Mara's eyebrows had furrowed slightly when she heard Mayumi
tell her that she didn't think she was beautiful, and she tilted her head
slightly as she studied the girl. Did she really believe that? She had wanted
to say something, to assure the human of her beauty, but Mayumi had started
speaking again and her words had taken Mara's mind off of the subject for the
moment. Her smile had flickered across her lips and she had nodded. "Well,
you saved me, and you didn't try to kill me. So far you've exceeded my expectations.
Thank you for that." Mara had bit her lip shyly when she was told that she
lived up to the human girl's expectations and had looked down at her hands
again. "Thank you. Or...I guess I mean...you're welcome." 

Now she was propped on her side and Mayumi had gotten very
close. Mara didn't feel the apprehension that she had felt earlier, before she
had been freed from the net, and she smiled encouragingly at Mayumi. The human
girl reached out her hand until fingertips lightly contacted the side of her
tail. Mara watched the girl's expression, suddenly slightly nervous that she
would be disgusted by the way her tail felt. Why hadn't she thought of that
before? But Mayumi's expression conveyed no such disgust, and she didn't pull
her hand away either. Instead she ran the hand along that long limb of her
tail, and Mara could feel the scales the girl touched seeming to tingle. The
feeling of the fingers and hand tracing along her scales had felt a bit
comforting. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her tail, and she
realized now it was the first time that someone who wasn't a member of her
family was touching it. It made her blush a little, the knowledge that she had
so quickly allowed this girl to touch the limb. But she could tell that Mayumi
had been fascinated by it and that she had wanted to find out what it felt
like. Besides the girl had saved her life. Mara felt like she owed her
something.

Mayumi's removed her hand from her tail and Mara lowered
herself back down onto her stomach, holding herself up with her elbows and
resting her chin on the palm on her right hand. She could feel herself blushing
again as the girl complimented her tail and and nodded. "Thank you,
Mayumi." For the first time Mara's brown eyes flickered down to Mayumi's
legs and she looked at them curiously for a moment. It must have been strange
to have two limbs instead of one, but they looked long and strong. And Mayumi
had looked so tall when she had stood and she had done it so naturally that
Mara was a little envious. She couldn't stand without feet and only one limb,
and felt a little vulnerable knowing all she could do was lie down or sit. 

The girl asked a very important question and Mara looked
back up into her eyes. "I'm...not sure really. I think this is the longest
I've ever been out of the water. I mean...I can breath on the surface just as
naturally as I can underwater, and I feel perfectly normal. But I don't think I
should let my tail to get dried out." She glanced back at the scaly limb,
which looked like it always did. Maybe she could stay out of the water for
hours without consequence, but she had never heard any stories about that. The
merfolk didn't want to encourage their young to try and go on land. "I
really don't know, though. This is new for me."

Mayumi started commenting on their surroundings and and Mara
took the opportunity to look around for the first time. They were isolated.
This little cove was almost completely surrounded by a barrier of rocks, and
the only opening was small and let out directly to the rest of the sea. The gap
was too small for allow sort of vessel access, but a person could slip through.
A human or a merperson. "It's lovely, Mayumi," Mara commented,
nodding her head. 'I'm just glad the storm brought me here rather than someone
more...public." 

She was quiet for a moment, studying the girl in silence
before she spoke in a reluctant tone. "It was lovely to meet you, Mayumi.
Really. And I'm so grateful for you kindness, but I really have to go home. I
got caught in the net and the storm on my way home last night, and my family...
They must be terrified. They probably have the whole pod out searching the
entire ocean for me, and if they happen to find me here with you..." She
trailed off, not wanting to think about it. Her great-grandfather had become
determined to keep the merflok's world protected and secret from humans after
the loss of his wife had nearly killed him, and her grandfather had to uphold
those laws now that he was Elder. 

–

Mayumi felt her face fall at the idea of Mara leaving so soon. She really wanted them to become friends, but maybe that was out of the question. Their two species were so different, and each had a bad idea about the other. She could tell by the way Mara had reacted at first that perhaps merfolk did not like humans, didn't trust them, even hated them. It was harsh, but it was the same for humans just because of something that had happened a long time ago. Nobody would even say what it was. They probably couldn't even remember why they had started to dislike merpeople.

'Because they are different from us,' Mayumi thought. 'That's most likely it.' 

"I'm very sad you have to go so soon, but I understand." She looked toward the sea, a wistful look on her face. "I bet it is magical down there. All the fish and coral. I've seen pictures, but they could never compare. Your world is beautiful." She sighed heavily. 

"Do you think... no, probably not." Mayumi looked over at Mara, her dark eyes swimming with emotions. She bit down on her lower lip. Why was she so nervous about asking someone to come meet her again? 

"Mara, about what you said before. I would never, ever hurt you or any other merpeople. I don't really know anyone who would to be honest. This is a small island. There are not many people here. It is true that the people here might have a fear for the unknown, but they wouldn't hunt you or hurt you." Mayumi truly believed that. She just wished Mara would believe her. 

"I wish both our kinds could fight the fear and really start to understand one another." She sighed again. "If they could... I would... I would want to ask you to meet me here again." She glanced over at the redhead. "Do you think that could ever be possible? Could you ever get away to visit me again?"

–

Mara took a moment to look back at the ocean, at her home, after Mayumi stated that it was beautiful. She loved her family and her people, but they could be paranoid and stubbornly old fashioned, which is why she so often tried to get away, if only for a few hours. But her home itself, seemingly endless and filled with lost things, forests of coral reefs, and unimaginably colorful wildlife, was incredibly beautiful. "It is," she said in agreement, smiling a little as she looked back at this kind and peculiar human. Peculiar could be a good thing though. Wasn't Mara herself peculiar for a mermaid? "I wish you could see it, Mayumi. I think you'd love it."

