The waves of the Voroth Sea pounded against the rocks of the beach several hours' walk from the nearby seaport of Melkur.  Borak, a tailor from that town, spent every Sixth-Day sitting on the rocks, staring out at the sea.  Most of his family and friends had given up hope of breaking him of the habit he had continued every week since the tragic death of his bond-mate, Racheth, nearly ten years before.  He refused to accept bonding with another and lived alone.  And, every Sixth-Day, he walked the several daimus south to this beach, a special place he had shared with Racheth.

For most of the year following Racheth's death, Borak had contemplated ending his own life here on the spot where the unexpected wave had swept them into the sea.  It had taken his only love, yet spared him.  But as the days went by, the loss faded to an ache in his heart and the nightmares slowly receded.  Now, coming once a week to this place was how he felt a connection to Racheth, whose body had never been found.

Borak sighed and laid back on the smooth rock, staring up at the cloudless sky.  Despite it being late Tasmeen, he had neglected to bring any sort of coat or other protection in case the weather turned suddenly bad, as it often did this time of year in this region.  His thoughts focused on his lost love and he gradually drifted off to sleep.

"Borak, help me!" screamed Racheth, just out of Borak's reach.

"I am coming, Racheth," he yelled, battling the thrashing sea, trying to reach his loved one.

"Borak, I can't swim anymore!"

"Hold on, Racheth! I am almost there!" Borak reached out with his hand and, for a second, grabbed a hold of hers.  But the sea tore her away and he lost site of her.  "RACHETH!" Borak leapt to his feet, wide awake from the dream, heart pounding.

He must have slept for hours, because now it was early evening and the wild sehlats would soon be on the prowl.  He cursed himself for his failure to keep track of the time.  The raging surf pounded in his ears, as he picked up his things and rushed to get back to Melkur before dark.  In the lengthening shadows, the familiar path he'd traveled hundreds of times was not nearly so familiar.  He tripped several times, skinning his knees the second time.  He cursed his carelessness again, picked himself up and continued on his way.

Up ahead on the rising path, he heard the sound of pebbles crunching and froze in his tracks.  Sehlat! He turned back the way he'd come and saw the huge hairy form of a sehlat approaching.  He was surrounded! There was nowhere for him to go, because a cliff rose to his right and continued down to the sea on his left.  The sehlat on the path ahead came into view.  It was even larger than the one behind!

"Racheth, it looks like I will finally be joining you.  May the gods speed me on my way to your welcoming arms!" He took a step towards leaping into the sea below, when a flash of something silvery came from below and struck the sehlat ahead of him.  It let out a single, strangled cry, and collapsed to the path, dead.  The one behind him roared and ran at him full speed, baring its fearsome teeth.  Borak tensed, then witnessed another of the silvery flashes from seaward.  The second sehlat tumbled end over end, falling off the cliff path, down into the churning waters below.

Getting as close to the edge as he dared, he scanned the rocky shore below.  For a second he thought he saw something on a rock, before it slipped away into the sea.  "Hello! Thank you for your help, whoever you are!" For a second he thought he heard the distant sound of a child's giggle on the wind, but then it was gone.  In those days, most people were superstitious, so he was not sure if he'd just had a supernatural encounter or not.  He felt a chill sweep across his body.

Shaking his head, he continued up the path towards home.  As he cautiously approached the fallen sehlat, he could see the shaft of some sort of arrow sticking out of the beast's side.  When he reached the animal, he kicked at it gingerly, but it was definitely dead.  He pulled out the miraculous arrow and looked at it.  The shaft appeared to be made of glass, while the head and tail were both of a silvery metal.  He had never seen anything like it.  Suddenly, it just melted away in his hands, leaving not a single trace.  "Gods, a fairy arrow!" The legend of magical arrows was old on Vulcan, going back into the mists of time.  Stories were told of people saved from death in such a way.  Indeed, one of the gods of Vulcan mythology was called The Archer and a constellation was named for him.

