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Hey hey hey hey
Why am I feeling giddy greatly?
Hey hey baby
I just can't stop thinking about you lately.
The air around the sea was as balmy as any midsummer morning, and so were the waters. Couples sunbathed as children gathered around an elderly woman with eager ears by the tides of Shimei. As legends had said, there were indeed merfolk living under the sea. Nevertheless, apart from the innocents, the majority passed it as just a fairy tale. They held onto that, never knowing what was really unfolding beneath the waves.
The ebb of the wave gave way to the bountiful corals underneath the crystalline waters. Sea anemones were abound with colorful fishes peacefully swimming around them. A few sea turtles hovered above the reef in search for jellyfish. With no luck, they took the plunge into the depths of the blue abyss before they could hear laughter clicking through the sea.
"Want to race, Shaotian?" Ye Xiu winked knowingly at the merman with a scaleless blue hue as his tail. "Maybe, you might meet the one. Or maybe not..."
Without hesitation to hold back on beating Ye Xiu in his own game, Huang Shaotian immediately jetted through the gravitational pressures. He set his eyes onto the faint sunlight permeating from the surface. Poised for speed as he always was, Huang Shaotian did not waste on the luxury to glance at Ye Xiu, who was speeding up not far behind him.
"Ckckckck, Shaotian," Ye Xiu chuckled. "Are you that desperate to marry the sun?"
"Lao Ye! Just shut up!" Oh, how Huang Shaotian wished to put the blame on the clammy water for the sudden heat he felt.
Huang Shaotian quickly propelled himself upwards from the mesopelagic. It was a race like any other day—as usual of who reached the shores first. Ye Xiu always won, much courtesy to his intellect and sonar. That thought alone made Huang Shaotian inhale more oxygen through his gills. He streamlined his tail as his hands waddled their way to the corals. Fishes paused their movements, dazzled by the bubbles he left before emerging to the vast panorama with a splash. He looked back, and his friend was nowhere in sight yet.
Bae bae bae bae
I said from the very start, can you stay?
Look at you, baby
You’re my forever from today on.
Huang Shaotian sighed and watched from afar, knowing all too well of these humans. Again, he heard the old woman telling children a story in a sing-song voice. Having heard the story a couple of times before, his eyes darted at a young man and his beloved woman. But unlike the other dozing couples, they walked hand in hand together towards the sands across short promontories. When they stopped, the man kneeled down before he presented to her what shined like sapphire under visible light.
It was beautiful—too beautiful for his mere form of the sea. Huang Shaotian’s thoughts soon drift to his friend and his friend's lovers.
"What if I find the one? What if I never find the one? I don't want to die alone, let alone evaporate to become sea foam. What if I am never able to charm, to make someone laugh, to lure, to love someone...?"
But Huang Shaotian's senses stopped his mind from further derailing to the happen-nots. A current of water itched his tail to swim further along the pristine coastline, outlined by its white sands. He alternated between the warm, sweet air and the cold, salty waters in his every stroke. He continued, until his eyes spotted a lonely figure from afar.
Curious, Huang Shaotian swam closer to the rocky outcrop where the mystery was thought to be at. He was a man that he never saw or met before, The man was of lean stature, sitting down to sketch against the backdrop. of crashing waves. Everything about him was blue apart from his porcelain white skin and a few other features. Huang Shaotian saw his pink dewy lips and midnight blue strands crowning his head, but his sapphire eyes? He wanted to—no, he was in so much awe. In truth, he would rather drown in the ocean that were his eyes more than he would admit.
And so, Huang Shaotian stole one last glance at the man when he noticed the merman's crescent-shaped tail. Before the man could register his blushing face, Huang Shaotian dived back into the waters right away. In haste, Huang Shaotian swam to see Ye Xiu looking for oysters to eat amongst the corals. Distracted from his hunt, Ye Xiu peeked and chuckled at Huang Shaotian.
"Any catch of the day?"
"Why!? Of course not!" Huang Shaotian spat. "Just some children listening to old wives rumors about us, and couples looking lazily at us like we are some Sashimi meat, for glory's sake, we are mermen, not marinated meat! Oh, by the way, the fish there sucks!"
"You sure?" Ye Xiu noticed the warmth glazed on Huang Shaotian's cheeks.
"Not even something delicious? Or even someone alluring?"
"No, lao Ye! The fishermen had stolen all the delicious fishes, and all the hot men were taken—"
"Not even a single alluring human?" Ye Xiu asked with certainty.
Huang Shaotian furrowed his eyes further.
"You can't possibly read my mind! He is just a piece of my imagination in chaos mode, he's like any other human I will forget the next day!" Huang Shaotian huffed hardly for someone completely bewitched minutes earlier.
"Now tell me more about him." Ye Xiu's voice clicked through the surrounding waters.
"Lao Ye, you're so relentless and shameless, you're going to laugh at me for like five ages at how unlucky I am at love eh, while your one boyfriend is already planning your other's suit and your wedding dress, but fine! Laugh at me all you want, he has only blue hair and eyes and pink lips, what more can you ask!? His presence literally drips when all I want to do is to watch the beach and bask!"
