Archive of Our Own

I jump when Mags swims in. I know she’s mad by the way she enters the room so abruptly.

“You went to the surface again!”

She’s pretty straightforward, so I guess there’s no denying it. I look down at the floor, avoiding her narrowed brown eyes. I raise my shoulders lazily as an answer and I can almost feel her anger double.

“Finnick! I told you about a thousand times that it is way too dangerous! ”

She groans, her grey hair floating vividly around her as she moves towards me. She sighs, when she sits next to me, her body sinking slowly until her bottom encounters the mattress.

“I know you’re desperately curious about their world, but humans are cruel. They’re dangerous and deadly. I don’t want to lose my son to them.”

I roll my eyes, the scolding getting a bit repetitive when done for the millionth time. Nonetheless, I listen to her retell horrific stories of mermaids and mermen getting caught in human nets, murdered and cut to pieces to be sold, or worse, taken away and locked in what they call aquariums. Used as beasts for entertainment. It hasn’t happened in a while now, not since Mags became the leader of our colony. Sadly for her, she was doomed with me as her only son. Adopted by her and her husband when I was 3, I’ve been obsessed with the surface since the second I set my eyes on it. I’ve been watching humans from far away, and they’re nothing like the tales used to frighten me. I see them dance on the beach, play with their little kids, laugh and lay for hours under the sun. I’ve never ever seen the monsters the stories depict.

But Mags insists they’re dangerous beings, and I am to never approach them, much less talk to one. She cups my face with her hands, her face’s wrinkles deepened by worry.

“I love you, Finnick. I need you to be safe. And I’ll do anything for it. Even if I have to lock you up in this goddamn room forever, I swear by Poseidon I will.”

She threatens, which makes me chuckle because she could never. She’d feel too guilty eventually and she would let me out. I comply, apologize, tell her I won’t do it again, and I keep going until she’s out of the room. Then, I swim back to my bed and pull the weird little object I picked up this morning. It’s definitely human. The only thing I like more than watching humans perform their silly human activities is collecting their lost objects. I have no idea what purpose my new prize serves though. It’s weirdly shaped, like it was made for a long hand. The material is also bizarre, slightly floppy yet still strong enough not to bend completely. It’s very flat, with a sort of solid seaweed sewed to it. I put it on my hand, and the alga looking thing separates my thumb from my other fingers. Now that I look at it closely, I suppose it wasn’t meant for hands. I try to fit it on my tail but it’s uncomfortable, so I take it back into my hands. I frown, twisting it in all possible ways. I like the colour; it looks like those pretty corals we have near our home. It’s a dark orange, sort of like the sky at the end of a sunset. I tilt my head slightly and try to chew on it. The taste is horrific and so I cough, a strange disgusting feeling on my tongue. Either humans have the worst food I could imagine, or this is not eatable. I get frustrated about ten minutes later because I cannot figure out what this thing is for. I hide it underneath my bed and swim out of the room.

I join my friends in the coral field we usually meet at. Since Peeta developed a fat crush on Katniss and told me, something like 5 moons ago, our meetups have been a tad awkward. He usually gives her stupidly huge hints and they fly right above her head. I can’t believe Katniss is that oblivious. Peeta seems to think so though. But the more he flirts, the less I believe it. How stupid could she be? Not to mention that if his words aren’t clear enough, his eyes scream it whenever they’re set on her face. When I arrive, my jaw drops lightly at the sight of their interweaved fingers. I cock an eyebrow, and Katniss blushes.

“Kat and I are dating!”

Peeta announces excitingly. I swear his smile is so big it covers his entire face. I chuckle, rolling my eyes at them.

“It was about time.”

Now both their faces have reddened, and I earn a hit in the ribs by the girl. She’s a very socially distant person, Katniss. She dislikes big crowds and doesn’t like attention either. She does however like to speak her mind and that brought her to Mags’s attention. She told me she wants to train her to be the next leader. Of course, our merpeople will choose. But often the head of our tribe will pick someone to train. Doesn’t make it official that they’ll lead once the current leader retires or dies, but usually, they do. I like Katniss despite her cold personality. Deep down, she’s very kind and caring. I couldn’t agree more with my mother’s choice. Not to mention that Katniss is the only person to have gone to the surface apart from Mags. She was caught as a kid with her sister in a fisherman’s net. They were taken away for a while, until their father decided to go after them despite Mags’s warnings. He did save them, but it cost him his life. Which is why I rarely talk about my wish to meet humans around her. Her hatred for them is so deep I think she wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if they ever approached our territory.

“We saw Mags. She looked really mad, what’d you do Finnick?”

Katniss questions, her grey eyes narrowed so tightly they look like a line. A very menacing angry line. Sometimes she really appears as terrifying. And I’m like, twice her size, so I have no reason to be afraid. I sigh and grab a coral, breaking apart so I can play with it by twirling it in my hands. Occupying my fingers makes it easier to think.

“I… I got too close to the beach again and got to the surface.”

Their eyes widen, Peeta’s filled with worry, Katniss’s filled with rage. This isn’t going to go well. I see Katniss’s mouth open, but I cut her off before she can scold me.

“I know I know, it’s too dangerous, mermaids die because of humans, blablabla, you’re irresponsible and stupid.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it, but stupid is an understatement.”

She replies angrily. Her hand holding Peeta seems to tighten its grip because the poor boy is gritting his teeth in pain. His lips curve into a small calming smile.

“Well, they’re both right, Finnick. One day you’ll get caught. You’ve just been lucky so far. You have to stop with that obsession.”

He explains gently. But he doesn’t understand. None of them do. I’m tired of roaming the same ocean on repeat, swimming past the same sunken ships, with the same fish, eating the same algae. I want to discover the world. And by that, I mean the surface. I see their constructions from far away. Their homes, the strange tower with a tiny sun on top of it. The music they sing and the dances they perform. It’s all unique and I want to experience it. I love our tribe and its traditions. But I’m tired of it. I want to be free, free to wander on those sand beaches, free to see the sunset from above water. None of us bring the subject back up. We chat about Katniss’s apprenticeship with Mags, about Peeta’s new dish he’s created with his dad. We always end up talking about the same things and it drives me insane. I want to escape this boring routine. But I'm stuck like a fish stabbed by a trident.

On our way to dinner, which the whole tribe shares once every two weeks, I spot a shiny object half buried in the sand a few feet away from me. I glance at Peeta and Katniss but neither of them notice, swimming hand in hand. I stop and motion towards the thing. It’s metallic and golden. There’s also a sort of tiny glass, beneath which there are lines and numbers. I frown, shaking it, expecting the lines to move. But they don’t. I look up, only to see another one further away. I grab it and find that there’s a trail of golden objects. It’s almost as if someone threw them while swimming. I take them all, amazed by the way they shine. When I finally turn back, I realise how far I’ve gone. I can’t see any key parts of our territory anymore. I swim back but everything looks the same now. Sand and water are all there is. I decide to swim up, reaching for the surface. It’s always strangely tickly to breathe out of water. It’s as if I have bubbles in my lungs.

I look around and notice the beach easily, yet quite distant. I’ve gone really really far. I sigh, already exhausted just thinking of how I’ll get lectured for wandering away and being late to dinner. I begin to move but a horribly loud noise makes my ears ring. I plunge immediately out of fear and a second later something gets stuck around my body. I attempt to struggle my way out, but I’m locked into what I now realise to be a net. Panic takes over me and all the terrific tales pop in my mind, from the amputated tails to the imprisoned mermaids. I put both my hands in the small holes of the net and pull to rip it apart but it’s too strong. I chew on it, bite it, pull it, nothing will do. The net is taking me to the beach where I’ll get murdered by humans, just like I’ve been warned thousands of times before. I scream for help but I’m so far from home, the yelp dies out without anyone ever hearing it. I curl up in my cage, tail against my chest, waiting for my final moment to come. I’m paralyzed by terror.

