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Ed loads his fishing equipment onto his boat, double checking he’s got the bait, he won’t make that mistake again, before climbing aboard. The gentle waves lap around him as he rows out to sea, the sun beating down causing a thin sheen of sweat on his brown.
Ed stops in his usual spot, casting his net into the ocean. He takes a seat, closing his eyes for a second, enjoying the peace he always manages to find out here. He’s gazing at the clouds, finding shapes in their fluffy forms, when he feels a tugging on the boat.
“Must be a big fish.” He says to himself as he peers over the side of the boat.
But what he finds is not quite a fish, they may have a fish tail but the human torso suggests this is something else entirely. He’s read about merpeople in books, but seeing one up close is a whole other experience. They’re beautiful, all the way from their golden curls to their glittery orange scales, he can’t help but stare.
The merperson continues to thrash about in an attempt to escape, interrupting Ed from his thoughts.
“Sorry mate, let’s get you out of there.”
Ed approaches the net, causing the merperson to flinch away from him.
“Hey I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise I just want to help.”
They must be reassured enough as they stop moving, allowing Ed to carefully untangle them from the net. The nets fully wrapped around them, Ed feels a pang of guilt that it’s his net that caused this.
As soon as the merperson is free, they swim away from the boat, keeping a safe distance between the two of them, but Ed can see the injuries that have been left from the net.
“Let me help you.” Ed offers, reaching out a hand to the merperson.
They seem reluctant, which Ed certainly can’t blame them for, they did just get trapped in his net after all. But he wasn’t going to give up easily.
“My name’s Ed, do you have a name?”
The merperson watches him warily, likely weighing up whether to trust him.
“Stede, my name’s Stede.” They reply after a few moments of silence, Ed takes that as a win.
“You’re injured Stede, let me take care of you.”
Stede slowly swims up to the boat, Ed can tell that they’re cautious as they grab onto the side. Ed can see now the cuts and scrapes that adorn their torso, patches where scales have fallen off. He’s never treated a merperson, he hopes it’s just similar to treating a human.
“Can I touch you?” Ed asks.
Stede nods, allowing Ed to haul them onto his fishing boat, carefully laying them down on the floor. Their tail stretches out over the bow of the ship, Ed can see it in all its glory now, the way the scales shimmer in the morning sun is almost mesmerising.
Ed gets to work cleaning and bandaging the wounds, Stede still flinches occasionally but they seem a lot more relaxed now, Ed’s pleased that he’s slowly gaining their trust. He pauses when he gets to the scales, not entirely sure what to do.
“They’ll heal on their own.” Stede assures him.
“Right okay, guess you’re all patched up then. Sorry again about the whole catching you in my net thing.”
Stede smiles, something radiant. “Really it’s fine, thanks for patching me up, I guess I’ll be on my way.”
Ed realises he’s not ready to say goodbye, he’s becoming enamored by this beautiful creature.
“Or you could stay for lunch, have you ever had marmalade before?” Ed asks.
“Marmalade?” Stede replies, confused.
“Mate you are going to love it, it’s sweet and orangey, you have to try some.”
He takes the jar of marmalade from his bag, spreading some on a piece of bread before handing it to the merperson. They closely study the food they’ve been given before taking a bite.
“Oh wow that is good.” Stede exclaims. “What’s it called again?”
“Marmalade.”
“Marmalade.” Stede repeats before taking another bite. “I like it.”
They continue to share marmalade and light conversation into the early afternoon, learning about each other's lives. After a while Stede dives into the water, Ed watches as they swim around his boat, they look so free as they glide through the water.
After a while, Stede swims back up to the side of the boat. “I should get going.”
“Oh right, of course.” Ed replies sadly.
“Maybe I’ll see you around?” Stede asks.
“Well I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“With marmalade?”
“With marmalade.” Ed confirms with a smile.
“See you tomorrow Ed.”
Stede gives a flick of their tail before diving down beneath the water, Ed watches as they disappear into the murkiness below. He knows tonight he’ll dream of golden hair and shimmery scales.