“And in the case of Moore versus Peters, Peters will be rewarded all the estates and assets agreed upon by the Moore party along with a cash total of $45,000. Case dismissed.”
The gavel bangs.
Ryan knew she had been cheating for months, but like any man who married the woman of their dreams, he ignored all the signs. Finally, it was her who filed for divorce, hired a lawyer, and practically drained him of everything she could. She even gained control of his business investments, leaving Ryan with only enough money to move into a small boathouse on the coast.
It was quiet here, the waves crashing against the shore was melodic and lovely, yet Ryan was starting to hate it. He thought if he moved away from the hustle and bustle of the city, sit in near solitude until he worked up the courage to take matters into his own hands, that maybe he would find an inkling of hope in the vast blue. But each day was becoming harder and harder to hold on.
One day Ryan ventures out on the boat, drifting on the calm waves until he bumped into an island that was unmarked and abandoned. This is the place, he thought. He would camp for a few days and then...
Ryan had brought provisions to last him until his final hours on the coast, but he still needed to fish. He cast out his line and soon had a hearty bounty ready to enjoy. Ryan had been living on the coast for the better part of a year, and his skin had tanned. He didn't care much about shaving, and his scraggly black beard reached his chest. His skin was a golden brown, sunkissed and freckled. As the sun set, he gazed at the sky, painted in various shades of orange, red, and pink. His dark, sapphire blue eyes sparkled in the fading light.
Ryan and his ex-wife never had children, He was an only child to parents who passed when he was still in college. When he lost his money, all the people he thought were his friends sided with his ex after the divorce. He was truly alone in this world and he was coming to terms with that fact.
The sun was down and a fire blazed at his side. He laid on his back and stared up at the stars, hoping and wishing they'd give him some kind of answers. Instead he was still alone, drifting off into a deep sleep.
The waves were unforgiving in the wake of the moon, her pull as enticing for the waves not to reach out to her. They crashed against the rocks so loud that Ryan almost misses the wet plop that sounds behind him. He's still groggy with sleep, but instincts have kicked in, and he was up on his feet before eh could wipe the crust from his eyes. Whatever made that noise was already gone, leaving behind a long wet trail, streaked across rock and sand. All of Ryan's fish was gone. Angered, he runs in the dark, following the trail the best he could in the waning light of the fire and moon.
He gets to the edge of the sea, where waves lap at his feet. Surely, he must've lost the trail at some point. There were no other boats other than his dingy, and from what he knew there were no seals on this side of the coast. Who or what could have possibly stolen from him?
Unable to sleep, he spent the rest of his night fashioning a weapon from a fallen branch of one of the trees. He's been getting stolen from enough.
Nothing happens.
Ryan goes deeper on the island to look for something to forage. It was easier said than done, so he ends up back at sea casting a line. On the shore in the sand, he found a stacked pile of clamshells. Was someone messing with him? He picked them up and put them in the sachet that was meant for fruits and vegetables. Luck was on his side every time he cast a line, bringing in large fish that could feed him for days, but he ends up devouring the majority before nightfall. The leftovers he sets a trap with.
It worked.
Something thrashed and bellowed out underneath a casting net Ryan had spent his time setting up. Whatever it was, he wouldn't allow stealing from him. He expected some type of clever animal, or maybe a person from a lost tribe, but when cast a torchlight over the wriggling form he gasped.
It was neither animal nor human. Well, it had the torso of a human; toned arms push and fight against the net, sculpted chest rising and falling as the creature heaves in its struggle. Their hair was long and pale blond, cascading past the creature's waist and stopping where its legs are supposed to start. The wet, flopping sound came from a large, meaty tail that beat the ground like a jackhammer.
It was a mermaid.
Wait, Ryan looked closer at its features. Merman?
If this thing's look could kill, Ryan would be serrated and filleted by its stare. Ryan felt intimidated when the Merman bared his sharp, jagged teeth at him. But his curiosity outweighed the sick, scared feeling that bubbled inside him. Ryan lied down his crude weapon, unsure something so fickle could even hurt a creature like this. He raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture and reaches for the net. Slowly and carefully, Ryan lifted the net and tossed it aside, jumping back in case the creature wanted to retaliate in some way.
Ryan was unable to understand what came out of the creature's mouth. He spoke some kind of language Ryan had never encountered before. The creature reached into a bag that Ryan didn't notice was slung over its body. He presented a handful of shells and his eyes flickered over to the fish still sitting there waiting to be eaten.
Ryan, still curious, still unsure, very slowly accepted the shells and slid over the leftover fish. The creature snatched it up and ungracefully plopped away, looking back over his shoulder every so often until he disappeared until the ocean surface.
Ryan questioned his reality until the sun came up and burnt his skin.
The next night he waited in the shore, a pile of fish sitting in front of him. The sun goes down and there was nothing but the light of the moon shining down on Ryan. He waited hours, almost giving up, before he caught a flash of movement past the shore line. A crown of blond peak over the surface, illuminated by the moonlight, then it dived back down, tail cutting through the water. It came closer and closer until he reached the beach sand. Hesitating, the merman climbed out of the water and scooted himself against the beach, painstakingly slow. His slow movements allowed Ryan to take in what he could in the dark. The creature was beautiful when he wasn't scowling and fighting for his life. His eyes were a glorious, unnatural green and his face was like a modern Adonis.
Something stirred inside Ryan. He found that something that had been dormant and broken came to life inside of him. He felt what was missing from his life, which money, women, and accolades could never fulfil.
Love at first sight? A lust? Admiration?
Ryan accepted the shells once again while the creature snagged the food with less haste this time. Ryan stopped him momentarily and they looked into each other's eyes. A shared loneliness on this island exchanged between green and blue.
Ryan leaned in, closing his eyes when he was close enough. The lips touched the salty lips. Ryan was no longer alone.
