VII :The past 3 - The connection to the present

How did I get here…” Sandra said, turning her gaze toward the sea.

“After we reached land, we wandered the island…

No one knew us, and we knew no one.

We had nowhere to go. We searched for food,

and at night, we slept on a small beach beneath the trees, feeding on their fruit.

Until one day, a man found us.

He was a sailor, spending his last days at sea on that tiny island.

Of course, we knew a lot about humans — we’d seen many ships and divers while living in the depths.

Anyway, this man was Greek, though he had spent most of his life sailing out of Spain.

He sensed something was unusual about us.

He tried to communicate, but we didn’t know any human language.

Still, he brought us onto his ship.

He gave us food… clean clothes… a cabin to sleep in.

He quickly earned our trust.

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He taught us how to speak Greek and Spanish, and even how to write a little.

One day, as we sat on deck, he showed me a sketchbook.

He had drawn a mermaid.

I looked at him, and tears welled in my eyes.

I don’t know if he knew who I was, or if it was just a coincidence…

But the way he protected us all that time made me want to tell him the truth.

So one night, while he was smoking a cigarette on the deck, I approached him.

With the broken Greek I had learned, I told him my story.

He believed me.

A soft, nostalgic smile appeared on his face.

He told me that many years ago, during a voyage to Japan,

he had seen a mermaid — but he never told anyone.

Not because they wouldn’t believe him…

but because it made him feel special to carry that secret alone.

Then he said that, since he was retiring from the sea,

he would give us his small house on the island in Spain.

So my children and I could live more comfortably.”

I felt strange listening to all this…

As if I had heard it before.

That mermaid near Japan… I had heard that story before!

My grandfather used to tell it to me when I was little —

as a magical tale he’d made up, because he knew how much I loved stories of wonder.

“Was that sailor my grandfather?” I asked, my voice trembling with emotion.

My grandfather had passed away a few years ago, and I was incredibly close to him.

His death… it left a wound that never really healed.

“I know the story about the mermaid in Japan — he told it to me, like it was a fantasy…”

“Yes, he was your grandfather!” she said.

“That man is the reason we survived… the reason we lived!

And when we learned of his passing, we returned here every summer to honor all the kindness he gave us.

Be like him, Lefteris.

It’s no coincidence that you were the one I confided in… that you and Marjery were the first to hear my truth.

But now… I believe it’s time to reveal my greatest secret.

A secret that, if you accept it, will change your life forever.

Are you ready to hear it?”

“Yes. I’m ready!” I replied, without a moment’s hesitation.

The time had come for Sandra’s final revelation —

a secret that would change the young man’s life forever.

The revelation… in the next chapter!