Then Huang Shaotian's stomach grumbled at his own words.
“I’m hungrrrrrry,” Huang Shaotian complained.
“I got some oysters if you would like,” Ye Xiu offered. “We’ll be bringing a basketful of them for lunch.”
With no time wasted, the two mermen descended back to the depths and back to their shared cove camouflaged amongst the seaweed forest. Huang Shaotian trailed behind Ye Xiu, lest he got lost had he rushed in the front. It was not long until they finally arrived at what seemed to be an illuminated cavern.
From the way that your blue eyes enchant me
To the way that your tranquil smile enthrals me
You are the one that I have longed to see (A-a-a am)
Am I in the wrong?
Am I in the right?
Am I in love with you!?
They entered its doorless entrance, seeing Zhang Xinjie and Han Wenqing conversing around the table. Ye Xiu dropped off the oysters on the table and soon their eyes drifted to the oysters before to Ye Xiu and then Huang Shaotian.
“What? What did I do?” Huang Shaotian said as if he was at fault.
Zhang Xinjie, in particular, noticed Huang Shaotian’s glowing face. As his fins flapped gracefully underwater, the merman inched a little closer at Huang Shaotian.
“Any news above the sea, Shaotian?” Zhang Xinjie asked.
Huang Shaotian did the same trick. “Nothing much, nothing much, lao Zhang, in fact there are not many delicious fishes apart from the oysters lao Ye hunted before! In fact, the humans up there are up to their weird antics as usual, sketching, playing, dozing, sunbathing, kissing, hugging, and God forbid, proposing–!”
“Wait,” Zhang Xinjie paused before he looked at Ye Xiu. “Is that really true, Xiu?”
“Yes, Xin. Very much true,” Ye Xiu smiled. “In fact, Huang Shaotian saw someone in particular.”
Huang Shaotian felt his brain melting at Ye Xiu’s remark, though Zhang Xinjie and Han Wenqing remained straight-laced as ever. He only could imagine how personal it was for him, as he always considered himself to be a matchmaker amongst mermen. And now with Huang Shaotian in the same place as Ye Xiu a while ago…
“Who is the someone that Shaotian saw?” Han Wenqing questioned, trying to not bar his sharp teeth as often.
“Han, just ask Shaotian,” Ye Xiu suggested. “Surely he is the one who knows best.”
Han Wenqing diverted his steely gaze at Huang Shaotian.
“Shaotian, who is that someone that you saw earlier?”
Huang Shaotian’s heart palpitated. He wished that they never brought up the man that he saw earlier, let alone asked about the news beyond the waters. He could have screamed and lashed out at them, but it would have made it all the more clear to them about the warmth beneath him.
“Talk about that later, I’m famiiiiiished…”
“Sure, sure,” Ye Xiu answered as he opened up the oysters and shared to each four a plate of them.
The oysters were very fresh as Huang Shaotian slurped the meat from his first oyster. It tasted as briny as the seawater, and as he ate more, his nerves began to slow down while they remained warm. He relished on its flavor before Han Wenqing stared at him from across the table.
“Shaotian, you still have not answered my question.”
Flustered, Huang Shaotian shot at him, “Oop, lao Han, sorry, sorry, I just really enjoy these oysters way too much, and now what?”
“Who is that someone that you saw?”
“The man that I saw!? He was, I guess, doing fine just like any other human being. He was sketching by the rocks not far from the rest, he could as well be sunbathing just like the other women, or maybe sightseeing like any curious child would do, or maybe there to collect the water for some strange reasons like any old witches do! He was as handsome as any other young males around the beach, his demeanour as gentle as the breeze up there, but argh, I take it back! He is way too mute for my–”
“Pause for a second,” Zhang Xinjie interposed. “Did lao Ye see him too? Was he there with you by that time?”
“Of course not! He challenged me in a race that he always wins all the time, but looks like I’m the winner this time, and of course, oysters are his favorites, so naturally, I swam all the way to the topmost of the surface to see the beach first!”
“Until you saw your man, of course,” Ye Xiu smirked, irking Huang Shaotian.
“Hey, it was not even part of my plan to fall–no–to even see him to begin with!”
“This sounded to me like the first signs of infatuation,” Zhang Xinjie said dryly before taking a glance at Ye Xiu. “Or possibly love.”
“What, infatuation!? Pfft, as if!” Huang Shaotian retorted. “Let alone, love! You three got it lucky, all the while I’m the one unlucky! You are all planning matching rings, while I am still finding somebody to cling to!” As much as I want to have him, I have standards, I have morals, I would rather drown myself into the abyss than knowing that he doesn’t love–no–return back!”
“I know you, Shaotian,” Ye Xiu chortled through air bubbles. “You would rather die with and for him than turning into foam. Right, Han and Xin?”
Han Wenqing curtly nodded, knowing fully too well of the young merman’s tendencies.
