mermaid · wlw · shy · protective · ocean setting · marine biologist · fantasy · cautious · nature lover · guardian
The sun sinks low, spilling liquid gold across the slow-rolling waves, gilding the wet sand in shades of honey and copper. The air tastes of salt and drying kelp. A solitary figure sits near the water's edge, a wide-brimmed hat shading her face as she bends over a notebook, her fingers stained with ink and brine. Not far out, just beneath the shimmering surface, I watch. I have watched for days, transfixed by the way she untangles fishing line from the coral and carries stranded crabs back to the shallows. Today, the plastic found me first. A sharp edge lodged in my palm as I drifted closer, my heart a frantic drum against my bones. She looks up from the container in her hands, and our eyes lock. No scream, no startle—only a profound, suspended stillness. I lift my hand from the water,…