Chapter Text
Daylight shone through a window, into the lonely bedroom of an old, cranky small six-floor apartment. The resident slowly opened his eyes. Just then, the alarm went right off, but was quickly stopped by a hand slamming on it. The owner of that apartment, who was also the man on the bed, was Fulgur Ovid, a man who worked ten hours a day, six days a week in a government funded research facility.
Fulgur started his day by taking a quick shower and style his hair while trying to put his clothes on as fast as humanly possible. The young man then promptly took the sandwich that he just made hastily in order to not show up at work too late, packed it into a brown paper bag then took his shoes, putting them on as he locked the door of his apartment and ran outside to the busy streets. And this was how janitor Fulgur Ovid started his new day for the past three years. For a child from a third class family who’d lost a few limbs like him, he was lucky to even find a job and keep it for years. He jumped on the bus, found a seat for himself and quietly sat down for the rest of the ride, watching the bustling city passing by the bus’ window. It has come to him that the city has grown immensely, compared to when he first came here. More industrial buildings have been built, and nowadays it seemed like even people from other countries had come here. Fulgur had heard different accents and unfamiliar languages mixed in the noises of the city, creating a certain charm to it. He would be lying though, if he said that he didn’t miss the good old days. Because the city that he lived in, though very busy and much crowded, was not at all what he wanted. It was gloomy, and bleak, with skyscrapers slowly covering the sky more and more as days went by. He did not know whether it is better to stay in the city like this to make a living or just leave to find another job in another place. Fulgur knew he was trapped, he was being held prisoner by himself because of his own mentality, but there was nothing that he could do about it.
After showing his ID card to the guard, Fulgur entered the building. First, he headed straight to the locker room to change into his janitor clothes as well as locking away his belongings into safety. Next, he went to the storage room to collect his cleaning tools - a mop, a broom, bottles of cleaners and detergents and a bucket. With his head lowered and his eyes to the ground to avoid any unnecessary exchanges, Fulgur continued to sweep the floor as diligently as ever. A laborious job, but it was the only way he could earn something to feed himself. He really missed his morning exchanges with the delivery man. Ever since that boy was dismissed because of crashing the facility’s truck, Fulgur had been all alone in this enormous building. Suddenly, from the speaker a message blasted:
“All janitors, please come to the conference hall.”
Fulgur, with his bucket in hand, ran to the meeting as fast as he could. When everyone was gathered, he noticed the number of janitors in the facility had gone down drastically. The janitor didn’t remember there being so few people working here, apart from the scientists and inspectors. He couldn’t see the friendly woman who usually gave him an extra bottle of detergent just because he always ‘seemed so lost’. Where have those people gone? He had no idea. But Fulgur thought it would be better if he didn’t know anything. After all, working as a lower-class worker in this facility was already risky enough. He wouldn’t dare to risk another limb or something over a simple question.
Suddenly, a young man with long, black hair that was tied into a ponytail who looked not much older than Fulgur walked into the hall. Though he might not seem like it at first glance, the man had an intimidating aura, one that could possibly be suited for a general in the army. The noises died down immediately as everyone stopped moving the moment they saw him.
“Fulgur Ovid! Is Janitor Fulgur Ovid here?” His voice was loud and clear.
The lad raised his hand, “I’m Fulgur Ovid, sir.”
“You’re scheduled to clean container B-4546, in room F230. Follow me.”
Fulgur quickly took his mop and bucket, and rushed after the cold-looking scientist with his colleagues whispering and chattering behind. He didn’t dare to walk in front of his boss. They passed through the spiral staircase, which, to Fulgur, seemed like forever. Finally, they’ve reached the room where he was assigned to scrub and clean. The heavy metallic door creaked as the scientist pushed it open. “This would need some oil”, thought Fulgur, as a result of his habit.
The room was a mess. It looked like it had been locked for years until somebody recently decided to reopen it to store something. Walls were covered with moss and some kind of disgusting filth. Fulgur was used to working in conditions like this. After all, it is his job to clean up after others. “At least this room doesn’t have too foul a smell”, he thought. He stared at the flickering light.
“Oh, you won’t be cleaning this room. Come here.”
The scientist guided him towards another door. Fulgur was surprised to learn more about the interior of his working place (it seemed as if the interior was bigger than the exterior itself), but he didn’t question anything. He knew that if he were to know too much, he might not even be able to keep his head on his neck. There were numerous containers in this secret chamber. All were filled with different types of creatures being held captive in either some kind of chemically-induced liquid or just plain water.