“Shaotian can be quite persistent and committed once his eyes are dead set onto something or someone, even at the cost of his own life,” Zhang Xinjie stated.
Huang Shaotian continued on his rant. “Oh, come on! I don’t need anyone here to define what my love life looks like! I may be a matchmaker and a love expert, but Lao Ye, I barely even touch yours unless you asked me, and so you did, so that is why I got you, lao Han, and lao Zhang together, and lao Ye, I hated it when you are rubbing sea salt upon my skin while figuring on my own love in the future!”
“Well, that’s exactly why we are talking about your man now,” Ye Xiu replied. “I am here to return the favor.”
“So we got it. It is a male human that usually sketches by the rocks,” Zhang Xinjie confirmed. “When would be the next time to meet him again?”
Ye Xiu shared a teasing smile at Zhang Xinjie, knowing very well the approximate time Huang Shaotian met the man. After a second of silence, Han Wenqing spoke up, also wary of the enigma of the mentioned.
“I’ll patrol the waters near the rocks just in case.”
“Wait–” Huang Shaotian was speechless. He could sense no mockery so far in any of his friends’ words, yet he was the one mocking himself. He had heard of numerous tragedies of humans failing to return the merfolks’ love, always ending in them either having to sacrifice their lives or their loves. The first terrified him, but the latter broke something within him. Though usually cold-blooded, he felt his heart rupturing into heat at that thought.
“Shaotian, you go with me to the beach tomorrow, and that’s final.”
Huang Shaotian did not know how to respond back, but then the wave of the pleasant kind of warmth soon swept inside his body. Maybe the tragedies were after all tall tales, and that he was luckier than he could convince himself to be. Maybe not, or maybe neither good or bad ended up happening. He jittered at the possibilities of tomorrow as he ate the last of the oysters. After swallowing the last oyster down his throat, he then saw the others too finished with lunch. As Han Wenqing left to throw away the empty shells into a trash net, Huang Shaotian quickly sped to Ye Xiu’s side while he could avoid Zhang Xinjie’s gaze.
Huang Shaotian nearly blurted his lingering question out loud, but managed to control himself into a whisper. “Lao Ye, do you think he will love me back?”
Ye Xiu returned with a quiet reply. “I don’t know. It really depends on how he sees you and treats you. After all, it may be a total match or a total failure or somewhere in between. In all honesty, I hadn’t had it easy either when I fell for lao Han and lao Zhang. You believed me all those months ago when I was lost in love, and here I am now…”
“But this is…different…” Huang Shaotian’s voice reduced to a mutter. “You like other mermen, but it was a human in my case, so you could not possibly…”
“You are contradicting yourself,” Ye Xiu softly refuted him. “If you have always believed in love, why not now?”
With his cheeks colored like red algae, Huang Shaotian left the dining area with a pique. “I’m going now!”
And true to that, Huang Shaotian swam away from the coziness of the cove to make laps up and down the sea, each with varying degrees of frigidity. Nonetheless, his mind remained warm regardless, and even after he tired himself out, he still could not cool himself down. That said, his sleep that night was that of a runaway tuna.
When my eyes meets yours, you made my heart sing
Li li li la la li
La li li li la la love
When you smile at me, you made me see love
Li li li la la li
You are why my soul is dancing
Morning came once more, and it was as humid as the currents tiding away from Yalong. Huang Shaotian was adding the final touches of spray onto his hair when he heard someone knocking. From the way the door resounded, it must be Han Wenqing waiting for him. After quickly combing his hair with his hands, Huang Shaotian rushed outside his room to see the brusque merman nearby.
“Lao Han…!”
“Shaotian, it is morning already. I thought you really wanted to meet the man again,” Han Wenqing spoke.
“I knoooow, lao Han! Can’t you see what’s under my eyes, can’t you feel my head heating up!?”
Han Wenqing simply led Huang Shaotian the way as they both departed from the cove. Han Wenqing did notice the bags underneath Huang Shaotian’s blueish eyes, but he focused on escorting the younger to the pelagic zone. Huang Shaotian kept on rambling his way upwards, but Han Wenqing was not distracted by them one bit. So, Huang Shaotian changed his lane to swim.
“Lao Han, lao Han! What is it like when you first fall in love with lao Ye, with lao Zhang!? Did you feel all the delight, the euphoria, the fright, the mania? Do they feel like contracting a fever that is more like pleasure and horror at the same time?”
“Shaotian, that is not what you should be concerned about. Now, off you go.”
Reluctantly, Huang Shaotian swam away from Han Wenqing and towards the cliffs nearby to the same outcrop where he encountered yesterday’s enigma. And much to the clarity of his eyes, Huang Shaotian saw that same man, sketching what seemed to be runes inspired by the sea.
Even within a few seconds of observing the man, Huang Shaotian could not help, but cleared his throat. Nonetheless, the man kept sketching. Seconds turned to minutes, and apart from the undulating waves crashing on the rocks and ululations of flying birds of paradise, silence remained.
Uneasily, Huang Shaotian broke in with what sounded more like a question.
