Mermaid’s Lust

[Nina’s Perspective]

We went over to the rocks and found a spot to sit on.

Since we were children, I’ve been with Andy for so long.

I was used to him being by my side and spoiling me like his own brother.

No matter how unreasonable I am, he will always come here whenever I need his company.

For many years, I have never seen him talk about love, nor bring his girlfriend. He was always chill and quiet.

Unlike me, love makes me happy. When I meet someone I like, I go after him crazily. It may sound ridiculous, of course.

I often get dumped by others, and it makes me sad for a few days.

Andy always comes to the rescue; he takes me out to eat delicious food and play whenever he knows I feel broken-hearted.

Andy suddenly confessed to me before, and that caught me off guard.

I didn’t know how to respond to his revelation.

I remembered how I rejected his feelings that day, and how it might’ve hurt him.

After being together for so long, our relationship has always been very good, but I have never been excited about him.

I like him just because he is simply my best friend.

That may be the reason why he became distant all of a sudden.

Now, he did not hesitate to come here and accompany me.

He even turned himself into a mermaid, like me.

It is gratifying that he came to join me, but I feel very sad when I can’t repay him anything.

“You don’t have to do this. “I told him repeatedly.

Since Kevin left me, I suddenly want to understand a lot of things on my own.

I am not alone, and I am not the only one who can leave others without scruple like him.

I am too selfish, and I can’t always do this.

Kevin’s departure is just right, at least now I understand my position.”

“What encouraged you to come here?”I asked him while staring at his eyes.

“You. I simply wanted to be with you. I can’t bear to see you alone and sad. Do you remember how I was always there for you? I won’t change that no matter how you rejected me.” he answered me while staring into the deep sea.

I went silent. I almost wanted to cry again but I knew that he would get bothered and comfort me. So, I went closer to him and hugged him.

In Andy’s arms, I heard his powerful heartbeat. I owe him too much.

“You have also strengthened my choice. I can’t change my habit for so long. Nina, I won’t let you bear so much by yourself.” Andy hugged me tightly, fearing that I would run away without paying attention.

“Thank you, Andy. Thank you for being here with me.” I whispered to his ears.

“No problem. I came here according to my own will and decision. Don’t ever feel sad nor hesitant again.” he comforted me.

He jumped in the water and attempted to grab my hand.

“Well, can you show me this underwater world now? I am looking forward to it. After all, we can’t really get a close look at the creatures here like this.” Andy asked me to show him the real underwater world.

“Let’s go to my room first. The beds here are all brought to me by my mother. I don’t have to float in the water all the time. I can also lie in my bed and feel what I look like at home.” I told him.

Andy and I swam in the water to my cave, then saw my room still as pink as ever.

“Wow, what a warm room. Why are there kittens and puppies here? Did you bring them here?” At a glance, he saw my pets playing in the corner.

“My mother brought them to relieve my boredom. They have names, the cute dog is called Tingge, and the stupid kitten is called Huamei.

They have a good relationship.” I told him

I then called for them, “Come here, we have a guest.”

I introduced him to my pets and showed him around the cave.

Meowww… the cat obediently came over and rubbed Andy’s hands, trying to signal Andy to carry her.

“Woof! woof!” the dog barked loudly and he didn’t seem to like Andy’s face at all and started barking at him that made Andy startled.

“Behave! sit down, and don’t move. Do you hear me?” I glared at my dog and motioned him not to bark loudly again.

“Oh, I’m scared to death. This dog is really unfriendly and quite fierce.” Andy said scaredly.

He went to my side and grabbed my arms to hide.

“Haha, I didn’t know that you easily get scared with a small barking dog.”

I teased him.

“Of course! look at him he looks ready to tear my limbs,” he replied annoyedly.

Andy glanced at the loud barking dog again and moved weakly.

He didn’t dare to shout at it, fearing that he might get bitten.

“Listen to me Tingge, this is my good friend, you can’t be rude to him, hear me?” I touched him to calm his emotions. It seemed to understand what I just said, he rubbed his head against me, then went to Andy and wagged his tail.

“Can I touch it now? Will it bite me again?” Andy pointed to Tingge with doubt.

I haven’t said anything yet. The dog suddenly rubbed Andy’s legs, which made Andy calm down.

“That’s it. Good boy Tingge ” he rubbed his hands against Tingge’s head and scratched its stomach.

I can already see that they are having a nice bond with each other.

The whole room is lively again. The two of us, a cat and a dog, were jumping into this room.

Andy stared at the decorations and saw a photo of me and my mom.

He glanced at it and asked me, “Does Aunt visit you often?”

“She just came here a few days ago. We already talked and agreed that she can come here during her off and special holidays.” I replied.

“How about your dad? how is he now?” he added.

“Well he is already married to someone, they’d probably be here anytime for their honeymoon,” I answered.

I remembered that I have a chest under my bed where I kept my childhood stuff and pictures. I quickly looked under it and grabbed it in front.

“What is that?” Andy curiously asked me.

“It’s my time-capsule” I smiled at him.

“I kept some precious gems here to remember as I grow older,” I added.

Its steel edges are already quite rusty and it was hard to open.