Mayumi started to speak again and Mara looked at her curiously, meeting the girl's emotional gaze and feeling guilty and reluctant to leave her. She shouldn't want to stay, shouldn't want to befriend her or learn from her, but Mara knew that she did. She had taken risks before for less, and this risk felt worth it. Still...she had to be cautious. 

She truly believed Mayumi when she said that she'd never hurt her or anyone of her kind, but she felt less sure about the rest of humanity. She wanted to believe that the people on this island were good, but she wasn't sure if she could. At this moment, at least. But how could she ever find out if humans weren't all the monsters she'd been terrified of as a child unless she learned about them?

Her new acquaintance asked if it would be possible for Mara to come back and visit her. "I'd love to visit you, Mayumi," Mara said softly, honestly. And then she was quiet in response for a moment, thinking and gazing at the girl with a pensive expression. No, she couldn't. She was letting this get out of hand. She should never have even spoken to Mayumi. She was breaking every rule, betraying the trust her family had given her. But at the same time...hadn't she already been breaking rules by taking trips up to the surface for these last few years? And no one had ever found out about them. She'd always been so careful about it. Why couldn't she be just as careful about taking trips to visit Mayumi? She was more than just a human. She was kind and fascinated by her kind and world, and Mara knew that she liked her. She wanted to be friends with Mayumi. And it had been so long since Mara had made a new friend.

"I think...I can try?" Mara said after a moment, nodding her head a little more certainly with each passing second. "Yes...it might be possible, if I'm careful about it." She looked up at the girl, a smile on her lips and a mischievous glint in her brown eyes. "If you promise to come tomorrow...I'll promise to try my best to be here. But now I do have to go." Mara began shifting herself back towards the water, smiling a little as she touched it, but before she submerged she looked back at the human girl. "Tomorrow, alright?"

Mara smiled at Mayumi before turning and diving down into the depths. Slipping through the water felt as wonderful and natural as ever and she flicked her fin quickly to swim as fast as she could. She had to get home quickly. And with a strong excuse for where she had been all night if she ever wanted to be able to go off on her own again. Mara just hoped her family hadn't started sending out the search parties just yet.

–

Mayumi stood up and walked closer to the water's edge, letting her feet sink into the water and soft sand. She smiled the brightest smile she had given in a long time. Her long, wavy dark hair blew in the gentle breeze. Her eyes sparkled in unreserved joy. A soft glow of excitement filled her stomach, a tingling feeling traveling all the way to her toes. She dug them into the sand, delighted with how it felt. Mara was so lucky to be part of such a world. Mayumi's own world had it's beauties, but she was not able to see them, stuck on the island as she was.

Watching as Mara went in and out of the water, swimming away, was breathtaking. She raised her hand in a wave, waving until she could no longer see her. 

"I can't wait. I really can't," she said to the wind. Mayumi giggled in a pure child-like way. Everything happening around her seemed so magical. 

Going back to her backpack, she picked it up. She slung it on her back and then walked toward the rocks, pausing to put her shoes and socks back on. With some reluctance, she climbed back over them. When she got to the top, she looked around, making sure there was nobody who would see her climbing down them. There wasn't. There never was. The rocks were a little too far from where the active part of the beach was.

When she got home, Mayumi was in high spirits. She gave her mom a kiss in greeting, hugged her little sister and played with her kitten Holly. She loved the kitten. She had got it on Christmas a couple months ago. Holly was her favorite companion and as odd as it was, she even liked the water.

---

The next morning, Mayumi got up as early as possible, having no idea when Mara planned on showing up. She did not want to miss her chance to meet the mermaid again. She walked around her room, pondering on the things she should take to show her possible new friend. In the end, she decided on her Ipod because it was full of amazing pictures and music that Mara would have never heard or seen before. She also picked a couple books, her favorite snow globe. In the globe was a peaceful cabin, with a lighted Christmas Tree outside. When shook, the snow on the ground fluttered around the cabin and tree.

She put everything into her backpack and then went for a quick shower. When finished, she wore a pair of green shorts, and a blue bikini top that had kittens all over it.

Mayumi put on her backpack, tossed a blanket over her shoulder and went to the kitchen, where she grabbed an assortment of foods for Mara to try, if she could try human food, that is. She put the food in plastic bags and then into her backpack.

Holly came up to her and started to rub her leg. Mayumi smiled and picked up the three month old kitten.

"Wanna go to the beach?" 

She put the kitten into the front pocket of the backpack, amused when it settled down without a fuss. She hoped Mara would like land animals.

---

After arriving to the private cove, Mayumi set out the blanket close to the lapping water. She let Holly out of the backpack and settled down, watching the kitten play in the sand and in the water. Holly never ran off, which was a real relief. She thought Mayumi was her mother.

–

When she had finally returned home to the underwater city in which her pod lived Mara had found herself swarm by relieved and concerned family members. Her parents, her brothers and their families, neighbors, friends, and even her grandparents all surrounded her, chattering and questioning her, pulling her into embraces and checking over every inch of her body looking for injuries. Her mother, usually so calm and collected, would not stop speaking and holding her, and Mara could tell that her stoic father had been in danger of being torn to pieces by his worry. The only one who had not been there had been her great-grandfather. Bradan had rarely been seen by their little community since he had retired from the Elder position and her grandfather had taken his place. Instead he had stayed inside her family's large home, choosing a solitary life with nothing but the anger  that had kept him alive since his heartbreak at loosing his wife.