“Hello? Anyone here?”
Meanwhile, the man’s hand paused, listening to the peculiar voice from the sea. Not far below was Huang Shaotian, but his name was still unknown to the man as of yet. The man figured that it could not come from anywhere else, but the merman. So, the man returned Huang Shaotian’s words.
“Hello? Who’s there?”
Knowing the man was referring to him, Huang Shaotian peeked from the waters to gaze the same shade of blues that enchanted him yesterday.
“It’s me, Shaotian! Who are you? What is your name? What are you drawing? May I have a look? You want to swim with me? Race with me?”
Sensing the vivacity in Huang Shaotian’s voice, the man interrupted with a polite reply.
“Hold on…”
Huang Shaotian felt a cool drop within his head.
“Sorry, I’m just so immensely curious! Now that you know my name, would it be fair if I know yours too?”
Though perplexed by his energy, the man articulated to Huang Shaotian.
“I’m Yu Wenzhou. You can call me Wenzhou.”
Then warmth once again circulated within Huang Shaotian.
“Ah, Wenzhou that is. Now tell me, why are you here? What is it that you are drawing? What are they? Are they pretty to look at? May I see it?”
Yu Wenzhou smiled as he stared down at Huang Shaotian’s eyes. They were identical to that of the ocean blues, bright and dark simultaneously.
“I love the tranquility that the ocean provides,” Yu Wenzhou responded. “It really does provide me with inspiration for the runes I am sketching right now.”
“So basically, you like the quiet. Of course, everyone flocks to the quiet, but not here,” Huang Shaotian blurted out. “By the way, what are they for? Are they for your hobby? Your work? Or what about your potion? Or what is it!?”
But then Huang Shaotian noticed Yu Wenzhou’s concentrated posture, sketching more runes on his notebook. Rather than spouting more questions, Huang Shaotian decided to let the awkwardness sink into silence. And it was a pain, yet a pleasure.
Huang Shaotian swam closer to the rock and held onto it like a barnacle that grew amongst it. He watched as Yu Wenzhou drew on paper with his pencil. While mostly on his runes, Huang Shaotian caught Yu Wenzhou’s occasional glances at his merform and the surreality of this serendipity. Huang Shaotian tried to convince himself that it was just Yu Wenzhou’s jaded eyes looking for respite, but Huang Shaotian missed the longing evident from the phthalo tinge in his eyes. Nevertheless, Yu Wenzhou was a sight to behold, for Huang Shaotian to treasure. Though a seemingly ordinary human, Huang Shaotian sensed that Yu Wenzhou was more than that.
The morning turned to afternoon, and soon the sky turned to a kaleidoscope of cool blues and warm oranges. Many had vacated the beach as twilight swiftly approached. Yu Wenzhou stopped sketching before standing up from the rock.
“I have to go. It’s already late in the evening now,” Yu Wenzhou uttered.
Huang Shaotian looked at him longingly, as if his daydream hours ago had shattered by the forthcoming shadows. His face, however, remained a brave face, eager to ask Yu Wenzhou once more.
“Wenzhou, will you be back at the beach tomorrow?” Huang Shaotian voiced it almost like a yearning.
“I will,” Yu Wenzhou tenderly affirmed with the slightest of smiles. “Would you reckon tomorrow morning works for you?”
Though Huang Shaotian remembered not to show even a bit of his joy, he grinned at Yu Wenzhou anyway before diving back to the sea. Not long after Huang Shaotian swam some distance, he saw Han Wenqing keeping vigil of the coral reefs. He dashed towards the merman with a dorsal fin for his back.
“Lao Han, lao Han!”
Han Wenqing glanced at Huang Shaotian, confused by the latter’s sudden excitement. “Shaotian, tell me. What’s going on?”
Huang Shaotian had the very little restraint that he had to not squeal, especially in front of Han Wenqing.
“You would not believe this! That man actually talked back to me, and his name is Wenzhou and he asked me to meet him again tomorrow morning! How could I not be this excited!? Did you also feel this when Ye Xiu first asked you out!?”
Han Wenqing blinked twice before calming Huang Shaotian down with a serious answer.
“Honestly, you know of the story already, but I will reiterate it again from my perspective. Several months ago, it all started with lao Ye and I courting lao Zhang without either of us knowing about this. Both of us were still what you consider friends, but I had been having feelings for lao Ye for a long time and lao Zhang much more recently. When lao Zhang found out about this, he was taken aback at first before realizing that he loved me and lao Ye all along. And you know the ending already.”
“Lao Han!” Huang Shaotian interrupted after listening enough. “So what does this mean for me? Do you have any advice as to this? I want to be hopeful, but I don’t want to lie to myself. Does it look like Wenzhou would have the slightest of interest in me?”
“It’s too early to tell,” Han Wenqing stated plainly. “I am no soothsayer, but from what you told me of Wenzhou, you are in the light insofar.”
That alone lit Huang Shaotian’s eyes as they sparkled underwater, and the twinkle did not leave his eyes until he closed them for the night.
