~Miriam`s Isle~ Chapter Two- Faux Diversion

Miria stared adoringly at the man. SHe had never felt this way before. All she wanted to do was stare at this man, forever. Her tail was growing tired, and she wanted to sink down to the Underseas, but she still stared at him. Suddenly, one of his red-haired mates broke the silence, and Miria`s magical feeling.

"Tom!" He bellowed. ("Tom," Miria sighed to herself. It suit him so well.) "Tom," He continued. "Why are we standing around here, hot and dusty, when that radical blue lake is right in front of us?" His mates nodded and hollered in agreement, but Miria`s ocean-blue eyes filled with tears. They would have to drink the water. They would become attached to it. Then they would leave and die. Miria didn`t want Tom (Tom, Tom, Tom!)to die. She bit her lip, wondering at what she could do.

As Miria chewed her lip and thought furiously, she was hit by a sudden burst of inspiration. She was a mermaid! She had powers-the power of Telepathy. She focused on Tom, the obvious leader of the group. She hadn`t done this in a while. "Stop," She thought. "Stop, right there! Don`t go any further!" Suddenly Tom stopped, and a curious expression appeared on his face. Miria grinned. Then she continued Telepathy. "No, Tom! Stop! The water is dangerous! You will die! Stop! Take your mates and swim in the ocean!" Miria broke off, and Tom stood, dazed. Then he shook his head. "STOP!" He yelled to his mates. "DON`T GO ANY FURTHER!"

Tom`s shipmates stopped and stared exasperatingly at them. "What now, Tom?" The redhead complained, while the rest of them groaned. They stood, arms crossed and glaring. "Well?" Reddy demanded. "Ummm..." Tom stuttered. "Uh, um, its just..."
"GET ON WITH IT!" Someone yelled. "Well," Tom hesitated. "Uh, its just...why not swim in the ocean? Why swim in this water? Couldn`t it be, you know, dangerous?" His pals looked at each other, eyebrows raised. "If you ask me, wouldn`t it be SAFER here?" Reddy said scathingly. The men nodded in agreement.

Miria could see Tom was stuck. So a mischevious smile came across her face, and she silently dived to the lake floor where the odd rock existed. She picked out a triangular dark one, and rose and began slicing it around the surface. Tom saw his chance and pointed. "B-because of SHARKS!" Everyone yelled and ran to the ocean. Tom, however, stayed behind and looked suspiciously at the "fin". It dropped, and he thought he saw the flash of a silvery fish tail before disapearing beneath the crystal water. He roused himself and quickly went to join his mates.