Borak felt weak in the knees.  His mind had a difficult time grasping the reality that he had just been saved from certain death through supernatural means.  He thought of the split-second impression of something slipping into the sea below when he had looked.  One of the merfolk! That was the only explanation that fit the facts.  Along with the legendary mountain fairies, the merfolk were said to sometimes carry and use golden bows with silvery arrows.  He had not believed in the stories of such beings since he had left childhood behind.  Now his whole understanding of nature was changed.


Chapter Two

"Volna! Wake up!" shouted Borak as he pounded on the door of his brother's house.  Eventually he heard the latches turn and the door swung open a crack.

"What in the gods' names are you doing here at this hour? Has something happened to father?" said Volna, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"No, nothing's happened to father! Something miraculous has happened to me!"

Volna stared at his older brother and opened the door all the way.  "Come in, before the neighbors start wondering..."

Borak rushed into the house and took a seat near the fire, which Volna's wife had stoked back to life while they were at the door.  Volna looked at his brother, whose clothes were covered with half-dried mud and plant stains.  His trousers were torn and the knees were still bleeding slightly from his earlier fall.  Volna silently signaled his wife, as long-married couples can do wordlessly, and she left the room to get things to clean up and tend the wounds of Borak.

"What happened to you, Borak? You look like something out of the grave! Were you attacked by bandits?"

"Well, in a way I was but let me tell you the story..." Borak related the story of going to the beach as usual, falling asleep, waking up as the night approached, being cornered by the sehlats, and the miraculous rescue by the merfolk.  During the tale, Volna's wife cleaned his wounds, applied ointment and covered them with strips of soft cloth.

"Are you crazy, Borak? Are you sure that happened after you woke up and not while you were asleep?"

"No, damn it, I am telling the truth! It happened just like I said.  I would never have believed it if it had not happened to me.  For some reason, the merfolk took pity on me and saved me from being killed by the sehlats! Perhaps they took pity on me, because they've seen me on the rocks every week for years! I must tell father, he will believe me!

"Borak, our father is old and in poor health! You will just make him worry more about you than he already does."

"Father was the one who told us the stories from his father's time and before, when men sailed out and occasionally saw mermaids at sea.  I remember well the Tale of Morgath, who was thrown from his ship during a storm and would have drowned if not for a mermaid taking pity on him."

(Editor's Note: The Tale of Morgath is a lost story from antiquity, known only from references in other stories.)

"Borak, my brother, that is simply folklore from ignorant people.  It cannot possibly be true!"

"It is true, because it happened to me this very night!" Borak retorted

"If you promise not to bother father with your tale, I have another suggestion.  In the next street over lives Tolihk, a high priest of the Som-Gattists.  We will go to him and he might be of help."

"Then let us go immediately!"

Borak's brother quickly dressed, grabbed two lanterns, and they departed for the home of Tolihk.  As they neared his home, they were surprised to see light in the windows.  They were even more shocked, when the door opened before they even knocked and an ancient man, fully dressed in a ceremonial robe, beckoned to them.

"Greetings, young men, I was expecting you.  Please enter and be welcome!" Borak and Volna looked at each other in shock.  How could this old man have known they were coming?

"How did you know we were coming at this hour?" sputtered Borak.  "We only decided minutes ago to come see you!"

"So many of you young people with your 'modern' ways have lost touch with your psychic self.  I could sense your emotions and thoughts of coming here when you were still down the street..."

Borak and Volna stared at each other again without comprehension.  The old man smiled and offered them tea, which they quietly accepted.  When all were seated around the antique stove that was used to both heat the room and prepare food, Volna was the first to speak.

"I am Volna and this is my brother, Borak.  He has come to my home with a fantastic tale of something that he says happened to him on the shore south of here earlier today."

"I am of those that you non-believers call the Som-Gattists.  We are those who follow the old ways, that remember that we are spiritual and psychic beings, that all is connected, and that the world we see with our eyes is only a small part of what really is.  Some call us witches or crazy people, but we know what we know and it is real." He paused to light a small clay pipe of danka weed.  "Volna, your brother speaks the truth, I sense no insanity and no deception in him, although the weight of an old sorrow is heavy upon his heart..."

"But how can you know that?" stammered Borak.

