Modern Monsters

Sakari the Mermaid

Male Reader x Female Monster

I've lived by the ocean since I was born. I've always felt a connection to it, even when I was little. My mom tells me I used to get up at night and run a full bathtub while everyone else was asleep. Both of my parents had been lifeguards, but after I was born, my mom started a snack shop by the beach. My dad continued to be a lifeguard.

My mom told me stories about when she was young, having grown up in the same beachside town all her life. She had so many stories in her head, as I grew up, I wondered why she shucked snow cones for a living instead of writing a book.

"My stories aren't meant for just anyone," she told me. "I tell you these stories hoping you'll remember them and pass them on in the future. Or maybe even use them to your advantage one of these days."

"How so?" I asked, curious as ever. Aside from never being able to leave the water, I also never stopped asking questions.

My mom grinned at me. "You never know."

"How are stories about mermaids and sirens going to help me?" I asked in a huff.

My mom's smile became mischievous then, and she sat beside me. "You know better than to follow a siren's call, correct? You know better than to trust a mermaid leading you into the reef, I hope." She touched my cheek and pushed my wild blonde hair away from my face.

"Mermaids and sirens don't have to be that exactly. They can be danger and trouble in life. People who mean you harm. Mermaids and sirens don't go out seeking harm specifically. They trapped and tricked sailors because the sailors were hurting them. But the mermaids and sirens in the real world, they might seek to lure you and trap you for the purpose of absolute harm." The look she held in her eyes was enough to make me reach up and hug her.

"I want you to know what songs to listen to and which ones to ignore." She squeezed me so tight then.

"I know, Mama," I told her as a promise.

I very much wanted to be a lifeguard like my parents. But they both agreed I wouldn't begin the training until I was sixteen. Until then, I worked in the snack shop with mom. I had always been a chubby kid, my mom said I came out made of chunky rolls. I was tall too and had a mop of wild, uncontrollable blonde hair. This combined with being an awkward kid and heavy set made me something of a target. For the longest time, I was self-conscious and unhappy with myself.

When I turned sixteen, my dad started training me to become a lifeguard. Well, it was a hard first few months, but soon, I noticed I was losing weight. I had swum and played in the water all my life, but it wasn't until I was training and working with my dad that I started to change.

I was still an awkward, shy kid, but I started noticing that I was getting stared at on the beach. Lots of girls, sometimes guys, would come to the lifeguard tower requesting me for help with something. By the time I was eighteen, I even had people singing at me when I was out on the beach.

"Oh Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!"

I really hated that my parents named me that.

Despite this, I was still the same shy, awkward, and easily flustered guy you could meet. But even this made me something of a target for admiration. I was described as mysterious, brooding, something you might use to describe Lord Byron. But no, it was anxiety.

The only time I didn't feel this way was when I was in the water. When I swam and surfed and was able to put the world and all my anxiety behind me. I was my best self when I was on my board, no anxiety, no nerves, no worry.

I was twenty-two when my dad died. Tourists had gotten stuck in the riptide, and my dad risked his life saving them. After that, my mom closed up the snack shop, and she took over my dad's spot in the tower. For a while, I found it hard to get back into the water. The one place that had given me the most peace had now become something I couldn't understand anymore.