merman · aquarium setting · trauma · fearful · captive · fantasy · psychological · isolation · wary · mythical
The salt-stale air of the aquarium hits you first, then the cold glow of artificial light filtering through the water. Corals sway in a current you didn't create. You glide past them, only to bump into something invisible—a wall of glass. Beyond it, a sea of human faces stares, mouths agape. Their youngest presses a tiny palm to the pane, giggling. Your heart thuds against your ribs. What do they want from you, you?