Daughter Of Atlantis Chapter 2: A Mermaid's Daughter

Listen While Reading: With Hope in Our Hearts
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It’s been a year since I was born.

I didn’t know how this happened, or why. Aside from constantly recalling that voice from my final moments before dying, I can’t think of anything else as the reason for my reincarnation. It’s clearly real—I’ve already moved past my “this is a dream!” phase and accepted that… I’m no longer in my original body.

Though I’ve been trying to figure out what I am and where I am, all I get is dizziness and exhaustion. Being a baby is tiring. I seem to still be developing, and much like in my previous life, I probably don’t remember my time as a one-year-old because I was always sleeping—like now.

My heart has ached since I was reborn, thrust into a strange, alien world. All I’ve thought about this past year is how sad my death was and how agonizing it is to know I might never see my father or mother again. It hurts so much… Throughout this year, I’ve grieved their deaths, but even now, I’m not sure I’ve gotten over it.

Maybe I never will. I loved them very much. My amazing, charismatic father, always handsomely smiling and telling me jokes… My beautiful, doll-like mother, a siren with her wonderful voice, yet the sweetest woman I’d ever met. They were the pillars of my everything… but it’s so sad that I didn’t fully realize it until I lost them.

What happened on the Titanic… it was terrible. I wish… I could’ve gone back in time instead of reincarnating. But that seemed impossible, even if I wished for it. Whoever that voice belonged to, his powers had limits. Perhaps those limits shaped this reincarnation—it was obvious he’d used most of his strength for it.

This year, I’ve constantly thought about the pendant, what my mother told me, and what she said about its blue stone. I recall my grandfather gifted it to her, calling it “The Ocean’s Heart,” given to him by a mermaid. He always claimed my grandmother—my mother’s mother—was a mermaid, a beautiful woman who swam the seas with the lower half of her body like a fish.

I never believed it, and my mother often said he spoke nonsense because he was senile… Well, he passed away before I died, and I miss him dearly too, though I’d gotten over his death over time. But now, having been reincarnated through powers that can only be called magical, I can’t help but think my grandfather… might’ve been telling the truth all along.

Was my mother… the daughter of a mermaid?

Then what did that make me? A quarter mermaid?

Well… that body is long gone. I have a new one now, and from what I can tell, I’m a healthy human baby girl. My skin is white and silky as porcelain, and my once-bald head has quickly grown long blonde hair. My skin tone comes from my new mother, while my hair matches my new father—a handsome fisherman with brown skin and long blonde hair. My mother is a gorgeous, fair-skinned woman with long… blue hair.

Yes, I think this is the first time I’ve seen naturally blue hair in my life… Well, my two lives, I guess? It was shocking at first, but after a year, I’ve grown used to her beauty.

And well… yeah, I’ve got two new parents. They’re lovely and caring, so I really couldn’t ask for more. In a single year, I’ve done nothing but sleep, poop, pee myself, and drink milk from my mother’s breasts. Though it’s been a humbling and embarrassing life… it’s strangely soothing and has given me plenty of time to meditate and ease the sorrow I felt.

They’ve taken care of me for so long now that I can’t help but feel attached to them. They’re vital to my survival too, so I can’t say I hate them when they’ve done everything to protect and love me. Though my heart still cherishes my previous parents… I guess this new life isn’t so bad with such loving parents by my side.

Their love and comfort have slowly healed my heart. Each morning, I hear them wake up. My mother cooks a small breakfast for my father—mostly grilled fish, bread, milk, and coffee—and after a kiss, he heads to the beach to fish. It’s his main job and provides ninety percent of our food and likely our income too.

Yeah… unlike the charismatic businessman my previous father was, this life is humble. My father, as handsome as he is, is a simple fisherman… Sigh, well, at least we’re commoners—it’d be worse if I were a serf or something! And… though I’d dreamed of being reborn as a noble girl like in the stories I loved about capricious ladies or princesses, being a fisherman’s daughter isn’t so bad when he spoils me daily, even if he always reeks of fish and seawater!

My mother doesn’t slack off either. She spends most of the day inside the house or in the front or backyard, though she’s never taken me outside because of the strong, chilly sea wind. I’d catch pneumonia if exposed too long, and she knows it, so she keeps me safe indoors.

