I'm a Mermaid, Not a Merman

22

Danny screamed as he awoke from an absolutely horrible nightmare.

Cindy had MURDERED DANNY.

In his dream, dream Danny didn't recognize Cindy. He thought that she was a cute girl, and he asked her on a date. Then they had gone to a pier on the coast of the ocean. Cindy lured him toward the edge, and then pushed him off into vicious crashing waves.

Danny curled into fetal position on his bed, crying in a hysterical way. His mind still fresh from the dream, he struggled to grasp for a moment that the dream was not real. But as his mind began to wake up more from the world of the dream, he felt no less horrible.

His room was pitch black, except for his clock that read 2:31.

The nightmare had not had much substance. He'd had ones with darker elements before. Thankfully, those had only happened once or twice in his life.

No, while this one was not some demon with an axe coming after him, the way the dream felt, his emotion in the dream felt so much more real. Not fantasy elements to it. Just the representation of his femininity murdering him.

He needed to get away from that horrible creature as quickly as possible. It wanted to destroy his life. It was destroying his life. He had no idea how he was ever going to recover from this.

He didn't think he would be able to. This... this was going to be what his life would be like.

Endless torment.

Danny barely heard the sound of the bathroom door opening over his frantic sobbing. He quieted, hearing the carpet being walked on, and seeing that there was faint light in his room through his eyelids.

"Ohhh," Sammy began to cry. "Oh Danny."

Danny returned to his sobbing, uncaring of her presence. He heard Sammy click his lamp on, and could see the light through his eyelids.

"We're very worried about you Danny," Sammy cried. "Please... please just talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to anyone," Danny said. "I'm a liar. I don't deserve -"

Sammy hugged her arms around him. It was awkward with him lying down on his side, but she held tightly to him nonetheless.

Crying harder, Danny wrapped his arms around his sister as she pulled him up so he was sitting.

"No," he thought out loud, "I'm a fool. This won't make the pain stop. If this does anything, it will only briefly take it away. Then it will come back. Then I will feel even worse."

Sammy did not let go of her hug. She didn't say anything as Danny cried. She didn't adjust how she was sitting. Sammy just patiently held onto her brother.

In his dark thoughts, he had a thought arise - it felt like his sister was a rock he was holding on to in a stormy sea.

"I can't take it anymore Sammy," he cried. "I feel horrible awake, and in my sleep, I'm literally attacked in my nightmares."

"Just hold on," Sammy pleaded. "Please, just hold on, and don't let go."

The dark thoughts swirled around in him.

"I am in so much pain... my thoughts are consumed by pure darkness."

"Please Danny," she said, "I know that you are in there. I don't care whether you're my brother, or my sister, or by what name you want to be called. You don't want to be in this any more. Don't succumb to these feelings."

Danny's face was drenched in tears. He shook as he held Sammy tighter. "I'm so... so scared Sammy."

"Tell me what you're scared about."