Shattered Memories - Chapter 3

It wasn’t that mermaids and humans had a bad relationship in the beginning. Their existence was discovered when a mermaid was accidentally caught in a net by humans.

Humans were curious about new races, and mermaids were no different. Mermaids allowed humans to go to the sea, and humans developed civilization by moving freely through the sea routes they opened. Meanwhile, there were often mermaids who fell in love with humans and went up to land to settle down. In the world of humans, the stories of mermaids was embellished as a fairy tale, and the stories of mermaids who fell in love with humans were also told in Atisa.

The peace did not last long. Humans who developed civilization selfishly tried to covet the countless treasures that were submerged under the sea and the raging currents. And maybe even the mermaids.

Over the years, the shells decreased. The smell of gunpowder and blood did not go away. Many mermaids were stabbed to death by humans’ sharp spears, and even Mer¹, who was at the forefront of fighting, was also killed in the end.

The owner of the new trident brutally tore the human who murdered the former Mer, dragged Atisa down into the deep sea, and placed a protective barrier. The mermaids who made a connection with humans were permanently exiled and never returned to Atisa, and after that, the love stories between humans and mermaids disappeared from Atisa.

Thus, to the mermaids born after the bloody history, humans were like unknown creatures.

“…”

It was the same with Rayan.

While Rayan was at a loss for what to do after the sudden fall, foam rose finely in the place where the human fell and was swallowed by the roaring waves. Rayan blinked and watched it, then glided down from the surface to confirm what he had seen.

As the human fell, he lost consciousness and was slowly sinking. His shiny golden hair shone even in the dark sea. Like in Rayan’s Atisa, where light never fades. Like the sun that he had only heard about.

Rayan circled around the human and stared as if possessed.

The little human, who had already lost consciousness, began to struggle with pain all over his body. Only then did Rayan come to his senses and get closer to him. He hesitated as he approached, but didn’t step back.

“Keu, urgh…!”

A gurgling sound came out of the human’s mouth, who had been clasping his neck with both hands, creating bubbles. As the wrinkle on the forehead was straightened and the body stretched helplessly, Rayan came to the thought of whether humans could breathe in the water.

Ah. Thinking about it, he remembered the words of an old mermaid who had quite a militant disposition once upon a time. He said with great pride that he sang a song as a boat with humans passed by, overturned it, and then ran the ship aground and buried all the humans.

Then, why did this young human who resembled the sun jump into the water without being able to breathe underwater? Although he could not understand it, Rayan approached cautiously and grabbed his sinking body.

But he didn’t know what to do after that.

It was his first time seeing a human, and also his first time seeing a creature that couldn’t breathe in the sea.

“O noble little mermaid. Kiss the human and let him breathe.”

One of the letans, who was looking around, whispered and intervened. As it spoke, when Rayan put his lips to the other’s soft lips and breathed in, the human’s expression became calm. Just then, his slightly restless mind was cleared, and Rayan began observing the human.

There are no small webs between his fingers.

There were no gills behind the ears, and no fins under the torso.

“Wow.”

Unable to suppress his fascinated heart, Rayan grabbed a human finger and murmured.

“How could these little humans do such a thing to us?”

The human being was similar in appearance to Rayan, who still looks like a young mermaid due to incomplete growth, and was a fragile creature who could not even breathe underwater. But how could such people brutally slaughter so many mermaids that they dyed the beautiful sea red hundreds of years ago?

“It’s a young human who hasn’t grown up yet. An adult human is much larger than that, mermaid.”

The letan, who heard him talking to himself, made small talk. He couldn’t believe that such a small thing could grow as big as a mermaid, so he touched between his smooth fingers without webs again.

“And even if a human could breathe, he would die of cold if he was in the water for too long.”

Just like that? They really are weak.

Rayan tilted his head. His black hair fluttered, touched the human body he was holding, and fell repeatedly. It was a pity, but he had to bring the other up now. Should he just put him on the shore?

“Uhh…”

Just as he was about to ask the letan again, the lips of a young human opened and a faint sound of pain came out.

Rayan focused on the sound.

The human eyelids twitched and his eyelids rolled upwards. His eyes were as blue as the sea.

With each blink of the human’s eye, which had been hazy due to lack of focus, his vision became clearer. The young human, unaware of Rayan’s existence at first, widened his eyes. Blub blub. Lips opened and closed repeatedly. Bubbles formed in drops. However, since the human could not speak underwater, there was no voice coming out.

But his image was reflected in the blue eyes of a human.

His black hair and green eyes looked unique. The mermaid in his eyes, that is, Rayan, could not hide his awkwardness.

“Ah…”

The existence of mermaids must not be discovered by humans. Alle’s face flashed through his mind. Mer’s cold face. And even his future, where he will be imprisoned in Atisa’s protective barrier.

Thinking that he shouldn’t show more of himself to humans, Rayan swung his tail subconsciously.