With Andy’s help, we managed to unlock it.

It was very dusty and old inside.

The first thing that popped up was some of my fashion accessories from my younger years.

Andy grabbed some of the earrings and hanged them in his ear auricle.

He faced me and impersonated the young girl I was.

“Look at me! Hi, my name is Nina. I am very careless and stubborn and I like to stroll around.” he jokingly teased me.

“Haha! Very funny Andy!” I grabbed the earrings from his ears and placed them back on the small container.

We also saw my shell necklaces and pearl bracelets.

I used to make tons of this since it was very accessible for me to gather colourful and pretty seashells in the sea.

We acted like kids playing with them and even decided to place them on each other’s neck and wrist.

We were having a good time together; the cave was filled with happiness and laughter.

We continued to see under the chest and a small album showed up.

Its pages were starting to produce molds, which may be caused by the humid weather here in the cave.

Some of the pictures are already starting to fade.

As I turned its pages, I saw a photo of 2 kids sitting on the seashore.

Surprise! It was Andy and me.

I immediately grabbed a cloth to safely remove it from the album’s plastic film.

After successfully removing it, I showed it to Andy immediately.

“Look here Andy! Do you remember this photo? I excitedly passed him the picture.

He stared at it carefully and realized who it was.

“Wow! It’s from a long time ago. I can’t believe you still have it.” he answered.

“I know right? Good thing I decided to dig in this chest or else it could’ve faded more to the point where it is already unrecognizable.” I said to him,ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Keep it and have it framed. It will serve as my proof to you” he smiled at me.

“Proof? What proof?” I was puzzled.

“Proof that I had always been there with you since the beginning.” He stared deep into my eyes and smiled widely.

I blushed and went silent for a while. Andy was right, but he was wrong in one thing.

“I don’t need it framed nor placed next to me,” I answered him seriously.

“What?” he was a bit clueless with my response.

“Silly you! It’s simply because it’s imprinted in my mind. I don’t need proof because it was already a part of my happy memory.” I smiled at him happily.

I can see that his face blushed and hid an elation.

We continued to reminisce about our childhood days including our travels.

Then time passed quickly and it was already dark.

If there was no light from outside the cave, it would mean it was already near nighttime.

“Let’s go to the water, I wanted to feel the fresh air outside, and by the way, we can get some more food, “I told him.

Andy and I agreed to go outside the cave.

“Ok, let’s take Tingge and Huamei outside. I hold Tingge while you take Huamei.” Andy said and he immediately picked up Tingge.

He swam with his head down while raising Tingge in his hands, making sure that the cat won’t drown in the water. I also grabbed Huamei and followed after them.

We placed them in the sand, and they immediately ran after each other.

“The moon is so beautiful tonight. I haven’t seen it for a long time.”

The moon was big and round, and its light illuminates the surroundings together.

Before life felt simple, I never bothered to care about these things around me, but now even small flowers and plants can easily attract my attention.

“Let’s sleep outside tonight, nobody would come here anyway, and I’m here to take care of you.”

Andy’s suggestion fitted me, and I nodded. That night, the two of us lay side by side on the beach, watching the stars all over the sky, with Huamei and Tingge lying beside us.

“I love the view of the stars here,” he uttered

“You will. Aside from the breathtaking view of the ocean, you can also experience peace and fresh breeze.” I replied.

“Then I might as well stay here forever then.” he smiled and looked into my eyes.

I smiled back at him and continued to gaze at the night sky.

I missed Andy so much, it’s been a while since he came here. I heard that he was doing well with his career. I never thought he’d come back for me.

After a few conversations with Andy, we fell asleep soundly.

Early the next morning, I woke up on time, and the fish’s tail had already faded. I saw Andy, who was naked and asleep next to me. I was scared and jumped into the water with my body covered.

I quickly went to the room and put on some clothes.

I also took some clothes for Andy and threw them on him, while I sat aside looking far away.

I went to look for Tingge and Huamei and saw them playing near the trees.

I went back to check on Andy, still, with my eyes half-closed.

Suddenly, I heard him yawning and waking up.

“Why do you get up so early, how am I… What is this! ” Andy screamed as he realized that he was naked.

Is this your dress? Is it for me to wear?” he asked as he was staring at my dress.

I sat behind him, looking from the side, and I could probably think of his embarrassed face.

“The clothes may be a little small, so make use of it first, and I’ll accompany you to buy some later. Unless you want to go out without clothes.” I told him with a smirk.

“This is too much, how can I go out with these clothes on?

Hey! you should turn your head and don’t look,” Andy shouted behind me.

“Are you ready?” Then I turned around and burst into laughter.

I saw Andy wearing my dress, he was standing there wriggling and holding back his laughing tears.

Andy has a stylish figure and is not exaggerated in my clothes, but he can’t stand wearing them himself.

“Please go ahead and buy me some clothes. I can’t see people like this, so I don’t want to go out.” Andy had a little temper with me and sat aside like a child and ignored me.

“Don’t you want to shop with me? In that way, you can choose more suitable clothes.” I teased Andy.

“Very funny Nina!” he continued to pout like a kid and ignores me.