Then everything stops at once. I’m not being dragged anymore. I frown, wondering why they wouldn’t go back to the shore. Humans don’t live on the sea. My body is abruptly brought up, and then I’m out of the water. I’m floating several feet above the surface, my entire body shaking both of cold and of utter fear.

“Fucking hell what is that!”

A low voice shouts. I see them now, the men on their boat. They’re staring up at me, visibly confused. One of them touches a rope and I’m thrown to the floor violently. A pained cry escapes my lips as my body collapses roughly on the boat. I glare at the human standing in front of me, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with what I distinguish to be disgust.

“That’s a monster!”

He declares, his friends all gasping. I curl up into a ball, because I’m no monster. They don’t understand no, no, no, I’m not a monster. I love their species, I want to know more about them, discover their world and habits. My heart is beating ridiculously fast, which makes me sick. I want to retort something, to explain myself, but terror is choking me.

“Well kill it.”

One of them suggests. That’s what it takes for my limbs to function again. I realise then and there that if I don’t do anything they will indeed kill me. My first reaction isn’t one I was hoping for though. I bite deeply into the man’s forearm as he’d approached it to hold my chin, sinking my teeth in his flesh. He screams and the taste of blood makes me sicker. My stomach has sunken down, down, down into my tail. I crawl to the end of the boat, but something pierces through my skin, and I yawp desperately. Pain overwhelms my senses and tears blur my vision. I rotate my head to see a huge blade planted in my tail. Blood flows out of the wound and it makes my head spin, spin, spin. I gasp for air, while trying to take the blade out of me. It hurts so badly I want to sob. I believe adrenaline is keeping me from breaking down, and I don’t want to waste it. I finally free myself of the weapon and blood splatters out. I want to throw up but again, adrenaline protects me, keeps me insanely focused on survival. My heart is racing so badly it might carve a path out of my chest. I drag my body until I fall onto water. They throw another blade at me, which cuts my left arm and I let myself sink as deep as possible. But we’re not so far from the beach anymore and the ocean is not as deep as it is where I live. I’m so utterly afraid they can see me that I force myself to swim further away. Everything hurts, my wounds burn with the salty water, but I couldn’t care less. My survival instinct took over, driving me far from these men. I hate them, hate them, hate them. I should have believed Mags and Katniss and Peeta, I’m such an idiot. I end up bumping head first into a rock and the world fades to darkness.

My eyes flutter open and I’m immediately shaken by panic. I gasp, oxygen hardly getting to my lungs. Takes
me a while to comprehend where I’ve landed. I suppose after I lost consciousness the tides pulled and pushed my body until it couldn’t anymore. Which is why I’m on a tiny beach, my torso out of water, my tail submerged. I groan in pain remembering the terrifying assault I was submitted to. I have no idea for how long I was out. Could be minutes, hours or worse days. But something in the way my wounds still ache, and I hardly feel hungrier than I did when caught, tells me it’s probably been a few hours only. I clench my jaw when my fingertips brush against he cut on my arm. It’s still bleeding, red spreading on my bicep slowly. I make a face, disgusted by the sight. But my tail got the worst of it. A hole was opened by the blade and blood darkens the water surrounding me. Adrenaline is long gone and I begin to sob out of pain, fear, exhaustion. I take deep breaths in, trying to calm down. Behaving emotionally isn’t going to help me get out of this mess. I need to think. But I’m not given time to do so as I hear footsteps coming towards me. I turn my head quickly, my eyes meeting with a girl’s. Her hair is the same colour as my favourite corals, the orange ones, that’s what strikes me immediately. It also makes me let my guard down, although I had decided to start acting aggressively towards humans, as a revenge, you know. Her green orbs are riveted on me but no disgust or fear shines in them. Only shock mixed with an outstanding amount of admiration. She takes a step in my direction, but I hiss at her, and she seems to snap back to reality. She drops the fishing rod she was holding, raising her hands in the air. I study her at length, confused, confused, confused. She looks kind, harmless. But These men didn’t hesitate to hurt me. Why would she?

“Are you wounded?”

She asks, her voice soft and gentle. I crawl back into the water until it reaches my neck, but I would most definitely not be strong enough to flee. Worry darkens her pale face and I consider allowing her near me. I can’t do much anyway. I’m at her mercy. She moves toward me at a slow pace, trying her best not to scare me, I guess. I relax a bit, tiredness winning over fear. She sits in front of me, dropping abruptly on the sand.

“You’re a mermaid!”

She whispers excitedly. I see the reflection of the person I was, before these men, in her eyes. She’s so eager to find out more about me just as much as I wanted to find out more about her species. I nod, allowing her to inspect my wounded arm. I whine when she touches it, and she backs off immediately.

“I can take care of you. But not here. We need to get you somewhere safe, where no one can see you.”

Her voice is high with fear, as if she was afraid someone would arrive any seconds. Perhaps it’s exactly what will happen. She reaches her hand out to me, and I hold onto it while pushing with the palm of my other hand. Together we drag me out of the water, but we can’t get far. My body is still really painful, the sand itchy and burning on my skin, blood loss making me weaker.

“What’s your name?”

She questions, holding me in her arms as we rest a little, both gasping for air. Her face is red with effort, her small body truly struggling to help me out.

“Finnick.”

I reply, my voice broken by exhaustion and sorrow. The human’s face lightens with a smile.

“It’s a pretty name! I’m Annie.”

Annie. Her name resonates in my thoughts a moment, oddly familiar yet completely new. Neither of us try to move anymore. I think pulling me through half of the beach was really challenging for the both of us. Her breath is still short from the effort and I want to cry from the suffering my sand filled wounds inflict on me.

“Why are you helping me?”

I ponder suddenly; finally strong enough to ask what has been tormenting my mind since she arrived, feeling the water on my body evaporate with the sun’s warm touch. I close my eyes, suddenly understanding why humans like laying on the beach for hours. It’s really comforting, the way the sun’s warm embrace feels on my skin, like I’m going to be ok no matter what, like cold is a very old and distant faded memory. A minute later though, my tail begins to ache terribly, and my temporary peace is shattered. I clench my teeth until I can’t anymore, letting out a loud scream. I don’t understand what’s wrong with me, but it hurts, hurts, hurts. I accept my fate, laying in Annie’s arms as excruciating pain throws me close to unconsciousness again. Then it stops. Just like the boat, it stops abruptly, all at once, without warning. I look down at my tail only to find it gone, replaced with two separate parts. My eyes widen and I raise a shaky hand to touch them. They’re soft, like the skin of my arms, nothing to do with the rough scales that cover it usually. The girl moves to see what happened, what put me through such pain, and she seems as shocked as I am. She motions her head to look into my eyes, green meets green.

“Did you know this would happen if we got you all dry?”

I shake my head, visibly confused. How could this happen? I resemble humans perfectly now. Except my newly found limbs are spotted with dry blood. On the sides on which they touch, skin has been ripped, probably the consequence of the blade in my tail.

“I’ll be right back.”

She murmurs, and it suddenly occurs to me that she looks extremely embarrassed. I frown and grab her wrist harshly. My eyes question her without me needing any words. Why would she leave now? She can’t find what to say to explain herself so she simply slides her arm out of reach and runs in the direction of a house that I hadn’t noticed yet. I can see her get inside from here. I wait patiently although as time passes, I being to dig my nails in my arm out of stress. Relief is like a medicine when she comes back, holding a strange tissue. She hands it out to me, looking away as her cheeks turn pink.

“For… your lower body. See, humans don’t do well with nudity, so I brought this for you to cover yourself up.”

I tilt my head slightly, confused. I do grab the stuff she got me. It’s soft against my fingertips. However, I have no idea how to put it on. I try it once, I get stuck, and again, until I can work it out. It sits nicely on my hips. I like it. It’s a soft green that I feel matches my eyes. I thank her and attempt to imitate her posture, pushing on my new two parts tail. I rise up only to fall down a second later.

“Your legs are weak, let me help.”

