Читать книгу In Deep Waters - Melissa Mcclone - Страница 8

“Please tell me about Atlantis, Daddy.”

Jason Waterton covered nine-year-old Kayla with a quilt and tucked in the edges. “What about the leprechauns?”

“Tomorrow. I want to hear about Atlantis tonight.”

Her eyes, the same gray-green of her mother’s, sparkled like the ocean at sunrise. Each year, Kayla’s resemblance to her mother grew. Same eyes, same smile, same golden mane of hair. A heavy weight bore down on him, reminding him of all they’d left behind. How he missed—

“It’s my favorite, but Heidi Baxter said Atlantis and mermaids don’t exist.” Lines formed on Kayla’s forehead. “They’re real, aren’t they, Daddy?”

The hopeful tone in her voice tugged at Jason’s heart. She was such a dreamer. A dreamer with a pure heart. Her classmates sometimes teased her about her belief in the whimsical, but he hoped she never changed. “If you believe they’re real, they will be, love.”

With a satisfied smile on her face, she snuggled against her pillow. “I believe.”

“You must always believe.” Jason kissed her forehead. The intensity of his love for her never ceased to amaze him. He couldn’t imagine life without Kayla.

“I will.” She smiled. “Can I hear about Atlantis now?”

He always gave her what she wanted. He only wished he could give her more. Jason sat on the edge of her twin bed. “A long time ago in a sea far, far away, a magical island called Atlantis existed. The people of Atlantis knew no hardship. The land provided unlimited food and natural resources. Science rid society of all diseases and invented technology to simplify life. It was a perfect existence.

“Until one day, smoke and ash spewed from a mountain in the center of the island. Lava flowed. The smell of sulfur made it difficult to breathe. The island fought bravely against the pressure of the volcano and the movement of the earth, but in the end lost the battle. Atlantis sank to the bottom of the ocean.”

Kayla shivered. “That must have been so scary.”

Jason held her small hand. “But Atlantis had been good to the sea, taking only what it needed and never any more. So the sea allowed a large dome of earth to cover the island and provide a pocket of air for the people to breathe. Scientists helped the people adapt to their new underwater home.”

“The people became mermaids.”

He nodded. “Over time, the people of Atlantis evolved into ‘mer.’ They could live in the sea with gills and a tail, or out of the sea with lungs and legs, but most preferred the freedom of the water.” Jason closed his eyes for a moment. “To leave the confines of Atlantis behind… To be connected to the other creatures of the sea… To be surrounded by water and able to swim anywhere was…total exhilaration.”

Kayla sighed. “I wish I could be a mermaid.”

“So do I, love—” Jason kissed her cheek “—so do I.”