Merari

Not a normal human.

"What!?" He almost yelled.

"I.. I'm sorry I'll just leave." She stuttered and practically ran out of the kitchen.

"Hey.. heyyyy.. hey come back!" He ran after her. "Hey the door is lo-" he stopped talking. The door was still bolted but he could see her run out of the gate. Even the gates were still locked but she ran right past through.

"What is she?" He whispered to himself.

"Merari.. I have to find you. I just have to find her!" He picked his phone and keys and ran out.

"Hey bro, did you see a girl run out of here?" He asked.

The man just pointed to the direction she ran. It wasn't where he could drive through so he alighted his car and ran that direction.

She was in front of a river. He stood behind, watching her. She did nothing but stare for a whole lot of time. Then He saw her shoulder shake and that's when he noticed she must've been sobbing.

"Are you okay mommy?" She voiced. Her voice was so melodious. She knelt down on the sand and crawled to the water.

"This water mommy, it used to be my favorite thing in the world. But now, it swallowed you up and I don't have hope of seeing you again. Why did you let me be spit out? Nobody likes me here. No one. I just want to come back home and love the water again!" She sobbed.

Justin felt broken just by seeing her there. How could life be this cruel. How would he tell her that his own mother was also swallowed by the river?

She stood up and pulled off her anklet. Then she dived into the water and he didn't see her again.

For another two minutes, she didn't surface and neither did he see a glimpse of her swimming self. He didn't even see the water show any signs of life in it. He started to panick.

Justin could only see himself running towards the river, kneeling down and peeking through it. The water was over 25 feet deep and he just couldn't make out her image from beneath. He started calling out frantically.

Mera sat herself on a rock under the water. She watched her hair float all around her. Her silvery blue tail which glimmered under the soft moon light which reflected under the water. There was peace and calm as she sat there. She was sure she didn't need a place to stay anymore. Not after how she'd been treated. She thought Justin was a nice boy but, she was so wrong. Again. She sighed under the water.

That was when she heard her name.

"Meraaaaa! Mera please! Answer me! Damn! f**k! Where are you?" The desperation of the voice was what alerted her. She thought she'd heard the voice before. Who could be so worried about me?' she thought.

She stood in the river and swam her way to the top, allowing only her head to be seen. Immediately her gaze fell on the lone figure at the river bank, her eyes widened in shock. He followed her? Did he hear everything she said? Oh no! How could she be this careless.

While she was mentally scolding herself, Justin dived into the water. Her eyes widened the more and before he could swim close to her, she put on her anklet, feeling her tail turn back into feet. Justin swam over to her and hugged her. Only to find her naked. His eyes widened and he quickly turned his back while his ears burned hot and red. Her face also turned scarlet.

"Where are your clothes Mera?" He asked somewhat sternly but Mera could hear the underlying embarrassment lacing his tone.

"I took them off because they were torn." She lied smoothly.

Justin pulled off his t-shirt and handed her. Wearing it, she was able to look a bit decent because the shirt stopped a little below mid thigh. Justin mentally praised himself for wearing his oversized pj's today.

Without a single word, he lifted her in his arms, princess style and walked out of there till they reached his car. Mera didn't put up a fight. She was still surprised and a bit bothered as to why he would follow her and panic because he didn't see her.

After settling in the car and fixing their seatbelts, Justin finally spoke up.

"Mera." He started. She turned to him with her big round eyes which were glistening under the moonlight. Justin found himself being hypnotized by the look in her eyes. And for a moment, he forgot what he wanted to say.

"Do you know how dangerous what you did was? How could you take off your clothes under the water and stay there for so long. Do you want to die? Even if you held your breathe long enough or came up just in time, do you know you could catch a terrible cold?" He questioned. Mera couldn't understand what he was so pained about. It wasn't like she could drown or die. That couldn't happen. But, how would she dare explain that to a mere mortal?

"I'm sorry Justin. I was in deep emotional pain and most times, the water soothes my pain. For every breathe I take underwater, it feels like the pain goes into the water. That water, is the source of my strength, pain and joy. I couldn't help it." She explained, looking deeply into his soul like she could read him.

"Wait, did you say every breathe you take underwater?" He asked and Mera realized what she had said.

Her eyes widened again.

"I - I meant to say that every breathe I take while I'm in the water. Not necessarily underwater." She laughed nervously. "What normal human can breathe underwater?" She asked.

"Exactly Mera. No normal human could breathe underwater. But, you aren't a normal human. I don't think so." He said and the started the car, without waiting for her response.