Legs. It’s what those are. Legs. I twist the word in my mind over and over and over while she holds me up. That word sound so silly. Humans are silly. We progress awfully slowly to her home as I can’t seem to get acquainted to the new doubled sensation. It’s overwhelming, to walk, to have two limbs instead of one. My “legs” are terribly shaky, not to mention how painful they are, and it takes forever to reach her house. She advices me to hold onto the wall not to fall while she opens the door. The stone is cold under my palms, and it makes me shiver. Humans are really talented at creating. No mermaid could build something like this. My hatred for men slowly fades, replaced quickly by my old admiration for them. She invites me in, and the air is fresh inside. It’s almost too cold on my torso. She brings me to a mattress that looks nothing like the bed I own. She sits me down and I giggle when my bottom sinks into the soft fabric.

“Stay on the couch, I’ll go get the first aid kit.”

I nod obediently although I have no idea what she’s talking about. While she’s gone, I look around the room. I press my hands on what she called the couch. It’s really comfortable, perhaps a bit too squishy. The room is filled with objects I have never seen. I wish I could get them in my collection. There’s a big rectangle that is all black standing on a wooden table. I wonder what it does because it looks rather useless, inanimate and massive. I glance at the shelves, noticing little wooden structures with glass under which there are colourful images. I want to take a closer look, but as soon as I get on my legs they tremble violently, and I’m forced to sit back down. To my right, just by the black block, there is a metallic, white and long thing that seems to blow air in my direction. I’m so mesmerized by its power I don’t hear her walk back into the room.

“There, let me stitch you up!”

She says, her tone filled with the same gentleness as her eyes. She sits with me, opening a white box carefully. She takes out a bunch of equipment I don’t know.

“Ok so, I suppose you’re not exactly used to doing this. This – she raises a tiny pointy object in front of my face. – is a needle. I’m going to use it, with thread, to sew your wound. Before that, I’m going to sanitize it with a spray that might make itchy.”

I nod, amazed by every little thing she shows. I’m so excited to be learning all these new human things that I forget how painful my body is for a moment. That is until she sprays a product on my flesh, and I gasp in pain. It sure is itchy, probably as much as salty water would make it. Her lips curve into a kind smile.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, is it salt water in your… bottle thing?”

I question, intrigued. She shakes her head, her tongue sticking out as she focuses on my wound to "stitch it up”.The needle pierces through my skin but it’s not as painful as I expected it to be. I mean, I’ve seen worse in the past twenty-four hours. It takes Annie two minutes to sew. She seems scared to hurt me; Every time I whine, she stops moving and looks into my eyes to apologise a thousand times. It makes me laugh because Peeta is the only person I know who would do that. Katniss could bite directly into my tail, and she’d act as if she hadn’t done anything. Mags would tell me to man up in her teasing voice. Once she’s done, she slides down off the couch, landing on the floor on her knees to inspect my legs. She frowns.

“This is really bad. The skin is ripped, and you’ve got sand in it. I want to clean you up but I’m scared wetting it will bring back your tail and it’d be harder to heal you.”

I lick my lips, trying to understand what she wants me to do about this. I mean, I never went out of the water for so long, I have no idea how this works. Will my tail come back if water touches me? It’s a good theory. However, there’s a possibility it might simply never come back. I gulp with difficulty. Exploring the world was always what I wanted, but leaving home forever was never part of my plans.

“I’m not sure I’m good enough of a nurse to help with this. My dad could probably do something about this though.”

She explains, lifting her gaze to stare into my eyes.

“But I’m not sure he’ll be as confident around a mermaid as I am. So, we should probably invent a story for why you’re hurt and see if wetting your body slightly will change you back.”

My face lights up with a beaming smile. I love making up stories. Sometimes, I make up a funny lie with Peeta and we trick Katniss into believing it. When she figures it out, she chases us through half the village. No matter how many times we do it, she always fall for the lies.

“So I have to pretend to be human? You’re going to have to teach me about all these things in your house.”

She cocks an eyebrow, tilting her hand in confusion. I point at the black cube, glancing at her.

“For instance, what’s that and what purpose does it serve?”
She looks back at the object, then at me, a few times. She probably realises how clueless I am because her face is now painted with a worried expression.

“Oh yeah there’s some work to do in that field. – she sighs. – This is a television.”

She grabs something on the table in front of us and rises to her feet to sit back down next to me. Her fingers press onto the black object she’s holding, and the television becomes very bright suddenly, noise filling the room. I sink into the couch, afraid by the life possessing the inanimate cube.

“People use cameras to film things and then they broadcast it on TV. That way, we can see the world far away through documentaries, learn what’s going on in the country with the news and even watch stories thanks to movies.”

I’m mesmerised by the TV. It’s so colourful, lively, intriguing. I can’t take my eyes off it. She chuckles next to me, which forces me to detach my gaze from the cube to focus on her.

“Can I be on TV?”

I ask excitingly, smiling from ear to ear. She pouts sadly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“I don’t think so. Unless you show the world that you’re a mermaid but then you’d be taken away and people would do all sort of stuff to you. You’d get hurt and you’d never see the ocean again.”

Her answer empties me of all my newly found joy. My smiles turn into a frown and I look down at my legs. She probably notices because she adds, a touch of apology in her tone:

“I didn’t mean to make you sad! It’s just… people are mean. And you’re awesome, so I wouldn’t want you to be harmed again, Fimmick .”

I turn my head back to look at her slowly.

“It’s Finnick. With two N’s.”

Her face turns red, and she hides behind her hands, visibly embarrassed. I can’t help but laugh. She’s adorable.
“I’m so sorry, I’m such an idiot.”

She whimpers, sounding almost devastated. I smirk, chewing on the inside of my cheeks.

“I’ll forgive you if you educate me more on your human objects.”

She peaks et me through her fingers and her lips form a sweet smile. She nods and takes my hand to help me stand up. That is also something I need to work on. I hold onto her, my legs still struggling to support my weight. We move towards the shelves I was looking at earlier. She points at one of the images with her free hand.

“This is a photograph. It’s taken by a camera, or a phone. It’s my family. – she motions her hand so her finger touches the glass, right where an older man is – That’s my dad and next to him, my mum.”

She presents her whole family, her sisters, her brother, her dogs. She explains that they’re all on trip for two days, which is the time we have to teach me how to be human. She was meant to go as well but was feeling sick this morning. We conclude that the universe really wanted us to cross paths. She shows me her kitchen, where her family cooks plenty different dishes. I play with a tiny trident until she informs me it’s actually a fork. We usually eat with our bare hands in the ocean. Annie drags me across her house, giving me lots of details about everything, how it works, what it does, how it’s called. I love it. It’s all I ever wanted, to learn all about humans. When we’re done with the lower part of her home, it’s time for the real challenge. The stairs. I hold Annie’s arm with my right hand, the handrail with my other. The ascension is painfully slow. Step after step I get used to the way the knees, as Annie called them, bend and I learn how to shift my weight on one leg or the other. We enter her room as it is the first door we encounter once we make it up the stairs. The walls are rainbow coloured; clothes tidied perfectly in the cupboard next to her small bed; teddy bears spread on the sheets. I let go of her to walk on my own, feeling more confident on my feet now. The wooden floor creaks as I move, inquiring the place. Her shelves are overfilled with books, bending under their weight. She has pictures of her family tapped to the walls, next to bigger pictures of a woman I don’t know, dressed in a shiny outfit.

“Who is that?”

I question, tilting my head to look at my new friend. Her eyes widen and her mouth opens slightly in a shocked expression. She approaches quickly, taking both my hands in her, staring into my eyes.

“Finnick, this – She point at the woman. – is my saviour.”

I raise an eyebrow in confusion, because what does she need to be saved from? Is there someone threatening her? Someone like those scary sailors who attacked me? The thought has me eyeing the room worriedly, half expecting someone to come out of the closet to injure us.

“This is Taylor Swift, Finnick. She’s a singer. Oh god of course you’ve never heard her songs. I need to introduce you to her music.”