"All Vulcans have this ability to one extent or another.  Unfortunately, most of you nowadays learn to ignore those gifts we accepted as small children.  By the time you are adults, you have lost your connection to the All.  You are cut off from the totality of the world around you.  It is sad for those of us that still experience life fully in all ways to see most of those around us blind and deaf to the All.  There is more than just the bond between husband and wife or parent and child.  We are all connected and that is how I knew you were coming to see me."

Borak and Volna tried to digest the words they had just heard.  Although nothing they had heard was something truly new, they had lived their lives believing that stuff was just old wives' tales and nothing more.  But they felt the power and honesty of the man in their souls, and knew instinctively that every word he had said was utterly true.

"Volna, while I see your life is one of satisfaction and contentment, your brother is a completely different story.  This old sorrow he carries with him weighs down his katra like a heavy anchor chain.  Borak, you drag it along everywhere you go.  Some others instinctively feel it and go out of their ways to avoid you, although they know not why.  Until you free yourself of this sorrow, you will never be truly alive.  Would she who you lost want you to walk this world as a zombie - half dead and half alive?"

Borak looked down at the floor.  For the first time in nearly ten years, he began to sob and then openly weep.  His brother took his hand and they could feel that fraternal link that exists between all blood-siblings on Vulcan.

"Borak, to weep for one's loss is not a sign of weakness, especially in a man.  It is the first step to healing and getting on with one's life.  You have not lived since she-who-was-lost has been gone but simply have existed.  People die, sometimes in accidents, sometimes for no apparent reason, sometimes while quite young, and sometimes after a long, full life.  It is just the way things are.  You have no blame and should have no guilt.  You are not the first to lose the one bonded to them."

Borak looked up, wiped his tears away, and took a deep breath.  Letting it out, he related the story of what had happened earlier that day.  While he told the story, Tolihk occasionally nodded, but did not interupt.  When the story was over, the old man put down his clay pipe.  In the flickering shadows of the candlelight, his face occasionally seemed to change to a young man's then back to an ancient one.

"Borak, there are things in the world that many would have you believe simply do not exist at all.  But, believe me, there are spirits and beings that share this world with us.  Some were once as we are and some are totally different from us.  You might be tempted to label these things as supernatural, but they are simply a part of the All, even though most do not accept or believe in them anymore.  What you saw tonight was one of what you call the merfolk.  Male or female, I know not.  Our kind and theirs exist in separate worlds and rarely interact, but occasionally there is contact.  For some reason, they felt that you were worthy of saving from death in the jaws of the sehlats.  I know not why.  You will have to ask them that yourself."

"Ask them myself???" gasped Borak.

"Personally, I feel you should just accept what happened as a gift from a friend.  But I can sense that is not enough for you, so you will have to ask them yourself to get a satisfactory answer."

"How do I go about that?"

"If you really need the answer, you will have to go to that place and ask.  That is all can say to you.  Now it is late and I am more than two hundred years old, so I need my sleep.  I hope you find the answer you seek.  Good night to you, young men."

Borak and Volna thanked the old man and left his home.  They spoke no words on their way back to Volna's house.  But Borak already had decided that he would seek out the merfolk if that was the last thing he did.


Chapter Three

Borak decided to take off some personal time from work.  He had not taken a break since the death of Racheth, despite all attempts from his well-meaning employer.  Vel'dek the Master Tailor was quite happy to give Borak time off from work, for as long as he needed, no questions asked.

The following day, bright and early, Borak, with a full set of traveling gear, some tools and weapons, set off for his deserted stretch of beach.  He intended to build a small cabin of driftwood on a natural terrace above the beach and remain there until he got answers, if any.  He would not starve, as a large thicket of wild fruit trees was nearby, plenty of herbs grew in the area, and seabird eggs and fish would be easy to collect.

After four long days of hard labor, he had contructed an acceptable animal-proof cabin overlooking the beach.  While it was being built, he had slept in a large tree to be safe from wild animals.  On the second night, a sehlat had sniffed around the base of the tree for several hours, but had eventually wandered off in search of easier prey.  Staying at the shore was a new experience for the man, as he had never heard the night sounds of the shore before.