It took a while for the excitement to calm, but then finally all of their podmates seemed find something better to do since the Elder's granddaughter had returned unharmed. Then came the interrogation. Grandfather looked her in the eyes, and she stared at the man who was so serious and led their pod with unquestioning confidence and aspire loyalty. He was Elder. He upheld and enforced their laws, even the crueler ones, because it was his job, and if he found out what she had done... But at the same time this was her grandfather, a man who always smiled at her and was kind and gentle with her. A man who loved her. Mara feared what her betrayal would do to that man and she promised herself in that instant that he would never know. Not any of them.

And so she told them a story about how she had been exploring a cave when she had sensed the storm, but knew that she would get caught in the middle of it if she attempted to swim home, so for her own safety she had spent the night in the cave. It was a simple story and not unreasonable. They knew she enjoyed exploring. They knew that she would know better than to risk getting caught in a storm on her way home. Her family accepted and believed the lie. Because Mara might have been curious, but she was also cautious. She was a good girl, and they had no idea that she enjoyed spending her free time on the surface. They had no reason to believe that she had gotten too close to a human, nor that she was planning on letting it happen again. Her family just smiled and embraced her and her mother urged her to return home earlier from now on, which she promised to do. And then their lives went on as they usually did, while Mara planned her next escapade.

The next morning she woke fairly early, which wasn't unlike her. Sometimes she liked to head out early to go for a nice swim before setting off on one of her explorations. No one would think anything of it. She had a small bite to eat before she slipped out of their home and through the ravine in which the city was located. Merfolk greeted her and she greeted them back as casually as she always did. Then she was out in the open ocean and swimming rapidly in the direction of Mayumi's island. 

It had become much easier to slip away since she had turned eighteen, but even easier now that both of her brothers were mated and married. Aron and Zale sometimes used to follow her around, claiming they needed to protect their little sister, but now they had lives of their own. Aron was twenty four now, had been married to Lora for three years, and the couple had a young daughter, Brigit, as well as another child on the way. Aron was also busy learning how to be Elder. Grandfather would soon be retiring and their father would take his place. And before long it would be Aron's turn to be Elder. Zale, meanwhile, had reached the mermen's mating age of twenty one a year ago, and was wed to Hana. Mara knew that a mermaid's mating age was eighteen, but hadn't thought about it much in the few months since her birthday. The topic had not been brought up much, thankfully.

She slipped through the opening into the private little cove and breached the surface, slicking her red hair back and blinking her eyes as she took in breaths of fresh air. After a moment of admiring the blue sky her gaze lowered to the shore where she saw Mayumi there waiting for her. At the sight of the human girl Mara smiled, nervous and excited all at once, and waved a little before swimming the rest of the way to the shore. She pulled herself up onto the sand in front of Mayumi's blanket and settled there, lying on her stomach and keeping herself up with her elbows as the waves moved in and out around her tail. Her fin flicked lazily through the water, and Mara was smiling. "Hi," she said shyly, biting her lip for a moment. "I hope you weren't waiting for me too long." Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted movement and turned her head to see the tiny animal playing in the sand. Her eyes widened slightly at her first proper look at a land animal and she leaned forward curiously. "Is she yours?" Mara asked softly as watched the animal with a smile. "Or...he I suppose."

–

“Oh!” Mayumi exclaimed in shock at the sudden arrival of Mara. She had been looking down at one of the books she brought to show the mermaid. It was one about different land animals, with pictures and descriptions. The other books she brought were novels, some fantasy romance stories. One was about an elf female meeting and falling in love with a human male and against all odds, the two got together, despite the differences between their races. It reminded her a little of merpeople and humans. The other book was a collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

“Hello,” Mayumi said. She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and watched as Mara pulled herself toward the blanket, her tail still in the water. They were sitting very close, as if they were on a picnic together and maybe they could have a little on. That was if Mara could digest the food she had brought.

“Yes, this is Holly. She got the name because I got her three months ago on Christmas Day.” She bit down on her lip. Oh, Mara would not know what Christmas was. “That's a holiday a lot of humans have once a year. It's traditionally to celebrate the birth of Christ. Um, that's our God. Oh, but other cultures have different holidays and different Gods they believe in. Sorry, I make it sound so complicated.”

“On Christmas, families and friends come together and give and receive gifts. Holly is made from plants, used to decorate... So that is where her name came from. I'm so sorry for rambling. I'm just so happy to see you.”

Mayumi took her items out of her backpack and laid them down on the blanket next to the mermaid. “I brought some things for you to see. I thought... well, they might be interesting to you.” She laid out the food, animal picture book, fantasy romance novel, the Grimm's Fairy tale book, her Ipod, and last but not least, took out her snow globe.

“Do you want to try some human food? I wasn't sure if you'd be able to digest it, but I hoped you could.” Mayumi smiled. “This is bread, and this is what we call crackers, this is what we call cheese dip. You dip the crackers in it. This is chocolate, M&Ms. They are basically junk food that humans love, like for a snack.” 

“This is soda pop,” she said, taking out a glass soda bottle of sprite. It was still cold. “It's called sprite. You drink it.”

–

Mara was watching the small animal with interest, but she was also listening to everything Mayumi was telling her. At the mention of Christmas Day she looked up at the girl with an eyebrow raised, and Mayumi immediately started to explain. At least attempted to, but Mara thought she understood the important bits. It was a human celebration (merfolk had celebrations of their own), and the celebrations and religions of humans were plentiful and diverse. Also not unlike those of the merfolk. She was smiling as Mayumi explained as best as she could, and when the human girl apologized Mara shook her head.

