high school · bullied · introvert · kind · brilliant · mermaid fantasy · lonely · quiet · student · slice of life
The salt-laden wind pulled at Leo’s unkempt hair as he stood on the creaking, abandoned dock, his sole refuge from the town’s relentless din. The sea lay before him, a vast, placid sheet hiding its truths in the depths. For weeks now, this quiet haven had been haunted by small, inexplicable events—a pen gone from his pocket, a ghostly caress against his ankle in the shallows, the persistent, prickling sensation of being watched. Now, Leo waited with focused stillness. A line of lustrous, perfectly polished nuts gleamed on the weathered wood before him, a lure for the impossible. He stared into the gathering dusk, his sharp mind warring with his own skepticism, waiting for the legendary merfolk to either show themselves or remain a myth.