Chapter 24: So Sudden
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Adam groaned as he rolled in bed, waking up to the sound of the alarm in his iPhone. He fumbled to turn it off, before the sound was switched off. He stretched under the covers, and realized that he's alone in the bed.
"... Merrick?" He sat up and peered around, "Merrick..." He got out of bed, and pulled on some boxers, and stepped out of his room, "Merrick? Merrick, where are you?" He walked into the living room, "Merrick?"
"He's not here," Said Yuri, sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying a bowl of fruit as she looked over the pages of one of her medical books.
"What do you mean, he's gone?" Adam asked.
"Yeah. Roxas got me up around 5am as usual to give him his breakfast, and Merrick was there petting him," Yuri ate a cube of cantaloupe, before continuing, "He told me it was time to go back to his pod, and he'll be back in a little less than 6 moons - I guess that means 6 months - and I had to slide the door for him; he had no idea how to work the sliding door."
"Oh..." Adam said as he stood there. He crossed his arms and leaned on the frame of the hallway, "Would've been nice if he at least woke me up to say goodbye." He pouted.
"I guess he just really had to go. I know I have a very tight schedule sometimes, maybe he just didn't have time," Yuri stabbed a strawberry with her fork, and picked it up, "Which sucks, because I had a whole list of mythical water creatures I wanted to ask him about, whether or not they're real."
"Yeah..." Adam sighed as he turned around, "I gotta get ready for work. Thanks for telling me, Yuri..."
"No problem," Yuri said as she went back to eating and studying.
Adam sighed as he entered his room to get dressed, "Dang it Merrick, I wouldn't have mind if you woke me up..." He muttered, "... Alright..." He went to his calendar, and marked in advance - 6 months, "Miss you already, babe..."
~~~
"Hhnngghh! C'mon..." Adam growled as he pulled at the rod, "Come on..." He looked over the railing, and smiled as he saw something break the surface, "YES!!" He smiled widely as he cranked the reel firmly, pulling up his catch. "Damn, this is a heavy one!!" He gasped as he realized what he had at the end of his line, "OH SHIT! An octopus!" He said with a triumphant grin.
Suddenly, his rod bounced up, and his line got lighter, "AH NOOOO!" He yelled as he saw the large mollusk fall into the water again, "DAMMIT!" He scowled as he drew his line in, reeling in the semi mangled line, and looked at the warped hook, with a piece of it broken off, "Fuuuuck, are you kidding me???" He groaned as he snipped the line. It's his fishing break - instead of regular 15 minute breaks, like other jobs, the Fish House allows its employees to take 30 minute breaks, as long as they're using it to go fishing.
"Fuuuuck..." Adam said as he picked up a new hook. He then heard three metallic knocks on the railing, and looked. It's Herald, slouching and looking at Adam with a pitiful look on his face.
"Adaaaaaammm." He groaned.
"Well well well. I thought you weren't speaking to me." Adam said with a smile.
"Me and Belinda are fighting again," He said, "I need a mulligan again," Adam sighed as he scooted to the side, and pat his hand onto the bench.
"Alright, Herald. The Doctor is in. What's the problem?" He said. Herald dragged his feet over to him, and plopped down.
"Well, first I got her these really neat earrings, but she rose this stake about her taste in jewelry. So I said, 'Well, it's gotta be better than wearing hooks and lures all the time'. And then she's like, 'You no like my style?? Adam gave me these!'. And then I tried to change the subject by offering to take a walk with her by the beach, but then she downright refused. And then I brought up that she never trusts me, and I don't even know where she lives, and yaddah yaddah yaddah," He turned and whimpered, "Help me?"
Adam chuckled, and cast his line again, "Not much for me to say this time, Herald. Everyone knows you don't question a woman's style."
Herald sighed, and leaned forward, "If it was just the earrings, I think I could handle this, but..." He groaned as he looked at the wood planks of the dock, "I don't know. We've been dating for about 4 years now, and it seems like half the time, we're fighting. I feel like I can't understand her. I try to be romantic and shit, but every time I do, she shuts me out. Honestly, I feel like she's hiding something from me. I tried say that to her, but every time I do, she gets nuts and denies it, and storms off..." He groaned as he took of his Fish House cap, and dug his fingers into his hair, "I think about breaking up with her, but I hate that thought... It drives me crazy... But... I don't want a relationship where we're always fighting..."
After a short pause, Adam let out a long sight before reeling in an empty line, "Ok, Herald, I think it's time I told you about Belinda."
"Huh?" Herald turned his head, "What do you mean?" Adam turned around to face away from the railing, and leaned forward.
"Ok, what I'm about to tell you MIGHT be hard for you to accept. Just take it easy, and maybe it'll make sense once I explain it to you. And whatever you do, do NOT - repeat, do NOT tell her I told you. She'll kill me if she ever finds out I said this - and with her, that's a distinct possibility."
