PROLOGUE
Why can’t most humans see us? It’s because our bodies are made of a substance that looks very water-like, invisible to the human eye, in most cases. We can see one another though because our eyes work differently, the colors are different as well as the way we view things. We look exactly like humans though. We can even walk onto land and become like you, though you won’t be able to see us. It’s strange, no one’s sure how it works, but we can transform to nearly anything imaginable. We don’t have tails though like in human tales. We are what you call mermaids.
Chapter 1
From the moment I looked into his eyes, I knew. It all came down to this, we could not be together. It wasn’t the fact that he was a Nymph, it was the fact that I wasn’t what he wanted; I never would be. I knew from day one that all he ever thought about was her.
It was that time of the year, the time for the great celebration. We had all lived another year without being murdered by the Nymphs. That’s when I first saw him. He was standing all alone, isolated from everyone else. I didn’t get it. I decided to approach him even though his whole body read “danger”. His face was intense and he didn’t notice me when I walked next to him. He wasn’t like the rest of us. His hair was charcoal black and his eyes were the deepest sapphire I had ever seen.
“Hi, I’m Athemest.” I said calmly.
He looked startled.
“Sorry for scaring you,” I smiled weakly.
“It’s okay,” he mumbled and continued staring into space, “By the way, name’s Nyle,”
I frowned slightly. Island names were out of date. Everyone in the society had had mineral names for the past hundred years.
“Are you one of them?” Nyle asked.
“Of course I am!!!” I snapped.
“Oh,” he sounded surprised, “Why do you have moonlight hair then? Shouldn’t you have sea green hair or gray hair like all the others?”
“Why do you have charcoal black hair then?” I challenged.
“That’s none of your business if you’re one of them,” Nyle replied.
“You’re not with the mer are you?” I questioned accusingly.
“No, I’m not,” Nyle replied.
“What are you then?” I felt scared, what if he was a Nymph?
“I’m from the Dasyatis clan,” he said calmly.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I was frustrated.
“What are you?” Nyle asked, “For all I know, it’s not possible for you to be one of them. You must be a Hybrid or a Nymph.”
“I don’t know what I am.” I replied, “But, I’m dead positive that I’d never be something that horrid, let alone kill another mermaid for a desire so dark. You’re one, aren’t you, one of those wretched creatures.”
“You could be one,” Nyle said, “you wouldn’t know until you turned fourteen.”
“You are one,” I accused.
“What is it that you’re saying I am?”
“A Nymph and you’re here to feed.” I trembled.
“If I was a Nymph you should be dead by now, face it, we’re all alone in this dark corner and I could kill you easily if I was one” Nyle’s eyes looked possessed at this moment, he looked wild.
“You’re going to eat me now,” I said.
“No,” Nyle replied, “I’m not hungry right now and you’re much too beautiful.”
I blushed.
“Then why are you here?” I asked anxiously, immediately worried about the rest of the merpeople.
“I’m just here to observe festivities along with the rest of my clan.” Nyle replied.
“Sure, Nyle, sure” I said sarcastically, “What do you eat then?”
“We aren’t mer hunters; you know how we can eat whatever, but have the desires to hunt the mer and humans.” Nyle paused, “I’m telling you too much already, you’ll figure the rest out when you’re one of us. Remember the Dasyatis when you turn fourteen.”
Hesitantly, he touched my wrist with the palm of his hand and a crescent mark began to appear. It was a faded silver. It matched the one on his right arm. It seemed all so magical and dreamy even for a world like mine. There had to be some mistake, maybe he found the wrong person.
I blinked and when I opened my eyes, he was gone, just like that. It confounded me greatly at first.
“Nyle! Both my parents were mer!” I cried out, but he was gone. There was no point in denying the truth.
I trudged back to the crowd. There was a lot on my mind. I stared at my wrist every now and then; the silver crescent was becoming more vivid as the seconds ticked by. It was about the size of a coin. It seemed to have some sort of eerie glow that even the most unobservant person would notice. So I placed my hand over it but the light shone through. It looked a bit like paint so I decided to go with that lie, I’d gotten a tattoo. If anyone were to know that a Nymph or whatever Nyle was, gave it to me, I’d surely be killed for the good of our species.
I hadn’t noticed but I was there already, back to reality. Zinc, my best friend, was there waiting for me. He was also my only friend. Zinc had short light grey hair. There weren’t many people who would even associate with me because no one had actually met my father. They hated uncertainty and my hair made it even more uncomfortable to be around.
“Athemest,” Zinc’s face was morbid.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately worried. Zinc was a Pyro, we were opposites. He usually smiled when he greeted people.
“Some of them are here,” he whispered into my ear so no one else could hear.
“What’s here?” I asked. Zinc’s warm hand was still cupped around my ear.
“Hybrids,” he whispered softly.
“Do the merpeople know?” I asked.
“No, they’re too wrapped up in the festivities. They’re always here every year anyways.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Their hair colors. They don’t even bother to dye it. They also have clan marks. Most of them have crescent marks.” The crescent on my hand seemed to be burning a hole through my skin at that moment. I hid my wrist as best at I could. Zinc seemed to sense my movement though… “They finally came for you…” He whispered, his voice was full of pain and anguish, “I always knew they would.”
“How?” I asked.
“You always looked like one of them, you were always different,” he croaked he paused for a minute before he continued, “Can I touch it?”
I took his hand gently and placed it on my wrist, on the crescent. He traced it lightly, as quick as possible, because it hurt when we touched.
We didn’t feel like celebrating. It was probably our last day to spend together, the last time we would see each other again. It was my fourteenth birthday tomorrow, so we sat in silence, occasionally tracing the crescent that now marked my wrist. The silence meant nothing yet everything to me. There was nothing to say but he stayed anyways. It was a sad ending to the threshold of my new life.[quote][/quote]
Thank you for taking your time to read Crescents 
