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It was quite and calm summer night. Dark blue sky was merging with dark, almost black ocean. Its waves were lazily beating against the shore, and only a thin, hard-to-see skyline was dividing the water and the sky. It seemed that almost everything around was covered in a deep darkness, and only a scattering of milky white stars and a huge full moon were lightening the night beach. Waves' noise, tart sea air, light breeze and a weak light of stars and moon were creating a special romantic atmosphere at the beach, but in the same time they were a little frightening and were making mysterious, even confusing feelings in the soul.
Hakaze Kaoru was sitting on the cliff and thoughtfully looking at the sparkling water surface. This place was his personal shelter: was it early morning, midday or late night, he would always come here when he needed to be alone with his thoughts and feelings. Recently another anniversary of his mother's death had passed, and for a couple of days Kaoru was in a depressed state. He answered reluctantly to his friends' questions, he was absent on almost all classes and practices, and even dates with girls couldn't numb the heartache. But here, on the quite night coast he finally could find peace and tranquility at least for a couple of minutes.
Kaoru closed his eyes and took a relaxed position. Right now he was in full unity with ocean, night sky and waves, and even the gloomiest and saddest thoughts couldn't bother him. While listening to gentle whisper of the waves, Kaoru was remembering the happiest and calmest moments of his life. But unfortunately most of them were directly or indirectly connected with his mother, and because of this Kaoru felt unbearable sadness again. His eyes began to pitch because of the rushing tears, so he opened his eyes widely, raised up his head and looked at the starry sky.
To calm down again, Kaoru began attentively listening to the whisper of the waves - probably the only sound in the whole world that could completely calm him down. Suddenly he heard someone's quite but melodious voice. Kaoru turned his head towards the sound and he couldn't believe his eyes:
"Is this... a mermaid?" Kaoru whispered enchantedly after seeing in the water a silhouette of a slim girl with long hair, tied in a high ponytail, which reminded fish's tail a bit. The girl quickly fell silent, dived, staying under the water for a few seconds, and quickly returned with a bunch of small splashes.
"She really looks like those mermaids... from stories that mother told me." Kaoru thought and sighed heavily. "Should I follow her?.." with these thoughts he quietly went down the cliff and came closer to the shore, not taking his eyes off the mysterious girl. Meanwhile she continued diving, looking like a dolphin and completely being united with her element.
Not willing to be noticed (or not willing to destroy the illusion of a miracle?..), Kaoru hid down the cliff, enchanted by this miraculous girl. In moonlight he managed to see that her hair was dark blue, like an ocean, and her skin was milky pale. To be honest, Kaoru had met a lot of different girls, but none of them had ever thrilled his soul the same way as this mysterious stranger, and none of them had ever made his heart beating so fast. If it was any other girl, he wouldn't miss a chance to speak to her first, and so he did every time before, but now Kaoru could only watch this beautiful girl from the distance... or was it really a mermaid? This thought was haunting him. Do mermaids really exist and is he seeing one of them right now?..
Lost in his thoughts, Kaoru at first didn't notice that the girl he had been watching so intently, had already finished her water games and was slowly heading to the coast... towards him! It seemed that she finally had noticed that she had being watched all this time. Unfortunately, Kaoru realised this too late and didn't manage to hide his presence.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The stranger asked strictly. Kaoru looked at her from head to toes and realised that she was an ordinary, usual girl, but he couldn't refrain from asking:
"Aren't you a mermaid by the way?"
"What!?" Her flushed cheeks were seen even in the dim moonlight. Kaoru couldn't help but smile: the girl was looking very cute, even though her confidence was completely gone.
"A mermaid. These are girls with beautiful voices and looks, who live under the water." Kaoru explained tranquilly, but the girl interrupted him:
"I know it! As you can see, I'm not..." Suddenly she shivered from the cold because the air on the night beach was chilly, and she was wearing only a swimsuit. Kaoru noticed it, took his academy uniform coat off and quickly put it on her shoulders.
"I understand. Just wanted to ensure one more time." Kaoru began feeling himself more confident in her company because she turned out to be a human, not a mythical creature.
"Are you from Yumenosaki?" The girl asked after looking at the coat more closely.
"Yes. Hakaze Kaoru, third year." He answered in his usual tone. Did he manage to interest her in him?
"I've heard a lot about this school. Idols study there, right? And why idols are interested in mermaids?" Kaoru wasn't ready for this question and confused.
"I'm... not just an idol, but also a member of the Marine Biology club." He said after a short pause.
"Is it true!?" After these words the girl brightened up noticeably and came closer to him. "Not often I meet those who share my passion..." She said and at the same moment noticed, as if coming back to reality: "But it's the first time I hear that mermaids are being discussed in a scientific club!"
"We're not really a scientific club..." Kaoru mumbled and suddenly realised that it was useless to hide the truth from her. In the end, after talking everything out he would feel a lot better. "My mom had told me about the mermaids once. She died a long time ago, but I still remember her words as I heard them yesterday..." Tears began sparkling on Kaoru's eyes again and he quickly turned his head away, but the girl had seen it all.
"Let's hug?" She winked flirtatiously and spread her arms widely. Kaoru was shocked for a moment, but finally accepted this tempting offer and hugged her back.
"You know... if you want to talk about mermaids, sea or marine biology, you can come here at any time!" She said cheerfully, hugging him tighter and then suddenly letting him go. "And now I should go... Oh!" This moment she realised that she still was dressed only in his coat and her swimsuit and embarassed really quickly. "I-i should change my clothes..."
"Wait! You haven't told your name!" Kaoru reminded her, lightly touching her arm.
"I'm sorry! Matsuura Kanan, third year of Uranohoshi Girls' High School! See you later, Kaoru-kun!" Kanan winked again, returned the coat to its owner and cheerfully walked away.
"So, it's Kanan-chan..." Kaoru smiled, watching her. "I hope we'll really meet again..." He sighed and looked at the ocean again. Right here, on the empty night beach, under the quiet whisper of the waves and after meeting this extraordinary girl he had finally released all the pain of the past few days and, hopefully, had started a new page in his life...