Mayumi moved closer to the mermaid, sand cutting into the wounds in her knees, though she did her best to ignore the pain. She looked down at the poor frightened creature... no, creature was not the right word. Weren't they both creatures of this world anyway? No the right word, was beautiful. Instantly, Mayumi was fascinated by the way the mermaid's red locks curled around just right. It was so pretty and the sunlight made it glow in a way that reminded her of fire. Mayumi knew she wasn't ugly by any means, but this mermaid made her feel like a pauper by comparison.

“Um, so....” She opened the pocket knife. “This is a pocket knife. It has various handy tools inside.” She flipped open the nail clipper. “This one keeps our fingernails trim.” She opened and closed the rest of the tools, telling the mermaid what each of them did, sometimes having to explain some more, especially when she told her one of the tools was a bottle opener. The mermaid probably did not know what a bottle was.

“This is the knife. It's not very sharp, but should handle the rope just fine.” She reached out and gently pulled up some of the net, her hands brushing against the side of the redhead's shoulders as she did so. “Hold very still, okay?” 

Mayumi cut piece after piece, putting the net aside to throw away when she was finished. She did not want something else to become caught in it, though now it was cut into too many small parts. Still, a fish could swallow one and become choked.

It saddened her the way humans treated the water. Didn't they realize life lived down there? Life like this amazing mermaid.

“I'm so very sorry, the fishermen are usually really careful about their nets.” She lowered her head and shook it ashamedly. She knew the mermaid shouldn't judge them for fishing, because after all what did mermaids eat? But she felt so ashamed that one of their nets had caused so much harm.

Her glasses slipped off her nose and fell onto the stomach of the now freed mermaid. Mayumi looked up, her cheeks dusting. “I can never remember to get those fixed. They are always falling off.” She put the pocket knife away and then held out her hand. She didn't want to just reach down and snatch the glasses back. What if she spooked the mermaid.

“May I have them back?”

She looked on at the mermaid, openly, though shyly, studying her face. They seemed to be of similar ages, though mermaid years could differ from human years. Mayumi couldn't help peeking at her tail. It was prettier than anything she had ever seen in pictures or movies. The green and blue scales almost looked like jewels, they even dazzled in the sunlight. Mayumi desired to see what they felt like, but did not dare to ask if she could touch them. For all she knew, touching mermaid tails could be seen as a very intimate act.