Merari

"Ari?" She turned with so much force that she almost had a whiplash. "Heyy.. sorry, do I know you somewhere?" She asked with a weird look on her face. "Ohh c'mon. Aren't you Ariella, the daughter of Derandi the queen of the mermaid kingdom?" She narrated. Merari was shocked beyond words but she didn't show it. "Are you from the Ashenatt?" She asked. "Nawh.. I just did my homework. I'm really into mermaids and I read everything about them. So when I saw you, I realised I'd seen you somewhere and I went back to my research. I might've taken discreet pictures of you tho..." "That's okay. It's a secret something and must not go anywhere please. And don't call me Ari, Call me Mera before everyone okay?" Merari asked. The girl smiled and nodded. She was quite cute. Shoulder length hair with round big eyes and cute dimples. "I'm Ashley by the way. Ashley Graham." She said with an outstretched arm. "Umm.. Ashley Graham, I don't do handshakes." Merari snorted a bit. "Why?" "I thought you did your homework properly." Merari smirked and walked away. She wasn't exactly a nice person. But she wasn't rude. She just didn't like to be disturbed. Her kingdom had been warring for a long time and she was able to escape, thanks to her mother. Her best friend was drowned into the sea abyss. Her betrothed was also killed. Her father had been enslaved and her mother used every of her powers to protect her and the rest of her people. The shield was strong enough to hold off the attackers but her mother was not. She then turned her shield to a blazing field just before they reached and then burned all of them. There was no time to retreat and so they were all gone. She was swimming away with the anklet her mother gave her in her hand and then turned one last look to see her people. She watched her mother collapse and then she swam to the surface. The water was her source of joy and pain. Ashley was stunned. She thought Merari was a nice person. She stared for a while and then turned to leave. When she got home, she opened her tabs and magazines and everything she used for her researches. *Typing* Why does Ariella the daughter of Derandi the queen of the mermaid kingdom never shake hands? *Results* Ariella also known as Ari, never shakes hands because she is royalty. It is forbidden to touch people below her class as her people see it as a taboo or a transfer of powers. Ashley jot the things she saw down and paste them on her result board. She was quite disappointed. She thought Merari was a humble person. Merari walked through the streets of Cincinnati without knowing where she was going. She had no friends and everyone seemed to not like her. Why? You could guess. She was very beautiful. She was in fact, the most beautiful mermaid in the sea. Perhaps that was why she was chosen. She wasn't the only child but she was the most precious child. She had 7 sisters but she was the prettiest and they all didn't like her. Especially Aletta. The prettiest and youngest of them. She was same age as Ariella and they were born together but Ariella was chosen. Aletta lived her life, plotting ways to kill Ariella. Even when they were attacked, Aletta decided to lead Ariella to be killed but Ari was lucky to escape. Aletta was captured. She wasn't going to be killed but she would become a monster. At least, that's what Ariella was taught. Ari sighed. She stopped in front of a bar. It was already evening and everywhere was getting darker. The weather was a soft one. She kept staring at the bar until she decided to walk in. She crossed the road without watching and almost got hit by a car. Just as she escaped at the last minute, a bike hit her. The force was so hard that it sent her body flying into the air. The biker didn't stop but kept on going. The driver of the car that almost hit her, came out and checked her. "Miss.. miss, are you alright?" He asked. She didn't move but he could feel her pulse. He was a medical student of the Cincinnati university and so he carried her straight to his father's clinic. "Hello, dad?" "Son." "Dad, I'm coming over. An accident happened on the way. I'll be there in 5." "Okay son." He ended the call and turned back to look at the girl. In no time, they arrived the hospital. His dad specifically arranged for the treatment. Turned out to be her left arm was dislocated and two ribs were broken. "I guess the bike hit her from the left side." His dad said. "Yeah. She was crossing the road without looking and almost bumped into my vehicle. In bid to avoid mine, she went in the line of the bike guy." Justin explained. His dad nodded as if he already knew what had happened. "This is weird." He muttered. "What dad?" Justin asked a bit scared. "The manner in which her ribs broke, it should've ruptured something. But it's like her ribs are soft. Or her organs are strong. She seems to be healing on her own." He stated. "On her own? I don't understand dad." Justin said. "Here, come look." Justin peeked into the x-ray machine and saw her rib join back together. "Maybe we should take her home and observe her instead?" Justin offered. "Nice idea son." Dr. Jeremy said Justin drove her back to his house where he was headed before the accident. On getting there, he could see clearly that the wounds on her body had healed. She then took a deep breathe and fell into slumber. Justin carried her bridal style into his house and into one of the guest rooms. He watched her for a while. She was very beautiful. Her face was angular and