“Sing for me, Ari” dad asks, as he looks at the white beast that he’s just caught.

What can I say. He is so sentimental in his old age. I need to remember to appreciate these moments. They won’t be there forever..

And after the last fight we had...well.. I need to make up for it.

But before I get a chance, to start singing.., he quizzes me, like when i was very young. “So, Ari. Tell me. We caught a whale. What do we need to do now?”

“Gut him? Clean all the yucky stuff ?” i intentionally use the word “yucky” to play along.

He nods in approval, but says “no no no”.

It was funny when i was 9. I’m sure it was.

“Scales. Clean the scales?” i offer.

“Do you see any scales? It’s a whale we got. Not a fishy”.

It’s just a game. I know the answer and he knows i know the answer. Is everything a mind fuck with parents, or is it just me?

So..

I sing and he cleans the crap.

out of the flesh of the dead abimal, he twists out an old rusty harpoon. The remains of a rope still dangling on the cleat. He tests the point.

“Amatures” he mumbles and chucks it into the foam.

Then another harpoon, then another.

Some netting material, some rigging...

“Ha! Look at that!” He says, picking out something entangled in some ropes.

He cleans it a bit. Smiles triumphantly.

“So Ari. You’re keen on those bozos over land, so What is this, then?” He says. Hands me the thing.

Oh boy. I don’t have a clue. But he will push this on me, every chance he gets. This is some educational thing. Or a little chance at revenge.

Or both.

He reminds me of what happened every chance he gets..

That jerk, Eric. I’m sooo over him.

But Dad will never let me forget...

That jerk , Eric.

That jerk, Eric.

“Gee, I don’t know, Da. I would guess this is a..... A torch!”

“Hemm....nice try Ari, babe, but no. Not even close”.

″ ok, OK... A special tool to hold paint while hanging from the rigging?”

“No...not that..”

“Ok...how about some bracing for one of their cannons?”

“Interesting idea, but still wrong..”

He is hungry to show off..

“Fine..i give up... What is it?”

“Oh...you kids give up too easily..”

“So tell me already...” I say “pleeease”.

″ fine. Look here. These straps go around something. There used to be a clasp, but i guess someone’s bitten it off..but if they bit it off...it means that....” He leads me...

“That there was something there to eat”.

“That’s right...I’ll give you a hint...it’s something you wanted very much once. The guy that had this wanted the same thing too...but he lost...”

“A leg...”

“Yes!...ladies and gentlemen, i give you the amazing Ariel!!!” He says. “Legs. Well. You had them for a while, then you came back under the sea...well...This is...I’m not sure how it’s called, but it’s what happens when humans lose one of their legs. This cup thing fits over the part that’s ...oh...the stump...and they strap it. And they can walk with it...sort of... I should imagine not very well. And they also ...well they can’t swim much either..” He says. “Now...I haven’t seen a wooden leg like this, stuck on a whale before , but this one..this fish is special.. So...maybe the guy minus a leg tried a bit too hard to kill it... ” he says “Amatures...makes me laugh..” He

″ Can you imagine how ridiculous they looked..this guy and his whale...”.

but his chuckle is superficial. He overshot this by a mile.

I don’t know what to say. Whatever i do, it keeps bringing things up...He will never forgive me for betraying him, and he will hold my coming back, the way that i did.. on my knees...well he’ll hold it over me forever..

It’s not fair but...

I don’t miss Eric, anymore. But I can’t help but feel sad for this guy...

I wonder what he was doing?

Why would he just get entangled like this?

What was the point?

I remember going around collecting stuff from sunken ships..

Dad was NOT happy when he found out.. Destroyed the entire thing...

That’s when i really got into trouble..

I guess i also hold many things over him..

Such a tragedy...

Did he have friends?

Did he fight with his parents?

Did they try to stop him from chasing whales across the ocean?

I hope he didn’t suffer..

I imagine the poor guy being dragged uncontrollably behind the animal.

Makes me shudder when i think how afraid he must have been..

Probably drowned a long time before he was eaten, but you never know.

I suddenly feel a tightening. All this sadness, all this ... It’s overwhelming.

I cry for a moment.

I guess i still miss Eric after all...

Dad sees me crying. He knows that like so many times before, he went too far.

“Sorry Ari...” He says.. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. ....this was just...this was only meant...oh...look at me...I’m so ashamed...”

“No, dad. You warned me that this was going to happen, you were only...”

