Post date: Oct 17, 2012 9:18:43 PM

This story, by Olivia Howe, won Second Place in the 2011-2012 Maple Leaf Writing Competition.

Sapphire Lake

By Olivia Howe

Basil clutched the sides of the gently rocking kayak. His stomach flipped and flopped like the fish he had caught this morning. Poor thing. Fish are unhappy out of the water; Basil was unhappy in it. Unfortunately, he was floating on Sapphire Lake now.

Sapphire Lake fit its name, translucent and royal blue. The lake was kidney-shaped, with thick evergreens hugging the sandy shore. It was over a hundred feet in its deepest part and scattered with weeds, especially milfoil, the thin, slimy plant that looks like a wet, limp, pine branch.

A storm was coming. The June sky was slate-gray, as it had been since six A. M., when Basil had awoken. Weak sunlight drifted through gaps in clouds every so often, but not e[1]ˇnough to warm the air.

“Basil!” his younger sister Ophelia called from the lake shore. “Look what I found!”

Ophelia liked to collect strange, unusual, or rare things such as porcupine quills (which she dyed and made into jewelry), miniature books (once she disassembled one and created a paper castle out of it), or even human litter: discarded pens, coffee cups, or socks with holes in them (she washed those thoroughly). Basil admired Ophelia’s creativity with her found objects. He paddled quickly towards shore to see what she was holding. Ophelia showed Basil a nickel-sized, jade-green fish scale. It was the color of lake weeds, he noticed.

“What do you think I should do with it?” Ophelia asked. “It just washed up here! Isn’t it gorgeous? I love it! Too bad there’s only one, otherwise I could make earrings out of them.”

Just as Basil was stepping onto the docks, thick, heavy drops of rain began to fall. Thunder rumbled in the distance. He shivered in fright. “We need to get back to the cabin, Basil!” Ophelia shouted over a thunderclap. She cupped her hands around the fish scale as she ran. It must be fragile, he mused.

When they arrived at the warm, dry cabin Ophelia put the scale in his hands. It didn’t seem fragile at all. The scale was smooth, hard like a pebble, and moist. It dried out very quickly, though, and began to flake in the process. “Oh, no!” Ophelia cried, and hurried to place it in a glass of water, where it sank to the bottom.

Basil then sat down in the living room and thought. He was nervous about staying on the lake this summer. He was terribly shy around strangers. At home, he had friends and hobbies, but he had never really gotten to know any of the children or families here very well, and he wasn’t planning on meeting anyone anytime soon.

Ophelia reclined in a nearby rocking chair searching a field guide to lake fish.

Suddenly, Ophelia looked up from her book. “Basil!” she exclaimed.

“Did you find the fish?” Basil wondered with excitement.

“No, there’s not a single fish in this book that has scales like those! There are some that are like it, but none of them are iridescent.”

She was cut off by their dad. “Dinner’s ready, kids.”

Dr. and Dr. Perkins (their parents), Basil, and Ophelia gathered around the kitchen table. “We want to talk to you two about the upcoming milfoil ‘bomb.’ As you both know, milfoil is an invasive plant and harmful to Sapphire Lake’s environment. It has been choking out native plants and endangering the life of many of the aquatic animals. The milfoil bomb is made up of herbicides and we don’t want any swimmers or boaters to get sick from the chemicals. We also want to make sure that everyone, including you two –” Dr. Perkins (Mom) cut her eye across the table at rebellious Ophelia “–stays out of the water for the week after July 13th. And there’ll be no fishing for a few weeks.” Dr. Perkins looked straight at Basil.

“But that’s only three days away! This stinks!” complained Basil.

“I’m sorry, honey,” she soothed. “Maybe you and Ophelia can –“

“Hey, Mom! Dad! I found this cool fish scale at the beach today and I don’t know where it came from. Can you identify it?” Ophelia cut in. She hopped up and grabbed the water glass off the counter to show her parents.

“Ophelia, please don’t interrupt. And, no, I don’t recognize that scale. Do you, Solomon?”

Dr. Perkins (Dad) adjusted his gold-framed glasses and peered through the thick lenses. “Hmmm…I don’t either.”

* * * * *

Basil tossed and turned in his sleep, dreaming of the shiny scale. It was drying out again. He removed it from its water glass and raced down to the docks, where he got into his kayak and began to paddle to the opposite end of Sapphire Lake. When he was far out in the water, he dropped the scale in. He watched, through a moonbeam, as it sank to the muck and settled among the weeds. There was a flash of bright orange, and the scale was gone.