During his first night in the cabin, he could not sleep.  He lay on his sleeping mat listening to the rhythm of the surf on shore.  He hoped to hear something that might give him answers but hours went by with only the water and wind to be heard.  About an hour before dawn, he sat up fully alert at the sound of a loud moaning sound coming from the sea.  What could it be? He searched his memory for answers and realized it could be nothing else but a kval-fish, the massive, extremely rare oceanic beasts that had been hunted in ancient times.

After the sun came up, Borak did his morning cleansing, dressed, ate a small breakfast of fruit, and set out to begin watching the sea.  As he opened the door and stepped outside, he was shocked to find several fish atop a bed of sea grass on a large stone in front of the cabin.  He searched the area but could find no footprints.

"Thank you, friend!" he called out to nobody in particular.  Just at the edge of hearing, he thought he could hear a soft giggle.

Retrieving his knife from the cabin, he quickly cleaned the fish, although he was a little out of practice and almost cut himself several times.  He wrapped the fish in the sea grass and placed them in a food chest he'd built for himself, then set out for the beach.  Although most wild animals that might be trouble were nocturnal, Borak took his knife and a traveler's lirpa with him just in case.

Finding his usual wave-smoothed stone, he began his usual observation of the sea.  Hour after hour he sat watching, with the only thing of interest being a couple of zeliks that pulled themselved onto the beach to warm themselves on the sand.  He decided to talk a walk along the beach after the beasts dragged themselves back into the water.  By now it was midday and quite warm.  The beach was approximately 500 bilaks long, with the dark volcanic sand common on this part of the Voroth Sea.  At both ends of the beach, rocky promontories ran into the sea, preventing travel by foot beyond them.

(Editor's Note: It is unknown how long a "bilak" was but it was likely more than a foot-length, something like a yard, meter or cubit.)

Borak picked up and looked at a number of seashells of various kinds.  He pocketed several to add to his collection.  He also found a couple of wave-rounded semi-precious stones and decided to take them as well.  He paused as a vrikat bird flew towards him and hovered just out of reach, making a plaintive call.

"Hello, friend! I have something for you."

Reaching into a pocket of his tunic, he pulled out a piece of spelk and threw it to the bird.  It caught it in mid-air and flew off.  He watched it until it disappeared behind the promontory in the distance.  Out in the water, he heard a couple of zeliks frolicking in the water, looking for fish.

He had seldom spent much time at this end of the beach but enjoyed the change.  He soon found a small tide pool, sat down beside it and watched the small creatures swimming around in it, awaiting the return of high tide.  He reached in and stroked a sea purk but did not remove it from the water.  He sighed and stood up.

Borak continued to walk towards the promontory.  As he got closer, he noticed, for the first time in all these years, that its base was cut with numerous small caves.  At high tide, many of these caves would be underwater.  He did not intend to enter any of them, even if they were big enough, due to the possible danger inside.

He was suddenly startled by a loud splash out in the water.  He turned quickly and searched for a possible source.  An area of aggitated water was clearly visible but whatever had caused it had submerged.  He decided to see if it would return and walked to a grassy dune to wait.  He sat there with the sea breeze caressing his face for several hours but did not see anything out of the ordinary.  A vrikat bird flew up to him and begged for food.  It was probably the same bird as before.  It settled to the sand in front of him and waddled up to him.  He reached out and was surprised when it let him stroke the top of its head.  He pulled out another piece of spelk and the bird gladly took it from him.  Launching itself into the air, it flew off to the top of the promontory.

"Probably off to feed its young..." Borak said to himself.

He was shocked from his reverie by the close sound of playful laughter.  Leaping to his feet and quickly looking around, he could see nobody on land or sea.

"Hello! I am Borak.  Can I see you?"

The laughter came again.  His sensitive Vulcan ears located the sound as coming from the water.  He turned in that direction in time to see something about the size and shape of a head sink out of sight.

"Wait! Don't go! I want to thank you for saving me." But there was nothing but the sound of the water and the wind.


