stars

one

Brooke

I was always fascinated by the night sky. I never knew why, but the tales I heard made my young brain want to know more. Of course, since we are all merfolk, we weren't allowed to the surface to view it.  That didn't stop me from trying.

When I was a child, I dreamed of seeing the sky. So I snuck out one night, breaking the laws of Erye. I remember seeing the stars and watching the sky transform from dark blue to orange and pink. It became a routine. I would sit, waiting for everyone to sleep and sneak out. I have done it every day for eight years.  Every year it gets more difficult. Especially with all the guards bordering the kingdom.   

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I sat near the coral, looking at my navy blue tail.My mother swam over to me. Brooke, you need to come back and sleep. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I'm admiring the coral. I'm probably going to stay a while. My mother sighed and swam off, her purple tail shimmering.

The waters got darker, a sign that the sun had gone down. That meant the kingdom is asleep. I looked around, making sure no one could see me and then swam up to the surface. I sat on a rock, looking up at the stars. They were the same every night, yet they never failed to fascinate me.I closed my blue eyes, taking a deep breath.

I swam closer to the shore, transforming my tail into legs. I lie on the sand, looking at the stars. I knew my light brown hair was probably getting covered in sand. I smiled, admiring the stars. I heard footsteps. I turned my head to see a human girl with short hair. I got up, stepping backward. Then I tripped. 

I yelped, though I didn't want to. The girl turned to look at me. "Are you okay?" I didn't want to converse with the human, so I nodded, realizing humans couldn't see in the dark as well as mermaids. She got a metal box out of her clothing and turned light on, making me cover my eyes.  "Ah, sorry, is it too bright?" The light dimmed slightly. "Hey, you don't look familiar, are you new to the neighborhood? Or maybe you're visiting."

"J-just visiting," I said nervously. 

"Well, what's your name? I'm Phoebe." 

I hesitated, not sure if I should tell a human my name. "Brooke."  

"Why are you wearing just a bathing suit? It's cold out here." I looked at her, being able to see her face better now. She had brown eyes and shoulder length blue hair.  She had a couple freckles. I'd like to say that I acted cool around this human, but I was a mess. I had no idea why. 

We talked for hours before she said she had to leave. I felt sad, frowning as I watched her walk farther away from me. It was good timing, anyway. The sun was coming up and I had to be home before the merpeople woke up.  I hopped into the water, my legs instantly fusing together to become a tail. I swam back to the kingdom, smiling. 

The tales I had heard of humans made them seem untrustworthy, yet Phoebe was kind. Then again, she didn't know my true identity. Though I knew communication with humans was strictly forbidden, I wanted to speak with her again. So the next day I snuck out again, earlier this time, hoping to see her. 

I sat on the sand, looking at my legs. It feels weird to have legs. I'm not used to it.  I heard footsteps, so I turned my head to look. It was Phoebe, and this time she had an (I think humans call it a flashlight?) light stick. "Brooke?" I heard her say. I smiled. "Hey."

"Why are you out here again? Do you live out here or something?" She asked, not sounding as happy as last night. I wanted to say 'oh yeah! I live in the ocean!', but I couldn't say that.

 "I like the stars, and the middle of the night is the only time my parents wouldn't catch me sneaking out to look at them." 

"Don't you need sleep though? Like, what about school?" A school was a human thing (Unless it's a school of fishes, those aren't on land.). And it always confused me. Why couldn't their parents just teach them about the essentials instead of teaching a large group of humans confusing numbers and symbols? 

"I'm um," What did humans call it? "I'm taught at home." 

"Oh." She said. 

"Hm?" 

"I dunno, I was hoping I would be able to see you at school when it starts soon." She frowned. 

I thought about it. A mermaid being at a human school, learning about humans?" I wish I could, Phoebe." I said. "My parents wouldn't allow it. They think interactions with other humans could have a bad influence on me." Technically, I wasn't lying. My mother thinks humans are bad, though my father was human. She loved him, why didn't she like other humans?

"Do you have any friends?" I thought about it for a second. 

"Do family friends count?" 

She sighed. "You know what? I'm gonna be your friend."

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Okay this is my very first book on wattpad with 881 words (wow such a big number) Uh, just wanna say that i'm sorry if there's any mistakes, (if you're reading this at all,) but please give constructive criticism!! Thanks for reading, bye!