Sand Castles

She was there again, staring at her human behind the shoreline rocks. Ever since she saved him from the sinking cruise ship last year, she has been watching over him.

She was so excited when she found him a week later on the beach. She watched in the shallow waters for him to return. He returned the next week on the same day as before. After that, she was never the same. She became obsessed with him. She followed him as he walked on the shoreline. She waited for him to go into the water, but it seemed that her human had a fear of the water.

It was beginning to seem like fate had a sense of humor.

It was ironic that I had fallen in love with her and that she considered herself in love human on the same day.

I examined the human. He wasn’t attractive for a human or for a merperson. He had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. To me, he was rather plain. Then again, so was I. With inky black hair and matching eye color, I was considered common among our people. That was until a fight with a shark left me with scars. Now I was said to be intimidating.

She, on the other hand, was beautiful. Her enchanting gray eyes and wavy golden hair were considered rare among our people.

“Hello, Sebastian.” Her voice brought my attention to her mouth. Her lips were full and pink. How I yearned to kiss those lips.

“Hello.” I greeted her. “Anything new today?”

“He built a sand castle.” She replied with a smile, glancing back to me. I looked over the rock we were hiding behind to find the human. He was deeply concentrated on the small mountain of sand in front of him.

“That sounds exciting...” I stated dully. She smiled again.

I loved her smile. It was like she put her whole heart into it. Every time she smiled it not only made my heart flutter, but warmed my soul. It was like the sun decided to shine a little brighter.

“I wish I could build a sand castle with him...” She murmured.

The longing and sadness in her voice startled me. I could never understand how she could love him so much without him even knowing that she existed. It was ridiculous. Yet here she was, fawning over a human she barely knew.

Why didn’t she love me?

Why didn’t she love her best friend? The one who shared her woes and her happiness. Why didn’t she love the person who loved her?

Then again, she didn’t know of my feelings for her.

It was ironic how I had no fear of facing the most dangerous fish, but I couldn’t gather the courage to confess my love. I found many excuses not too. Yet the true reason was because I was a coward. I spent many sleepless nights imagining how she would react if I told her.

Would she be shocked? Would she avoid me? Would she reject me completely? Or would she return my feelings?

“Do you think I should approach him?” She asked, biting worriedly at a thumbnail.

I blinked. Of course I didn’t. I wanted her for myself. I couldn’t stand the thought of that disgusting human drooling over her, pawing her...Kissing her.

I felt my nails dig into my palms as I clenched my hands into fists.

“What would you even say to him if you did?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

“Hello, how are you?” She replied with a shrug. “Can I kiss you?” She laughed slightly, making my heart skip a beat. I could feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I gave her a fake smile.

“How are you going to approach him? Swim?”

“No... He’s afraid of the water.” She paused before whispering, “If only I had legs...”

A grumble of thunder growled from an ominous stretch of black clouds. A few drops of rain slowly began to increase. Her human had already begun to make his leave.

“Come on, let’s head back.” I said while gently taking her arm and leading her out to sea.

It was a quiet swim back to the cave where she had claimed as her own. I could tell she was thinking from her expression. Her brows were drawn together slightly as her jaw tensed while she clenched her teeth together.

I wonder what she was thinking about. Dare I ask?

“Good night, Sebastian.”

I blinked. We had arrived at her cave. My cowardice made me miss my chance.

“Good night.” I whispered as I watched her go. I turned and headed towards my home.

***

“Sebastian!”

Someone was shaking me.

My eyes opened to find gray orbs staring down at me intently, blond hair floated around her face as she called my name.

“Sebastian! Wake up!”

I squinted at her. “Morning already?” I asked.

“No I need your help.”

I could have sworn that my heart had stopped for a few seconds as hope and excitement overwhelmed me.

“What do you need my help with?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual. She waved for me to follow her. She waited for us to exit my cave before she answered.

“I need you to help me find the Black Witch.”

Those words caused me to grab a hold of her arm and bring her to an abrupt stop.

“Have you gone insane? Do you even know what she would do to you?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “Turn you into a crab! Fry you! She might even eat you!”

“What do you know?” She tore free of my grasp with anger igniting those gray eyes. “She might be the only one who can help me turn into a human.”

“You know that the Black Witch rigs her bargains!” I watched as she diverted her eyes and bit her lower lip.

“Please, Sebastian?” She begged, meeting my gaze again. “It’s the only way I can be with him.”

Her eyes which began to water were what made me give in. I sighed deeply as I hung my head in defeat. “Does he mean that much to you?” I asked finally.

“Yes . . . ”

“Fine, I will take you to the Black Witch.”

As we swam, my mind wandered to the memory of when I first ventured to the Black Witch. It was when I learned that I loved my best friend. I begged the Witch to kill the human my beloved was obsessed with.

But everything comes with a price.

The price of the human’s death was for the Witch to bind herself to me. I refused and left. Enraged, the Witch sent her pet shark after me, giving me the scars on my face and chest.

A yellow light shone through the murky water, marking the entrance to the Witch’s cave.

“We’ve arrived.”She moved to continue, but I caught her arm. “Please don’t do this.”

“It’s the only way...”

I gritted my teeth as I released her. She turned and headed toward the cave’s mouth.

“Wait!” I called as I hurried to catch her. “We can build sand castles together.” She gave me a confused look, but I continued. “I want to be the one whom you stare at all day. I want to be the one you think about all day. I want to be the one whom you love.” I paused, letting her absorb the information before continuing. “You know why?” I grabbed her shoulders gently. “Because...Because...”

I couldn't take it anymore.

I closed the gap between us and kissed her. At first her lips were tight and hard, but after a few moments they became as soft as rose petals. Finally, we were connected. Finally we could be together. Finally she knew I loved her.

A sharp impact ended our kiss as she raked her nails into the side of my face. I saw her wipe her lips with the back of her hand as tears flooded into her eyes. Now she could never be with her human.

She turned and swam quickly away.

I stayed there, floating in silence. I brought my hand to the scratches on my face. Although the wounds stung, I couldn’t help but smiling. Her eyes were blue, a brilliant blue. There was no denying it. She and I were meant to be together.