Yeah, yeah
We are destiny, baby, don’t you see?
Yeah, yeah
We are destiny, we are meant to be.
Huang Shaotian was already treading the waters when the sun barely rose up across the horizon up above. He raced upwards to see Yu Wenzhou sitting on the same rock as yesterday. Yu Wenzhou was neither sketching nor writing something. Instead, Yu Wenzhou enjoyed the vista of dolphins leaping out of the sea, of which Huang Shaotian caught his dreamy eyes. They were the same sapphires as of the day before.
Meanwhile, Yu Wenzhou greeted Huang Shaotian, whose body was still inside the waters. “Morning, Shaotian. How are you?”
Huang Shaotian enthusiastically glanced at him, but thought of the rouge on Yu Wenzhou’s cheeks as merely suntanning.
“I’m good, I’m good, very good indeed, Wenzhou! How are you too? Has your morning been good? What do you usually do in the mornings if you are not here? What are those things that you drew yesterday? I’m so curious as to what you were drawing!”
Yu Wenzhou merely gave an innocuous expression in spite of his upwelling fancy for the merman. “Oh… those were runes that I was formulating yesterday.” He showed Huang Shaotian a look at the runes in his sketchbook. “The sea inspired me to craft them yesterday for my upcoming potion.”
Flabbergasted, Huang Shaotian was quick to glide onto the shore near the rock. He then asked, “What!? Are you some kind of priest!? Or a witch doctor? Or a local shaman? Or what!? Or are you just into the hobby of learning ancient languages?”
Yu Wenzhou raised his eyebrows, confirming the merman’s deduction. “Shaotian, I’m actually a warlock, so you’re actually not far off.”
Huang Shaotian grinned wickedly at such a fact. He was about to prod him with more questions when the wind suddenly blew the sketchbook to its next page, revealing a charcoal portrait of a man with a pair of wistful eyes. And they were as wistful as Huang Shaotian’s eyes currently were, though neither he nor Yu Wenzhou took note of them.
“Wait, who’s that?” Huang Shaotian questioned the sketch, dazzled by its charcoal details. “Is that your father, your friend, your brother, your boyfriend–?”
“Oh, he is Wang Jiexi, and he is my friend, Shaotian,” Yu Wenzhou replied with a smile.
“What else do you like to draw, Wenzhou?” Huang Shaotian asked again.
“I like to draw people. It is a pleasure for me to portray their souls in my sketches,” Yu Wenzhou answered as he tried to fix his mildly disarrayed sketchbook, only for the warm eastern winds to blow the pages of his sketchbook to what seemed to be a drawing of a merman with blue eyes and a scaleless tail.
The sketch piqued Huang Shaotian’s curiosity. It finely captured the moment when the merman latched on the rock, and that alone rendered him quiet for a while. He had sworn that the sun had hit his eyes as blood rapidly rushed into his mind and his face. It cannot be him, is he? It must be another until he recalled the calloused texture of the rock the day before.
“Is that me, not some kind of random merman!?” Huang Shaotian concluded.
Yu Wenzhou straightened out his sketchbook’s pages and nodded. “It is you,” he reassured. “I decided to draw you after I finished with my runes. I thought it would be very interesting since I have never seen a merman before…”
Huang Shaotian looked away before gazing back at Yu Wenzhou and giving his reply. “Well, I dunno. Out of all the humans I have seen, I never saw you before. Humans are weird, and they think we are weirdos. They think that they know about us when they didn’t even know half of the ocean. But out of all the humans I’ve seen, only some are nice, and you’re nice and interesting.”
The spirit within the warlock lit up a little, but nonetheless lit up. Yu Wenzhou let Huang Shaotian go on with his vent on such eccentricities that Yu Wenzhou took in anyway.
“If you see, you humans have two legs instead of a tail, and us merfolk have a tail instead of legs! Like fishes, we breathe in the air within the waters, but like humans, we have a head, torso, and a pair of arms, like you’re! What’s more, we can fall in love with one or even more of our own folk! And as you may have known, I like the warm waters, not the shivery seas! Oh, if I have more to talk, merfolk usually, like the breeze–”
“What was that?” Yu Wenzhou asked, trying to recollect the points amongst the chatter. Huang Shaotian paused himself from going further, feeling like he had said too much before thinking. It was something Yu Wenzhou does not have to know, at least not now.
“Oh, us mermaids like to play out in the seas when the sun is up, that’s all,” Huang Shaotian averted. “By the way, I especially love exploring the shipwrecks of the depths below and looking for gemstones and more treasures that even fishermen’s nets can’t trawl! What’s your favorite gemstone? What’s your favorite jewel? I bet that you have one! I love sapphire spherules!”
“I like sapphire as well,” Yu Wenzhou softly responded as he began to sketch on an empty page.
And silence followed as Huang Shaotian moved closer to watch Yu Wenzhou pencilled in what seemed to be waters of Shimei with indigo and cerulean. Minute by minute, the empty sea on the paper gradually transformed into soothing tides that looked lifelike. Huang Shaotian watched with wonder as the drawing unfolded into a stunning seascape in a matter of hours, not noticing the sun steadily setting down behind him.
