I've some entries for Arlo's Journal from "Mermaid Rising" that set up "The Mermaid's Apprentice." Here's the first entry following those from Section 2 of "Mermaid Rising."
Date unknown (July 12th) - Day 1 at the Hospital
I'm not sure of the date, I'm at the hospital. I've had a fever that has raged for a while. When I first woke, I thought this might be the afterlife, all was white. Then came color and pain, the shock of still being alive. Journaling was an ingrained habit, and seeing a pad of paper when I awoke, reached for it and saw that I had tried writing my thoughts before, but they were indecipherable. So I begin again.
I'm in an island hospital and how I came here is a blank. I became infected with something when I was trapped in the sea and it struck fast. My first suspicion had been the lady who rescued me, as I hadn't thought there could be anything else. But if she wanted me dead, I would be dead. She would have only had to let the fever run its course or even worse have let me drown. So why did she return? It was probably a good thing I was delirious when she returned or I would have resisted.
A wall mounted mermaid greeted me when I awoke. It was placed on the opposite wall from the bed, and there was much to the place that spoke of her. I still didn't believe in mermaids, but her appearance and where she had brought me, well that was quite the coincidence. If she wasn’t a mermaid, she wanted me to think she was one, and why would she want that?
So what should I do? I'm sure there is enough evidence aboard my vessel to find her. Her appearance now twice as a human looking figure and not a half fish woman leads me to believe she lives life as a normal person. I would have to find her and test her.
Yet my life was here, what was I going to give up my research position to hail across the planet to try and find her?
The people here are reserved. The doctor is kind enough, but he stopped in only long enough to check on how I was doing. He was far too knowledgeable for my comfort. From the way the nurse treated me I half expected there were armed guards outside my room. The place for all its creature comforts had the feeling of a military ward. At least they had me in a room with a window, so I may not be a prisoner, but who knew what was down the hall from mine.
Note: This post was resurrected from my old site. It may not be the one that showed up on the site. The date of publication here is from when it was added to this site.
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