Of course, she works too. Apparently, we have a few sheep outside. She shears their wool and makes clothes to ward off the cold, which my father sells in the village. From what I’ve gathered—though I haven’t seen it with my own eyes—we live in a medium-sized village by a famous port. I peek at big ships arriving from the sea through the window, sparking an adventurous spirit in me, even though I can’t even walk yet.

And well, as if it weren’t obvious, there’s no TV or radio, and everything feels rural. If this is a port village, you’d expect electricity, but there’s none. The ships are wooden with steel reinforcements, not fully steel… This can only mean one thing. Yes, this world isn’t Earth—it’s some sort of medieval-era world or something… Hm, maybe like the fantasy tales my male friends loved about knights and dragons, though I haven’t seen anything supernatural yet… Of course, reincarnation itself is supernatural enough, so magic and gods—singular or plural—are entirely plausible now.

Actually, scratch that. I thought it’d take a while to see magic, but that changed tonight. As my father returned from fishing and my mother prepared dinner, I caught her doing something.

“Father Poseidon, I plead for your blessing…”

FLASH!

With a simple incantation, my mother summoned a large sphere of clean, crystalline water and poured it into a bucket. I’d… never seen this until today! Has she been doing it elsewhere all this time? Wait! Is this how we get freshwater?! That was definitely magic!

W-Wait! If my mother can use magic… then can I?!

“Hah~ With this, we’ll have enough water for the next few days,” my mother said with a smile, despite my father’s concerned look.

“Charybdis, are you alright? You shouldn’t be doing this,” my father sighed. “Asking too much from the mermaids’ blessing might…!”

“Hector, calm down. It’s fine—I have more than enough Mana to conjure a few water balls without them noticing,” my mother sighed. “We’ve lived here undetected for years… As long as we keep a low profile, we can raise little Arielle peacefully. Using my blessings to ease our daily lives is nothing to worry about.”

“Sigh…” My father glanced at me. I quickly pretended not to be staring in silent amazement at my mother’s magic. “It was hard to escape them… If we want true safety, we should go to the Island Country of Spring Oasis. They have mermaids there too, and other demi-humans… But the trip would be expensive…”

“We earn a little each day—it’s enough with patience, my beloved,” my mother said charmingly. “As long as we have each other… we’ll get through it.”

“You’re always so inspiring with your voice… But haven’t you felt unwell? Are you okay not swimming sometimes?” my father asked. “Now that it’s night…”

“The port’s guarded by dogs, and the cliffs are too dangerous, so I haven’t had the chance… But I’m fine. Thanks to my Blessing, I can stay on land as long as the sea’s nearby,” my mother replied.

What the… what are they talking about?! My mother’s a mermaid?! And they’re being chased by some mysterious group! There are other races too, and… my mother’s part of a discriminated group?! Wait! Am I really a half-mermaid then? Ahh, this is too much to take in…

Okay, I need to process this for a while…

“I guess…” My father sighed, looking at my mother and giving her a kiss. “As long as you’re alright, I am too.”

“Fufu, you don’t have to act so gallant anymore—loosen up a bit now that we have a girl, alright? I want to see more of your carefree side,” my mother teased with enamored eyes.

“T-That’s hard… You give off such a strong aura, I can’t help myself…” my father said, scratching his head.

My god, they’re such lovebirds. It reminds me of the romance stories I’ve read. My old parents weren’t nearly as cute as my new ones… Maybe these romantic fantasy tales can come true in this world. If I can develop magic like my mother, I want to protect her and my father… I don’t want… my parents to die so suddenly again, without me able to do anything.

Back then, I felt so useless, so terrible… like nothing I did would ever matter. In a harsh world like Earth, I guess that’s just reality. But in this world with magic… where there are more possibilities beyond my body’s limits… I think I can make a difference.

“Wawaaahhh!”

I cried out without realizing it, pumped up to do my best and learn magic.

“A-Arielle! Are you alright, dear?”

“Is she okay?!”

My parents rushed to my side, looking concerned… Ah, sorry about that.

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