Basil awoke, breathing heavily. A note, pink as a rose in the red glow of his alarm clock (reading 2:41), lay on his bedside table. Groggily, he picked it up. “Hey B! I can’t find my scale so I’m going down to the shore to look for it. If I’m not back by morning, come looking for me. –O”

Strange that the scale has disappeared, Basil thought, leaping to his feet, throwing on a sweatshirt, and stealing through the cabin and into the night. What if Ophelia was hurt? What if she had tripped on driftwood or fallen into the lake?

“Ophelia!” he croaked, reaching the lake shore. He stepped onto the sandy docks. “Ophelia,” he repeated. “Where are you?” Basil peered into his banana-yellow kayak. The boat glinted eerily against the lake’s surface. Inside the kayak was something unexpected – a single, shiny scale.

Basil picked it up and fingered the tough object between his thumb and forefinger. Suddenly, without thinking, he hopped in the kayak and paddled wildly, the scale balanced on his lap. He had no idea where he was going, but something drew him towards the old boathouse just around the bend in the lake.

The boathouse appeared half-sunken in the marshy shore water. Its reflection tonight on the moonlit surface made its huge, dark maw look even wider. Rumors around Sapphire Lake were that the boathouse was haunted. Basil didn’t believe in that nonsense.

“Ophelia?” Basil murmured. At that moment, a noise from inside the boathouse startled him. It was his sister’s voice.

“Basil!” He paddled into the boathouse, ignoring the cold knot in his stomach. Now, he wished he could be as brave as Ophelia.

Inside the dark boathouse, sitting cross-legged on a dock, was Ophelia. The water around the dock was teeming with fish – but was there something else? Basil caught a glimpse of tangerine. Hadn’t he seen that color in his dream?

Suddenly, a dark head, followed by a teenaged girl, rose out of the ink-black water. She pulled herself onto the dock next to Ophelia. Basil gasped. The girl had an emerald-green, scaly tail which glinted and swished beneath her waist like an oddly shaped skirt. Woven into her black braid were tiny orange flowers.

“Hello, I’m Tangerine,” she introduced herself.

“I – I’m Basil,” Basil stammered.

“She’s a mermaid,” Ophelia remarked.

“I noticed. I just – I thought…”

“We exist,” Tangerine said firmly. “Ophelia and I were just talking about the planned milfoil bomb, a threat to our existence. We eat the milfoil that grows here. It is a staple of our diet. Not only will the bomb destroy most of our food, the chemicals released can seriously harm us.”

“How?” Basil wondered.

“When they mix with the water, the herbicides will contaminate it, making the area unfit to live in.”

“I see. And have you lived here long?” Ophelia asked.

“We have only been residing in Sapphire Lake for three years, but if the biologists gave us more time to populate, then there would be more mermaids eating the milfoil. It would solve their problem. We depend on milfoil, but we can’t very well stand up for ourselves. Can you help?” Tangerine finished, her eyebrows knitted together like kissing caterpillars. “You are now the only ones here who know we exist.”

“But can’t you just leave this lake and find another place to live?” Basil inquired.

“It doesn’t work like that. We can only move once in our lives, and we have already done that, so Sapphire Lake has to be where we stay forever,” Tangerine replied with an unhappy smile.

“When did you learn about the bomb?” said Basil.

“Oh, I’ve heard things the fishermen say. Just because they can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not there.”

The thought of the mermaids – and the fish, some plants, and other animals – being terminated was horrible. Just because of one weed? But if the milfoil wasn’t taken care of, then many plants could die, and that would make less food for the lake creatures, and then what would happen?

“Is there anything else you can eat?” Basil wondered aloud.

“We eat other plants.” Well, the milfoil would crush those ‘other plants’ if it stayed, but what if the mermaids were right? What if they could take care of an intrusive water plant on their own?

“Please, Basil and Ophelia,” Tangerine begged. “Please try to help us.”

“I can’t believe this is real,” Basil murmured. “But…” The siblings looked at each other, and an unspoken ‘yes’ crossed between them.

Ophelia boarded her own kayak and explained to him on the way back to the cabin how she’d gone looking for her scale, found it in Basil’s kayak, and then seen Tangerine and a few other mermaids. She followed them to the boathouse and talked until Basil arrived.

“Tangerine’s scales looked kind of familiar, Ophelia,” Basil began. “Are they –”

“Oh, I already asked her about that. She said that my scale must have fallen off her or one of the other mermaids. Like humans shed hairs, and birds lose feathers. It didn’t hurt or anything,” Ophelia cut in. “I forgot that I left it in your kayak because I took mine to follow the mermaids.”

“Alright. And let’s not tell Mom and Dad that we left the house in the middle of the night, OK?” Basil said.

“Of course not!”

