Do you believe in mer people COMPLETE

Chapter 12: The truth

A few days later, Yibo had installed a new tenth and Xiao Zhan came over with a few things, intending to make the place more homely as he figured he would be spending a lot of time here. He wanted to surprise Yibo who was out of town attending an interview.

He came with a large shell, he could place the quilt in it and make it into a bed. He found a mirror and some other random items from a shipwreck. He brought everything he could lay his hands on. If Yibo didn't need them, he would simply get rid of them.

"You really plan on living here?"

Xiao Zhan was stunned at first then he took a deep breath and turned around to face the person who just came here without being invited. "Hello uncle. Why are you here?"

"I saw you dragging that thing", he pointed to the bed, "and I became curious so I followed you". Both men said nothing after that. Xiao Zhan wasn't afraid of being found out, he just wanted to be the one to bring up this conversation. He couldn't fully trust his uncle's temperament so he preferred to have this talk back home.

"Do you really intend to come here often? Have you thought about what would happen if people find you? Aren't you being too selfish?"

"Uncle, I've wanted to talk to you but you found me out before I could do that, I might as well go ahead with the conversation".

His uncle felt this was going to be a long one so without any invitation, he found a comfortable corner to sit and gestured to Xiao Zhan to speak.

"First, I plan to leave home and find a path for myself. You have taken care of me since I was a baby, I'm grateful. I've come of age and I should stop being a bother to you".

"A-Zhan, you're not a bother. True, you've come of age. Finding your own path is encouraged so you have my blessings but I have a feeling that this path you're referring to might be something that would not go well for us all".

"Uncle, I've decided to live here. Not in this tenth but on land. I don't want to live in the water anymore. I find myself drawn to life up here and I think I can do well for myself so..."

"Zhan, you cannot stay too long out of water. The average time we can be out of water is 4 hours although I've seen people who can go a whole day. That alone would hinder the life you speak of"

"I know uncle but...I'm different". Xiao Zhan walked towards his uncle and squatted close to him. "I can stay out of water indefinitely. I know that for a fact because I've stayed for weeks up here. I don't know how that became possible but... I'm different".

Uncle Jiang was quiet for a long time as if he was trying to figure out what to say. In truth, he had suspected Zhan was going to be different. It looks like he could stay both in and out of water. He wasn't surprised that Zhan was attracted to life up here, he just didn't know Zhan would want to live here.

"Can I ask why? Why did you decide to stay here?"

"I met someone. His name is Wang Yibo. He is the only human I've met and..."

Of course, Uncle Jiang remembered Yibo. "Let me guess, you love him right?". Zhan nodded his head in response.

"Ha-ha. You look and act more and more like my younger sister; your mum as time goes by. Did you know your mum also fell in love with a human?"

Xiao Zhan certainly did not know this. He was surprised to hear his uncle speak in such a calm manner when talking about humans. He knew his hatred for humans had to do with his mother but he had never heard the full story.

"Zhan, before you were born, your mum and I lived far away from here. She met a human researcher whose boat was carried away by a storm during a research on the ocean and she saved him, took him to land and nursed him back to health. She took him to a deserted island so it was just them there. They spent a lot of time together and they fell in love. Your mum got pregnant for him, you are the result of that pregnancy".

"When his health got better, he decided to find his team mates and go back to work. Also, he wanted to take your mum to meet his family. I must admit, he really did like your mother. They tried hard to conceal the fact that she was a mermaid but the people were smart and soon figured her identity. One day, your father went out to work on the sea, a large vehicle with a tank came and took your mother away. She was poked with needles and subjected to torture in the name of experiments. It took your father many months to find her and when he did, she was weak. She needed to come back home and she was close to giving birth.

Xiao Zhan noticed his uncle's eyes well up with tears as he spoke. "Your father got into a fight and destroyed research properties to save your mum and he became a fugitive on the run. After you were born, those people seemed to have forgotten about your mum so she went to the shore so your father could meet you. Little did she know that they had been silently following him just to catch sight of her. As soon as they saw her, they swung into action. They wanted you both and your father alone was unable to fight against people with weapons. Both of your parents died that day as they were injured. I heard your mother's cry and came out to see your father lifeless, with tears in his eyes. He only got to see you for a few minutes before he was killed by his own people. Your mother died shortly after and her body was taken away. I was able to get away with you but...I wasn't able to bring back her body. Those bastards wanted her dead or alive".

"I was mad at the thought of my sister's body subjected to their meaningless experiments so I cause a tsunami and destroyed their base and every living thing in it. Some people were able to get away while others were not. I searched for days but I couldn't find your mother's body".

"Zhan...", he looked down on Xiao Zhan who looked pitiful at the moment. "If they could kill their own kind just to get one of us, how awful can they be? I will be willing to let go of a million of them just to save one of us. Do I not have a right to hate them?"

Xiao Zhan never knew of his parents, this was the first time he heard about them. He had a range of emotions, from sadness to anger. He could feel himself trembling, he wished he could pick up a weapon and fight those people who harmed his parents. Xiao Zhan could finally figure out his uncle's hatred for humans and he wanted to hate humans too but there was his father and there was Yibo. How could he?

"After that incident, I took our group and we moved here. We travelled for months and settled here. I've hated them since then, I usually say they're all bad but I remember your father, he was the sweetest being I ever met and he literally died protecting you both. Your father is exempted from that hate".

"Uncle..."

"A-Zhan, it's okay. I poured my anger out on everyone, I was in the wrong. Something happened 3 years ago. I got caught in a net. These nets are usually easy to undo but this one was a bit tricky. It took me time trying to figure it out and in the process, a human female found me out. She was scared but she helped me. I didn't talk much to her, I only thanked her and she smiled. Her help restored my little faith in humans. I agree, not all of them would hurt you but a lot would have malicious intents".

"Did you know your birth was different? You were born whole, with legs! You only developed a tail after some days. It's no wonder you can live here. Zhan, you're old enough to make your own decisions so I would not interfere too much. I just hope you can think properly and do the right thing".

................................................

Xiao Zhan had learnt the truth about his birth and everything made sense. He now understood why he could do certain things. This piece of knowledge made him both happy and sad. He understood his uncle's hatred but as he said, he couldn't blame an entire race for the actions of a few people.

Zhan was sad to hear how his parents died. His uncle already got revenge for him but still he felt heavy hearted. Yibo had been gone for a few days and Zhan wanted nothing more than to talk to him right now.