- Vol. 04
- Chapter 08
Bettina
Bettina swam to the surface and sat on the deserted beach. Her once beautiful golden hair, now snowy white, laid on her shoulders, and her once beautiful face, burned in the hot sun. She stared at her mermaid fins, the only part of her body unchanged. She once had legs on land, but that was taken from her by a curse from another mermaid she once called a friend. Bettina’s beauty drove Destia into madness and she cursed Bettina with ugliness. The only way the curse would be broken was if a human showed her kindness. But for fifteen-years, no one on any of the occupied beaches showed her any compassion. They were frightened of her and didn’t see the beauty inside, until one day…
Bettina sat under a tree, flopping her fins in the sand. The sea was her only comfort where she didn’t have to see anyone. But every now and then a mermaid needed a break from the ocean. She hummed a tune her mother once taught her until her a voice startled her.
“Hi, there. I’ve never seen a mermaid before. Are you real or are those fins fake?" The girl pulled on Bettina’s fins.
“Hey, that hurts. Stop that.” Bettina pushed the girl’s hand away.
“Sorry. Wow, I can’t believe you’re real. Can I sit next to you? My name is Lily, I’m thirteen-years-old.”
“Yes, you may sit, but won’t your parents be looking for you?”
“Nah, they’re talking with the grown-ups on the other side of the beach.”
“You’re not scared of me?”
“Why would I be? You’re a mermaid.”
Bettina
“But mermaids are beautiful. I was cursed by a jealous friend because of my former beauty and now I look like this.” Bettina lowered her head.
“I don’t care. You seem nice and besides, what do looks matter? It’s how you treat one another that counts. That friend who cursed you is the horrible one.”
Lily placed her hand on Bettina’s and a glow of bright light appeared. Bettina began to change. Her hair became golden again and her face returned to the beauty it once was. Her fins turned into legs as they should on land.
“You broke the curse with your kindness!” Bettina hugged Lily.
“I don’t think I did. I think you did by accepting my kindness.”
“You’re a special girl, Lily. We shall be friends from this day forward. But I must get back to the ocean and you must return to your parents. I will see you again on this same beach.”
Bettina jumped into the sea, her fins flopping in tune with the waves.
Lily watched in awe and once Bettina was out of sight she snapped her fingers. Lily was not a thirteen-year-old girl. Lily was an angel that helped those in need. When Bettina would return to the beach, the angel would appear as Lily again.
The angel’s work was done, until the next day when she would help another in need.