GIVE ME A TITLE

CHAPTER 2

The creature's tail whipped and lashed as it tried to escape its bounds. Aaron and Zade stayed, gazing down at the mystery ahead of us. The mermaid looked different than I had imagined. The tail was covered in seaweed, its scales were a dark but vibrant green that glistened in the sunlight. There were scales around its ears, and had a pointy and scaly backbone, like a fish. Its eyes were cat-like with vertical pupils. A petrified look was plastered on its face as we stared down at it.

I glanced up at my father's workers, speaking to them gently so as to not startle the poor creature. "Zade, Aaron, I got this. You two can go back into the cabin." I pulled out my pocket knife and started to cut the creature free as the two left.

Cutting the last piece of rope, the creature flailed, adjusting back to the feeling of having no restraints. I hate to admit what I had done, but I also felt bad for the poor creature.

The creature was skinny, their ribs being visible probably from the other side

of the ship. Their scales were broken, and not well taken care of.

I picked up the poor creature, the serotonin in my body taking over my rational thinking. The creature shifted in my arms, trying to break free from my grasp but failing.

We walked into the breakroom, and I sat them down in the sink and turned the water on before heading over to the intercom for the cabin. "Father, ready for departure." I spoke, my voice growing since I knew the cabin was loud. The noise scared the creature, but it had to be done.

I walked back over to the merperson, pulling a chair up beside them, but far enough I was out of their reach. They had calmed down, and started to play with the water. It was salt water, since our water was vacuumed up from the ocean.

They were having fun. At least I thought they were. They weren't smiling, but playing like a child.

A giant wave must have crashed against the side of the ship, because the table and chairs shifted to the other side of the room, and I fell out of my chair. The merperson fell out of the sink, falling onto the floor and crashing into a table leg.

Then they made a noise. A noise that scared the crap out of me. It sounded like a tornado siren, and it was high pitched. I crawled over to the creature, trying to comfort the poor thing. They must be so scared. I couldn't let my father take advantage of this scared creature.

Thinking about what my father could do to this creature made my guilt grow. I had taken this thing from its home. It was alone. It had a right to be scared. So, I did what any sane being would do while going 70 miles per hour on an ocean.

I picked them back up and put the right back into the sink. They would die if I dared to throw them back into the ocean, and if I asked my father to stop or slow down, that would be the end of my life. We were already running behind schedule.

They adjusted in the sink, getting comfortable once more while I turned the faucet on, turning it so the water would run on their tail before sitting the table and chairs upright again.

Insert art of a fishing hook.

The ship pulled up to the docks, workers of the docks caught the ropes our crew threw down and tied down our ship. I stayed in the break room, locking the door to make sure no one came in to see the creature.

The creature was still playing in the sink, perfectly content. They were picking seaweed out of their scales, looking incredibly focused on something mentally.

I sat down, looking at the clock. Usually the crew left within half an hour, so I planned on leaving with the merperson in an hour. That would place us in between a shift change of the dock workers, so no one should suspect us. I just needed a way to hide his tail.

Opening the supply cupboard, my eyes happened to glance over a blanket on the top shelf.

Unfortunately, I am five foot four and the top shelf is a whole foot above me. So, I grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the shelves and stepped on it. As I reached out, my fingers brushed the soft fabric of the blanket.

The chair's legs rattled and creaked under my weight. Then I heard it, the sound of wood snapping. I reached for the shelf but it was too late. The chair snapped, and a nail head broke the skin of my hand, causing me to land on the pile of wood with a bleeding hand.

Then the blanket fell on me. At least I got what I needed.

I got to my feet, taking the blanket in my other hand and walked over to the table. The creature looked at me, their eyes staring into mine with concern. My eyes glanced at the clock, five minutes until the shift changed.

My feet stepped over to the merperson, turning off the water. "Hey, I know you're scared, but don't worry. I'm going to take care of you," I reassured as I took the blanket in my hand.

But, the creature had other plans. They took my injured hand in theirs, one of their hands hovering over mine as they started to sing. Their eyes were closed as small particles landed on my wound, healing it. But that didn't matter to me. I stared at the creature. A new feeling taking over my body. Butterflies were in my stomach, along with a knot. My face went hot. Why was I feeling this way?

Their voice was like a piano, soft and comforting like a mother's hug. I was lost in a trance of this mystery of a being in front of me. My view of this merperson had changed. From an enemy to a friend. A human. This wasn't just an underwater creature anymore in my eyes. This is my friend, a human with feelings. A heart.

A soul.

Their voice slowly crept away, their hands dropping mine. I brought my hand up to my face, expecting to find my blood dripping down to my wrist.

My wound was healed, only a faint scar remained on my palm.

"How did you do that?" I asked, so confused as to how that being had healed me in a matter of seconds and I had been oblivious as to how.

They didn't reply, only staring at their hands and playing with the webbing in between each digit. It didn't surprise me, the only time I heard them talk was while they were singing, and those weren't even words, just notes, ah's and oh's.

The clock struck, and that was our time to leave the ship. Wrapping the blanket around their tail, we left the ship. No one noticed us as we left the docks and went on our way home. Every couple minutes after we left the sight of the water, they made a noise. A noise of sadness.

As quickly as we left, we arrived at my home, my father's Ford Mustang in the garage beside my Nissan Altima. Now the only question was how I would get this poor creature inside.

Getting him inside without my father noticing.