"... Ok... What is it, Adam?" He asked, leaning closer to Adam. Adam turned his head either side, and made sure no one is near by, before continuing.
"Belinda... Is a mermaid." He said. His stomach feels as heavy and uncomfortable as the day he came out.
"..." Herald blinked, and frowned as he shook his head, "I'm not playing Adam, she and I have problems."
"I'm serious, Herald. She is a mermaid."
"You know what, Adam? Forget it," Herald got up from the bench, "You know, I tell you my problems, and then you have to be an ass about it! Just, fuck you-"
"NO! I mean it!" Adam said as he yanked Herald back onto the bench, "She's a mermaid!"
"Adam, stop fucking with me!" Herald said.
"I'm not! L-Look, think about it, you don't know where she lives, right? Doesn't have a cellphone, email, and she's always at the dock. When I first got hired to the Fish House, you said you two broke up because she didn't want to go to your parents' pool party, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And you just said you two had a fight because she didn't want to walk on the beach with you, right?"
"... Yeah..."
"And you two fought when she didn't want to cuddle in the jacuzzi, or when she refused to have a romantic bath or shower with you, she won't go ANYWHERE with you if it involves water, why??"
"... Because..." Herald hesitated, "She's hydrophobic?
"No! She's a mermaid! See, when merfolk go on land, and dry up, they LOOK like humans. They literally transform from sea-creatures into human-shape when they dry up. BUT," He held out his hands, "The moment any drop of water touches them, their flesh transforms again to their real bodies - not their WHOLE bodies, mind you, just the part of them that gets wet. Remember all those times someone broke into the Fish Hut? And the only clue we ever found were falsies?"
"Wait, that was her??"
"Yes, she was the one who was stealing cans from the Hut..." Adam turned to face him, "Belinda left her pod - that's her family, other merfolk - because she found humans too fascinating to leave behind. That's why she wears hooks and tackle like jewelry; you know how you two always meet below the docks, in front of the rocks? THAT'S where she lives, that's where she keeps things she takes from around the pier." After a pause, Adam tried a different approach, "Look, if you still don't believe me, lemme guess how you guys met.
"It was at night, correct? And there was a Lunar Eclipse. You were out here at the pier, doing whatever, and then you just saw her. Out of anyone else that happened to be there, you saw HER face, and you felt an instant connection," Adam said, while Herald looked at him with bewilderment, "And all the while, she was glowing, wasn't she? She was glowing pink and purple, right?" Herald slowly nodded, "And you didn't know it, but you were glowing too. Since then, you can't stand the thought of dating anyone else, or being with some other girl besides her.
"That, Herald, is how merfolk meet their mates. During the night of a Lunar Eclipse, they gather around, and swim around with each other, trying to find love at first site - and it works too, just like that. And every once in a while, a mermaid or a merman see a human, and fall in love with them."
"... How do you know all of this, Adam??" Herald said, looking intimidated and dumbfounded at the same time.
"Well... Because my boyfriend is a merman," Adam said, "We met about 5 years ago, and I never knew I was bonded to him until he told me a few days ago." He said solemnly.
"..." Herald sighed, and shook his head, "Why wouldn't she tell me? Why would she tell you and not me? If we're bonded, shouldn't she trust me with this information?"
"Actually, she didn't. When I first started working for Captain, I found her out on my own, and she almost killed me because... Well... Merfolk believe all kinds of crazy, horrible stuff about humans. We became friends, and I helped protect her and keep her secret; if anyone else found out merfolk actually exist, there'd be a huge uproar. I wouldn't want ANY merperson to experience that.
"My boyfriend said he didn't tell me about the Lunar Eclipse thing because he didn't think I would understand, or I would try to break up with him if I find out. You see, love is a very precious and permanent thing for merfolk than it is for humans. Once we're bonded, it's for life. We can't fall in love with anyone else, and vice versa, no one can get a crush on us. So even if you and Belinda were to break up, even if you were to break her heart, or if she crushed your soul, you two will never stop loving each other. You can't ever find love with any other woman, and she can't find any other man to love."
Herald starred at Adam, "Wh-What're you saying, Adam? Are you telling me she's part fish?"
"No, she's part sea snake," He said, "When she's soaked, she's a large, white and peach colored snake mermaid, kinda like a Naga."
"I... I like snakes..." Herald said. Adam chuckled, "After my boa died, I wondered why it was easier to deal with after I met her." Herald stood up, "I-I gotta find her, this changes everything! I need to find her and tell her I know!"
"Great, go after her. WAIT!" Adam called out, just as Herald turned to leave, "Remember! you didn't hear this from me!"
Adam set the hook onto one of the rings of the rod, and started making his way towards the Fish House.