"No, you have no need to apologize. Trust me if I was attempting to explain merfolk customs and cultures and the differences between all of the pods all over the world I would be rambling, as well. Honestly Mayumi. You're completely fine." She was smiling and had blushed a little when Mayumi expressed how glad she was to see her. "I'm glad to see you, too." Mara had been afraid that something would happen and she would arrive at the island too late. That Mayumi would have given up on her. That was why she had left so early and she was grateful that Mayumi seemed to have planned the same.

"Hello, Holly," Mara said softly, looking back at the small animal and reaching her hand out. She wanted to feel the animal's soft fur, but waited for Holly to approach her. "What sort of animal is she?" Mara asked, looking over at Mayumi again so see her setting out an array of items in front of her. The mermaid watched, looking at each item with curious fascination. At the prospect of trying human food the expression of equal parts nerve and excitement returned to her face. "Okay." Mara was nodding her head as she inspected the food Mayumi had brought. "I think I'll be fine. I mean...humans and merfolk both eat fish and drink water, don't we?"

She looked over the bread and the crackers with the cheese dip and the M&M's pensively, then noticed the bottle in Mayumi's hand. She called the clear liquid inside "Sprite," and it looked more bubbly than water. Mara reached forward and took the bottle before inspecting it more closely for a moment. Then she raised it to her lips and took a tentative sip. She blinked in surprise and lowered the bottle as she swallowed and coughed a little. "It's so sweet!" she said, "And fizzy! Nothing like anything I've ever tasted before." She looked back at Mayumi. "I don't even know if I don't like it or not. I'm just so used to everything tasting salty." It was clear, though, that she was enjoying this new experience, even if she ended up deciding that she didn't like the drink. "I think human food will take some getting used to." And Mara was excited about the prospect.

She handed the bottle of Sprite back to the girl before taking another look at the items before her. What caught her eye was the snow globe, and Mara gingerly picked up the thing with her left hand and gently stroked the smooth glass surface with her right finger tips. She gazed into the rounded top and at the tiny objects inside. "It's so beautiful," she commented softly, her smile spreading across her lips once more.

–

“She is from the feline family. There are many types of felines. Some are in the wild and some live as household companions, or some call them pets. Do Merfolk have anything like that?” She wondered if they kept cute little flounders as companions or pets like in The Little Mermaid. She blushed when she realized she was comparing merpeople to fictional versions of them. They were most likely 100% different. Though the idea of all those mermaid stories had to come from somewhere.

“Since she is a baby, she is called a kitten. She's only three months old. You can also call her a cat. That's her species. Her type is tabby because of her orange fur. You can pick her up if you want, but cats do have claws and she's just getting used to hers.” Mayumi grinned, becoming more excited at Mara's curiosity.

When Mara sampled the sprite, she couldn't help but giggle. “I'm sure it taste weird to you. Humans love a wide variety of salty foods, but I can't think of a salty drink we like. The crackers are salty. There are many types of drinks, some are fizzy and some are not.” She set back, eyes glistening in amazement. Was this really happening?

“That is called a snow globe. Do you know what snow is? Maybe you've seen it when you came to the surface? It is the white, cold stuff that falls from the sky during winter weather. If you shake it, it looks like snow is fluttering around.” She reached over to help Mara give it a good shake. Their hands brushed together and there was some sort of static electricity shock. Mayumi blushed deeply. She could swear her whole hand was now tingling. Her hand stayed atop Mara's a little longer than it should be there.

“I have many more snow globes. I collect them. I can bring back another each time we meet... Oh, I mean...” She looked down at the blanket, watching as Holly did some silly rolls on the ground. She was playing with sand and then seemed to have her eye on an insect. She ran after it, paused and pounced, but the bug got away every time.

“That is if you plan on coming again. I-I would really be so happy if you did.”

–

When asked if merfolk had pets Mara shrugged. "In some pods it's more common than in others," she responded. "In my pod...not really, no. But sea creatures come naturally to all merfolk. They let us approach them and they're comfortable around us. They trust us. It's easy to form friendships with that sort of innate trust. There are several schools of fish that live with my pod in our home. It's more like we...coexist. But there's a pod near Australia and their members sometimes keeps sharks as companions. It depends where you are in the world, I think." Mara smiled, a little embarrassed at how easily she was giving Mayumi information. But she felt certain she could trust her. She wasn't sure why she was so certain, only that she was. "I hope that makes sense."

She was looking at the snow globe with her large, curious eyes, repeating the name in a murmur after Mayumi told her what it was. She nodded a little when she asked if she knew what snow was. "I've heard of it," she confirmed, " But I've never experienced it. We typically migrate south in the winter. to where it's warm. And I guess you can't really experience snow in the water. I'd like to though, I think."

Mayumi reached forward to show her how the snow globe worked and their hands touched. It was like some sort of...shock. Mara felt it when their skins connected and it gave her hand a lingering, tingly feeling that gave her goose bumps all over. Much like what she had felt the previous day when Mayumi had been touching her tail. Mara stared at their still touching hands as Mayumi helped her shake the snow globe, admiring how warm the other girl's tanned skin felt against her own. She wasn't even aware of how long their hands were touching, just when it was over. Then she looked into the snow globe to see the cloud of white swirling inside and she let out an awed little sigh. "I definitely want to experience snow now. Real snow." Her tone was dreamy as she watched the swirling slowly end and she looked back at Mayumi with a smile and handed her snow globe back to her.