Annie’s voice brings me back into the conversation and I blink confusedly, wondering how a singer could ever save her from anyone. I mean sure, my terrible singing has saved me from unwanted conversations with Mags and has helped me annoy Katniss to the point where she’d hit my stomach to shut me up. But apart from that…?

“Sit on my bed, I’ll put a song on.”

I obey, wandering to her bed on my wobbly legs. I sit, grabbing one of the teddies that happens to be a seahorse. I had a teddy when I was younger. It was a dolphin, probably one that humans at lost on a boat day. It was stolen by a crab on a random swimming day with Mags. I cried for hours, truly inconsolable. It took me weeks to sleep peacefully without it. A melody drags me out of my thoughts. Annie is standing in front of me, beaming. Her eyes are shining with happiness. I listen carefully to the drums and the soft guitar until the woman’s voice fades in.

“This is her song called Lover. I like it, not my favourite, but I wanted you to hear a happy one first.”

She starts dancing with her upper body only, moving her swinging her shoulders from left to right. A smile grows on my lips, nodding in rhythm with her movement. She mouths the lyrics, her lips moving fast. I rise to my feet, and I mimic what I saw a hundred times on the beach. I reach a hand out to her and she hesitates a second before she takes it. We dance slowly, Annie utterly careful because I’m not quite good with legs yet.

“Why don’t you sing? Instead of just mouthing the lyrics?”

I ask, looking into her green eyes while we rotate around the room, our hands moist with sweat.

“Oh, because my singing is horrendous. I’d just butcher the son.”

She replies, staring at her feet awkwardly. I raised my shoulders, grinning softly.

“Do you have the lyrics? I want to sing. Maybe it’ll make you feel better about yourself, because there’s no way you’re worse than me.”

She nods as she laughs lightly, her laughter filling the room, sounding as beautiful as the music. She reaches for her shorts’ pocket, finding a tiny rectangle akin the television. I tilt my head, intrigued. She must notice because she grins and explains:

“This is a phone. It’s like the TV but smaller and better. You can do many things with it, like call people who are far away and hear their voice as if they were in the room with you. You can go on the internet and find all sort of things, good and bad.”

Her fingers dance on the screen a moment and then she hands it to me. I stare at the words, until I realise, they’re the lyrics. She moves next to me, taps the screen a few times and the song restarts. My jaw drops slightly which earns me a chuckle. I hardly follow along with the woman’s pace, struggling to read on the small rectangle. I manage to catch the chorus, missing the first few words.

“You’re my my my myyyyyy lover!”

I sing, my voice high. It breaks on the last lyric and Annie covers her ears as she bursts out laughing. I keep going, acting as if I had done this my whole life.

“Forever and ever, And aah take me out and take me home!!”

She tries to steal the phone from me, but I motion so it’s out of her reach. I’m screaming the song at the top of my lungs now.

“At every table, I’ll save you a seat, LOVEEEER!!!”

She hugs my back to try and grab her phone, her fingers brushing against the screen, but I have the time to finish singing the song, butchering it completely, as she said. Another one starts almost immediately but I comply and give her the black rectangle back. We both giggle and we lay down on her bed, exhausted by this performance.

“You were right, you’re much worse than I am.”

She agrees, her stomach shaken by silent laughters. I smile satisfyingly.

“Told you.”

She sighs and her laugh fades into a shy smile. We stare at each other a while, contemplating the green of our eyes.

“Do your legs still hurt? We should really clean them up, even if it turns them back into a tail.”

I sit up and look down at my skin. The part that was cut by the blade is still red and it burns painfully. She takes me to the bathroom and sits me down on the side of the bathtub. She gets in and turns the water on, altering the temperature until it is right; The liquid’s cold touch makes me gasp as soon as it encounters my skin. I clench my teeth, feeling the transformation coming. A minute later, my blue tail is back. She washes it delicately, running her fingers on the scales around the wound. She’s careful but sometimes the pain is too much, and I let out a small cry. It usually makes her jump lightly, removing her hands from me as soon as she hears. I try to reassure her that I’m fine, but she insists that she hates harming me, which warms my heart. I wasn’t crazy. Some humans are genuinely goodhearted. I dry myself while she looks for more clothes in her father’s drawers. I’m almost starting to get used to the feeling of the transformation. My heart swells with pride when I manage to join her in the room without shaking too much. She lets me borrow a red shirt with palm trees drown on it, as well as a longer pair of shorts, black this time. When she notices me taking off the one she originally gave me she shakes her head in panic, her cheeks turning pink.

“No no! Those are boxers, they’re underwear. You put them on and then you put something else over them. – She hands me the shorts. – This.”

I do as I’m told, because I can tell it makes her uncomfortable to be around me without those on. I dress up quickly and glance at myself in her parents’ mirror. A smile creeps up on my lips and I can’t stop it. I look so human.

We go back downstairs and sit on the couch, inventing a story that could explain my injuries. She starts by advising we shorten my name to Finn because it sounds more human. Annie goes on about how I can tell her family that I’m a sailor who got lost at sea and was wounded during a thunderstorm and I had no one to call so she helped me out. I’m not very kin to the whole sailor story but I accept it, as it’s the one that makes the most sense. We spend the rest of the evening watching TV. One of her favourite shows is about people making jewellery. One of the women makes bracelets and earrings out of seashells and it’s really beautiful. Annie then explains that she likes making those for her sisters but she can never find seashells anymore because she started working and so it takes up all the free time she had. I nod and I realise how lucky I’ve been. Sure, I wasn’t authorised to go where I wanted. But at least I’m not forced to work, to a point where I have to give up on things that make me happy.

“So, you work for money, right?”

I recite as she told me, frowning as I stare down at the dollar she gave me so I can see what it’s like.

“Yes.”

“But it’s just… paper. Why can’t you make the money yourself?”

She laughs and I hand her back the bill, wondering what’s funny about my question, because I’m serious. This is just a piece of paper painted in green. How hard is it to create?

“It’s illegal. You’ll go to jail. – I raise an eyebrow. – Jail is like, a place were people who don’t respect the laws go. It’s a big house with sort of cages. You stay in there for as long as a judge says you have to. It can go from months to a whole lifetime, depending on what you did. For instance, if you kill someone, you will go to jail forever.”

I look away, nodding. Jail, bad. I’ve made a list in my head of all the things she tells me about and I’ve put them in three categories. Good, for example, lamps, they help them see in the dark, so it’s good. Then there’s bad, like jail. And there’s “it depends.” TV, phones, they’re in that part of the list because they can be really useful, but they can also enslave you through what Annie calls addiction. You lay there, watching the screen without ever doing anything productive and it can end up ruining your life according to her. I decided to believe that, since she knows better.

“Tomorrow, we can practice your walking a bit more, review what to do and what not to do and then we’ll just have to wait for my family to come home. They should be here when the clock’s long line points at the eight.”

My eyes follow her finger and settle on the big clock, akin the one tiny golden one I found earlier today, in the sea. Eight. Alright. I think I can survive until then. Even if my legs burn in a terribly painful way whenever they brush against each other and my eyes get all watery from it, I can be strong. Like Mags. Like Katniss. I want to be strong. Annie rises and makes her way to the kitchen. I decide to follow her, limping behind her. She protests, explaining that she’s going to cook and surely, I can’t help much but I’m excited to see what she’ll make and how. Human food is the one thing I’ve never seen. So, I stand awkwardly for a moment while she gets some ingredients out on the table. She invites me to approach, and I do so, walking to her as steadily as I can. I put my palms down against the table to support my body with more than my weak legs. Annie explains that she wants to make something easy and fast. So, we end up making a big salad. She hands me every ingredient and tells me their names as well as where you get them. Tomatoes, grow from the ground. Eggs, come from chicken, little animals with feathers. Corn, also from the ground. Eventually just sticks to simply the names: salt, pepper, olive oil, salad, onion, mozzarella. She mixes it all up and fills up two plates. We sit back on the couch, eating while watching a movie, that she said is a “classic”. It’s a whole lot of drawings all put together to make an animation. It’s called The Little Mermaid, which makes me giggle.