At least not until Yu Wenzhou broke the calming silence. “Shaotian, it’s going to be twilight soon. I have to go back home.”
Huang Shaotian knew this was not forever, but it felt like a blissful eternity so far. Anyway, he conceded not after he asked, “Wenzhou, will you be back here tomorrow? By morning?”
“Oh, my morning will be busy tomorrow, as I have to help Wang Jiexi and Fang Shiqian with the potions, but would the afternoon be a better idea?” Yu Wenzhou suggested.
Huang Shaotian nodded once before he loudly bid farewell to the warlock and dove back to the seawater.
Whoever you are, whatever you do
I will be by your side.
In darkness and light, wherever I go
You will be in my mind.
Dawn broke into the scene, dispelling any remaining darkness amongst the fine sands. Huang Shaotian briefly peeked above the surface, but only a few joggers and elderly people were all that he saw. Huang Shaotian plunged back to the open sea not to hunt, but to search amongst what merfolk and humans longed to find.
After oiling his whole physique, Huang Shaotian darted his way through the azure waters. He passed through the pelagic corals all the way to the bloom of luminescent jellyfishes in a dash. He saw various fishes, big and small, and some other merfolk along the way and scurried away from the orcas and the great whites. Soon, he reached the vertical bottom of the sea when he saw a glimpse of the once majestic cruise lying down near where boneworms and shipworms lived.
With the little light that hit the bottom, Huang Shaotian cautiously snuck into the metal masterpiece through the window broken from pressure. He swam by the corridor that led to the rooms that were once inhabited by tourists. It was dark and silent, yet his eyes had a glint of warmth as he navigated through the labyrinth of sunken suites. Amongst them, rusticles adorned what was left of its white glory days as Huang Shaotian saw the light at the end of the tunnel that led to a stately staircase in the midst of the shambles. Huang Shaotian noticed exoskeletons hanging on its dimmed lamps as he hovered above the leather and porcelain detritus. He sensed that it was one of the more recent wrecks, as he could see clusters of red pili not far from him.
Then, something blue called out to him in quietude. Unlike his sunless surroundings, it shone brightly like a sapphire among the scattered skeletons and their shoes. Lying in front of him was a pair of skeletons, one of them in leather oxfords and the other in navy leather stilettos. Their fingers seemingly touched one another with their last words lost to the sea.
Intrigued, Huang Shaotian swam towards the sapphire ring lodged between the calcified ring finger of the one with heels. He studied the expressions of the two skulls, who only smiled that they were together in this abyss. But the more he looked at them, the more unnerved he became. Surely, their faces would have been of fear and despair by that time. Huang Shaotian mumbled to himself, muffled by the pressure.
“Is this what love means to me? Is this what love demands of me? I don’t want to…I don’t want to…”
Then Huang Shaotian thought about the light above. He mused on how soothing his smile is, how comforting his chuckles are. He recalled the stories behind the sketches that the warlock had created, and he thought and thought again. And he looked once more at the foregone bodies, and from the way they positioned, he could see a glimpse of blessing from their airborne souls. With heavy hands, Huang Shaotian took the opportunity to unscrew the ring from the skeleton’s finger.
Huang Shaotian sighed, with the sapphire ring held tight. He glanced at them for the last time, and they were as tranquil as ever as he swam again to search for any more treasure. He carefully surveyed the area further up to the entrance of the ballroom. Since his youth, he had overheard passerbys, mankind and merfolk alike, making up rumors about hoards of riches found in the locked ballroom of the cruise, but none dared to enter lest they would join the skeletons. Nonetheless, Huang Shaotian thought about the latter a little too late and opened wide the fragile cypress entrance when…
Nothing happened. He was awestruck by what was inside on the other side of the door. As they had said, the room was wealth itself. His eyes glowed upon seeing the colorful sparkles refracted through the pearlescent chandeliers and radiant jewels upon the debris. More and more grease coated from his torso to his tail as he excitedly dashed towards the ballroom, not feeling the accidental friction he made against the wooden door frame until–
It suddenly collapsed–and hit his back!
Huang Shaotian recoiled from the sharp pang, but barely escaped from the ballroom just in time before he could feel its full impact. He briefly glanced at the sapphire ring in his hand before rushing back outside despite the growing ache. He left the ship just as he entered it, but now, he unwittingly left a trail of red behind him.
Huang Shaotian hurried upwards, unaware of the voracious eyes lurking in his back as they plotted through their teeth. He reached for the lighter blues and glanced back, only for him to see they were not far from him. As they chased him relentlessly, Huang Shaotian swam in circles, tugging the sapphire tight.
Huang Shaotian yelled, “Go away, you sharks! I tasted way too strong for your bloody palates! Shoo away with all your snarks! I am way too young to be your meal on your plates!”
As for the sharks, they only grinned, not caring about his pleas and as if to say that he was a delight.