“Yes....only trying to protect you....but you... Eric...I hoped we could put it all in the past...go on a little ‘me and you’ time...and I can’t keep my big mouth shut...it’s not funny...nothing in this is funny. I’m so sorry”

We look at the waves for a while. Crashing on the rocks. Saying more in their rhythm than we could ever say..

“Hey...help me clean

this, and we can cook...” He says and gives me the trident.

We let all the muck float out, food for the seagulls and crabs for about a year.

And then we roast the thing over a nice volcano. Albino porpoises are something special.

Tastes like chicken...

I miss chicken.

I miss dairy products...

I cry a little again as we work. But i don’t let him see it.

Oh, how I miss Eric.....

We go back under the water, i feel a bit guilty that we didn’t bring anything for the others. But this was our thing.

It had been months since Gaelen’s attack, resulting in his arm nearly torn in two, right leg broken and fissured by claw marks, and his torso riddled with deep scores and puncture marks from teeth most ferocious. Mildly he was surprised that memory from his life before yet remained, his mauling at the hands of the wolf certainly was the most vivid of his recollections from his old life. But remember he did, and at the sight of this girl, Scarlet, wandering down the woodland path, the memories became clearer still.

A young man of the nearby village,

He had been once, not the most handsome, nor the strongest by any means, but an eligible bachelor all the same. Second Apprentice to the towns’ blacksmith, he had earned a fair wage and meager respect from his peers and was regarded for his honest nature; likely he would have had a fine future carved for himself had it not been for misjudgment on his part. Smitten by the bakers daughter, he had begun to spend much of his free time courting the fair Scarlet. Thought the girl was sought after by many of the towns young men, Gaelen thought himself closer than many to her heart.

One day, Scarlet had told him that she could only love one who was truly brave of heart, and referring to the rumors surrounding the mutilation of much of the towns livestock over the past few months, stated that only one who was brave enough to slay the apparent werewolf who was tearing apart the poor creatures would be worthy of her affections.

That very evening, by the silvery light granted by the waxing of the gibbous, Gaelen posted himself in the fields where much of the slaughter had taken place.

Many hours he had waited, and when he had nearly given up the evening to return home, he heard the bleating of a goat in agony. Rushing to the creatures side he came upon a vision from a nightmare. The beast had eviscerated the poor animal, and was vigorously ripping the innards from the goat, snout buried in the creatures abdomen as though it were a horse wearing a feed bag.

The monster was now going upon four legs, but was clearly capable of roaming on two, and now only deign to haunch over to tear what it must consider the best of the bits from its still quivering prey. Though obscured head to foot with thick fur, the creature rippled with muscles, it’s tendons and sinews jolting with the horror’s every lurch to grasp more entrails within the fallen goat. Momentarily frozen at the sight of the beast, Gaelen finally mustered the courage to attack and leapt, swinging an axe gilded with silver at the monster. Though effective, his fist blows were not lethal, and the wolf retaliated in kind with tooth and claw. Gaelen was left tragically wounded, the bipedal wolf retreated to the woods and did not return for him. Days later, a locally known vagrant was found in the heart of the forest near the village, rend with what appeared to be axe blows.

And though the young man showed tremendous courage, he was looked upon with disdain, many accused him of butchering the livestock in the night himself, turning his own axe upon himself and the vagrant in the hopes of gaining notoriety in the town. Scarlet was taken by these whisperings, and refused to speak to him, despite the terrible injuries on her behalf.

Many did not suspect Gaelen would survive the next coming nights, thinking him to injured by his own weapon to pull through, but by the second evening, he had nearly healed and was able to wander about of his own volition. Shunned everywhere he turned, Gaelen returned to the very field he had been when his life had been changed forever. He stood, staring into the sky when the moon, pulling on him as she did the tides, changed him forever. His hands burst into claws, his mouth sprouted terrible fangs, and his body bristled with fur head to toe like that of a wolf. His stomach burned and burned, and only upon ripping open a young cow did he discover how to sate his new hunger. Soon he found he could no longer revert to his human form, and was bound in the flesh of the wolf.

Now, months later, he found himself stalking the very woman he had fawned after, tracking her down the path he knew would lead to her elderly grandmothers house. Even from so far away, he could smell the baked goods she carried in her crooked arm, hidden beneath the crimson traveling cloak she cherished so much.

Wolf now though he was, steadily he had regained much of his human minds faculties, and was able to plot revenge. And as he stalked the girl in the red hood, he hatched a most insidious scheme...