The coast, no matter the time of year, was always bitterly, bitterly cold. Heat from the wood-burning aga was long gone and all that was left was a faint draft which slipped its way through the vent at the top of the window. Snow was due in the coming days, the moisture in the air thick. For now, there was nothing but rain, occasional sleet. As the direction of the wind changed, the faint taps of raindrops against the window would disturb him. 

In the darkness of his room, nothing was visible. Normally the soft glow of the moon would cast some light in, but tonight she was shrouded by the thick rain-filled clouds, snuffing her out. It was an uncomfortable darkness, Jongdae couldn’t help but try to fight the feeling that something was watching him, a feeling that was made worse by the current weather. The thick blankets didn’t make him feel safe or secure. 

As tiredness caught up with him, he felt the sea call out to him.

Tonight, there was no noise, not even from the waves. The weather front due to pass over the village went further east and missed them, but the cold remained. Jongdae woke with a start, feeling damp with sweat. The cold air felt uncomfortable on his wet skin, and his nightshirt did nothing to retain warmth. As he ran his fingers through his hair he realised truly how much he’d been sweating, the feeling unpleasant. 

Attempting to sleep again would be futile, so he stood, feeling far too awake for this time in the night. The clouds which had been blocking the night sky for the past few evenings had parted, leaving a clear sky. The moon looked full, she outshined the stars that surrounded her and made the water below sparkle like a jet stone. As Jongdae closed his eyes and tried to hear the waves, he couldn’t make them out. Normally they made him feel at ease, the unusually quiet ocean was probably what made him wake up. When he focussed hard, he felt the ocean had been muted and in its place, there was a buzzing noise.

Confused, he opened his window. Though there were no harsh winds the cold air still rushed in, and all the heat that had been retained from his aga disappeared. Still, he could not hear the sea. A medium-pitched humming, like the sound of electricity running through wires, was all he could hear. 

Suddenly his body jerked forward, hip bones hitting the window ledge and arms gripping the sides to steady himself. His eyes went wide as he felt a strong urge to get closer to the water no matter how. His hands began to shake, the buzzing intensified, he tried to cry out but his throat felt like it had closed up.
 
 He could feel the fear creeping into his chest, thick and sharp. He legs moved forwards this time, feet hitting the wall. It felt like he was a puppet and the puppet master was tugging on the strings, forcing his body to move without his permission. The buzzing moved down a pitch, making it sound more like humming, a sombre voice calling to him.

‘Come to me’

He felt like he was drowning, being pushed further into the dark just outside the window, a crushing weight on his chest made him feel like he was dying and that he had stopped breathing. His hand had made its way to the edge of the window, and he could feel the salty sea air brush across his skin. He tried to scream but nothing came out, his body wasn’t his anymore. The sea was trying to take him, it sang to him and pulled him down, he had half his body out of the window now, and Jongdae knew there was nothing he could do.
 
As his body passed the threshold, he felt his balance shift. Body rigid and tense, he felt himself begin to freefall, sheer panic pooling in his stomach making him feel sick. The singing got louder, nearly drowning out his surroundings until he only became aware of the heavy feeling in his chest and the sharp waves encapsulating him as he finally hit the water. He could see the moonlight and the stars even through the murky dark waters, as he was pulled further beneath the waves.
 
The singing never stopped, if anything it got louder and louder until Jongdae felt like he was going to explode.

Returning to his house at dusk, he stared out to the sea, a quick glance at his worn out watched told him sundown was coming. The nightmares had been plaguing his sleep for the last few nights, he would wake with a start, a pain in his chest but he would be on land. Every vision felt so real, so detailed and always so similar to the nights before. He frowned, he once considered the sea to be his companion, singing him lullabies to help him sleep every night. Now she just screamed at him, dark, horrible visions of death and icy waters. He wondered what he’d done to deserve her anger.

He tried all sorts of remedies to help him have a peaceful night's sleep, warm milk, reading, lavender oil, avoiding teas and foods late at night, even valerian root. But nothing worked, every night he would wake to feel terrified, too scared to even glance at the window out of fear that his visions would become a reality. He burrowed into his sheets, covering himself completely to give himself the illusion he was safe. 