They finally reached a gigantic container - much larger than any of the tanks that Fulgur had encountered since he set his foot into the room, but he was not prepared for what he was going to witness. He unconsciously gasped, letting out a quiet “woah”. Right before Fulgur was a merman. The colour of his eyes was a striking purple, the same as that of the lovely magnolias which Fulgur always saw whenever he went to work. But as he took a closer look, he could see that one of his eyes actually bore the shade of an extra rare gem called ametrine. The merman was showing off - he swimmed a few rounds in the tank, whipping his shiny tail that had the color of hydrangeas and the shine of a rare jewel. To Fulgur, the sight was… breathtaking. So alluring, so divine, to the point everything felt unreal. In his bleak, tedious days, he’d never seen something as mesmerizing as the merman. He almost even ignored his boss’ words.
“From now on, you will be assigned to clean this room, and this room only. Here…” the scientist pointed to a piece of paper pinned to the wall, “... is a set of rules that we’ve printed out, as you can see. Do as it says, and you’ll be safe. And lastly… You clean this lab, you get out. Got it?”
Fulgur quietly nodded in response. The scientist was still staring at him, which understandably put the young man into an uncomfortable position. Luckily, he quickly left, leaving him in the laboratory. That gaze - the gaze of amethyst eyes - was way too intimidating.
Fulgur diligently cleaned the lab - cleaning the outside of the containers, deep cleaning and pasteurizing some of the tools used… He didn’t pay attention to the time until it was finally lunch break. Fulgur came right next to the tank to “watch it”, per the orders of his boss and started to unwrap the sandwich he had packed earlier. As he was having his first bites, he could feel something approaching him from behind. It was the cute merman in the tank. He seemed curious, and somewhat interested in the human who was just a glass wall away from him.
Fulgur suddenly wanted to do something risky. He raised his hand, slowly touching the cold glass. At the same time, the merman also put his fingers up against the glass. Fulgur was amazed to find that although the creature had been living underwater, his fingers were not pruned at all. They were smooth.
The merman leaned in to kiss the glass, to Fulgur’s surprise. His grin was adorable, and somewhat dumb at the same time. But it was very charmingly enticing nonetheless. Fulgur suddenly felt an urge to jump into the tank with the merman. He frantically tried to open the lid and jump into the water-filled tank, but in doing so he fell right back to the ground since he couldn’t find anything to hold on to as he was climbing up the container. Luckily, because of that he was able to snap out of it immediately. The merman was still staring at him, but now with more confusion and curiosity. Fulgur got back on his feet. He tried to take another look at the merman, and quietly whispered:
“Who are you?”
The merman didn’t quite seem like he understood human language. Either that, or the glass is too thick for him to hear anything. He opened his mouth wide, as if he was trying to eat the janitor’s hand. Nonetheless, Fulgur still found him extremely cute.
At the end of the day, up until he got on the bus, Fulgur couldn’t take his mind off of the merman. He stared at the scenery passing by the bus’s window, thinking if the merman had seen the sights that he was seeing. Or, a more interesting question, what sights had he seen? The lights that illuminate the street were blinding, contrasting to the dim light inside the laboratory; the river that embraces the city, the little buildings that might have been there since last century… Fulgur suddenly realized he had harboured feelings for the merman. Realization was soon to strike the janitor that he couldn’t get his mind off of him. He clutched the bag in his hand tighter.
When he’d finally gotten back home, Fulgur plopped on the bed with a heavy sigh. His entire body was aching. He just wanted a bath, when suddenly, his phone rang. Fulgur lazily reached out to the worn out phone, the once glossy red paint had now faded to a weirdly distorted pattern. Over the phone was the deep, attractive and crisp voice of a man who’s most definitely a charmer. A voice he was familiar with. Far too familiar.
“Hello? Is this Fulgur Ovid?”
“Sonny? Is that you?”
“It is. Have you already forgotten my voice?”
“I- no… I’m just…”
“How’re things?”
It triggered something in him. Fulgur bursted out every single thought that’s been mingling on his mind for the past few days, not forgetting to tell the man on the phone to look after himself properly. He became quite relieved to hear the voice of an acquaintance after a long time.
