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The crashing of the waves illustrated his beauty more than Robert could have ever comprehended. His chocolate eyes trailed over the sand, his clothes having been wrecked, and he found himself gazing into a crimson den of thorns. The thorns were prickled with salty tears, but the human realised that he was mistaken. Those weren't tears that were bitterly gazing back at him. The water trickled to the undiscovered crevices of the creature and down the pearl like cheeks. Despite his eyes, the crystal lips of perfection were formed into an expression of what could only be guessed by the other.
The creature tilts his head in confusion, tucking his wild hair behind his sharpened ears. His eyes carefully scanned the figure's physique, not minding that the figure he was in thought about stood peacefully on the sandy shore. He clicked and (as if it was fate) the figure in the water mimicked the human's facial features; he puffed his cheeks up and wrapped his arms around himself, although he struggled when it came down to his lower body. Robert gave an exasperated sigh, dramatically placing a sun-kissed hand to his face. He scraped his skin downwards, and let out a glare at the creature.
To his disbelief, the figure in the ocean dived beneath the glistening surface. He elegantly swam with the tide before pushing himself into the air with his momentum. The tail that emerged from the teal depth sparkled as the sun gently caressed the surface, the water droplets flew in all directions, some of which hitting Robert in the face with a thrilling awakening of euphoria. In that moment of time, the human felt as though a spell was cast. The youth he felt from watching the skinny creature—gliding in the comfort of the air before plummeting gracefully into the depths of which it thought as home—made him freeze in his movements.
He stood for hardly any seconds, waiting for the appearance of the creature, to that it came above in an atmosphere of joy. The eyes were glassed over as it blinked. Suddenly, it twirled in the water, the ruby tail splashing the formally dressed man. With his righteous attitude, Robert would have shouted or scoffed at it, unexpectedly, he felt a strange sensation bubbling up in his throat, to which he chuckled at the playfulness of what he had been told was a myth.
There, drifting in the coast of the discreet island, was a merman. He was hidden within the depths of the sea. Regardless, Robert swore he saw a glow on the surface of the water. He found his footing and stepped into the dampening sand, his curiosity taking a hold of him.
The merman was surprised at the human's movements, he hadn't expected a response. The creature bathed in the water as it openly drifted towards him. Robert wasn't the only one engulfed with curiosity. The tail flicked in nervousness but that didn't arrest the creature, for it was free.
The dark haired human walked into the water, having found himself regretting it immediately. A sound of disapproval of the temperature erupted from his vocal chords, to where it intercepted with the surrounding harmony. Fearful for the merman to disappear underneath, he clasped a hand over his mouth and stayed awfully still. To his relief, the creature just threw a comforting splash his way.
With no time spent to waste, Robert was soon to ankle depth in the water. The human stood there, gazing down at the creature. It caught on and it swam towards him. The merman placed his human-like hands on the sand. The human caught a glimpse at the various red scales that caught the suns rays. Checking occasionally that his lower body wasn't at risk of getting uplifted onto the shoreline, the merman contently played around with what he found from the sea bed. If an object was deemed interesting, he gracefully lifted it out of the water. Later on, he withdrew that item to where it had originally laid undisturbed.
For minutes at a time, they eased closer. It got to a point where the human had gotten as deep as to being submerged to his knees. The abrupt movement from beside him made Robert stumble. He lost his balance and fell face first into the water. Unfortunately, for the human, he had never learned to swim properly; his family hosted more social gatherings than they had taken the time to teach him hobbies. It was evident with the immediate flap of his arms. Struggling to get his head above water, his body unintentionally thrashed the waters surface in fright.
A swift movement from the creature was all it took for him to have action of the situation. Gently dunking the tail in the watery depths, he positioned it with ease to be laid beneath the human's head. The merman's features lit the sunny sky as he peered down with concern itching the surface. He urged his tail up out of the water and the merman shifted so the human's head can rest adequately on his lower body. It was enough for the human to settle in the salty water. The merman clicked again, a way of him trying to communicate; Robert had pondered what the creature was trying to say (and soon concluded it was trying to relax him). He was trying to pass the bliss of the water onto its guest.
He had to confirm that this certainly was a life changing experience.
The merman brought himself towards the human and, with its fingernails sharpened just like blunt blades, he tenderly cared for the other's brown locks. The human chokes in astonishment and turned his head to stare up at the creature towering above him. He never felt so small in this world, to a point where he realised he was no match compared to this beauty in the water.
The water being gave him a smile, and Robert could of sworn to God that the appearance of sparkles made their way onto the scene—was that normal?
The man sold his trust to the brown-haired merman. The feeling of those nails brushing his hair was something a respectable gentleman like Robert couldn't have denied if offered, and he had confided that he was special to be handled so attentively: as if the creature thought he was going to thrash again if he were not too careful with him.
After what seemed to be hours, but only a few minutes by the twisted clock, the merman gently released the human. He pointed with his tail to the sea, and with a saddened gaze, took responsibility on enclosing the drenched human with a departing hug. The eyes of both men faltered with melancholy, and the human reached out to take the creature's softened hand.
A blush arises onto the creature as Robert gave the merman his own perfect and reassuring smile. He wiped away the tears blossoming in the merman's eyes, disregarding his own grief he felt with saying farewell. Pointing to himself, he patted his chest and then patted the others: there was no need to be worried, he will be fine on his own. He pondered for a few seconds and then nodded to himself as he declared with silenced words, but intense actions.
The human caressed the back of his hand, his fingers descending across various scales that fitted in with the skin. He wrote the powerful name that he ended up deciding on for the merman he spent his afternoon with. He himself was embarrassed on naming the beauty that gazed down curiously at his intriguing actions; he didn't even know why he had gotten such a deep attraction with a sea creature!
He freed the hand of the creature and gave him a poor wave—he wasn't use to being so friendly with a human, yet alone a merman. Although, Robert didn't have to speak words to communicate with someone, and for that he felt joyful. The human knew for a fact that they had bonded: there was no doubts about it. No way would he let anyone take away the experience he had with the merman. He had never felt this way with a human before, and to be honest, his head was held high from having accomplished an understanding that this beauty in the water was something that wasn't associated with the touch of a human.
The embrace was lost. With pride, Robert dismissed the ignorance that this was the last time the two were to meet, throwing his concerns into his subconsciousness. With the shattering shards of worry dispersing, his smile grew. It stayed comfortably on his features and it did not flounder once, not even when the merman departed from the shore, taking once last animated splash from the abbreviated distance between the two. The merman disappeared into the growing horizon: without leaving a trace he had ever been there.
Henry, Robert thought to himself. That wasn't so bad of a name.