The Creature (Stefano Valentini )

Chapter 2

I watched as the lid was lifted from the vase. The ladder situated under my feet felt firm, so I didn't feel it would fall out from underneath me. They hazy feeling in my mind clouded my judgement, making my mind spin as I tried to think rationally.

It didn't feel like I had been drugged, but I couldn't rule it out. I could think straight, in a way, but could feel myself being more susceptible to the suggestions this man was saying. I could process my thoughts, but they felt slower, like a film being placed over my thoughts, muffling them as I tried to focus through the haze.

The lip of the large vase was small. Just large enough for a human torso, from what I could discern. Dark, murky water stared back at me. I smelled salt, something like an ocean's water now wafting through the air. I blinked, watching the water ripple just slightly as the being inside continued swimming inside. I saw the silvery ripples of the "fish" as he described swirling around, flicking through the waters.

A face slowly lifted from the water, dripping from the hair and face. A pale, feminine face poked from the jar, looking at me. She had long hair that stuck to her form, weighed down with the water, covering her shoulders and part of her head. Her eyes looked like small crystals, watching me, grey in color. They shifted across my face, studying me. There wasn't an expression on her face, just a blank look watching me. Her skin looked like porcelain, pale and nearly pure white, almost perfect, save for the small flecks of silver that caught the light at the proper angles.

"I'm afraid, the client that was going to buy her... Didn't respond to me and left her alone." The man spoke, shattering the silence. "She wasn't meant to stay in her cage this long, she deserves fresh water and some more care."

"What happened to your client?" I said quietly.

At the sound, or seeing me talk, the female being leaned forward, looking intensely at me. I kept eye contact with her, a strange feeling of danger coming over me. Pale arms, entwined with the long hair, dripping water down the side of the vase as she leaned her arms over the side.

"He didn't want to feed the poor girl." A quiet snicker passed his lips. "He didn't believe she deserved his attention. I'm afraid those that are full of themselves like that will never be able to care for something other than themselves."

I kept watching the female as she turned her head slightly, allowing me to see what appeared to be fins protruding from her head. My face shifted, and I felt confused seeing something like that. I saw what looked like scales ever so slightly accenting her skin. I watched as they caught the light, shining and reflecting into my eye.

I nodded, and watched her. "Why wouldn't he feed her?"

"He was a... vegan, and was attempting to take her off my hands because he believed I was being too cruel for keeping her in this container. He wanted to give her a more 'healthy' environment, but neglected to keep to her strict diet. You see, she is a carnivore. She will only eat meat, never any vegetation. He did not seem to understand that and refused to listen to me, so he unfortunately suffered the consequences..."

She reached forward, lifting her hand from the edge of the vase. It extended towards me, making me lean back slightly. The situation felt dangerous, the blank way she looked at me giving me an odd sense of dread.

"Personally, I don't enjoy the people that will put the health of their animals on the line for the sake of their morals."

I reached for the girl, attempting to shake her hand as I thought she was gesturing. Before my hand met hers, my other arm was yanked on. I was pulled down from the ladder, almost stumbling as it wasn't exactly short.

"I wouldn't recommend that, she has not been fed yet today."

I felt cross that he had touched me without permission and pulled on my arm very hard. I turned and looked at him, feeling a scowl cross my face. He smiled a more knowing smile than I expected, patting the hand of the arm he had grabbed. I just watched him and his knowing expression, ignoring the odd sense in my gut.

I glanced over at the girl in the vase again. "... Why wouldn't you give her a more permanent spot? Or is she too dangerous for you to keep around?"

"Too dangerous?" He giggled, raising his hand to his chin. "Of course not, not when she's being cared for properly."

I nodded, watching her as she slipped into the water.

"What's her name?"

"That depends, our pets don't often have names until they are taken home."

I frowned some more. "I'm not going to buy her from you, if that's what you're hinting at."

"I'm not implying such a thing."

"Then why show me and drop so many ideas about her going somewhere permanent?"

He smiled, closing his eyes at me. He turned his head to the side, cascading hair falling away from the eye he had hidden. He opened his eyes, staring at me, showing a golden eye peering at me. That knowing smile returned as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I was simply recounting her story for your curiosity. You were asking questions, so I assumed you wanted to know more."

"What are you going to do with her, then? Since the last buyer didn't 'follow through' with his purchase?"

"Search for a new one. I wish to ensure she goes to the proper home first; I always have to make sure the buyer will follow her rules in the sake of her safety and the safety of the owner."

I nodded, watching the mesmerizing ripples in the water. "What kind of creature is she?"

"I'm sure you would recognize the name. She is considered to be a mermaid."

"A mermaid? Like the mythical creature?"

"Yes, she is one."

I watched as the face surfaced again. She watched me, leaning over the lip of the vase again, now at a much higher angle than before. She looked more familiar this time, like someone I should recognize as I saw her. I knew, however, she wasn't someone I had ever met, or wasn't a face I had actually seen before.

She reached for me again, watching me from above. I didn't reach back, and her fingers twitched in a gesture to come closer. I simply watched her, taking in the details and curves of her skin. Watching the look on her face, still blank, but now what appeared to be a slight smile was looking back at me.

"She seems to like you, sir."