The girl was mentioned that she had other snow globes that she could show Mara each time that they met. Then Mayumi went quiet, as though embarrassed, and Mara's brow furrowed slightly as she looked at the girl. Before she could ask what was wrong Mayumi spoke again, asking her if she planned on returning to visit her ever again. 

Mara knew the immediate answer was yes, but she felt a little mischievous at the moment. Maybe it was a side effect of all of the rule breaking she'd been doing. "Oh," she said casually, shrugging her shoulders as she looked down at the items before her. "Maybe one or two more times." After a moment she smiled and peered up at Mayumi again. "Or five or six more times. Or ten or twenty. I haven't really decided yet." She looked at the other girl intently, very serious about this next statement. "Honestly, Mayumi, I plan of visiting you as many times as I possibly can, for as long as you want me to. It's the least I can do for the girl who saved my life. For a friend."

She smiled, genuine as she could possibly be. "Besides your world is fascinating to me. Like a mystery. So I want to thank you for bringing all of these things and sharing them with me. I just wish...I wish I could find a way to share some of my world with you."

–

For a moment, she felt sadness when she thought Mara was being serious about only wanting to come back a few more times, but then a bubble of happiness swelled inside her chest. She looked up quickly meeting the mermaid's eyes. She smiled, her cheeks taking on a shade that was almost as bright as Mara's hair. Holly climbed into her lap, but she didn't even notice because she was staring too intently at the other. It never felt uncomfortable or awkward, though she felt warm all over. She gently dumped the cat out of her lap and scooted closer to Mara.

“Do you really mean that? Friends?” She really wanted to express herself like she would with a good friend or her family, like give Mara a huge hug. This was all so out of this world. It was like every single holiday and her birthday had come at once. No, it was even better than that.

“Oh Mara, that's wonderful. I feel this connection to you; like we were meant to meet each other.” She scooted even closer to the mermaid and leaned over and gave her a hug, making sure not to make the mermaid face plant in the sand. “A hug to celebrate the start of a new friendship. I hope it lasts for a very long time.”

She hoped it would last forever. 

“I wish there was a way for me to see your world. I can only hold my breath for three minutes. It's my new record. I would love to go in the water with you if it were possible.”

Mayumi did have access to scuba gear, but it would be hard for her to carry it over the rocks. If people saw her lugging around scuba gear toward the rocks, they would get suspicious anyway.

She pulled away from the hug that had lasted a little too long, though she didn't mind. Everything was on over drive for her. Her skin tingled, even her hair felt more alive. On impulse, she reached up and touched Mara's hair and smiled. She really liked to watch it sparkle in the sun as it ran through her fingers.

“I wish we could experience more things together. Share more of our worlds with each other. I'll keep bringing things to show you, but there is so much more out there, in both our worlds.”

Shifting around, Mayumi laid on her stomach in the sand, mirroring Mara's position, their elbows and forearms almost touching. She looked into Mara's eyes and felt her cheeks flush. 

–

Mara smiled as she bit her lip and nodded when Mayumi asked if she was honest about them being friends. "I really mean it." Mayumi was kind and honest and Mara enjoyed being with her. It should have been wrong, should have wracked her with guilt, but it didn't. Being in Mayumi's company made her feel happy, the happiest she'd ever been, and it was fun. It felt like this was the way it was meant to be, that she was supposed to befriend this girl. It felt so natural and right that Mara couldn't see how it was wrong. But she knew no one else she knew would see it that way.

Mayumi's own happiness made it even better. Mara's smile widened at the girl's enthusiasm, and felt herself let out a surprised little laugh as she was pulled into a hug. Squeezing the human girl back, she rested her chin on Mayumi's shoulder and sighed contentedly, though Mayumi's words had stuck with her. She said she felt connected to Mara, like they were meant to meet. It surprised her a little, that they were having the same thoughts. And it couldn't have been a coincidence that out of all of the merflok and human beings on the planet they happened to be the ones to meet. That Mara had washed ashore in this cove that only Mayumi knew, that Mayumi had been the one to find Mara in the net. Things like that...they couldn't just happen for no reason, could they?

"I feel the same," Mara admitted truthfully, and that was all she was able to say. A hug for a long friendship. Mara was positive that it would last, not thinking about the fact that her mating was going to happen inevitably soon. It was at the very back of her mind, and didn't seem important at all. 

The hug eventually ended and Mara settled back down onto her stomach, giggling slightly as she balanced her chin on her hand and gazed at her new friend. She knew Mayumi would love the underwater world, and there had to be some coral forests close enough to show her. But they would need much longer than three minutes. There had to be a way... Surely something in her world would allow a human to survive underwater. She'd look for it when she went home again. But she didn't have to leave for a long while.

Mayumi was lying on her stomach directed across from her, and they were so close, nearly elbow to elbow, while they gazed at each other. They were at eye level and for a moment Mara just looked into Mayumi's dark eyes before she smiled. "So tell me about your world. Your life, I mean. You have family, don't you? You could tell me about them."

–

She felt the same way? A friendship meant to be? The whole notion was so romantic. Mayumi would admit that she had had crushes on girl celebrities from time to time or even thought about what it would be like if the right girl lived on the island. The right girl did not and there was no right boy as well. She wasn't getting a crush on the mermaid because that would be really wrong, right? It was just the excitement of how forbidden their friendship was to both their worlds. That must be it. Mayumi pushed all the blushing, tingling and the rest of it out of her mind. Right now, she was just going to enjoy the mermaid's company without thinking about complicated things.