“Now that I have you around, I know this is somewhat real.”
She smiles, her eyes sparkling with joy. I frown, attempting to make a serious face.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry to inform you that I do not talk to seagulls, and I usually eat fish, I don’t keep them as pets.”

She bursts out laughing, pushing my face gently with the palm of her hand.

“Don’t ruin my childhood Finnick!”

The movie is really cute, and it makes me think of us in a way. Except I didn’t exactly plan on staying here with her like Ariel did. And I’m not head over heels for Annie… yet. I mean, she is definitely pretty, with her dark orange hair and her sea green orbs and her bright smile. But that’s not enough for me to fall in love. I’ve been sort of reluctant to the idea of love at first sight. How could you just, be in love like that? But my heart beats a bit faster when her hand lays on mine. Is it possible she crept up on me in less than twenty-four hours? No. There’s absolutely no way. I’ll tell you what’s going on. Annie represents everything I’ve ever dreamt of. Humans, the surface, learning about the world and kindness. She embodies it all at once, with the bonus of her being gorgeous. I feel my face redden and try to hide behind my hands. She notices and tilts her head confusedly.

“Are you alright?” She asks calmly, her eyes reflecting her worry.

“Do you… actually believe in that? Love at first sight I mean.”
She raises her shoulder, visibly unsure. Her eyes wander around the room like she’s thinking of something to reply.

“I mean, I’d like to believe it’s real, it was what I dreamt of as a little girl. But I think it’s only physical. Their beauty strikes you so hard you think you’re in love. Doesn’t work for me. I care about the soul more.”
I chuckle but she seems very serious. Her lips are forming a tight line on her face, like she’s feeling sad now.

“Sorry, I wasn’t mocking you. I think like you. Only… I don’t really believe in love. I mean… my best friends are in love. But I don’t see myself falling in love, nor anyone falling for me. I feel like I have nothing to offer, you know. I don’t really know what to do with myself, so I can’t see why someone else would.”

She remains silent a while after this, like my words are still slowly sinking into her brain, making their way through her nervous system until she understands every single one of them separately. She nods, her lips relaxing into a tiny smirk.

“It’s crazy.”

She whispers. And at first, I think she’s talking about love but then she’s staring deeply into my eyes, and I think it’s not what she’s referring to. So, with a little head movement, I encourage her to explain what she means.

“There are eight billion humans on Earth, and it takes a mermaid coming straight out of a fantasy tale to understand me.”

I open my mouth slightly to answer but I don’t really know what she expects me to say. Or what I want to say. I don’t have time to think it through as she continues:

“My whole life I’ve felt like I didn’t have anything to offer. Like I was never meant to fit in. And then I walk on the beach and find a mermaid and here I am, sitting on my couch with him and he knows exactly how I feel. Yet not a single human has understood how I felt before. Because I have everything someone needs, a loving family, a nice environment to grow up in, a bunch of loyal friends. But…”

“But you feel stuck.”

I finish, and she nods. A bubbly feeling builds up in my stomach and a second later my face lights up with a smile. She imitates me and we stare silently at each other, beaming like two idiots.

“I’m guessing there’s no lucky mermaid who is your one and only?”
“Nope. And I’m guessing there’s no human who you fell in love at first sight and who shares your life?”

“Nope.” She chuckles, her joy drowned in a form of bitterness I know all too well. It’s easy to joke about those things, it’s much less easy to truly be amused by the situation.

“Have you ever kissed someone?”

I ask suddenly. I don’t even know how I came to ask this. My cheeks are burning of embarrassment, which is abnormal because I’m naturally flirty. She glares at me, a funny look on her face. I suppose she’s trying to guess why I asked. Little does she know; I have no idea.

“No. Have you?”

She whispers. I have. I’ve kissed a girl called Diane. It was more for the experience than out of love. We never did it again. I also kissed Peeta once, on accident. Well, that one resembled more a collision than a passionate making out session, but to me it still counts. Mostly because it pisses of Katniss when I mention it, even when they weren’t dating yet.

“Yes. But I never liked it.”

I answer calmly. I don’t know when we turned off the TV but the silence is electric between us. I don’t understand why my head is so irresistibly drawn to hers, but our faces are coming closer. My eyes fall upon her lips and they’re pretty, red, kissable. My heartbeat’s pace is increasing by the second; the world outside of Annie is a blur. Our lips crash against one another and the warmth that spreads across me is healing, it’s peaceful and good. It makes me yearn for more. One of my hands rises automatically to cup her cheek, making our embrace last longer. Her own hand grabs at my hair but it’s not painful. When we pull apart, we’re both out of breath. Her face is bright red, and I suspect mine is the same. I don’t know why we did this, but it felt right. As if her lips were magnets, attracting mine.

“Was that one good?”

She murmurs shyly, avoiding my eyes desperately by finding great interest in the hole of her left sock.

“Great even.”
And it’s weird because I’ve only met her this morning. But I crave more. The warmth of her skin against mine was delectable, delicious, perfect. Perfect. I slip a hand on hers and she caresses my fingers at length. Finally, she claims:

“We should go to sleep.”

I obey, following her upstairs. I feel the kiss has given me a newly found strength, because I manage to climb the stairs with a surprising easiness. We stand awkwardly at her door, both wondering if I should allow myself in her bed or not. Did this kiss mean anything? Was it for the fun of it? Or was it something serious? Neither of us have the answer to those questions. She decides it’s better if I can sleep on my own, explaining that I need rest and she fears she’d trouble me in my sleep. I end up in the small guest room they have, between her sisters’ rooms.

I struggle to find sleep. Every time I close my eyes, the memory of her lips against mine builds up a childish excitement in my stomach that keeps me awake. I feel stupid for it but I can’t fight it. After two hours rolling around on the bed to find a comfortable position, the door creaks and I discern Annie’s silhouette in the doorframe. She walks in and before she can ask, I spread an arm out for her to curl up against me. Her body is hot, very hot against mine. Her hand rests on my chest, her palm warm, also. I play with her hair, twisting it around my fingers.

“I suppose you couldn’t sleep either?”

She sighs, her breath tickling my torso. I nod silently, knowing she’ll feel it. We remain silent a while, until I can’t deal with the crazy tension filling up the room anymore.

“What did that kiss mean? To you.”

I question. She motions her head to look at me; I feel her sea-green gaze on my face. Her fingertips trace the line of my jaw, making me shiver.

“Love at first sight.”

She replies, which sends us both into an endless fit of laughter. It fades slowly into small smiles, her fingers now running along the bridge of my nose.

“What about you? What did it mean to you?”

I consider humouring her, but I don’t feel like it. No, I want to be serious, to be real with her in that moment. I rub her shoulder gently, my fingertip tracing invisible circles on her skin.

“Well, at first, I thought it was to give you the chance to try, because you looked desperate – She laughs and hits my chest lightly, which also makes me laugh. – But I think that… Love at first sight might be what I have to go with as well.”

Silence falls upon us again. But this one is not awkward. It’s sweet, it’s calming, it’s peaceful. I fall asleep cuddling her, my face buried in her orange hair.

A horrible empty feeling drags me out of sleep. My eyes flutter open to find the spot on the bed next to me empty. I sit up and call her name but there’s no answer. However, a soft melody emerges from the corridor. I jump off the bed and wander downstairs, where I find Annie in the kitchen. I recognise Taylor Swift’s voice and I can’t help the way my lips curve automatically into a grin. Annie is cooking breakfast, her eyes finding mine as soon as I enter the room.

“Morning!”

She greets me, beaming already. I approach her and it feels natural to plant a kiss on her forehead. We stare at each other wordlessly, her expression slightly surprised, until she’s smiling again, pressing a smooch to my cheek.

