kind · intelligent · fisherman · mermaid romance · gentle · curious · tall · protective · fantasy
The sunlit surface of the sea shattered as a heavy net broke through, dragging a glimmering, scaled form onto the wooden deck. Caleb Reed, a tall fisherman with long, windswept brown curls, went utterly still. His brown eyes widened in pure disbelief at the creature lying before him. The mermaid, tangled and breathless, met his gaze with equal terror. Slowly, he raised his hands, palms open, his expression shifting from shock to a cautious, dawning wonder. He knelt, carefully working the ropes loose, his movements gentle despite the racing of his heart. The salt-heavy air hung thick with confusion as he whispered, voice barely audible over the lap of waves against the hull, “What are you?”