When the darkness passes
It'll be like none of this ever happened

The little mermaid hadn’t planned on wandering so far away from home; but it was a tumultuous night over the sea. The currents were strong, and the waters were black, and pretty soon, she found herself lost amidst a rocky inlet where the waves crashed down, testing the strength of the surrounding cliffs. In the pitch black, her heart beat wildly against her chest, terrified of what dangers might lurk in this unknown place. She’d never been anywhere near the shore; all her life she’d heard nothing but terrifying stories about that horrid place, where disgusting two-legged creatures killed and dominated over everything, pulling creatures like herself out of the water and grilling them over fire. A shiver ran through her spine and down to the end of her tail as she thought about those scary stories.

This close to the shore, she wanted nothing but to remain still and hide herself in the darkness of the sea, away from those fowl creatures. But she’d been swimming for hours, and she was hungry and tired, and she needed to sleep; she needed air. From far away, the inlet, with its tall rocks and sharp drops seemed like a good place to hide while she rested. Swimming to the edge of a rock that was just slightly above the water, she grabbed onto the ledge and pulled herself onto it. Letting her tail stay halfway in the water, the little mermaid rested her head against the rock, catching her breath. Most of the violent waves were blocked by a taller rock in front of her, but the weaker waves were able to skim over her body. 

For a few minutes, she calmed herself down, thankful to finally get some rest. But suddenly, a light in the corner of her eye drew her attention. At first, she thought it was the moon, but a black silhouette made her in her breath. The top half of the figure resembled a regular merperson like herself, but instead of a tail, she saw two long, fleshy appendages sticking out of its body; her blood ran cold.

A human! She thought, panicking and diving straight back into the water. From under the water, the light from the human’s dwelling place was still visible. Her first instinct had been to swim straight back home. But the aching in her bones settled in once again, and she knew that she would have to hide all night, for she had no energy to swim much longer. Locating a shadowy rock, she determined it a good hiding place. Directly underneath the human, it would impossible for him to see her. She hauled herself onto the rock again, taking care to hide behind taller stones, she watched the human closely. 

It was a male human, she determined. His upper body held the same masculine qualities found in males of her own species, but his face was harder to see. Straining her eyes for a better view, the little mermaid became increasingly intrigued by the mysterious human boy. He used both his arms to lean against the white stone railing of his perch above the sea, and he seemed to be looking over the ocean. She couldn’t however, figure just what he was looking for. He suddenly brought his hand up to his face, a bright light shone out of it, illuminating his face. She soon discovered that the light was coming from a small, flat device that he held in his hands. 

The mermaid gasped seeing his face: he was beautiful. With big, clear eyes and a gentle smile on his lips, he could have been a merprince if he lived under the sea with her people. Such a handsome creature must surely have been a human prince as well. The little mermaid found herself leaning forward, trying to get a better look at the human boy. She wanted, suddenly, to know everything about him; she wanted, suddenly, to see him up closer and touch his face and hear him speak to her. She placed her hand over her heart, willing it to calm down or else give away her hiding spot. 

The boy laid down the small, light-giving device on the railing, and he leaned over it with his elbows, occasionally touching it with his finger. A female voice then called him from the inside, and he turned around to call back: “I’ll be right there!” he yelled, and the little mermaid’s heart seemed to swell even more hearing his voice. When he turned back to the small device, however, his hand bumped into it, and with a curse he sent it flying down into the watery inlet. 

The little mermaid watched intently as the small, light-up device fell into the water. Forgetting that she was supposed to hide, suddenly, she dove back into the water and swam straight toward it. It had landed on a flat piece of rock under the human’s perch, where the waves were weaker. Seeing it, the little mermaid reached over and took the boy’s device into her own hands. It was black, rectangular, and flat. It fit comfortably in the palm of her hand, although the surface of it was hard and cracked. It had one circular button at one end. Pressing it, however, it would no longer light up. What could it be? She ran her fingers over its surface, wondering what the boy was using it for. 

Sliding back into the water, she looked up once again at the light from the boy’s dwelling, but he was no longer there. Slightly disappointed at his disappearance, the mermaid turned her attention again to the little flat device. It reflected the moon, and in its cracked surface she could see her own reflection. Smiling down at her newest treasure, she felt renewed strength returning to her. Feeling giddy and love struck, she dived back under the water with the black device safe in her hands, eager for her next encounter with the human prince. 

Author's Commentary: THIS IS THE OFFICIAL REPOST. Hello, as per popular demand, I decided to put this story back up. In the past, I had decided to take it down because I wanted to give serious writing a try, but a lot of my plans have changed, and I honestly wasn't doing enough with this story (seriously, it was just sitting in my hard drive, unread and unopened), so I felt bad keeping it away from you all. There has been some minor editing, though, so if the writing is a bit different from what you remember, that is why. Enjoy.

Graphics: It has literally been months/years since I last looked at this story and I honestly just do not remember who made this amazing poster/background for me, but the graphic says sunnyjjang @ trajectory. She may have changed her username and the name of her shop by now and I am still figuring out what her new username and shop name is called, so please bear with me, I know that this isn't much of a graphic credit, I'm so sorry.