A Strange and Sandy Nightmare

 When Bailoch had first learned to breathe water, when he was born, many said he became ill. Bailoch never really knew his parents, but they were good friends with the reefmaster. The reefmaster was the leader of the village and all progress in the area, to make sure the local tides performed properly, and the reef was cared for. He was the closest thing Bailoch had to a father.

“The child…” the old merman looked towards Bailoch, tucked under a stranger’s arm since his parents abandoned him. “The water seems to poison his lungs.”

“What am I meant to do?” the stranger scoffed. “I will not travel hours for the closest imperial healer.”

“The child will die if you don’t.” Bailoch looked up to find hurt in the merman’s dark eyes. His blue skin turned purple with hot fury. “I will pay you.”

“Just take him, if you care so much. The poor creature was ugly, anyway.” Bailoch was shoved away, towards the reefmaster and his sizable cavern home.

Bailoch watched as the mermaid swam away, her long hair covering most of his view. When he tried to cry, he burst into a coughing fit, and the reefmaster quickly guided him inside, to the farthest guest room of the home.

The room he would live in for the next eighteen years.

***

“Don’t forget me, Clyde.” Bailoch held his squid friend tight against his cheek as he stared up at the surface. He had been floating, in this exact same spot, too scared to break water. He had never been this close to the surface before.

Clyde gurgled his agreement.

Bailoch sighed and eventually let Clyde go. His face stung from a few suction cup marks, but he payed it no mind. His current focus was the surface of the water.

The ocean was a very warm colored place. In Bailoch’s own reef village, there was nothing swamped in darkness. Everything was corally peach or urchin-purple, along with a variety of colors. Everything was filled with voices; there was never silence, be it good or bad. Many of those voices had hurt him before, but at least there was nothing empty at home.

Everything at the surface was empty. At night, he could see nothing but black, and a few harsh lights blurred by the moving tide. They didn’t quite look like the stars or sun. Were there glowing creatures in the realm of land-dwellers, similar to the deepest parts of the sea?

“Alright, Clyde. I’m going to do it. I’m going to leave. If you don’t see me again-”

Clyde was swimming away as fast as physically possible. Bailoch cast him a growl over his shoulder before swimming up.

Bailoch finally broke the water. It felt as if he was suffocating. This atmosphere wasn’t thick and moving like water. It was thin, freezing, and utterly bizzare. He couldn’t feel this substance flowing in and out of his gills; instead it dried them completely. Bailoch was sure he would die.

After a moment, Bailoch’s thundering heart slowed, and he was able to take normal breaths. It finally occurred to him that he should take in his surroundings. He tried his hardest to understand Talia’s instructions, but he had probably messed up as soon as he left the village.

About a hundred feet further was the shore. It was covered in thin, shiny objects that were either broken or covered in dirt.

Litter, he thought, elatedly. Exactly as Talia described it.

He swam, faster, against the strong night tide and toward the beach. Sitting above it was a strange, reddish structure. It was surrounded by flora and metal poles that held a magical light within them. On the front of the structure was a sign that read Spuntino di Mezzanotte. Bailoch nearly screamed with excitement. He swam and swam, until he was eventually close enough that the tide could guide him towards the land. It covered his tail as he sat there for a moment, taking in the sight. The beach absolutely reeked, but it was worth it.

Eventually, there was a rustling in a fluffier plant. Bailoch jerked his head around to find a Land-Folk walking towards him. Or was it a human? He didn’t think humans had droopy, pointed ears, or green skin, or wore plants as clothing. Before Bailoch had left, he sat on the top shelf of Talia’s cave and studied diagrams. They looked a bit like him, minus the tail. The creature heading towards him looked a bit more like the mermen in his village.

When she was a few feet away from him, he realized she had something hidden in her arms. A very, very, long shell. He scrambled back.

“Talia didn’t say you’d use Folk magic on me!” he frowned, attempting to cover his face with his arms. “What if you curse me?”

He watched the creature roll her eyes.

“Tell me, fishy, how do you expect to get up to the restaurant? Will you fly up there with your pretty little tail?”

“I-”

“I promise I won’t hurt you.” She pulled out the wand and started swirling it.

Bailoch gasped as a white mist covered his whole body. For a moment, he thought he had gone blind. Around him, he heard faded moments, saw dull colors, all as his head filled in the rest of the details. Memories that, he supposed, were good.

Meeting a tiny Clyde, curled up and alone in a kelp forest.

Reading a book as he snacked on a seagrass roll in Talia’s shop.

His first birthday present, given by the reefmaster.

His body slowly went numb as his mind replayed these moments, over and over again. After what felt like hours to him, he was pulled out of his past and the white mist. He stood on the beach in some sort of human clothing. It consisted of a dark purple tunic, loose black pants, and some sort of device on his feet he hadn’t heard of be-

Pants.

Bailoch was wearing pants. He was standing.