her skin was almost golden and looked like it was very soft and fragile. Her hair was still packed up in a messy bun. It was different colored. The roots were almost grey and it kept getting white as it moved to the tip. Her lips were red, bloodshot red and very full. Her lashes were almost an inch long and were dark and very full. Her brows were already shaped and thin too. She was slim but shapeful. He sighed and walked away. Justin walked into his study and busied himself with work and stuff when he heard a soft knock on his door. He checked his wristwatch. It was almost midnight. That's 2 hours since he left the stranger girl. He waited for another knock. After a little while, he heard the knock a bit louder. He stood up and opened the door. Mera woke up and found herself in a strange place. It was a room definitely. Not the way it was underwater but it was very nice. The walls were white and so were the furniture. The bed covers were also white. She stood up from the bed. What was she doing here anyway?' she thought. She used her instincts to find the other person she was sensing in the house. She stopped in front of a wooden door. She observed the door and it's design for a long while before she knocked lightly. She could hear his thoughts through the door so, she knocked again. He stood up and opened the doors and her mouth fell open. Well, he was a beauty to behold. His sharp jawline was something else. His reddish orange lips were inviting. What? She quickly pulled myself together. "Umm.. hi?" She said lowly. "Hey. How are you feeling?" He asked with so much concern. "Umm.. I mean, I'm fine. I'm okay. Why? I mean thanks but, why?" He chuckled. "I can see you're doing well. You had an accident and passed out." He explained. Mera started to panick. "Umm.. did you er take me to a hospital?" She asked. "Yeah. Why?" "Oh jeez." She muttered. "Did the doctor say I broke anything?" "Yeah. Again, why?" "s**t! Which bones did I break?" "You dislocated your left arm and two of your ribs broke." He said. "You healed pretty fast too. Dad said I could bring you here so it won't arise the suspicion of the other hospital workers and stuff. Soo.. do you take anything that enables you heal fast?" Think Aridialle.. think!' she scolded herself mentally. "Uhh.. where I come from, when a baby is born, the queen gives the baby some special kind of liquid stuff.. it makes the baby special sort of. So the child can heal faster than regular humans so .. I guess." She said. It wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't the complete truth. "Ohh.. that's swell." He smiled. "Oh, my bad. Let's go to the kitchen so I could get you some chilled water and maybe order some pizza if you're hungry." He said as his hands ruffled his hair for the umpteenth time. "Yeah? That's good. I'm soooooooo starved!" She groaned. He led her down to the kitchen and fetched her a chilled bottle water. Mera gulped the whole thing down and threw the bottle at him. He threw her another one which she caught in midair and finished it again. "Wow. Are you that thirsty or do you just drink water this much?" He asked. Mera looked down shyly. How would she tell him it was her way of recharging? "Well.. when I pass out due to extreme pain, taking lots of water helps me get stronger." She said. "Really? Well there's this jar of jam I've been trying to open for 2 days now. Perhaps you could open it?" He said. "Sure, toss me." She smiled. He stared for a while before tossing her the jar. She caught it and opened it with a swift move. It wasn't even tight at all. Well, that's because mermaids are usually stronger than regular humans. "Wow! That's swell!" He said happily. He quickly brought out two spoons and handed me one. "Dig in bruv." He said and started eating the jam happily. Mera joined him even though she didn't know what it was. The label read *Apricot Jam*. She ate it and boy was it the sweetest thing she'd ever tasted. Justin noticed she was hungrier and left it for her. She ate the whole thing without realizing until it was finished. "I'm sorry.. I've not eaten anything for a month." She said with her head down. "What the f**k??!" He screamed. "A whole month? Dude! How..?" "I took a lot of water so.. it helps." Mera shrugged like it's a normal thing to see people who hadn't eaten for that long. "s**t! I don't exactly know how to cook but I could to fix up something real quick for you. Would you like bread or noodles or pasta or chicken salad?" He asked "How about all?" She smiled. ?1 hour later? Justin stared at her as she ate like her life depended on it. She showed no mercy to the food. She looks prettier now than before. With her grey eyes. Everytime she licked her lips, it made him wanna touch them or taste them. He didn't even know her name. He was still watching that he didn't know when she finished eating. "Umm.. Thanks er" "Justin." He said. "Yeah. Thanks Justin." She smiled. She had dimples on both cheeks. They were too deep and really beautiful. "Anytime.. princess." He muttered. "Huh? Princess?" She asked. 'Okay, how did she even hear that?' he thought to himself. 'It's like she's some supernatural being.' "I mean..I don't know your name." He shrugged "A-" she stopped as if she remembered something. "Merari." "Merari.. unique name. It's beautiful. People call you Mera right?" "Yeah." "That's swell. I'd just call you that." "Okay. I've one request. It's like very bold but yeah.." "Ohh.. shoot!" "Can I live here? I don't have a house."