Chapter Four

The next several days nothing out of the ordinary happened at the beach.  Borak spent hours looking out at the sea or walking along the shore.  Occasionally he would call out to the unseen being but never received a response.  The only change from routine was the appearance of a large sailing ship far out to sea.

After ten days of solitude, Borak was surprised one day when his brother and several friends arrived at the beach.  They had come to check on him and bring supplies he might need.  The had a glorious midday feast and good conversation.  Volna informed him that their father, who had been ill for some time, was now doing better.  Borak told the men of the kval-fish, the zeliks, the vrikat birds and of the ship, but spoke nothing of the gift of fish or the laughter from the sea.  The hours passed quickly.

"Well, brother, you look like this break is doing you good."

"I am enjoying my time and finding myself."

"Do you have any word for our parents?"

"Tell them I am doing well and will see them in the near future."

"We shall go now, Borak.  Be well."

"Be well, my brother."

Not wanting to be caught out after dark, the rest of the men said their goodbyes and the group set off for home.  Alone again, Borak smiled for the first time since he could remember.  It had been a good day and good visit.  The food they had brought would improve his meals for some time and he was pleased at the good news of his father.

The following day, Borak was dismayed to find that the weather was changing quickly.  Dark clouds had moved in during the early morning and the wind was beginning to blow harder.

"Looks like a storm is coming," he said to himself.

In preparation for a storm, Borak spent the day fortifying his cabin to withstand heavy winds and rain.  It was a difficult job under the worsening conditions but by late afternoon he had managed to make the cabin as strong as he could with the materials at hand.

With night coming and the wind growing ever stronger, Borak locked himself in for the night.  Having never experienced a storm of such intensity on the shore, he was frightened by the ever worsening wind.  This may even be one of the rare hurricanes on Vulcan.  He was beginning to be concerned as to whether the cabin could withstand the fury of such a storm.  Grabbing a shovel, he frantically began digging into the dirt floor of the cabin.  He intended to build a makeshift storm cellar if he had the time.  Tornadoes were common in some parts of the planet and he knew of storm cellars.

Two hours later, with the building shaking and the winds howling outside, he had a fairly deep pit dug in the back part of the cabin.  Knocking the legs off the table he'd built for eating and writing, he hammered them into four points around the hole.  Quickly taking the heavy iron hinges off the food chest, he created a door for the storm cellar, using the table top attached to the tops of two of the former table legs.  Planning ahead, he'd built the cabin far enough away from the beach that there was no chance water would flood the makeshift shelter, barring a tsunami.

"That's about all I can do with the time I've got."

Borak moved all of his bedding, tools, weapons and food into the hole, then squeezed into the space remaining.  Pulling the table top door into place, he lashed down the door with a length of rope and settled in to wait out the storm.  Several times during the night, he was sure the cabin was about to be blown away but it did not.

Late into the night, Borak eventually fell into a semi-sleep but was jolted to full awareness by a scream in the distance.  He sat up and listened intently.  It had not sounded like any animal that he was aware of but he had not been fully awake when he'd heard it.  Then he heard it again.  It sounded almost like a Vulcan woman or child's scream.  Unfortunately, with the raging storm outside, he could do nothing.  The scream was not repeated a third time.

Unable to get back to sleep while the storm was still raging, Borak sat and wondered about the scream and who had made it.  Eventually, the storm lessened and Borak was finally able to fall asleep.  He awoke to silence and quickly threw open the shelter table top door.  Not even taking the time to eat, he ran from the cabin.  The beach had changed dramatically from the storm.  Where a sloping beach had once been, there were large dunes of sand pushed up by the waves and wind.  Debris of all kinds also littered the beach.

"Is anyone here?" he called out. Silence.

He decided that it was best if he did his morning cleansing and had something to eat before exploring the drastically altered beach.  An hour later, refreshed and with his stomach full, Borak took his knife and a hand-axe, and went to explore the beach.

Walking down towards the now normal sea, he zig-zagged his way up and down the beach, picking his way through the varied debris left by the storm.  Flocks of seabirds were scavenging amongst the piles, searching for anything edible.  Several times he stopped to call out to see if someone needed help but got no response.

