It’s soft. It’s so soft. I’m warm. I’ve never known what warmth felt like except when I ventured too close to the lava. Why does it feel so warm? I turn to my side, and I notice how light I feel.  I feel heavy and light. I can move so freely, but I’m pressed to the ground. Why? As I turn to my side, I feel how bright it is. I can see the light through my closed eyes, and my lids are red. Why is it so bright? It’s never been this light since I’ve broken the surface. The air had been so warm, and it had been so dry. It feels like that day…that day I finally decided to see what was beyond my world.

I snapped my eyes open at the thought. I held myself up and looked around. I’m in my spot. I’m in our spot. I’m atop the boulder Changjo would always sit on. I turned more, and felt something weird. I looked down.

My tail is gone. There’s no more purple. I have legs, like Changjo. I slide my hands down them in wonder. How is this even possible? As I lean forward, I see a note.

‘Daniel. I’ll be gone for about a month again. This is your chance to have the human fall in love with you. If you can have that happen, then you’ll get your voice back. I’ll even give you the option of staying with us, or being with him. It’s up to you. If he doesn’t love you, then you’ll die. I don’t want that to happen, so good luck!

Much love,
         Minzy’

So, Minzy gave me a chance. Can I really make him fall in love with me? It’s been so long. I don’t think he’ll even remember me. I sit and stare at the card, and smile.

“Daniel?” My heart stops and stutters. I hear him behind me, and it’s hard to breathe.  I turn slowly and see him coming closer to me. “It is you, Daniel,” he says. He holds me tightly and I return the hug. I hold him tightly. He pulls me back and smiles. “You finally came out of the water.” I nod, not knowing what to do next. He stands, and I try to do the same, but I can’t.

I don’t know how to use these legs. I try to move them, but they seem so heavy. I feel something cool come in contact with my skin, and I feel it being wrapped around me.

“Why are you anyway?” he asked. He wrapped the white sheet around me before lifting me from the ground. He held me close to his chest and my legs dangled over his arm. I placed my head in his neck and smiled as he walked.

I peeked over his shoulder after a while and I noticed that we were entering the large white castle. Did he work at this palace, or was he a prince? I didn’t mind either way, because as long as I was with him and he was happy, I would be happy too. As we walked in, there were other people. They were doing a lot of different tasks, but they stopped once he walked in with me. They were looking at us and they had an odd glimmer in their eyes. I don’t know what it is, but it made me uncomfortable. Their hushed tones made me nervous and their glances scared me. I placed my eyes back into his neck, hoping to hide from them, but it did little good sadly. I focused on his hand on my back instead. I focused on how tightly he was holding me. I focused on his warmth. I focused on his heartbeat.

“Daniel?” I looked up, and I saw him staring down at me. I felt myself being lowered, but instead of feeling the hard coldness of the floor, I felt something soft. It went down with me. It reminded me of a sponge, but it was firmer. He pulled back and smiled as I turned in the sheets, trying to sit up. I didn’t notice him leave until I was finally able to untangle myself. I sat up, but he wasn’t here. I took the opportunity to try and learn how to use these legs.

Changjo would always just stand up, with his feet on the ground, so I tried to mimic it. I placed both my feet on the cold floor, and pushed my body up. It didn’t last long as I fell back on the squishy square. I pulled myself over to the corner where a wooden post was attached to the squishy thing and pulled myself up again. I was able to sustain myself, but now I had to learn how to walk. I tried to mimic Changjo, but I kept falling over. It’s tiring.

I noticed something. I was wet. I looked around, but there isn’t any water anywhere, so why am I getting wet? I kept my hand on the post to keep me up as I put my hand on my face. It was wet.

“Daniel?” The sudden break in silence caught me off guard. I fell to the ground, and it hurt. It felt so odd. I hardly ever got hurt under the surface. Our skin is so tough that it can’t be easily pierced without a weapon and my red headed friend had hit me at times, but this felt so different. This is harsher, and it knocked the breath out of me. “Daniel!” I felt his arms around me again and I felt myself leave the ground. “Are you okay?” He asked. I just nodded. I can’t do much more other than nod. He laid me back on the soft thing before picking up something off the ground. I guess he dropped them when he called out for me.

“Don’t get out of the bed without my help,” he said. Is this thing a bed? Is this where they sleep? Back home, we would all make our own type of beds. I would sleep amongst the seaweed, and my sister likes it in the algae, but we didn’t have these things. Changjo brought something into my view before bringing it to my feet. It was orange with holes. Ah, they’re shorts, like the ones he always had on. After he put it on me, I tied to sit up, but he held me down. “Not yet,” he said. I nodded as he brought another thing into my view. It was yellow and he scrunched it up.

“Lift your head a little.” I did as I was told and he put the yellow thing over my head. He grabbed my arm and pulled it through and I pushed my other arm through too. He pulled it down and covered my stomach with a smile. “Stay here,” he said. He laid the white sheet over me again before running off.

I looked around the room. It was so big and so odd. There were ornaments hanging along all the walls and what looked like rocks in the corner. There was door and an opening that led to outside. I looked down at my covered legs and removed the sheet. I wiggled my toes before wiggling my feet. I bent my knees, and it felt so odd having two different feelings. I bent them, and extended them until the sensation left. How odd.

I looked over, but Changjo still did not return. I lay back down and turned to my side before curling up. They used to call me a shrimp for how I used to always curl up, but it feels so comfortable now. I sigh into the softness and close my eyes.

“Master Choi, it’s time for your-” I deep voice echoed through the room. My eyes shot open, but I didn’t make to move. I’m scared, so very scared. I heard large heavy footsteps come closer, and my heart started racing. “Who the hell are you?” It asked. I still wouldn’t move, so he grabbed my wrists and pulled me forward. I tried to keep myself from him, but he pulled me forward so I was met with two very hostile eyes staring at me. “Who are you?” He growled. He scared me. His grip tightened on me, and I can’t even scream or tell him to get away, so I do what I can.

I threw him.