The bad weather returned, bringing storms along with it. Water battered the coastline as waves crashed into the cliffside. Jongdae could never sleep during storms, the sound of the strong winds whistling through his window always kept him awake. As he rested his eyes, bundled in his sheets, he couldn’t help but hear the faint sound of laughter. He passed it off as the wind.

Muscles aching, he felt himself jolt awake once more. The visions the same. The frightened feeling the same. It was just another night of terrors. 

The feeling of frustration was becoming more prominent as each night passed. Every attempt he’d made to stop the terrors had been wasted time. A whole month of nothing but broken sleep, uncomfortable nights, and fear of the ocean creeping into his heart. For someone who made a seasonal living off of the ocean, it was concerning. He hated feeling scared of something which surrounded him.

In an act of defiance, he pulled on his boots and jumper before trudging down the stairs. As the storm had now passed, the water was calm once more. The snicket running from the grasslands to the coastal edge was damp with the remnants of sea water, heavy with salt.  When he approached the sand he found that the moon was high in the sky, as full as ever. 

The sand beneath his boots was soft, and he struggled to walk. The tide was far out, leaving large expanses of malleable sand across the edge. Some street lamps above near the town cast a warm, orange glow down to the waters. The light which he used to guide himself towards the pier. 

The wood was sturdy for a pier which had been built many years before. Admittedly some of the wood was slick with seaweed and algae, making it somewhat slippery, but his sturdy boots had excellent grips. 

Staring out into the ocean he felt small. Smaller than he’d ever felt before. The ocean was a huge part of the planet, connecting countries across the world. Though Jongdae loved the sea dearly, he was also absolutely terrified of it. With so much of it unexplored it was hard not to be. Who knows what was lurking in the depths of the deep blue.

On the surface, she was beautiful. Gentle waves twinkling in the light, making soft noises as she hit the pier with calm waves. Jongdae couldn’t even recall all the times he’s dipped into the ocean on a hot summer’s day. The clear blue waters provided respite from the scorching temperatures. Saltwater and sun.

He perched himself on the edge of the pier, legs crossed. Normally he would like to dip his feet into the water, but not now, it was far too cold. He felt a lot calmer than he had done for the past few nights, even if he was right next to the ocean. He daydreamed momentarily, gazing off into the distance with his head propped up against his fist. 

In his peripheral vision, he saw a disturbance in the water. Just above the water level, he saw two glowing lights. At first, he assumed it to be some kind of fish that had come to the surface, maybe one with bioluminescent scales. But under close inspection, as the lights moved towards him, he saw they were, in fact, a pair of eyes.

They glowed blue, bright like precious gemstones Jongdae had seen in shops. He could only watch in shock as a head emerged from the water, a human one. How anyone could be in the water with these freezing temperatures was just beyond Jongdae’s comprehension. 

This person, smiled at him, as suddenly arms were bracing themselves against the pier. Jongdae jumped back, shocked and also terrified. Was he supposed to help them out of the water? Was he supposed to call for help? This person did not seem to be in distress, they kept smiling at him, staring at him with those shining blue eyes.

Jongdae looked closer, he expected to see human skin, pale and cold, but instead, he was greeted by extremely pale flesh dotted with silvery scales, flecked around what could only be described as a fin. Blackened fingernails tapped rhythmically on the rotting wood.

“W-w..” Jongdae wasn’t even sure what he was attempting to say, voice weak as he gazed down at the stranger's eyes.

It was terrifying really when the stranger blinked. The unnaturally bright blue would suddenly disappear and reappear. Every time they did blink Jongdae assumed their eyes would return to normal, that maybe Jongdae was hallucinating. He must still be dreaming, there was no way this was a reality.

They were… beautiful. Soft features, smooth skin where scales weren’t present, dark medium length hair. But their eyes… something about them wasn’t right.

“Hello, love,” they spoke, before gifting Jongdae a toothy smile, while most of the teeth appeared human, some appeared to be unnaturally sharp.

Their voice was gentle, but not as soft as he’d imagined it to be. The words echoed in his mind, playing over and over like little whispers. Now that he’d heard them speak he felt more at ease. 

