The mer had always been fascinated by the warmth of the upper world. Every day, they battled the cold currents and deep sea drafts to survive, so a little warmth was very welcome, even if it were just a little. The merboy was no different—at sixteen, he had swum to the surface for the first time to experience the warmth of the upper world. But it was dark all around and the only light came from white spots in the sky.

There is no particular warmth in the upper world, he had thought. The air was around was equally cold and damp. Then he heard singing. It was different from the songs the mer sang. The song had a timbre touch to it with audible bites of air and he was awestruck by it. Swimming closer to the sound, he felt himself being entranced by it. The song sent his thoughts folding into gentle waves, lapping at his being little by little.

That was the merboy’s first encounter with warmth. Warmth of a voice. The human stopped singing and he hurriedly dove back underwater, into the cold.

At seventeen, he went to the surface two times. The first time it was bright out and many humans were bustling about. Their language and laughter sounded strange to his ears. The second time, he heard the voice again but this time, he managed to catch a glimpse of the person.

It was a boy, very much like him although he had things the adults called legs instead of a tail. In the dark, the boy’s silhouette seemed to want to swallow his existence. A different song echoed from him this time and the merboy inched closer to hear it better. It sounded like a whale song, the deeper and sad kind. The merboy stayed in the water listening until his tail accidentally made a loud slap against the surface of the water.

The boy looked up in surprise and for the shortest time possible, he caught sight of his eyes. Just like the reflection of waves on a bright day, they were shining. Then as quietly and quickly as a wave, he disappeared into the water.

Three years had passed since then.