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The water is dead.
Not literally, of course, it’s constantly shifting and lapping at the hull of Gem’s small trawling boat. Above, the squawking of seabirds never ceases. And on occasion one dives down, faster than a bolt of lighting, to snatch its unsuspecting dinner.
For Gem, the story is a little different.
Living in a small seaside town, her livelihood is controlled by the very tides, fishing not just for herself but for profit. Today however, she’ll be lucky to break even, not to mention the looming repayment of her boat’s recent repair job. Needless to say, she really needs this day to turn around. And fast.
The universe offers her no such luck for the next hour or two as she makes the rounds of her many deliberately placed crab pots. Between locations, she routinely checks her trawling net, and occasionally falls back on some manual pole fishing. By the end of the circuit, she’s starting to lose faith. Perhaps all of the fish have simply grown wings and flown south. The only reasonable conclusion.
Despite her currently meagre pickings, Gem wouldn’t trade this life for anything. A modest home she’s decorated with knick-knacks and her own art over the years; a boat that’s been with her since the beginning; time alone to both work and relax far from the goings-on of the town. It’s wonderful. Land and sea.
And while the sea in particular seems to have it out for her today, the sky at least shows her some mercy. The air stays mild, the clouds white and fluffy, and the wind whips but not bitterly.
The pleasant weather doesn’t do much to lift her mood when yet another net comes up scarce. Gem sighs as she lets it sink back into the salty water, considering cutting her losses and heading home. Less fuel wasted the better, she supposes.
She leaves the trawl net down as she starts the return journey, might as well catch what she can. Everything is as it should be, land steadily appearing on the horizon, until it feels like a sudden force is working against the boat’s motor.
Sighing harsher, Gem eases up on the throttle before something breaks from what is likely a bad snag. Attempting to dislodge whatever it is, she tries to turn the trawler hard to port, yet to no avail. The tension doesn’t seem to change no matter the direction. She really doesn’t want to have to cut her net, but it’s better than being stranded overnight with what little she’s caught going bad.
In a last ditch attempt she walks to the bow, attempting to raise the trawl. Surprisingly, the ropes and chains do their work in dragging the large, square net up to meet the water’s surface.
Gem’s jaw drops as the mechanism rises — the net is practically overflowing with fish. But that is not what she notices first.
Laying over everything, innocently taking up two-thirds of her net, is Pearl.
Pearl is— okay, well, they’re sorta..? Okay.
It’d all started not long after Gem had first moved here. She… she didn’t know the waters yet, and she was overzealous. Had ended up just a touch lost. Definitely not scared. Never.
And then this creature, both human and aquatic, had surfaced beside her boat, tilted its head and wordlessly guided her to land. Saved her life, if she thought about it. And she had thought about it — a lot, certainly more than she spoke of it. Mostly because anyone she had told had tried to convince her she must have been dreaming, or was simply making it up. Mers ‘weren’t real’ and she was a newbie, no legs to stand on, so she hadn’t fought it.
In the pitch black of nights on land and the morning orange of the dock, she’d wished to see it again. If not to get to know it then at least thank the creature. It had never stopped moving, or surfaced for long, so she hadn't been able to get a good look at it. What she had seen was breath-taking. A pair of warm toned fins ran parallel along its back, like that of a sailfish, while the skin underneath transitioned from a colour and texture similar to Gem's own to smooth red-orange scales. It also seemed to have humanoid hair, long brown strands that fell around its face and flowed through the water as it swam.
And against all odds, the pair did indeed reunite.
Gem was further out than she had ever ventured, settled on an excellent fishing spot and letting her mind wander to the comfortable white noise of sea spray. When, quick as a flash, out in her periphery, she spotted fluttering orange fins cutting the ocean’s surface. Followed not long after by the crackling splash of a whale-like tail slapping it, flicking droplets of water everywhere. Then nothing. For a long moment, Gem wasn’t sure she was breathing.
Just as she was about to shake her head and call herself truly crazy, the creature surfaced in a powerful jump, breeching before diving back down. It soon appeared right near the hull at the side of her boat, peering up at her curiously. Hesitantly, Gem had picked up a fresh fish and dropped it into the mouth of what she was now certain was an adult female mer. Eyes bluer than the surrounding sea, countless shining scales and vibrant yet delicate fins. There was nothing else she could be.
Since then, their meetings became more and more frequent, somehow crossing paths despite the constantly shifting expanse of water. They kept each other safe, kept each other sane, kept each other company — a symbiotic relationship. Pearl ensured Gem never got lost, Gem ensured Pearl was never spotted by anyone bar herself. Pearl would occasionally lead her towards lucrative fishing spots or interesting debris, and in return Gem rewarded her with as many fish as she could eat. When time wasn’t as tight, Gem came to enjoy painting while out on the water, and Pearl featured in those paintings every so often. The mer seemed enamoured by the process, observing the result attentively.
She wasn’t entirely a benevolent force however, often delighting in messing with Gem in various frustrating yet undeniably endearing ways. Once, Gem had leaned a touch too far over the railing and Pearl had pulled her headfirst into the freezing water with nothing but a bubbly laugh.
It was that day that solidified what Gem already knew — Pearl didn’t have a malicious bone in her fishy or human body. Tall tales of sinister sirens and dangerous merfolk be damned. It was surreal being allowed that close to a creature of legend. Pearl also gained her nickname that day, when she had gifted Gem a beautiful green one, pointing a claw directly towards what Gem quickly figured was her eye.
While she could be cute, she could also be a menace. Like a restless dog craving attention, she loved to splash Gem with freezing droplets of water, swim laps of the boat, or generally be a nuisance. It warmed Gem’s heart each and every time.
One of the more disruptive things she's taken to recently has been hitching a free ride onboard via her trawl.
Gem sighs again, fond in nature, a hand coming up to her face to pinch the bridge of her nose.
“Oh come on! Thanks for the fish at least, but did you really have to accompany them?”
Pearl doesn’t budge, only blinking up at her sweetly as Gem and her machinery slowly haul the net up to deck height.
Once they’re at eye level, time seems to slow. She reaches out for the nearest rope to bring the net onto the boat, softly berating the mer as she works.
“Pearl! I thought we were over th-”
Gem is cut off by cool, wet lips pressing against her own. Her eyes blow wide. Glittering scales, closer than she’s ever seen them, litter Pearl’s face. Salt fills her senses stronger than it ever has, like she’s drowning; except she has no intention of coming up for air. Her stomach flips like she’s fighting to keep her balance on deck in a raging storm. Only when she feels clawed, webbed hands on her shoulders pulling her closer does she let her eyelids slip closed.
Then in an instant, the sensation is gone. By the time her eyes flutter back open to the sound of a splash, all she catches is a glimpse of orange before Pearl disappears fully below the rippling surface.
She stays frozen for a few long moments, staring off blankly into the horizon.
Well that certainly was. A development.
In a sort of daze, Gem secures the fish still in the net and walks back into the cabin. Mind working solely off muscle memory until the town comes rushing towards her, and she needs to concentrate to not ram her boat straight into the wooden docks.
She’s just kissed — been kissed by — a mythical creature no one in this town even believes exists. And she’s still alive! Holy shit.