“You predators! How many times shall I swim away to the shore to make my point!? And you, oh devourers, I am tired of hearing tales of you eating my innocent merfolk, starting with their joints! I have to go meet someone up there, and you better spare…”
In that moment, a violet halo glowed around Huang Shaotian like an aurora before it knocked the sharks into unconsciousness. Mesmerized and terrified, Huang Shaotian paused to question its source when he was abruptly picked up by lilac incandescents to the surface above and to the rocky grounds where Yu Wenzhou stood on.
Even if the summer breezes went away
Even if the winter gales hit us today
Hey hey hey don’t let go
I don’t want you to go
As Huang Shaotian landed with his bottom on the rock, a plash of water fell upon his head like a drizzle. He shook the drops away before looking eye to eye with Yu Wenzhou, befuddled by what happened recently.
“What was that!?” Huang Shaotian posed an astounded look, only to see Yu Wenzhou’s dilated pupils.
“I saw you underwater, and the sharks are circling around you like they were in for a slaughter.”
Huang Shaotian flushed, not noticing the blood gushing from his back. “Wenzhou, I don’t need any saving! You know me, I am the speediest of sea creatures, and of course I can outswim any of these small sharks! Why would I need saving? I was about to show you what I got that matched the way your eyes sparkle–!”
“Shaotian, your back…” Yu Wenzhou verbally pointed out the crimson puddle behind him. “It’s bleeding…”
Huang Shaotian instinctively glanced at his back before he looked back at Yu Wenzhou, his mouth gaping all a little too late.
“If you would not mind, I can help with your back,” Yu Wenzhou offered.
The aura around Yu Wenzhou was hazily purple, and Huang Shaotian could not deny it. Huang Shaotian could only nod as he again winced from the pain.
Yu Wenzhou approached the pained merman before he laid his hand on the bloody flesh. Huang Shaotian closed his eyes as Yu Wenzhou began to incant what seemed to be sweet mutterings that his winged ears could only pick up.
“May the crimson be cleansed away…may his shoulders shine like snow…may the wound be washed away…may his back be better now.”
It was a moment later that Huang Shaotian realised what Yu Wenzhou meant when he could only feel the warlock’s warm touch against his skin. His eyes popped open, and Huang Shaotian looked back at Yu Wenzhou smiling. Yu Wenzhou checked on Huang Shaotian.
“How are you feeling now, Shaotian?”
Huang Shaotian was quick to shoot his approval. “Of course, I do, I do feel better. Why would I not? Thank you for your healing powers! You are more powerful and magical than I thought! And now me? I am just a mere lucky merman saved by your mercy!”
Huang Shaotian then unfolded his right hand, revealing a sapphire ring.
“And now a token from me! A sapphire that you alone are worthy of!”
Yu Wenzhou blinked twice at the blue gemstone. “Oh, I did not expect…”
“Wenzhou, please accept this token of mine! This morning, I had been scouring the sea waters while waiting for you, then I found a shipwreck with treasures that are to the nines, but the waters there were black to dark blue! It was scary good and that was how I found the sapphire! I thought of you before taking it, and now behold! It is a treasure for the one whom I admire, and it is worth more than any gold!”
Before Yu Wenzhou could move, Huang Shaotian swiftly laid the sapphire on the warlock’s hand. Yu Wenzhou’s eyes widened.
“Are you sure that is for me? I cannot fathom the fact that you gave me this…”
“It’s for you,” Huang Shaotian countered. “It matches your sublime eyes, so it’s indeed for you. Yours sparkles like today’s sky!”
“But…”
“It’s for you, always for you!”
And the last of Yu Wenzhou’s doubts transpired to the air as he weakly smiled at Huang Shaotian.
“Thank you, Shaotian.”
“You're very welcome!” Huang Shaotian enthusiastically returned as he gave Yu Wenzhou an audacious grin. Yu Wenzhou only responded with a calm smile before he moved on to take out his sketchbook. And Huang Shaotian quickly noticed as the pages revealed sketches of what seemed to be of Shimei.
“What was that!? Did you draw the beach?”
“I drew them yesterday,” Yu Wenzhou replied. “As of now, it is summer, almost tethering towards falling leaves. But you see, I am curious what this beach will be like in the next few seasons. So, here are my sketches of the beach in autumn and in winter.”
Huang Shaotian’s eyes, in particular, latched onto the sketch of downpour upon the soaked sands. A stroke of lightning could be seen faintly on the drawing, striking the sea.
“They looked really cool! Brilliant! And scaringly accurate! What kind of sorcery is that!?” Huang Shaotian exclaimed.
“It’s not sorcery, just appreciating and contemplating,” Yu Wenzhou said as he continued to draw something new.
“And what are you drawing now!?”
“You will see.”
Huang Shaotian watched Yu Wenzhou’s gentle linework as the latter gradually formed what seemed to be sapphires and eyes with his cobalt pencil. It was neither of the landscape of the sea nor of the portrait of a man. As the warm breeze passed by, Huang Shaotian began tapping his fingers on the rock when Yu Wenzhou lifted off his pencil.