Bailoch whipped his head down to find that he was standing using a magical pair of legs. They were long, too. Bailoch was on the smaller side for a merman, but with these legs, he towered over the Folk woman. He grinned up at her like an idiot.

“This is magical.”

The Folk woman smirked and shrugged.

“I do what I can.” She ushered him forward, carefully stepping over the litter on the beach. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Bailoch ignored everything else the woman said as he stumbled forward, learning to walk on his own two feet. It took him a moment, but after some mildly embarrassing flailing around, he was able to hike up the small hill with no issue.

“This is where I leave now,” the woman said. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”

“What?” Bailoch said. He frowned, beginning to reach for her. “But you’ve helped me so mu-”

She tossed him a conch shell before disintegrating into the sky.

Bailoch stood there for a moment, flabbergasted. He tried running a hand through his hair, only to realize it was styled with a substance similar to sea snail mucus. He grumbled, tossing the shell between both his hands. There was no human around to lure into singing, so why did she give him a shell?

Bailoch looked forward, at the reddish structure before him. Perhaps a human was waiting inside. Perhaps all that the Folk woman was meant to leave him with was an opportunity. Bailoch took a deep breath and headed towards the entrance.

He hit his head on the clear trap that kept him from entering.

“What in the sea is-”

He looked down to find a handle. He blushed and pulled the door open, heading inside. It was completely dark, empty, and terrifying. Most establishments in his village would be closed this late into the night, so it would make sense that this one was as well. He wandered in further, trying to avoid the hard corners of the walls, when he finally saw a single glowing table.

A female sat there, a nervous look on her face as she stared intensely at the light form on the table. Her lip trembled, her fingers tapped. Her whole body trembled with the urge to run away, it seemed.

Bailoch studied her for a moment. She had blue eyes the color of the early morning sky, set a little too far apart from each other. Her nose and cheeks were covered with freckles and a natural flush. Her hair was shock white. She looked far too similar to a mermaid for his taste.

Still, he needed to sit there, if he ever wished to become human.

After many slow and painful steps, he made it to the table. She gasped and sat up straight, terrified at the sight of him.

“Don’t come any closer!” she squeaked out. He held up his hands, beginning to panic himself.

“I don’t want to hurt you! I promise!” She slowly sat back down, her eyes narrowed. He followed suit and sat in a plush chair across from her.

“I never should have trusted Hermit,” she grumbled. “I didn’t need to be all Cinderella’d and set up on a date.”

Date?

“B. Allure the human with either the shell’s natural charm or the beauty of their merfolk features…”

Right. He needed to allure the human to get her to sing.

At this moment, Bailoch knew he would fail his goal. He had never attempted to speak to females, as most thought of him as an oddity unfit for their eyes. This female didn’t seem appalled by his face, though. She seemed annoyed, and scared.

Bailoch took a deep breath.

“My name is Bailoch,” he said, a bit too quietly. “May I ask what is yours…?”

The human blinked at him.

“Finley.” Her voice was flat, but she stared at him intently, and Bailoch found himself wanting to duck his head away from her lovely gaze.

“Finley,” he said after a moment. “May I ask why you’re here at midnight?”

“I’m guessing your reason is the same as mine,” she shrugged. “Hopelessness. Though, I didn’t expect that goblin woman to take my hopelessness as being hopelessly romantic.” Her face soured at the mention of what he assumed was the Folk woman, and he furrowed his brow.

“You didn’t find her helpful?”

“All I needed was a job to pay for college. Instead, I’ve been bamboozled into a date with you.” She sighed. “I’m sure you’re a nice guy-”

“Most females are appalled by me.”

“-but I really didn’t need this.” She had completely talked over him. Bailoch didn’t really need to repeat his shameful courting experience, however. He squared his shoulders and rested his arms on the table. The human- Finley- glanced up. She blushed.

“You haven’t hurt me.” He gave her a hopeful smile. “How could you hurt me when I barely know you?”

“…Right.” She gave him a weak smile. He realized that, by the nervous look in her eyes, Finley didn’t smile often. Her posture was always stiff, but once he had reassured her, she relaxed. He began making a list in his head.

HOW TO ALLURE A HUMAN (IF ONE SO WISHES)

1. Comfort the human.

“Since we don’t really know each other, and I really don’t know how to get out of this…” she sat up a bit and smiled. “Let’s get to know each other.”

Well, Bailoch didn’t know how to do that.

Before either of them could speak, a green, kelp-covered creature appeared in the seat between them. Finley startled and nearly fell out of her seat, but he simply blinked up in surprise.

“Hello, humans,” the Folk woman said. She winked at Bailoch, which he found especially uncomfortable. “Have we all gotten to know each other?”

“Well-”

“I-”

“Great, amazing, wonderful.” She folded her arms and glanced at both of them. “Both of you fools hate your lives, correct?”

Neither of them denied it. Instead, Finley raised an eyebrow at him, curious, and he blushed.

“I have a proposition to make,” the Folk woman declared. “If you both are willing to give enough up.”