Jongdae moved closer to the creature, gazing at their features. He realised that they were doused with strings of pearls and silver, in his ears and across his chest. Jongdae couldn’t help but feel he was looking at royalty, especially with the number of precious stones that decorated him. The silver scales with were scattered across his arms had gold and pink reflects, twinkling much like the stars in the sky.

“I’m still dreaming… there’s no way this is real.”

“Come to me.” The whispers returned.

“I-I can’t… the water is too cold” he stutters out, feeling sad in a way that he can’t get in.

The creature took offence, dropping off from the pier and backing away. Jongdae cried out, reaching towards the water in their direction, he didn’t want them to leave, this was the most pleasant his dreams had been in weeks. He needed them.

He struggled to stand, deciding to kneel on the pier’s edge instead. The creature emerged from the water once more, the bright blue eyes looking up at him with curiosity.

“Please don’t leave me…” 

Moving closer, the creature held onto the pier edge again, a soft smile on his lips. “Oh, love… I’ll never leave you.”

Come to me

The whispers swimming around his head began to drown out the noises of the sea. Soon all he could hear was the creature's voice echoing words unspoken. Jongdae couldn’t resist the overwhelming urge to touch the creature's scales, as slowly as he did so he watched the creature stare intently at his movement.

“Are you… one of the merfolk? I’ve read about them before.” He says softly, making himself laugh at the ridiculousness of the question.

“Something like that, yes. Do you want to be like me?” 

Kiss me

Jongdae blinked, thinking for a moment. There was no way this could be a reality, the sheer madness of the situation only served as evidence that Jongdae’s night terrors had entered a new level of insanity.

“Be like you?” He frowns slightly.

The creature laughed, sounding like an angel. “Oh, love. You can be free like me. You only need to do one thing.”

Come closer

Like subliminal messaging, the voice of the creature clouded his thoughts. He was dreaming, nothing he did would have real-life consequences, he knew that. But he couldn’t help a small part of his brain telling him that it was a bad idea. The gentle nature of the creature and the persuasiveness seemed to be winning Jongdae’s internal dilemma.

“What do I have to do?”

“Kiss me,” Another toothy smile.

Kiss me kiss me kiss me come closer and kiss me

He braced himself on the wood, feeling slightly repulsed at the feeling of slimy, rotten wood. Leaning forward towards the water, the creature giggled once more. At the new angle, Jongdae noticed another fin which sat at the base of the creature's spine, blending in with more of the silvery scales. Swallowing, Jongdae gazed into the creature's eyes, noticing that the light blue he’d seen was merging was a very intense silvery colour. A wet hand reached up, gently touching the back of Jongdae’s neck, extremely cold to the touch much like the creature's scales.

Closing his eyes, their lips touched. Their lips were salty and uncomfortably cold, making Jongdae shiver, but the kiss itself felt warm and loving which Jongdae had not expected in the slightest. He lost himself in affectionate feeling, hearing the creature’s voice in his head, giggling like they’d done before. He felt weightless.

The water swallowed him, he wasn’t sure how long they’d been kissing before he fell in but he didn’t care. The creature's lips parted, a long and thin tongue swiped at his lower lip as something large and scaley wrapped around Jongdae’s legs with a force so strong it made him jump.

Lungs burning for air he felt himself struggle but the creature did not even flinch. The light from the moon disappeared and he felt himself being dragged further into the darkness.

As spring broke, locals began to enjoy the new warmth by flocking to the beach. The sun was not beating down intense rays just yet, but the weather was pleasant enough to have a picnic.

A small child, a boy no older than five was collecting trinkets on the side of the water. Smoothed down pebbles and chipped shells lined his pockets. As he was inspecting a particularly large stone with a hole through the middle, the waves lapped at his feet. He sees something wash up further up the beach. Noticing it didn’t quite look like a shell or a pebble he rushed over.

He bent down close to it to inspect it first. It seemed to be safe, so he picked it up, flipping it over a couple of time to inspect it. 

It was most definitely a watch with a black leather strap, but most of the coating had been worn away. The watch face was filled with water and the hands had stopped moving a long time ago. He shook it, hearing the water inside slosh. On the back, he saw some letters engraved in.

‘KJD’

He’d give it to his dad, maybe he could fix it up for him.

A/N: Happy mermay! I had this song on repeat the whole time I was writing this. Leave a comment!