"Maybe I just imagined it," Borak mused.  "Or it was an animal after all."

He continued his way towards the promontory he'd been to before.  Here and there he turned over bits of debris.  Once he was surprised to find a large gubahfa, still alive, under a pile of sea weeds.  Not something that was usually eaten, Borak grabbed it by the tail and dragged it down the water.  Pulling and pushing it, he was successful in getting it back into deep enough water without being bitten.  Quickly recovering, it swam off into deeper water.  Pleased with himself for his good deed, he snapped his head around upon hearing something nearby.  Had he heard someone moan?

"Hello! Where are you? Do you need help?" With his heart racing, Borak ran in the direction of the sound, quickly searching through every bit of debris.  "Where are you?"

He stopped to listen for a response.  He heard the moan again, quite close this time.  Borak jumped in surprise when he heard a faint voice.

"La-uu aa-wi-u..."

Up ahead was a pile of long-lost netting from some fishing boat.  He cautiously approached the tangled mass.  And leaped back when he heard a weak voice coming from it.

"Wu-na-ka i-tu maa..."

Creeping forward towards the netting, Borak's jaw dropped as he realized someone or something was tangled in the net.  It was hard to see but it might be a woman.

"Hi, I am Borak.  Let me help you out of that net..."

"Muu ja-wa..."

Not understanding her language, he pulled out his knife to cut away the netting.

"MAA!"

"I am not going to hurt you.  I am going to cut you out of there."

"MAA!"

"It will be okay." The person was weakly struggling but too entangled to move much.  Borak, hands shaking, began cutting away the netting to free the person.

"Ne-ne oopa-ka..."

After cutting away about half of the netting, Borak stood up in shock.  It was female.  It was green.  It was not a Vulcan.


Chapter Five

Mermaid.  That is the only thing she could be.  She had skin greener than any Vulcan.  Except for her face, neck, the palms of her hands and the insides of her lower arms, she was covered with hair of a reddish-golden hue, rare but not unknown in Vulcans.  The hair was fairly long on her head but of a uniform length of about a thumb-span on the rest of her.  The hands were webbed and the feet were quite unlike a Vulcan's.  She had pointed ears and arched eyebrows like a Vulcan.  Her breasts and waist were clothed in something that might be zelik skin.  She had no sign of gills.

"Muu ja-wa," she whispered, weakly pointing to the water.

"Do you need to get back to the water?"

"Ni-wa ja-ko ni-a-tu."

"I am sorry but I do not understand you..."

Struggling to a sitting position, the mermaid reached out with her spread hand and touched the side of Borak's face.  He tried to jerk away but found that he could not move.  He was shocked to hear a child-like voice in his head.

"Kind man, Borak, I am Na-to-ra.  I must return to the sea.  Please help." She removed her hand.

In shock over the mind-meld, Borak gasped for a minute or two.  Getting a hold of himself, he slowly reached out and picked up Na-to-ra in his arms.  She was heavier than she looked but warm to the touch.  He carried her into the water until he was up to his waist.  After lowering her into the water, he lightly held her as her strength slowly returned.  She reached out with her hand again.  He trembled as she touched his mind again.

"I go now, kind man, Borak.  Thank you for helping."

Testing himself in the meld, Borak attempted to reach out his own thoughts and was surprised to find he could return them.  "Goodbye, Na-to-ra.  I am glad I could help."

She removed her hand, gave the same giggle he'd previously heard from afar and dove under the water.  Far out to sea, she rose to the surface, gave a quick wave and dove again.

Borak sank into the sand, unable to stand.  He sat there for hours, finding it difficult to fully grasp what had happened.  As the sun lowered to the horizon, he stood up, brushed off the sand and slowly returned to the cabin, half in a daze.

Pulling his sleeping mat and the other items out of the makeshift shelter, he fixed himself a simple meal and ate without tasting it.  He realized that he was exhausted and soon was fast asleep.  He had strange dreams of swimming, surrounded by fish, with a sweet voice in his head.