“Morning.”

I finally say, sitting down on one of the chairs. There are a hundred butterflies in my stomach, and it’s silly, really silly.

“How do you feel?”

She ponders, dropping what I identify as pancakes in a plate she places in front of me.

“In love.”

When the words leave my lips, I realise how stupid it is, because that’s not what she wanted. It does make her blush though and she giggles to herself.

"And physically better."

I add, before biting into one of the pancakes. It's delicious, the texture soft on my tongue.

"I wish pancakes were a thing in the ocean."

I groan as she sits down in front of me. She laughs and pours a sticky substance on top of her own food.

"Wait until you discover pancakes with maple syrup."

She hands me the bottle and I immediately imitate her, squeezing it until it falls onto my food. The taste is sweet and melts in my mouth. I take another bite.

"I'm glad to see that you like it."

She smiles, her eyes riveted on me. I nod and we finish our breakfast in silence, my heartbeat going faster each time our eyes meet.

She leads me to the couch to check on my wounds. My left arm is doing much better now, but my legs are still painful.

"I hope it doesn't get infected while we wait for my dad."

I hope so too, but I don't say anything. I'm too busy studying the way light brightens her ginger hair, how it makes her freckles more visible on the sides of her nose. She's a mesmerizing view.

"You're beautiful."

I murmur, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, my hand sliding down to bring her chin up. That way, we're looking into each other's eyes and I can lose myself in the sea of her gaze.

"You're even more beautiful."

She replies, sitting on my lap. She cups my face with her hands and kisses my forehead. Then my cheek, my temple, my nose. She goes on like this until she's kissed my whole face.

"You're way too kissable."

She grunts, an amused smile painted on her lips.

"Oh sorry miss, I'll try to fix that."

I joke, moving to kiss her neck softly.

"Sadly, I'm afraid it can only be fixed by kissing you a million times."

She retorts, her lips finding mine, the same warmth as yesterday spreading inside of me. My heart swells, it doubles in size. That's where I belong. In this girl's arms. Anywhere in the world, underwater, on the land. Doesn't matter as long as she's here. She just sees me, she gets me. We're the same soul, broken apart, that has just been reunited into one, at last.

"Let's practice your walking, Finnick."

I rise to my feet as soon as she finishes her sentence and start walking around, smiling proudly as I manage to use my legs pretty well for someone who only got them yesterday.

"Hey, looks like you're a natural !"

She exclaims, joining me. She takes my hands in hers.

"Wanna do something a bit harder?"

I nod and she starts slowly moving from left to right, dancing to the song coming from the kitchen. I imitate her but I'm not as steady as I thought I'd be. I end up slipping and she catches me, which only drags her down to the floor with me. She's laying on top of me, shoulders shaken by laughter.

"Oh god, are you ok?"

She questions, while I rub my painful elbow.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

I smirk, licking my dry lips.

"I'm good. You dampened the impact with your body."

She gets back up and helps me to do the same, pulling me with a surprising strength.

"So, no dancing for you. However, we should probably go buy some clothes for you. My dad really likes this shirt."

I look down at myself. I put back the clothes I borrowed yesterday, after sleeping in only the underwear. The red shirt with palm trees.

"Alright. Where do we find the clothes?"

"There are a few shops. I could drive you to the city center."

A strong feeling of excitement rushes through my veins. I'm finally going to see further into the human's constructions. She seems to notice my excitement because suddenly it's decided that she'll drive me to the city center and we'll spend the afternoon there, so I can discover more human things. She puts bandages on my legs' wounds and then she's locking the front door.

My heart is bursting with happiness as I sit in the car, studying everything in it. The black plastic, the wheel, the doors even. It's all strangely new and I love it. Annie starts the engine and a minute later we're on the road. She turns the radio on and I'm not surprised to hear the now familiar voice of her favourite artist.

"Dad bought me her album's CD for my last birthday."

She explains, moving her head in sync with the music. The sensation in my body is weird as the car accelerates. The speed presses me against my seat, applying a low pressure to my ribcage that isn't so bad.

"Open the window."

She advices, shooting me an amused look. I roll down the window by pushing the button she indicated and the wind bursts into the car, messing my hair. I laugh and let my hand out, the fresh air sliding on my skin. I motion to let my head out and the breeze is slapping my face but I don't care. I've never felt something so close to what freedom is. It's as if I'm one of those big seagulls, flying up in the sky. The wind is violent but it's also soothing. A thousand smells enter my nose, but I can't figure out what any of them are from. When I get my head back into the car, Annie is chuckling.

"It's amazing!"

I shout as I let myself fall back into my seat.

"Yeah, it is. I'm happy you got to experience this with me for the first time."

I gaze at her and I know that love is leaking out of my eyes, it emanates from my whole being, I feel it fill the space between us. I continue to stick my head or hands out the window during the rest of the car ride, while Annie sings to Taylor Swift's songs.

My jaw drops when I see the big buildings appear in front of us. Everything is much higher than around Annie's home. And there are a lot of people. All around the constructions, there are families, people walking alone, kids chasing each other.

"Welcome to the city, Finnick."

Annie says. She parks the car and we take the direction of a shop she says has a lot of things that I could like.

"My best friend, Johanna, she works there. She can help us."

Suddenly I'm a bit worried to meet Annie's friend. What if she dislikes me? What if she figures me out and she behaves like those sailors? I grab Annie's hand. I think she's going to take it away but instead she interweaves our fingers. We walk hand in hand to the shop. Inside, it's fresh. Annie whispers into my ear that it's thanks to an air conditioner, whatever that is.

I look around at the clothes. So many different shapes, colours, sizes. I play with the several fabrics while Annie searches for her friend. She comes back with a woman her size, with much shorter black hair and piercing eyes.

"Where did you find this one?"

Johanna asks, her gaze so horribly judging it makes my skin crawl.

"Finn's boat sank and he made it out to the beach next to my house. Now we're trying to buy him some new clothes."

Annie explains, winking at me quickly. Her friend seems unconvinced but she accepts the story without protesting. She orders me to pick some stuff I like around and she'll help me try them on.
Annie follows me as I wander in the store, picking shirts similar to her dad's, shorts and a T-shirt. I give it all to Johanna who groans a few words under her breath. She leads me to a changing room where I try it all on. Annie gives me her opinion on each and every piece of clothing, gently announcing that this shirt or that short doesn't fit me well.

I end up with a plain baby blue shirt and black shorts, as well as bright green flip-flops. It hits me then that those are exactly the same object I found yesterday. Except the one I found was orange and lonely. The clapping sound on my feet is annoying but I get used to it quickly.

"When does your shift end?"

Annie questions as she hands her friends a bunch of dollars.

"Wait, he's not gonna pay for himself?"

Johanna ignores the ginger girl's question, glaring at me with squinted eyes. To that, I have no answer, so I glance at Annie, panicking.

"No, Finn has no money here. He'll pay me back later."

She lies, handing the money to Johanna again. The black haired woman's eyes are filled with anger as she takes the dollars and puts them in a machine.

"He better or I'll break his bones. - Johanna grunts, brows furrowed. - and my shift ends at 9 today, I took extra hours."

Annie sighs and waves her friend goodbye as the door closes behind us.

"She hates me."

I mutter, my hand finding Annie's as fast as humanly possible.

"Don't worry, Jo is like that with everyone. She acts all mean but deep down, she's a real sweetheart. She just doesn't trust easily."

I decide to believe her. This girl seemed to want to protect Annie and to that I can relate. So I'll accept my friend's explanation. My eyes widen a little at the thought.

"Annie?"

"Mmh?"

"Are we like... friends?"

She stops walking and raises an eyebrow, until she understands I'm not sure if we're more or if we're still... Playing around.

"What do you want us to be?"

She ponders. I know what I want us to be. However I'm not sure it's something she wants to.

"Lovers."

I answer, suddenly feeling weirdly shy.

"Well me too. You can be my boyfriend then. And I can be your girlfriend."