* * * * *

The next morning, after breakfast in the empty kitchen, Ophelia and Basil discussed how to save the mermaids – and of course, the fish and plants who would be accidentally erased. They already knew that there was no way the mermaids could leave the lake. Mermaids – like fish – couldn’t survive out of the water, and there was no easy way to transport them to the ocean or another lake or river.

They guessed that all mermaids were born in a certain place, among their family, but could move to a different home to settle down with that family.

“Maybe we could…try to destroy the milfoil bomb,” Basil murmured hesitantly.

“Hey, that’s a good idea!” Ophelia reasoned. “I bet we could figure out how.”

“But where is it? I’ll go ask Mom and Dad.” Basil stood up and strolled into the kitchen, where his parents were looking at lake water under microscopes.

“Mom? Dad? I was just wondering if you knew where the milfoil bomb was being kept before ‘the big day.’ ”

Dr. Perkins looked up at him. “It’s most likely in Dr. Jon’s cabin. He’s the one in charge of the operation.”

“Thanks, Mom! I was thinking maybe Ophelia and I could pay Dr. Jon a visit. I’m interested in seeing what the bomb looks like,” Basil said. He wasn’t lying, but he was not going to tell his parents about his idea, either.

Basil and Ophelia canoed over to Dr. Jon’s cabin. Dr. Jon specialized in milfoil research on Sapphire Lake.

Dr. Jon looked surprised to see the Perkins kids when he opened the front door. “Hello, kids,” he smiled. “How can I help you?”

Basil, holding a camera, told Dr. Jon about his sudden fascination in the milfoil bomb. “I – I w-was wondering if I could t-take some pictures of – of it,” he stammered, shy around people he was unfamiliar with.

“Of course! It’s out in my shed. I’ll be down at the shore working, but feel free to take the pictures you need,” Dr. Jon consented. He led Ophelia and Basil down to his shed.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Jon!” Ophelia exclaimed, nudging her brother.

“You’re welcome, kids.” Dr. Jon grinned under his bushy, gray beard and closed the shed door gently behind him.

The bomb was not what either kid had expected. It wasn’t a simple, round, black object; it was simply a large packet of herbicides.

“The only way we can drain the bomb of its poison is to cut it open,” Ophelia began thoughtfully.

“But Dr. Jon would certainly get angry if we ruined it. We can’t break his trust, so we can’t break open the container,” Basil finished quickly.

Defeated, Basil and Ophelia rowed home.

“What can we do now?” Ophelia moaned.

“I have an idea that just might work,” Basil replied.

* * * * *

“Ophelia and I found…mermaids in the lake, real mermaids. We went looking for Ophelia’s scale that went missing and it led us to the mermaids,” Basil announced the next morning, during breakfast. Dr. and Dr. Perkins looked at each other, bemused.

Basil continued, “They’re friendly, and we don’t want them to get hurt. And they will if the milfoil bomb is successful.” The biologists began to laugh, chuckling and guffawing until their cheeks were rosy and their eyes watered. Before his parents could respond, Basil added quickly, “The milfoil bomb can – and will – harm many creatures in Sapphire Lake! Don’t you understand?”

“You are quite the storyteller, honey,” his mother said to Basil at last, when their giggles had diminished.

“But how do you expect us to believe that?” said Dr. Perkins. “I mean, we’ve never seen any evidence of mermaids.”

Basil sighed hopelessly, running his long fingers through his light brown hair. Then Ophelia patted Basil’s arm. “Sleep on it,” she whispered. “We have one more chance.”

* * * * *

At one A. M. on July 13th, Ophelia and Basil crept out of the cabin, hopped into their canoe, and paddled furiously towards the boathouse. Upon arriving, they found that Tangerine and several other mermaids, both male and female, had congregated around the dock inside. Tangerine swam over to Basil and Ophelia. “Have you found a way to help us?” she asked, worry and panic lacing her words.

“Yes and no. We have one last plan before tomorrow,” said Ophelia. “And it’s crucial that as many of you as possible must come to the main dock on the lake shore tomorrow at noon. That will be when the sun is –”

“We know,” an elderly female mermaid interrupted, but her voice was soft.

“Please. If you don’t come, we can’t save you,”Basil warned as he turned the canoe and glided off into the velvety night.

* * * * *

“Can we go watch the milfoil bomb being put into the water today?” Ophelia queried at breakfast. She stirred her Lucky Charms anxiously.

“This has nothing to do with that ‘mermaid’ business, does it?” Dr. Perkins asked.

“Not at all,” Ophelia assured her. “We’re just curious.”