“Yes, of course,” she answered. She found that she was still playing with Mara's hair and again, it felt like the most natural thing to do. She blushed, but didn't pull her hand away because the mermaid did not seem to mind. “I have a mother and a half sister. I do not know who my father is. It's kind of complicated.”

“I don't know if you've ever spied any other human on this island, but you might notice that they all look a little different from me. That's because my father was Japanese. Japan is another country in my world. The country we're in is called America. I'm sure you call it something different, but...”

“The thing is, my mom swore she never left the island in her life and there is no record of a Japanese man ever visiting this island. It's all so strange.” She lowered her eyes down to the sand between them, every so second, they flickered back up to Mara's face.

“Mom mom met someone else and had my half sister with him, but he left her, for another woman and to leave the island.” With the hand that was not touching Mara's hair, she began to draw shapes in the sand. “My sister is six years old.”

“Mara, what about your family?” She moved her hand from Mara's hair; it brushed the mermaid's shoulder, before landing softly on the ground.

–

Mara enjoyed the feeling of Mayumi's fingers playing with her hair. The long red strands had been drying in the morning sunlight and warmth and were gently curling. At first having dry hair had felt so strange. She had never known the hair would curl and she was  so used to the strands floating around her head while she was suspended in the water. But she'd grown used to it, and the feeling of someone lightly toying with the long soft strands was oddly comforting. She felt very relaxed, lying on the warm sand of this isolated little cove with Mayumi right beside her. She liked knowing that their conversation was private, that they were sharing secrets with each other. It just added to the excitement of their forbidden friendship.

Mayumi described her family and Mara listened intently. Humans and merfolk didn't seem to have similar concepts about marriage and reproduction. When merfolk mated it was for life. The merman and mermaid remained together for their whole lives until they died together. Or one of them died, but it was rare for the other to live much longer. The love and bond between the mates was so deep and intimate that the heartbreak of losing their love normally was enough to kill the the surviving spouse. It often worked this way for the love between parents and children, as well. She had once asked her mother why the love and bonds between merfolk were so strong, but Kali had told her that that conversation was for when she was older.

Her great-grandfather Bradan had survived his heartbreak, though, but folks often whispered that those who found ways to survive the loss of love had a fate worse than death.

Humans didn't seem to mate that way, since Mayumi told her that her mother had two children with two different men, and they both seemed to have left her. But Mara didn't think that it was necessarily bad the way humans mated. Just massively different from what she knew. When Mayumi commented on how the people on the island looked nothing like her Mara though about the humans she'd seen from a distance. Most of them were from this island and she realized that she had never seen anyone who had quite the same facial features or coloring as Mayumi. But the fact that she didn't know who her father was obviously troubled her, and Mara didn't know what she could do to soothe her. Probably nothing. This wasn't the sort of pain only kind words could heal.

Mayumi asked about her own family and Mara took a breath. "I have a large family," she began, almost apologetically. "I have my mother and father, as well as two older brothers. Aron and Zale. They both have wives, and Aron has a child of his own. My little niece, Brigit." Mara smiled fondly. She loved her niece. "Aron and Lora are expecting another child soon, a boy, I think. I have a grandmother and grandfather, as well. My grandfather is the Elder of my pod, and my father is next in line. And there's my great-grandfather, but I don't know him all that well. He's a little...isolated. But in merfolk pods everyone is very close, so it's like everyone in my pod is an extended family member."

–

“It must be so nice having a family like that,” Mayumi said wistfully. “My mother is an only child so I don't even have any aunts or uncles. It's just mom and my little sister, oh and Holly. She's like one of the family.” She looked down at the little feline. Holly was no going back and forth between them, rubbing everything she could touch. Mayumi's eyes followed her as she tried to climb up Mara's tail, but she fell down. She shook her head in confusion and made a soft mewing sound that made Mayumi giggle.

“She's never seen anything as beautiful as a mermaid, either.” 

Holly hunched down and then suddenly jumped in the back of Mara's tail, landing where a human's behind would be. She made a couple circles and then laid down. Not long after, she was purring away. She seemed to really like the mermaid. That made two of them.

“How old are you, Mara? I'm almost eighteen.” She looked away from her and out to the water, thinking about all the wonderful things the other had been explaining to her. Why couldn't humans hold their breath longer? She wished she could go out there and see everything first hand.

Mayumi reached over and grasped one of Mara's hands. She gave it a good squeeze, her eyes shining, as if she held a mysterious secret. Of course she did. They both did. She leaned her forehead against Mara's and sighed, and then giggled like a giddy child.

“We are going to be the best of friends. I just know it. I know our worlds are different and we each have our own traditions and beliefs, but... is it kind of strange that I feel like I've known you for a very long time? I've had dreams of being on the ocean, seeing things, and meeting merpeople.”

She pulled away slightly, their noses only inches apart. “I think I saw you in a dream. There was always this mermaid, she had hair just like yours. Your tail, too, it's all the same.” Her cheeks flushed. “I'm sorry, that sounds really weird.”

–

"It is nice," Mara admitted, smiling a little, "I love my family, but it can get a little crowded a lot of the time. Sometimes I just need to get away...be on my own for a while. It's nice to have people and someplace to come back to, though." She looked down at the feeling of something soft rubbing against her and smiled when she saw Mayumi's kitten between the two of them. She watched the cat with an interested gleam in her brown eyes as Holly  made her way around her and tried to clamber up the side of her tail. The cat slipped, and Mara couldn't help but laugh softly, unable to think of anything beyond how different land animals were to the sea creatures she was used to.