Her sentence creates a large smile on my lips. She has that power. To make me beam with simple words. Words that fly from her throat and hit my heart directly, in a good way.

"But don't tell my parents. They wouldn't understand."

She quickly adds, her gaze saddening. When I ask why, she simply responds:

"Because we've met only yesterday and the things I feel for you are too much to be put into words. I'd rather save myself from the struggle."

The temperature keeps increasing as hours pass. My shirt and Annie's top are soaked in sweat when we push the door of an ice-cream shop. She says I must taste one.

"Welcome, what can we serve you today?"

A lady questions. A soft smile on her lips gives her a warm aura, making me feel almost at home.

"Hi, I'm going to go for a chocolate and vanilla combo, please."

The woman nods at Annie's reply and her eyes switch to me. As I'm not sure what I want, I declare:

"Same thing for me, please."

And she starts preparing our order. I watch as she forms ice-cream balls with a weird spoon and pushes them into two separate bowls.

"Enjoy!"

She says as she hands us our bowls. I grab mine and we head out. Annie leads me to a park and we sit down under the shadow of a large tree.

"Urgh this is so good."

I squeal, swallowing some more chocolate ice-cream. Then all of a sudden, a terrible pain takes over my head and I clench my teeth. It's like someone is squeezing my brain.

"Uh oh, someone got a brain freeze."

Annie laughs. She kisses my forehead and points at the ice-cream.

"Eat slowly or it will hurt like that again."

"I feel like you could have warned me before."

I growl, licking chocolate off my lips. She chuckles.

"Nah, you had to get the whole experience."

I roll my eyes and push her shoulder gently. We eat silently and when we're done, she shifts to lay her head on my lap. Back against the trunk, I play with her hair while watching some kids play several feet away from us.

"I never want to go back to the ocean."

I tell her. She rotates to look up at me.

"I don't want you to go back either. But your family must miss you."

I think of Mags, Katniss, Peeta. I wonder how worried they must be. Mags surely believes humans have killed me. Katniss will only hate them more. Peeta, who has always been more optimistic, will probably wait for me to come home until they convince him that it's lost hope.

"But I'd miss you."

I whisper, gazing into her eyes. She smiles.

"Just because you go back doesn't mean it has to be forever. You could visit me. I'd take you here and we'd hang out for a few hours and then you'd go back and on and on."

"But I wanna be with you all the time now."

I plead, closing my eyes. Annie's hand in mine feels so natural, like it's meant to be there. I don't want us to part, not now, not ever.

"I want to be with you all the time too."

She murmurs back.

"It's like I've met you in another life before."

She tells me after a long silence. And I understand exactly what she means. I feel like that too. Like I met her years ago. Like my heart has belonged to her for decades. Like her face, her smile, the green of her eyes are home.

"Maybe we did meet."

"And we were married."

She beams.

"And we had a kid."

I add. We laugh and begin to imagine a whole different life, in a different place, with other friends, meeting in different circumstances. None of it is certain though. All we know for sure is that we loved each other.

"We're like the ocean and the moon you and I. Forever linked to one another."

"Do you have physics classes in the ocean?"

She questions, visibly surprised that I know how tides work.

"No, we just know that the moon is the ocean's lover and wherever she goes, he goes. She moves and he moves too, like they're one being."

Annie giggles and sits up to kiss me. It's passionate, it's loving, it's full of life.

"I love you like the ocean loves the moon, then."

She says.

"No I love you like the ocean loves the moon."

I retort. We argue a minute before I start tickling her and I fatally win the dispute. She forces me to lay to the floor with her and we watch the clouds float lazily in the sky.
Her phone's screen lights up and she rises to her feet quickly.

"It's already 7 pm and there's a good thirty minutes ride back home. We gotta go."

I nod and we find our way back to the car silently. This time I only stick my hand out, appreciating the wind's embrace between my fingers. We get caught in traffic, which irritates Annie. We get home five minutes before the clock indicates 8.

"Urgh. Knowing my mum's precision on timing, I doubt we have time to train or repeat your story again. Let's just lay down."

I can only agree with that. I walked all day and I know my story, or at least a vague approximation of it. We sit on the couch and without me noticing exactly how or when, Annie ends up on my lap again. She kisses me gently.

"I wish you could make me discover your world too."

She pouts, resting her forehead against mine.

"It's mostly water you know. And it's salty water ! So it's not really interesting."

She rolls her eyes.

"Finnick, you're a mermaid. Of course it's interesting."

"Your world is much more interesting in my opinion."

She caresses my cheek and it tickles but I say nothing. I love her touch. I love her hands and her fingertips. I love her.
A sound of keys unlocking the door drives her away from me. She jumps off my lap and rushes to open the door, ready to explain my story to her family. I hear indistinct blabbers and then her father comes in. He's identical to what he looks like on the pictures.

"Let me see your legs."

He orders and I take off the bandages Annie had attempted to wrap around me for our day out. He inspects the wound while his family comes in. All their eyes are on me and I slowly recognise them all. Annie's two sisters, her brother, her mum. My girlfriend sits next to me, worriedly staring at her father.

"Is he going to be ok?"

"Yes it looks like the wounds didn't get infected. I'll give you painkillers and will make proper bandages."

The man replies, already walking out of the room. Annie relaxes next to me, her hand finding mine. She's discreet about it but her skin against mine helps me a lot. It helps me handle the glances from her family, the pain of my injuries, the urge to kiss her.

________________

Her father stitches me up the next morning and advices I rest at their house until I've fully recovered. The news pleases both Annie and I, excited to spend more time together.
The Cresta family as I've learnt it is their last name, is incredibly kind. They're all caring and treat me well.

It's been a week since I met Annie when her father announces I've healed properly. Where my wounds were, are now two scars. I brush my fingertip against them, amazed by the man's work.

"Thank you."

I say, and he smiles kindly.

"No problems. I wasn't going to let a young man bleed out on my doorstep."

There's an awkward silence for a moment and Annie shoots him a glance that means please leave us alone. He understands and nods a few times to himself as he closes the door.

"So... You're gonna go home?"

She asks, avoiding my eyes. I place my fingers on her chin to force her to look at me.

"I'm going to tell my family I'm alive. And then I'll come back. I'll live as a human and I'll marry you. As I will in every other lifetime."

Her lips curve into a huge smile and she pins me down against the bed, sitting on my lower stomach.

"I love you."

She whispers, kissing my lips while her hands slide under my baby blue shirt. The temperature in the room has increased to a thousand degrees. I'm feeling all weird, a mix of joy and excitement. My skin is strangely sensitive wherever her fingers brush.

"I love you too."

I reply as I peck her temple. Her fingers unbutton my shirt and she lowers down to kiss my chest. My heartbeat is going insanely fast. I think my heart might explode.

"I love you."

I whimper as she bites my neck lightly. I think I repeat it another million times that night. It's the first time of my life that I make love to someone. And it's absolutely perfect. Her fingers know what part of me to caress, her lips where to kiss me. We're breathless and sweating when she rolls off of me.

"Fuck."

She breathes out, hiding her face behind her hands. A strand of her long ginger head sticks to my cheek. This is the life I want to live. A life where I can make love to the girl I'm in love with, a life where I can go for car rides with her, where she can show me how beautiful her world is. Almost as beautiful as she is.

"You know, I'm right when I say you're the moon and I'm the ocean."

I murmur, the sheets covering us whole.

"You have too much power over me. I'd go wherever you go."

She smirks as I speak and moves closer to me. She hugs me tightly, burying her face into my chest.

"Promise you'll come back here. You won't leave me alone with these eight billion people who don't understand me."

I giggle but she looks very serious when she moves up to stare at me.

"I promise."

She lays back down against me, her head rising in sync with my chest as I breathe. It makes it look like we're one being, breathing at once, moving as one. Which isn't so far from the truth really.