* * * * *

A crowd had gathered to survey the “bombing.” It was an important event to the people on the lake, and many children – who had dragged along their parents . wanted to watch what they didn’t know would be uneventful.

Stewart, in white coveralls with the words “Lake Health Dept.” stamped on the back, stood at the far end of the dock, preparing to climb into a Lake Health Department boat.

Basil adjusted his sunglasses and glanced upwards. The sun was overhead, but where were they? The twelve o’clock sun beat down on his shoulders like hot, heavy hands. Don’t do this, they seemed to say. You’re too cowardly to stand up in front of the crowd to talk anyways.

He slumped down to the ground. Ophelia sat down next to him, splashing her bare feet in the water. “Don’t worry, Basil, OK? Come on. Let’s do this thing, with or without them.” Suddenly, she felt a sharp, dagger-like nail on the sole of her foot. She jerked away.

“What is it?” her brother questioned.

“I just – oh!” Ophelia bent down until her face almost touched the lake surface. “I’m here,” she mumbled.

A pale hand, clutching a tiny, clementine-colored flower rose to the surface. The hand let go, allowing the flower to trail away, beneath the dock and out of sight.

Basil took a deep breath and stood. Ophelia joined him and they strode to the end of the dock, where the Lake Health Department official had just boarded his boat.

“Wait!” Basil commanded as loudly as he could. His voice quavered, but a few heads turned. “Before you go, I have something important to say.”

Stewart cut the engine and smiled broadly at the Perkins’ children. “I’m all ears.”

“My sister Ophelia and I want to tell you – well, we want to tell everybody – a fact that we recently learned.”

“Ophelia found a scale here on the beach three days ago.” He took a long, invigorating breath. “She wanted to know what fish it belonged to, so she did some research. It was not in any field guide to fish. Our parents, who are biologists working here on Sapphire Lake, didn’t recognize it either.” Basil looked around and noticed that his parents were listening!

“Two nights ago, Ophelia discovered the fish scale was missing from her room, and she went searching for it. She was drawn towards the haunted boathouse, where she discovered something else, something remarkable.

“Ophelia came upon a creature unlike any ever seen before. You may not believe me yet, but there are mermaids here in Sapphire Lake. And before I continue, I would like to introduce you to them.” Basil hoped the water was clear enough for Tangerine and her friends to hear him through it.

There was a sickening silence. Then the laughter broke out. Someone hollered, “The boy’s out of his mind!” Basil and Ophelia winced and waited. Nothing. Stewart was about to turn the boat back on when suddenly, there was a disturbance on the calm lake surface.

Ophelia knelt down to the water again, and put her mouth close to the surface. “Please,” she hissed. “We’re only trying to help.” More silence. A few people started to leave.

The mermaids popped their heads out of the water, unsmiling. Someone fainted; others gasped. “How is this possible?”

Basil proceeded. “I was with Ophelia when they told us that the bomb can injure, make ill, or even kill them – and the fish that live here. Some fish actually depend on the milfoil for shelter from larger predators. As a result of milfoil in lakes around here, especially in Vermont, there has been an explosion of largemouth bass, which is excellent for those who like to fish, including myself. The mermaids here eat milfoil; it is a crucial part of their diet. Without it, they might die. If they are given the chance to make their population larger, then the milfoil can be controlled.”

“But we do not want to be gawked at, or taken to zoos!” an indignant mermaid cried.

“They are half-human. Why would you do something so cruel to one of your own kind?” Basil finished.

There was dead silence, then, unbelievably, thunderous applause. He’d done it! Basil felt as though he were standing on a cloud. He really could make a speech, and persuade people into understanding his opinion if he put his heart to it! Now, the mermaids would be safe, hopefully for a very long time, if not forever – all because of his actions. Basil grinned from ear to ear.

Stewart considered the siblings. “You are two very brave children, I will give you that.” He sighed deeply. “But I’m afraid that I must continue. It’s my job.”

“Oh, no you won’t!” Dr. and Dr. Perkins beamed at their children. “We are the head biologists around here, and we refuse to let this event take place!” They put their arms around their children. “Thank you, Stewart, but goodbye.”

“W–what?” Stewart sputtered.

“We’ll call your boss and explain the situation to him. Thank you again, and goodbye,” the scientists stated firmly. Nearly everyone watched as Stewart exited the boat and stomped down the dock.

Basil and Ophelia were looking at the mermaids. Quietly, they slipped away. But before they left completely, Tangerine plucked two scales from her tail and handed them to the kids.

“Do what you like with them.”

“Thanks! Now I can make earrings!” Ophelia exclaimed.

Basil smiled. He’d keep his scale forever.

For Marjorie, who introduced me to Merriewold Lake – and the boathouse.