Mayumi made a comment, calling her beautiful again, and Mara looked back at her, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "You should see my brother's mate, Lora. She's the most beautiful mermaid in our pod. And I met these mermaid from a pod near Africa once...they had siler scales and thick hair. And lovely brown skin. They were very beautiful, too..." She trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed that she wasn't just thanking her for the compliment. But she wasn't used to receiving so many, not when there were so many lovely young mermaids of mating age in her pod.

She became distracted by something light landing on her back and she turned her head gently to see Holly curled on on the back of her tail, making a soft, contented sound. It made her smiled again. Mayumi asked how old she was and Mara turned around to look at her again. "I turned eighteen a few months ago. Technically I'm matured, but compared to how long merfolk live I still feel like a child. But I am old enough to mate." She shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. 

Luckily she didn't have to spend too long thinking about mating because she felt Mayumi take her hand and Mara instinctively clutched it back. The girl's eyes were large and sparkling mischievously, and they smiled each other over the secrets they were sharing. And the secret of their friendship. They touched foreheads and Mara found herself giggling along with her friend. Her human friend. Oh it was so forbidden that it was exciting. Mara had never felt so close to someone before, so quick to trust someone. Especially after meeting them so recently. But for some reason it didn't feel like that.

Mayumi spoke again, and after she said she felt as though she had known Mara for a long time Mara was caught off guard. This girl always seemed to know what she was thinking or how she was feeling. "I'm not sure," she said, "But I think I feel the same?" Mayumi described dreams that she had had, of the ocean and of merpeople, and Mara blinked her eyes when Mayumi said she had seen her in her dreams. "Me?" She was quiet for a moment, thinking it over, but then she smiled reassuringly. "It's not that strange to me. I've heard stories of merpeople who received images of the future in their dreams. Maybe it's the same for humans."

Mayumi's descriptions of her dreams had left her with memories she had thought long forgotten. Dreams of her own she had had frequently throughout her life. In these dreams Mara had been in the human world, but it was more than that. She had been human. She had had legs and had been wearing human clothes and had been running and laughing. And she had always been running after someone. A human girl with tanned skin and long, wavy dark hair and an infectious laugh. Mayumi's laugh reminded her of the dream girl's laugh. But surely she was reading into it too much.

Mara realized she had been gazing into Mayumi's dark, pretty eyes and blinked. Her face flushed a little and her own brown eyes flickered down to the sand. "So...what other wonders from the human world did you bring to show me?" she asked, feeling rather shy once more

–

“Oh!” Mayumi jumped back from Mara, crawling to her knees, she knee crawled back to the blanket and grabbed the animal picture book and her Ipod. She made her way back to Mara and handed her the book, their hands brushing again. It was like their hands had some sort of magnet, because they were always making contact.

“This is a picture book of animals. There are ones from both land and sea.” She set real close to Mara and leaned even closer, their faces almost touching. She flipped the book open. On the first page was a big cat, orange in color, with a huge mane around it's head. “This is a lion. It's another type of feline, a cat.” She glanced behind Mara at her sleeping kitten and smiled. “They are wild and in the jungles of Afica. You can see them in zoos and animal sanctuaries, too, but there is none of those close to this village.” She bit down on her lower lip. Mara would probably disapprove of zoos.

She tried to explain what zoos where, hoping she described them in a good light. People were usually for them or against them and she was sure merpeople would be no different. Then she described what a sanctuary was like, how they would rescue injured animals and care for them until they could be released again and sometimes they would be too hurt or too familiar with humans to ever be in the wild again, so they cared for them until their end. 

“See, some people like to get an exotic pet like a monkey, not knowing how much work and time they require, so a sanctuary would rescue them from those people. Sadly, they would be too tame to go back in the wild.” She turned the page in the book. Low and behold, there was a monkey.

“Zoo's are not really bad. It has a lot to do with education, so humans can learn about these animals up close, to better understand them and how to preserve them in the wild. But, I guess there is the entertaining factor, too. As you can see, the animals in this book are amazing.”

To her merpeople were not like animals, just another type of human, that happened to be part fish. She hoped Mara would not wonder if humans would put them in zoos. Mayumi wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that, but she figured it would be no, since merpeople were sentient. 

“There are horses on the island,” she said, pointing to a page with horses. “They can run really fast and humans use them for transportation or recreational riding. The horses love it, especially when you give them a carrot.” She grinned. “Oh that's a food we grow in the ground here.”

Mayumi took her Ipod and put one of the ear-buds in her ear and gave the other to Mara. “This thing plays music.” She turned it to a soft, love song, not wanting to break the mermaid in with Heavy Metal or something. She had to learn her head close to Mara's, so they could both share the headphones.

“What do you think?”

–

Mara inched herself a little bit closer, though was careful not to disturb the sleeping cat, and took the book that Mayumi gave her. Their fingers brushed together (their hands seemed to be unable to not touch), and she experienced a gentle shiver down her spine. Of pleasure? She wasn't sure. Mara wasn't sure why she was acting this why at all? She had never behave this way around anyone else she'd ever known. Maybe it was because Mayumi was human.

She was quiet as they looked through the book of animals and Mayumi explained what they were to her. Although sometimes she had the tendency to go off trying to explain every detail. But Mara didn't mind. She liked listening to Mayumi speak. Zoos were a new concept for her, and she wasn't entirely sure if she completely understood. But she did get that there were good and bad aspects to them and she  supposed she needed to get a better understanding of them before she made any final judgement. But weren't zoos the sort of place that great-grandfather always said that humans would display a merperson? They sounded like it. Could there be a zoo out there right at that moment with a trapped mermaid or man as their main attraction. She didn't ask.

