Mermaids

Life On Land

LIVING ON LAND WAS MISERABLE.

I swam and dove underwater with my flimsy human legs for hours, struggling to find the traitor. Hours passed and she still hadn't turned her stinky little nose up.

I swam painstakingly to the shore. I shouldn't have trusted her. This was all my fault.

I was an idiot.

And furthermore, how was this even possible? I figured the magic was just like a part of m ee. I didn't know anyone could just waltz--or swim-- right up and take it.

But I guessed it was possible. And that meant I could go right up to her and take it back.

I let the waves push me onto shore and I lied down on the cold sand. It was morning, and I watched as people all started their morning walks.

"Blahg," I mumbled, doing my best to stand up. Since it had been awhile since I was on shore, my legs were wobbly. I surveyed my surroundings slowly.

The air was very clean here, despite and sheer amount of civilians. People were everywhere- all with dark hair, all looking fit and healthy.

Japan sure looked weird. The characters and symbols and odd arrangements of sounds were completely foreign to my ears. Unlike other languages I had come to hear during my last stay on land, this one didn't even sound the same.

Deciding to look around for some way to get back home, or to America at least, I started walking towards some small buildings.

When I was passed the sand, I stopped at a cute little restaurant-- assuming it was one-- that was mostly open. It smelled good, like the ocean. I stopped and took a seat on one of the stools. A waitress came over, giving me a bright smile.

"What can I get for you today?" She said in heavily accented English. Whew. I hoped I didn't have to learn japanese.

"My magic," I mumbled incoherently. "Actually, what do you have here?"

She looked puzzled for a second. "Gohan. I mean, rice. And ika."

I nodded, pretending to understand. "I'll have some of that."

She left, and I sat back on my bar stool, glaring out at the ocean. If it wasn't for Minako, I'd still be swimming there.

"Not a fan of the ocean, huh." The waitress girl had returned, but she took her apron off.

Why were these people so friendly? Uh oh. Was she going to be the next Minako and rip something else from me?

"Nahh, I do. Just not now." I gave a small chuckle.

She did too, sympathetically. Then, she bowed. "My name's Yumi."

I looked at her and gave an awkward bow. "Ryan."

"You're obviously not from here, are you."

I nodded my head. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you kind of stick out." She wasn't like Minako, I could tell. But she reminded me of Holly way too much.

I nodded and looked down. I really needed to find a way out of here.

"Where are you from?"

"California. It's in America, that way." I pointed out to sea.

"You didn't s-swim here, r-right?"

She was on to me. I was wrong. She was like a copy of Minako herself.

I scoffed, trying not to look suspicious. "Obviously not."

Another waiter brought out my food, and I dug in. I tasted weird and made my chopsticks -- which I awkwardly poked at the food with-- purple.

"What is this?" I asked Yumi.

She giggled, uncharacteristically for her. "Squid and rice."

Eww. I put the chopsticks down. The conversation lulled into awkwardness.

"Hey," she said, breaking the silence. "My family owns this shop. Would you like a job here? You'd have to obviously learn some Japanese, but it could work."

Wow. A job? I would need some money, like I saw Holly's family use to buy things. I could get an apartment then, maybe.

Still though, I had no idea what Minako was doing down in the kingdom. She might have overthrown the king, for all I knew. But it was still my job to protect the kingdom.

Could I live here? It might be fun, serving squid everyday and learning a new language.

But I didn't know. And I still had to find my magic. Well, I could find it while working.

I smiled at her. "I'd like that."



I quickly found out I wasn't good at cooking. Even after four burnt squid dishes, Yumi was forgiving.

"Let's try waitering." She gave me a sympathetic smile and handed me an unburnt plate. "Just take this to the table over there."

We did this for hours, until my already wobbly legs were weak and tired, and my hands were numb.

Yumi handed me a bunch of strange little coins, yen, she called them. I found an apartment and rented it for the night.

I fell into a deep sleep that night, dreaming about taking my magic back from Minako once and for all.


***

Sorry it's short an took forever. :(

I'm kind of losing enthusiasm over this story...

Please vote, comment and follow! :D

Rae <3