Slap! The sudden blow caused the young human’s eyes to close and his body to limp again. He let go of his hand in surprise, and the human body began to sink again.

He didn’t mean to knock him out. Rayan, who widened his eyes in embarrassment, grabbed hold of his sinking body and climbed up to the surface. Then he pulled him up and put him on the ground. The human body drooped helplessly.

“…”

The letan said that this human was just underdeveloped, and that full-grown humans were much larger. It sounded unbelievable, but Yuri also said that there was a time when he was almost killed by a human. Still, maybe it was because the first person he had ever seen was this young person. Rayan was just doubtful.

Maybe everyone misunderstood.

In fact, he wondered if humans could all be like the shining sun like this.

“…”

Rayan looked at the human with his upper body leaning over the water. His hair, flowing softly, intertwined with strands of human’s golden hair that was flowing in a disorderly manner.

Rayan, who was about to brush his hair, inadvertently reached out and placed his hand on the chest of a young human. The flesh of a human being pulled out of the water was hotter than his body temperature.

The unexpected temperature made him clench his hand and drop it, then he raised his hand again. Under the warm flesh, thump, thump. It was weak, but his heart was beating. Unlike in the water, he breathed out quickly.

In response to the vivid feeling of being alive, Rayan felt lukewarm, not wanting to let go of his hand. Meanwhile, Rayan looked at the young human’s face over and over again in case he would open his eyes again. The human frowned but never opened his eyes.

“…Does it hurt?”

If he looked closely, he could see that the cheek was hit by the tail.

“Human, does it hurt?”

He hadn’t mean to hit him. Suddenly, he felt sorry. Rayan brushed his wet, golden hair that was clinging to his forehead, gently rubbing his cheek while speaking cautiously. Of course, the unconscious human did not answer anything.

The cheeks wrapped around his palms were soft. His apologetic heart quickly sank under curiosity. Meanwhile, Rayan looked closely at the human face while touching it along the curves. He thought that golden hair would sparkle even when submerged in the sea, but it was even more beautiful when reflected in the moonlight.

Barely holding back the desire to take a few strands for the price of saving him, he gently rubbed the corners of his eyes. Although the other’s eyes were closed now, he knew very well what colour eyes he had under his long, drooping lashes.

It was blue. Beautiful, like the sea.

“…”

He wanted to see it again, so he lightly touched his eyelids. When the other person tossed and turned, he flinched and quickly pulled his hand off and observed. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he woke up. Rayan relaxed and smoothed his face again.

A young and fragile human being.

A human Rayan had saved.

The unbelievable existence that aroused curiosity over and over again.

“Heuk!”

The human grabbed Rayan’s hand, which was fiddling with his face. He was startled again and almost struck him with his tail, but seeing his face weakened his heart. Wasn’t he just weak enough for a mark to be left behind like this?

He was caught and unable to do this or that, but his long, drooping eyelashes trembled and curled up. The deep blue eyes that he had tried to look at by flipping his eyelids before were revealed under the moonlight.

“…Cough, cough…!”

The human turned his body and coughed for a long time. Meanwhile, Rayan was frozen.

“…W-who?”

The human blinked his eyes slowly and spoke to Rayan. It was a clean and melodious voice.

Rayan, who heard a human voice for the first time, quickly moved away from him and barely shook his hand off. He didn’t give it any strength because he was afraid that the human hand might break. Ah. The human hand, whose energy had been exhausted while making a sound of pain, fell easily. His little fingers flinched as if they wanted to touch them.

Rayan pushed his body, which was half raised, back to the water.

“Young mermaid. The dolphin successor is coming here in search of the mermaid.”

The letan, who had been circling around him, brought up Yuri whom he had forgotten about only until it spoke out.

Even if Yuri was gentler than Alle, he wouldn’t have allowed him to save humans or much less get caught. He had to go back to him quickly and feign innocence. Even though Rayan knew this, he couldn’t take his eyes off the human who was looking at him or pull his body back.

The human had not yet fully come to their senses. He was still half-conscious.

“Why, did you…”

Raising his hand in front of the murmuring human’s eyes, Rayan opened his mouth.

“Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen… Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn²…”

A beautiful melody that was ambiguous but pleasant to the ear, flowed from between Rayan’s lips in a warm tone. The human’s body which had been secretly trembling in a stifling manner, relaxed, and the pulse under his palm that had been trembling also subsided.

After looking down at the sleeping human and wondering for a moment what he had been trying to say, Rayan turned his body around with a bit of regret. Aside from the gentle foam that rose, only a young human was left under the moonlight.

1. Mer seems to be just a title for the king/ruler, not a name, so this is referring to the previous king
2. a line from Heinrich Heine’s poem and musical piece “Die Lorelei” which is based on a German legend of a seducing mermaid who lures seamen to their death. This line translates to ‘I think that the waves will devour / The boatman and boat in the end