They flipped through the book and she tried putting zoos out of her mind. Mara looked at the animals she didn't recognize with curiosity as Mayumi explained them, and when she saw pictures of animals she did know her face lit up in recognition. Soon the animal book was set aside and Mayumi returned with a new object. It was a small rectangle that she held in one hand there was some sort of cord attached to it that split into two ends. Mayumi gave her one end and Mara saw that the other was in Mayumi's ear. So she held it against her own as Mayumi told her the object played music. She noticed they were huddled very close together, their heads nearly touching. It made her excited and nervous all at once again and she suppressed another shiver.

Soon the most strange and different sort of music filled her ear, and it became all she could think about. Her eyes widened and her free hand covered her month in happy surprise. Merfolk music mostly comprised of singing, though they had a few instruments, and it was very simple. But the music she was listening to now contained so many instruments that she had never heard before. It was startling in the most wonderful of ways and she was soon laughing.

"Oh, Mayumi, I love it! This music is so wonderful and different! And the lyrics...the singer's voice is lovely. This is nothing like I've ever heard before in the best possible way." She reached forward and squeezed her friend's hand, feeling that tingling sensation again but mostly focusing on the music. "Thank you. Thank you so much for today. It's been wonderful." Mara was smiling at the other girl, gazing at her with fondness. "You're one of the best people that I've ever known, Mayumi. Thank you."

–

“You really think so?” Mayumi felt her checks flush so much that it actually felt like they were burning. Nobody had ever said that to her before, not even her own mother. Somehow, coming from Mara, made it so much better as well. She did not think it was just because Mara was a mermaid. She was way more than a tail. Merpeople were still people.

“Mara, you're amazing. Honestly, I feel the same way. I've never had a really close friend. This island is really cut off and there are not many people here my age. We go to school on the mainland, so the students there kind of look down on us or something.” She shrugged. It was just the fact of life. Mainland kids thought islander kids were weird.

She leaned over and threw her arms around the girl, pulling the earplugs out of both their ears. “Ow, whoops. That happens sometimes.” She unhooked the headphones from the Ipod. “You can also listen to it like this.” She hit play and set the Ipod aside, letting it cycle through all her songs. She had a wide variety of songs, from country to alternative rock. There were even some Japanese songs on there, though sadly she had never been taught what should have been her native tongue; at least in part.

“It does more than plays music, you know. When I am at school, I can hook it up to the computer... To you, it would look like a big container that has a screen on it. You can find a lot of info in them. It shows you pictures and so many other things. Anyway, I can hook the Ipod up to the computer there and put videos on my Ipod.” She bit her lower lip and then chuckled. Mara wouldn’t know what a video was, either.

“They are moving pictures, I'll show you.” She reached for the Ipod again and went to her saved videos. She selected one that was a five minute video of funny animals. Mayumi always found those the most entertaining and cute. There was cats and dogs and other kinds of land animals.

“That's not even the half of it, Mara. There are so many moving pictures that my people make for entertainment. They are called movies and some are called television. Oh man, I'm so sorry if all this is really confusing.”

She gave the Ipod back to Mara so she could watch the animal video. Again, she scooted as close to Mara as she could, this time their bodies touched and Mayumi knew she was doing that on purpose. She just really enjoyed the way being this close to Mara made her feel. It was electrifying. 

–

It should have struck her as strange, and maybe it did a little, how in sync the two of them were. How close they had become so quickly. They both felt connected to one another, like they really knew one another despite the short time it had been since they had met. Mara trusted Mayumi so instinctively, trusted her in a way that should have taken years to build. Not to mention the tingling shocks she seemed to feel whenever they touched, or the way their gazes seemed to meet, or the way she blushed when Mayumi looked at her. No one should feel this way about another person so quickly, especially two people from two separate worlds. It shouldn't have been possible. But...it was the way she felt. She was certain of it. Mara just wasn't certain why. Or what it meant.

But giggling and hugging and experiencing the music player was what she was focusing on. And the fact that she'd never felt so happy before in her life. She watched Mayumi show her how to use the device and explain more things about the human world. Computers and moving pictures, it was all so much. She wanted to experience it all...but knew she was limited by the fact that she could not leave the beach. And there were only so many items Mayumi could bring to her.

She watched the moving pictures of the animals on the small screen on the music player, and she felt Mayumi press close beside her. Their skin touched, she felt the tingling and the shiver down her spine, and she liked it. She liked it a lot. If Mara didn't already know better she would say that it felt like magic.

A few hours must have passed in which Mara asked Mayumi to read to her from the other books she had brought (she couldn't read English, and merfolk records were mainly oral anyway since they did not have paper beneath the sea), and she tried some more of the human food. She enjoyed the salty crackers most, and the chocolate was very surprising as well. But Mara knew that she couldn't stay much longer. If she came back too late after she promised her family she would come home earlier she'd draw attention to herself and her activities. 

"Mayumi...I had a great day," Mara told the other girl earnestly, pushing herself up slightly to stretch. "One of the best days of my life, in fact. I just wish I could stay a bit longer, but I don't want to press my luck." She adjusted her position so she was able to give Mayumi a hug. She lingered there with her arms wrapped around the girl, not wanting to let go. Not wanting to say goodbye just yet. But she knew she had to and she reluctantly released her. "Tomorrow's no good for me," she said softly, chancing a look into Mayumi's eyes. The dark irises were like the deepest pool she'd ever seen. She could feel herself sinking into them. "There's a ceremony type thing that I can't miss." As the current Elder's granddaughter and the future Elder's daughter she was expected to attend all ceremonies and celebrations. "But I can come sometime the day after? Is that fine?" 

–