The sun rose warm and bright.  Borak got up, stretched, did his morning cleansing, ate a small meal and changed into clean clothing.  Stepping out of the cabin, he noticed something leaning against the wall.  He approached it and realized it was some sort of spear, a harpoon for fishing.  The shaft was of a material he could not identify and the head appeared to be made from the serrated tooth of some huge animal.

"Thank you, Na-to-ra!" he yelled towards the shore, half expecting to hear a giggle.  He was disappointed he did not.

Taking a hold of the spear, he headed towards the beach.  In about the middle of the shore, there was a large flat rock in the water close to the beach.  He waded out to it and climbed onto it.  Standing on the rock, he looked into the water, hoping to see some fish he could spear for dinner.  Several times he thrust at a fish, but ended up with nothing for his effort.  Finally, a large plaku-fish swam close to the rock.  He thrust at the fish, lost his footing and landed in the water with a great splash.  As he came to the surface, he heard a giggle.

"Na-to-ra?" He turned and saw her sitting on the rock.  She giggled again.

Climbing back onto the rock, he smiled at her, then sat down beside her.

"I am very happy to see you again, Na-to-ra."

She reached out her hand and touched his face.  This time he was not nervous at her touch.  He felt pleasure as her mind touched his.

"Nice man, Borak, I am happy you are here."

"I am happy you came back."

"I cannot think of anyone but Borak," she thought.

"I dreamt of you and the sea."

"I always wonder why Borak comes to my home shore."

As Borak got more and more used to mind-melding, he shared with Na-to-ra the story of losing his bond-mate to the freak wave, his subsequent sorrow and return to the place they loved so much and where she had died.  He told of his loneliness.  Of feeling part of him had been lost.

"Kind man, Borak, I am sorry I am too late to help your Racheth.  I hear you calling, I swim up but she was already gone to the Great Fishery."

"You were here when Racheth died?"

"Yes, Borak, I was here.  I so sorry.  But we take your Racheth to special place to sleep forever in honor."

"You found her body and laid it to rest???"

"Dear man, yes.  She have the honor of being where we are laid to rest, as you say."

"Thank you, Na-to-ra.  That takes some of my grief away."

For more than an hour they sat and shared thoughts and memories, becoming as close as all people that meld do and more.  Borak realized that he would no longer feel half-alive now that he had met Na-to-ra.

"Sorry, nice man, Borak, someone comes..." She dropped into the sea and was soon gone.

Borak waded back to shore and made his way back to the cabin.  His brother was there with another man, someone he did not know.

"Brother!"

"It pleases me you are well, Borak.  We worried with the storm but the road was not passable enough to come until today.  This is Munath, a man who knows of many things."

"Thank you, Volna, for caring to check.  It is pleasing to meet you, Munath."

"What is that you are carrying, Borak?" asked his brother, pointing to the spear.

Borak felt a moment of fear, angry at himself for not hiding the spear before returning to the cabin.  "It is something I found just now on the beach.  It must have been washed up by the storm."

Volna and Munath exchanged glances.  Munath pointed to the fishing spear.  "May I have a closer look?"

Borak did not want to part with the spear but had no legitimate reason to refuse the request.  He slowly handed the spear to Munath.  Munath examined it closely, before handing it back."

"A lucky find, Borak.  Merfolk fishing spear, made from a malkeh rib and a kval-fish tooth."

"Merfolk?" gasped Borak, feigning disbelief.  "You cannot believe in that myth."

Volna and Munath exchanged glances again.  "Look, Borak, I am no fool.  I fished in the sea for many years and have seen merfolk on several occasions.  Your brother came to me with the story of your experience with their arrows saving you because he is concerned about you."

Borak gave his brother a fast, disproving look, before answering.  "Well, it is true that I found that spear this morning.  I do not know where it came from."

"The legend is that this is the finest gift that the Sea People can give us.  Strange that you would just find it..."

Although upset with his brother for bringing this man, Borak made a supreme effort to be courteous the rest of the visit.  They sat on the ground outside the cabin and shared a fisherman's meal of fruit and dried fish.

"Vel'dek is wondering if you are going to return to work soon."

