The Stolen Merman

Chapter 3: Reunion

"Ariella, wake up! It's already seven and you're not ready yet" I paused, that was something I never thought I'd say in my entire life let alone be awake before Ariella; the bonafide morning person. I was stuffing my sketchbook, notebook and laptop in my bag while Ariella was slowly applying mascara to my dismay. I was already dressed in my white sweater, jeans and signature Converse. I wasn't wearing my hoodie but only because it was hot with the sweater, not to impress the mermaid; which is what Ariella seemed to think when she noticed my ensemble. I couldn't wait to learn his name, I'm positive that he was about to tell me last time before that sleazy man came in. I also wanted an answer to what Mr Jones had actually done to him, however vague or frightening the truth might be. As we were closing the chipped black front door of my house I marvelled at how ordinary this scene was; Ariella staying over for a sleepover, locking my front door as I always do, patting pockets down to make sure I had my keys even though I had literally just locked the door, a sure sign of my paranoia. These were such ordinary things when my mind was on anything but. We were on the bus around the same time, the same old lady sitting at the front with her red handbag on her lap. My leg was bouncing the entire journey, even while Ari and I were chatting about our usual topics like classes and what guy she was interested in. Ariella kept giving me these strange looks, the same ones I were giving her before on the same trip, like: Why are you so energetic this early? I understood Ariella was mainly doing this for me though, ever since we were little she would be the one to sit next to me when I had no one else at lunch, or take me shopping for my first real bra when my parents weren't around. My form of protection for her wasn't as subtle, if one of her boyfriends broke her heart I would be right there with her pulling out the dart board and a picture of his face for some much-needed stress relief. Smiling to myself at the fond memories I pressed the button for the next stop and felt calmer than I had in awhile...

The stone pillars that seemed so daunting before weren't nearly as impressive when you knew what lies behind them, the true treasure. Before we'd even reached security, Mr Jones had sauntered over, shiny shoes squeaking on the marble-esque floor.

"Young Ladies! How lovely to see you again! It's almost like we're old friends now." He laughed reaching out to shake our hand. I smiled politely, even though I completely disagreed with that statement and tried not to wipe my hand on my jeans when he shook it. I could see Ariella trying not to do the same, especially as he clapped her on the shoulder and she suppressed a shudder. The other staff seemed to have vanished from sight when he came over, seems no one here liked him much either. He continued by politely asking about Ariella's mum, and if her latest business venture was going well. She seemed very used to answering questions like this and immediately responded as if she were her mum's personal secretary; it made her appear much older than she was. As the conversation continued it seemed like he was being purposely slow, taking a meandering route to the exhibit, like it was purposefully to annoy me. My leg started bouncing off its own accord every time we stopped, itching to move in the direction I knew he would be. It was taking an eternity just to get to the unpleasant steel doors of his prison. During his idle chat with Ariella however, I was using the lack of staff and his lack of attention to my advantage. Scouring the grates, doors, cameras and water pipes throughout the aquarium; is a benefit to this meandering route. It looked like the pipes were industrial size and would snugly fit a crouched-over human, I'm glad the old schematics were right and it hadn't changed much over the years.

Finally, he started walking again after pausing by the nurse sharks, through the maze of the aquarium making small talk as we went. Finally, he started on a topic I was interested in.

"It seems that the creature hasn't left the back of the tank since you left, young ladies, no matter what we try to do to persuade it otherwise. I am so very pleased you decided to revisit it. Observing it before, after and during the time with you is positively intriguing to the researchers. The bonuses I'm receiving through ticket sales are also nothing to sneeze at" He chuckles lightly to himself, his gold watch gleaming in the blue lights. What he said about the merman, at least, seemed like a genuine truth. I could see the frustrated tick in his jaw as he mentioned the merman's defiance. The way Mr Sleazy spoke about him was like he wasn't even worth talking about aside from the money the merman is making him. Putting in the passcode again Mr Jones reminded us of the rules, waved us through the doors and pulled them closed behind us with an excited wiggle of his fingers. Once again, I immediately met those ocean-blue eyes as soon as I turned toward the tank. This time, though, and didn't let the wonder distract me. I strode up to the glass with purpose, slowly so as to not frighten him but still with confidence. Ariella and the rest of the room fell away again when I placed my hand out against the glass, it was the same feeling as when you get completely absorbed into a book, like nothing exists aside from the words in front of you and the world those words build in your mind. The man was still at the back but facing me with the same piercing gaze. I gave him a gentle smile which seemed to help decide him, he listlessly swam over to me and set his hand across from mine. Tearing my eyes away from his I noticed some red around the collar he wore and came to the realisation it was from where the collar had been roughly pulled, worse than before. This is probably what that man meant when he said 'No matter what we tried'. I tried my best to show my sympathy through my eyes while still holding the comforting smile and asked the question I had tried asking last time: