Ina found herself back at the beach the next morning. She refused to acknowledge that she was there to see the boy again. Of all the terra folk she had seen, this one was different. Research. I’m doing research on the anomaly. She stared at the beach, empty, for an hour but as the sun rose above the trees, a figure appeared. Ina drifted closer. Male. Dark hair. Seemed about the right height. She knew that if she moved closer he would see her but she couldn’t be sure if it was him. She hesitated long enough to see him sit down in the sand and hug his knees. Unless there are two interesting terrafolk, this is him. Ina was staring intently at the boy, only her eyes above the water. Neither moved much until he glanced at his wrist and retreated into the forest.

Ina returned at dawn to find herself in a similar situation as yesterday. Day after day, they both came to the beach, a new routine. She watched him, he looked out at the ocean oblivious to her presence. For weeks, Ina had carved out the first two hours of daylight for the land dweller. Every day he came, she was almost relieved. He wasn’t always alone. Somedays, a blonde girl sat with him. Her presence made Ina more on edge. Most of the time he was alone.

One morning, he walked past his usual spot in the sand and straight into the water. Ina froze, He didn’t see me, did he? He couldn’t, he was too far away. There was no hesitation and he is yet again in that horrible outfit. He was getting deeper into the ocean barely trying to keep his head above water. Ina soon realized he was that he was, in fact, avoiding the surface. Infuriated she sped towards him. Her shoulder hit him in the chest as she forced him above the water and towards the shore. When they made it to shallow water, she slapped him. Coughing up water, he tried to open his eyes but the salt made his vision blurry. He was mumbling in between strained breaths. “…was something… water…that day…” Ina replied with a scoff, “Maybe I hit your jelly head too hard.” Seeing his confusion, she continued, “Right. Sorry, I forgot, mermaids are only allowed to sing sweet melodies in foreign tongue!” Terrafolk have sarcasm, so why is he even more confused? As she finished her thought, he tried to run to the forest. He splashed haphazardly through the water, stumbling and trying to regain his balance. “I’m not going to save you again!” Ina shouted as he disappeared into the trees. She turned to swim home and thought disappointedly, Stupid. Just like the rest.

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Ina was done. With him. With terrafolk. Everything to do with the surface. She was going to stay deep in the ocean where things happened for a reason, mostly survival. That is something he clearly lacks. I never should have gone to the shore. I should have let nature take its course. Although, it was soothing to know he was still a mystery. Her memories of him crossed the through her mind, trying to make sense of it all.