound of the waterfall. ‘Then you may ask them about your father. There’s hope. Don’t be sad.’
Frano’s eyes were electric and as bright as the blue of the butterflies, which swarmed the glittering green pool of water.
‘I’m happy,’ I admitted, smiling softly.
Frano pulled me into his arms. It felt strange to imagine that a month ago, this image, this setting, me with a beautiful man and surrounded by bright green jungle foliage, blue butterflies, chirping birds and a waterfall pond, would all have seemed an impossible fantasy, something unimaginable
Magical was the only word that could closely describe the way I was feeling right now.
‘We will continue your father’s work in honour of him, and in honour of my grandfather.’
‘Yes. Definitely.’
I stared into my fellow explorer’s eyes.
‘None of this seems real,’ I said, wrapping my arms around Frano and squeezing him to me.
Frano stroked my hair and kissed my forehead.
‘Believe it, Nada. Believe it and believe in me.’
Frano’s eyes were lit with-in by an internal flame. I immediately recognised it as the same fire that had been burning inside of me since the day I was born. The day my father had died, I’d smothered that fire, forgetting that I’d wanted experiences, forgetting my sense of adventure, closing myself off to the world, thinking that I’d be content being alone in my bay for the rest of my life.
I knew differently now.
A bird called from a distance and several small purple birds took flight through tiny gaps in the lush green canopy of leaves above us.
‘It’s getting late,’ said Frano.
‘Are we going to spend the night here? And look for the mermaids in the morning?’ I said, blushing. It would be my first official night spent with Frano. I wondered if he wanted to sleep beside me and hold me through the night. The thought of what might follow sent excitement zipping through my veins.
Frano nodded.
‘Yes. Luckily, it’s warm enough so we don’t need a fire and look...’ he cast his gaze towards the green pool and I gasped when I saw that it had started to glow, as though a light shone through from the bottom of the pool.’
‘It’s beautiful. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep being surrounded by so much beauty,’ I said, leaning my head against Frano’s arm.
Frano chuckled, then kissed the top of my head.
‘Well, we’ll have to, Nada. We came here with a job to do.’ He raised a large shiny leaf to reveal a hidden backpack. He took out two army green sleeping bags and laid them side by side but a metre apart. ‘It’s best we try to get some sleep now so that we can rise early and get to work.’
At least I knew that Frano was a decent man and not the type to take advantage of a young woman when alone with her. That was a good thing, I told myself, remembering what he’d said after our first dinner together – that he wanted to wait until our wedding night.
After nibbling on some crackers and dried grapes that Frano had packed, we slipped into our sleeping bags and rested on our sides so that we could face each other and talk. The lining of the sleeping bag felt pleasantly cool against my skin in this balmy climate.
Butterflies fluttered around Frano’s face and one tiny one landed on his nose.
He frowned and his eyes crossed to stare at his little friend and I laughed.
‘This place is so beautiful. Why don’t we live here? Forget the world, forget that Marin exists and...’
Frano frowned and brushed the butterfly away.
‘Forget that Marin exists?’
He shook his head and his eyes blazed as though I had committed blasphemy on Marin’s behalf.
‘Marin is my dream. My greatest discovery. My life.’
His words were passionate and explosive, his eyes alight.
‘Finding live mermaids would complete this dream,’ he said.
Not liking the crazed gleam in Frano’s eyes, or the way it was making me feel inside, I burrowed deeper into the sleeping bag.
It wasn’t that I had expected Frano to smother me with affection, but I didn’t like the fact that I was feeling a little jealous of a living mermaid we hadn’t even found yet. The feeling didn’t sit right with me.
Frano leaned across the mossy divide and stroked my cheek with his thumb.
‘You Nada, I want you most of all. I want you to share my dreams and my life. Mermaids don’t even come close to you.’
I met his gaze, the depth and passion in his eyes causing my stomach to flutter.
He withdrew his hand and rested on his back, staring up at the dark green canopy above us, his arms folded behind his head.
‘Did you hear that, mermaids?’ he shouted. ‘Nada comes first!’
I giggled and leaned over to smack Frano’s arm.
‘What are you doing? You’ll chase all the mermaids away,’ I whispered. Though I was secretly pleased with Frano’s declaration.
‘You’ll always come first, Nada. I promise you this,’ he said, his voice low and gravelly. He closed his eyes.
Resting on my side, I watched him fall asleep while vibrant blue butterflies hovered over us and the glowing green pool.
Sleep made Frano even more attractive and I wanted nothing more than to climb out of my sleeping bag and pressed my lips to his.
But I didn’t. Instead I watched him, my head too full of thoughts, and fears if I was honest with myself, to fall asleep right away.