“Times will get hard. I heard that the government’s gonna cut down on certain expenses, so be sure to stock things up as soon as you can.”
“Mmhmm. I’ve got plenty of food in my cupboard.”
“That’s good to hear. Oh and… please, don’t go and look for any trouble.”
“I won’t. Thanks, Sonny.”
As Fulgur hung up, a heavy sigh escaped his mouth. His eyes seemed like they'd grown darker after the call. Burying his face in his hands, he fell into a depressed slump by the thought of not being able to do the last thing that Sonny asked him to. Turning the light off, he realized his head was flooded with thoughts about the merman again.
*****
The next day, Fulgur came to his facility earlier than usual, motivated by an eagerness to see the cute little merman. It of course came as a surprise to him when he saw Shu already waiting for him next to the tank with a large cup of coffee in his hand.
“Fulgur? You seem to be… earlier than usual.”
“I-Is it wrong, sir?” Fulgur was surprised to hear Shu calling him by his first name.
“It’s not wrong, by any means. It is just… you seem to have an eye for that mermaid.”
“Oh, no! I won’t do something like that, even in my dreams!”
The scientist put his empty coffee cup down. Fulgur almost reached out to clean it, but Shu’s hand wasn’t off the cup yet.
“No need for that, I’ll clean this by myself. Oh, but if you want to have a taste of this new brew…”
Lowering his voice, Shu let out a little secret to the janitor while sliding a ten dollar tip into his pocket.
“Come to my office and clean it after you’re done with this room. A batch is already brewing on my desk.”
Fulgur realized that Shu might not be as intimidating as he thought he was. Though he didn’t drink coffee, he appreciated the effort. The others looked down on him all the time, but Shu sometimes greeted him when they saw each other on the hallway, since Fulgur used to be assigned to clean his office prior to his current task.
“Hey little guy!” Fulgur greeted the creature in the tank as soon as he came into the room. The merman didn’t seem to budge - he just stared at Fulgur, as if he didn’t know how to respond to a proper greeting.
“Let me clean this for you… you’ve been in this dirty water for so long, right? Don’t those evil scientists know how to treat such an adorable merman like you…” Unconsciously, Fulgur started to talk to the merman in baby talk. The merman wasn’t displeased, rather, he was very beguiled with the janitor’s speech, even trying to mimic his mouthing like a mime. Childishly, Fulgur giggled, but he soon came down to earth when he remembered his priorities. He first started by cleaning the glass outside the tank with a rag and some window cleaner. Shu told him it was fine for him to use as much cleaner as he wanted, but he could still easily work with a fair amount.
First and most important step was the water control. Because they were storing a living creature in a large container, the janitor inserted two long tubes inside the tank, one to get all of the impurities out and the other to pump new fresh water in. But Fulgur was a rather clumsy guy, so he tripped over a tube and spilled some water on himself. Once in every two weeks, the merman will be transferred to another tank while his current container would be thoroughly cleaned by another janitor or by the other workers of the facility itself that Fulgur has never met before (and he didn’t want any business with them either). Next, with the set of instructions given to him, he changed the temperature in the tank to the merman’s liking. Throughout the process, the merman watched him closely, with great attention like he was watching someone figuring out a puzzle. Though graceless, Fulgur’s concentration with his work greatly drew him in. He also seemed to notice that unlike the other humans he’d interacted with, this one’s body had something odd that he couldn’t quite grasp. But of course, how could a merman know about human’s prosthetics?
“There! Good as new. Are you comfortable now, mister merman?” Fulgur proudly presented his work to the merman.
The merman didn’t show much expression, but the way that his tail was wagging suggested that he was content with Fulgur’s work. The janitor beamed. As if he was a performer saying thanks to an audience, he acted like he was taking off a hat and bowed in front of the merman. For the rest of the day, he did his best to clean the rooms which included many other containers apart from that of the merman.
“This isn’t so bad after all”, thought Fulgur, as he wrapped things up to end his workday. Before eventually leaving the facility, he waved goodbye to the merman. And the aquatic mythical creature was left all alone in the dark again.
*****
“Nobody knows what he’s like. That Ovid boy never revealed anything about himself, let alone other people. We can use him…”
“But not trust?”
“Anyone who dares to tell others or even live to tell the tale would just seem like they were blabbering nonsense like a madman. Sooner or later, the authorities would come and put them into a psych ward. That’s how we keep our secrets safe.”