"I am not sure, brother, but I will return to the city soon to put my affairs in order and visit our parents."

Volna wondered what his brother meant by "put my affairs in order" but did not press the point.  He had not seen his brother look so well in a very long time, so did not worry that this had some sort of ominous meaning.


Chapter Six

Over the coming weeks, Borak and Na-to-ra spent many hours together in and out of the water.  Although Borak had never been a good swimmer, he soon was able to move through the water as good as any Vulcan can.  He was beginning to feel love for Na-to-ra but wondered how such a relationship could work.

"Na-to-ra, I want to remain here with you, but that is impossible."

"Oh, Borak, there is a way..."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, my love.  But you must return to your family and say farewell.  Once you come with me, you can never return."

They spent two more days enjoying the company of each other.  On the third day, in the morning, Borak told Na-to-ra that he was going home to visit his family in Melkur.  She sat quietly watching as he packed a change of clothing, some food and his Vulcan weapons.  He concealed the merfolk spear in the sand along the back wall of the cabin.  He would leave the tools and other things behind for his return.

They held each other for a long moment and their lips touched, before Borak turned towards the cliff road.  He turned once to wave but she was already in the water, watching him go.  She dove under the water and was gone from sight.

At nearly the same place as the previous sehlat ambush, Borak was completely surprised by a loud shriek.  He froze in terror.  Not a sehlat during this time of the day, so it could only be one of the seldom-seen shore le-matyas.  He backed slowly down the path towards the cabin but was unsure he could reach it before being attacked.  There was no cover and no tree close enough to climb.  He looked up the cliff and saw there was no chance he could climb here.  He heard a low growl, closer than the shriek.

A massive le-matya appeared on the path in front of him.  With its tail twitching, it opened its mouth, displaying its deadly teeth, and screamed.  Borak dropped his pack and swung the country lirpa around to face the threat.  The beast sprang towards him.  Borak swung at the animal with the club end of the lirpa, striking a glancing blow on its neck.  The animal screamed and swiped at him with a paw, just missing the man.  He spun the lirpa about and swung the sharp edge at the predator, missing it.  The le-matya lunged at Borak and he lost his footing.  Over the side of the cliff he went.  He reached out and frantically grabbed at vegetation as he fell.  For a moment he arrested the fall by grabbing a nat-puki branch but it snapped off in his hands.

"BORAK!!!"

Falling...Falling...

Borak hit the sea with a great impact, knocking the breath out of him.  He sank deep into the water.  He tried to move his arms and legs but they would not respond.  I must have broken my neck or back. The sunlight grew dimmer as his body sank.  He thought of Racheth and thought of Na-to-ra.  As he sank deeper, his mind and vision slowly fading as he drowned, he sensed a presence nearby.  He watched with dimming sight as Na-to-ra and other merfolk swam up to him.  Na-to-ra reached out with her hand and touched his face.

"Now, kind man, my love, Borak, you will be one with us."

The mermen and mermaids surrounded him.  Every one of them reached out and took a hold of him.  He felt a chorus of thoughts in his head.

"Come, brother...Come, son...Come, friend...Come, beloved one..."

Borak felt a combination of pleasure and pain.  His vision slowly improved and he watched in awe as webbing grew between his fingers and his skin became greener.  He felt a tingle in his feet and looked down.  His toes were growing and spreading, and webbing grew between them.

The merfolk raised him back to the surface.  He took a long, deep breath as his head come out of the water, then coughed the seawater out of his lungs.  Taking another deep breath, he dove then flung himself out of the water like a playful dufu.  Arching and twisting in the air, he laughed once, then dove back into the sea.

No-to-ra was there beside him.  She reached out and took his hand.

"I was Borak.  I am now Bo-ra-ka.  I am a merman."

"Come, my love, let us be together forever..."

Volna searched for signs of his brother for many months before giving up.  He reluctantly concluded that his brother had been attacked and killed by a le-matya from the tracks on the trail and the abandoned pack.  On his final visit to the beach, he heard a loud splash and laughter, but saw nothing.

(Editor's Note: There may have been additional parts to this story but the six chapters are all that exist.)