____________

The next day, I thank her family for everything and Annie and I walk hand in hand to the beach she first found me at. We hug at length in front of the waves, my heart pounding in my chest. It's as if it knew we were going to part and it was begging me to stay. To hold her and never let go. But I can't do this to Mags. And I need them all to know that humans can be good. Perfect even.

"I'll be back soon. I promised it. And i'm a merman of honour."

She laughs at the word merman and kisses me. It's a long kiss, it's filled with pain, bearing a heavy see you later and wet with tears.

"I don't know why my heart aches so much at the sight of you leaving."

She whispers, sounding weak and broken. I take her hand in mine.

"It's not forever. I'll be back by tomorrow. I told you we'd get married and I wouldn't leave you alone."

I reply.

"And if I can't find my way back to you in this life, I'll see you again in the next."

Her eyes meet mine, green sinks in green.

"Don't you dare. You owe me a wedding in this lifetime."

I laugh at that and we separate. A hole has been dug in my chest. My heart is in her hands and it will stay with her until I come to get it back.
As much as I despised living underwater, it always somewhat felt like home. As I swim away from Annie, I've never felt so far from home.

_____________

I swim for hours, until eventually I find a sign of our territory. I see the algae field a few feet away and I find a new strength in me, despite my sore muscles.

"Mags?! Katniss?! Peeta!!"

I shout but no one answers. Then someone lands on me and pins me to the floor. I cry in pain when my chin hits the rocky land and my attacker lets me go a second later.

"Finnick?"

I recognise Katniss's voice. She hugs me tightly, which is not something I would have ever expected from her.

"We thought you were dead !"

I sigh. It's only when she brings me to Mags and the rest of the tribe that I begin to relate my story. I tell them about the boat and they all look at my scarred tail with horrified or angry eyes. And then I tell them about Annie. I talk about how she healed my arm, how she taught me all sort of things about the human world. I leave out the parts where we kissed, our I love you's. Those are ours and ours only.

"You're trying to tell us that a human helped you?"

Katniss questions, visibly confused.

"Yes. She's amazing. And..."

That's the moment I've been dreading. But I recall the feeling of comfort, of belonging I get when Annie's arms wrap around me and I find courage in that.

"And I'm going back to live with her."

A bunch of gasps welcome my declaration. But I don't care about anyone but Mags. She stares at me, her face devoid of emotions. She's always been hard to read.

"Mags?"

I call desperately, my shoulders lowering slightly.

"Do you love that human?"

She asks. Her tone is calm, which is about a hundred times worse than if she was furious. Because furiousness I would have understood, furiousness I expected. But acceptance? That was the last thing I thought I'd be receiving.

"Yes."

Another round of gasps.

"She makes me feel like I'm whole. Like life is worth living"

Mags lets my words sink in and she swims closer to me. Her hand cups my cheek.

"I will only allow you to go with her if you promise to come back here from time to time."

Silence falls upon the tribe as everyone tries to understand why she's giving up on her only son. I too, am struggling to get why she, who hates humans with a burning passion, would let me go back.

"I promise."

I reply nonetheless. I don't care why, all that matters is that she's fine with me going back to Annie. I will hold her again, kiss her again, make love to her again. We visit her world and get married and have children, as it is written in the stars, next to the moon, over the ocean. Mags takes me away from everyone else and I expect a long discussion but instead she takes me fishing. We hunt in silence, catching a bunch of different fishes. I glance at her a few times, waiting for something, even one sentence, but nothing.

It's only when she decides it's enough that she sits me down next to her and explains.

"I loved a human too, a long time ago."

The revelation hits me like a whale and she feels my surprise, continuing her story before I can interrupt.

"His name was Caspian and I loved him more than anything. But my father found out and he refused for his daughter to love a human."

I frown then.

"But why did you always tell me that humans were monsters if you loved one?"

"To spare you the heartbreak."

She answers, setting sad eyes on me.

"Caspian married a human and they had children together. I tried to go see him again but he chased me away, saying that he had moved on. I didn't want the same thing happening to you."

"But now you're letting me go with Annie."

I retort and she sighs loudly, forming bubbles over her face.

"I figured that if you could fall in love with one of our own, it'd be easier. If you couldn't interact with humans, I didn't have to worry that you'd fall for one and you wouldn't go away from me or get your heart broken. But if I have to choose, I'd rather know you are happy far from me than miserable here."

I remain silent, my hand finding hers. We hold hand until the sun goes down and I smile at the sight of the moon. Reminds me of my Annie.

"I want to meet her."

Mags says as we go back to our little sunken ship that serves as our house.

"You want to meet Annie?"

I repeat, shocked that she'd venture so close to humans. She nods and we decide that she'll come with me tomorrow, when I leave to join Annie again. Mags and I sleep in the same bed that night, and I feel guilty when she holds me like I'm the only thing she loves. I feel selfish and unworthy. But I can't help the love I feel for Annie. It's consuming me. And it's not my choice, I fell for her lifetimes ago.

_____________

Annie's nowhere to be seen when Mags and I land on the beach. I get out of the water first, waiting patiently for my tail to dry so it transoms into legs and I can help Mags. Her eyes widen at the sight of my human limbs. I drag her out of the ocean into the shore and we wait for her tail to transform too. I find my shorts and a new pair of underwear under a rock Annie and I picked yesterday. I put them on and land Mags my shirt so she can cover up. I help her tie it around her waist. I know Annie would be a mess if she saw us naked.

"Wait here, I'll go find her."

I leave Mags on the beach to go wander near her house's door. I look around, hoping to see her outside but I can't find her. However the second I knock, urging steps rush towards me in loud stomps and the door flies open. She's just as beautiful as yesterday. She throws herself in my arms and we kiss like we haven't seen eachother in a thousand years.

"My mum wants to meet you."

I explain and her cheeks redden. She probably didn't expect that. Neither did I, to be fair. Mags is sitting in the sand when we arrive, eyes closed, face up. The wind messes her wild hair softly.

"Mags?"

I call and her eyes flutter open. I'm holding Annie's hand tightly as we approach and we drop next to her, sitting comfortably.

"Hello."

Annie greets her shyly, her free hand playing with a strand of her hair anxiously. I rub the back of her hand in mine with my thumb to calm her down.

"Hello."

Mags smiles, and she studies my girlfriend at length, her smile widening as time goes by.

"You're beautiful."

She comments suddenly.

"You're beautiful as well."

Annie replies, squeezing my hand softly.

"Do you love Finnick?"

She asks, squinting her eyes slowly. Annie rotates her head to look at me and no one, not even I, could doubt that she does love me. It's engraved in the waves of her seagreen gaze.

"More than I love anyone else."

"Good. I'm leaving you my son, you have to love him and take care of him as much as he will love you and take care of you."

Annie nods and Mags crawls to hug her. It surprises me but then I get it. Annie represents what Mags couldn't get. She is what that man, Caspian, could or rather should have been to her. She then turns to me and kisses my cheek with a love only a mother can give.

"Don't forget your promise."

"Yes Mags. I'll visit you as often as possible."

I reassure her and she sighs. Then without warning she has crawled back into the waves, disappearing under water. The only thing left is my shirt, spread in the sand. I grab it and put it on, leaving it unbuttoned.

Annie motions to sit on my lap like she's already taken the habit of doing.

"Ready for our new life?"

She ponders, a small smile stretching the corner of her lips.

"Absolutely. You?"

"More than ever."

We listen to the roaring of the waves for a moment, and I've never felt more alive, with the sea by my side and that girl on top of me.

"I love you."

She whispers, our foreheads resting against one another.

"I love you too."

I reply. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her passionately. I kiss her with all the love buried in my heart. I kiss her like it's the only thing I was born for. I kiss her for all the past me who couldn't anymore. I kiss her for all the years we have ahead of us, all the "I love you" 's we've shared in a week, all the ones we'll share later. I kiss her because she is the moon and I'm the ocean, because she's my lover and I'll go wherever she goes.
I kiss her with all the love I've ever had for her, in this lifetime and all the ones before.