Fishes

3

The boat cast a dark shadow above them. The sky above was grey.
"There it is," Michelle said softly, taking Emil's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm gonna leave you with him, okay? Come back once you're done; I wanna hear how your first conversation went." She let go of his hand and began to swim away.
"Wait," he said after a moment's silence, darting down to her.
She stopped, looking into his eyes.
Emil wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll miss you," he said. His heart rate rose in an adrenaline-powered accelerando as he swam up to the slowly moving surface.
His head popped out into the cold. He held his breath and swam towards his unsuspecting brother, hoping he would notice him first.
Lukas, slouching towards the opposite side with his fishing rod, did no such thing. Emil grabbed onto the side of the boat. He took a deep breath of air, lungs opening up and ribcage expanding.
Merpeople were an amphibious specious, despite being unable to walk on land. They had long ago evolved lungs when they took their place as a sort of parasite on the human race. Grim though it was, they had been kidnapping children, stealing metals and the like from ships, and often going so far as to kill for goods since ancient times.
Lukas whipped around, hearing him gasp for air.
Their eyes met. "Emil," Lukas whispered.
He nodded, heart pounding.
"What in God's name have they done to you?"
He cleared his throat. "I'm perfectly fine." He bit his lip, not sure whether to give him a reassuring smile or defensive scowl.
"You don't look it," Lukas said with a frown, "How have you been?"
"Quite well, actually. After I was transformed, the kidnappers abandoned me. I was taken in by a magician named Francis. I lived with his family until I was old enough to live on my own. I'm studying biology at a university."
Lukas raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know they had universities. I, ah, suppose you'd like to know how I've spent my years."
Emil stared blankly up at him.
"I'm married. He and I are both wizards, but I fish when the demand for spell work is low. We're not very rich, but we're doing okay. He has an eleven year old brother who lives with us."
"I'm happy to see you again," he said flatly. This was not how he pictured their conversation going at all.
Lukas sniffed. "I suppose you want to be human again. I'd be more than happy to have you live with me. You'll have to find a job and all." He glanced up at the uniform gray sky. "I still love you, even though it's been twenty-eight years."
Emil sighed. He hardly remembered twelve-year-old Lukas, and could not say the same. "Yes, I do want to be human again."
"Do you, er, have a family? That might be a complication. Do you have children?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Of course not. I'm way too young to have kids."
Lukas began to fiddle with something about his fishing rod that Emil couldn't see.
"Right. Physically, I think I'm still a teenager to humans."
"Sorry," he muttered, pulling out a long piece of thread from what seemed to be a tangle of fish line. "I think we'll get along just fine once you're human again. Seeing you like this is a bit disconcerting, to be honest. I don't know much about merman biology; do you know another wizard who could turn you back?"
He nodded. "Francis is pretty good at transformation spells. It'll be done tomorrow."
Lukas smiled ever so slightly. "I can't believe this. See you then!"
Emil slipped beneath the water again.