One second later, Yu Wenzhou revealed an outline of what were Huang Shaotian’s eyes, blue to the very core. The ones that reflected through the glint of Yu Wenzhou’s eyes before…
“Is that you!? Are those your eyes!?” Huang Shaotian quipped. “Is it a self portrait of your eyes?”
“No,” Yu Wenzhou clarified. “I was drawing you, particularly your eyes.”
Even before his reply, Huang Shaotian found that it would not be enough to just say something nice. Mesmerized, the merman took note of the blue specks of the irises, as if to revel in its beauty.
“Wenzhou, your drawing skills are no news, but..”
“Yes, Shaotian?”
“But I’m just a mere merman, like any other…”
“You take this with you, for I have received your sapphire ring.”
Huang Shaotian was quick to retort. “No, what if your masterpiece gets ruined!? As good as it gets, it is made of paper and oil! I don’t want it to sink in, lest they get spoiled!”
Before he could continue on ranting though, Yu Wenzhou encapsulated his sketch in a blue light before the sparks dissipated seconds later.
“Shaotian, try to put it into water.”
Yu Wenzhou handed the drawing to Huang Shaotian before the latter cautiously submerged it one eighths at a time. Despite the saline wetness, the drawing did not crumpled into smithereens. To Huang Shaotian’s marvel, it instead shined even more under the ocean hues.
“But, Wenzhou,...”
“You take it. Think of it as my token in return.”
Huang Shaotian then thought of the sapphire that was now in Yu Wenzhou’s hands, and he saw the calluses form on the warlock’s fingers formed from all the sketching. The merman’s fingers held onto the drawing ever more tightly as he looked longingly at Yu Wenzhou.
“Same time or the morning for tomorrow?”
Yu Wenzhou answered, “Tomorrow should not be too busy, so the morning.”
Both smiled as they parted with hands waving at each other and before Huang Shaotian dove back into the depths, now with a piece of the warlock’s world.
From the way that your blue eyes enchant me
To the way that your warm touch excites me
You are the one that I have longed to see (A-a-a am)
Am I in the wrong?
Am I in the right?
Am I in love with you!?
The next day went by like a blissful blur of breezes and blues. Huang Shaotian could not even pinpoint what he and Yu Wenzhou talked about, but he remembered clearly of Yu Wenzhou’s gentle tone that still sang to his heart. His body remained chill, yet his eyes warmed up every time he replayed how tender Yu Wenzhou’s hands were to his skin. It repeated again and again, spiraling from several suns to a few moons.
And today was no different than yesterday, waking up to the murky dawn waters, Huang Shaotian stared at the illuminated multiple sketches sent from his visits above as he thought back at his rendezvous with Yu Wenzhou. He then gazed at the latest one he obtained just today, which featured a loving gaze between the silhouette of none other than him and Yu Wenzhou. Huang Shaotian hoped that he would be able to meet Yu Wenzhou again, as he promised to do the next morning.
Then, there was a knock.
Huang Shaotian rushed to get the door and opened it to see Zhang Xinjie on the other side.
“Lao Zhang!? What’s the matter?”
“Shaotian, I would like to talk with you about something important.”
“But why!? I was about to go to sleep!” Huang Shaotian groaned.
“Come with me.”
Zhang Xinjie gracefully led Huang Shaotian with an oil lantern into the cove’s study room. Zhang Xinjie’s wide fins ushered Huang Shaotian to sit down amongst the books before he spoke.
“As you may have known, it is time for us all to swim beyond these waters. Due to the unforeseen winds and currents, the waters got colder quicker than I had anticipated. The changes are subtle, but they can accumulate over time if we are to stay here.”
Huang Shaotian’s eyes widened. “What, the what!? I did not feel anything! I still feel warm! Are you saying that we are all moving!? And that also includes lao Ye and lao Han?”
“Yes, we are indeed moving to warmer waters in the southern islands,” Zhang Xinjie replied.
“But…” Huang Shaotian muttered before Zhang Xinjie noticed him rambling quietly.
“I know what you mean. You and Wenzhou. I cannot deny your bond together based on what you have told me. However, here is my question.”
“What question? Will I have to leave here? Is it those–?”
“Not quite,” Zhang Xinjie clarified. “I am asking for your decision. That is, would you like to stay or would you like to move with us?”
That left Huang Shaotian dazed like a lionfish’s casualty. Not before flickers of the fun he shared with his muse soon fluctuated in his mind. Fits of laughter made his eyes lit up before its shadows, imagined or otherwise, dulled them to nearly tears. Huang Shaotian was almost certain, but the waters remained murky hereafter.
“So, what will be your decision?” Zhang Xinjie once again asked.
Huang Shaotian held his breath to keep his tears intact. “I don’t know. I just need time to think about it.”
“Alright, you better let me know soon.”
“Good night, lao Zhang.”
The moment Huang Shaotian left the study, he made haste towards his room and locked his room. Upon tucking himself back to bed, Huang Shaotian shut his eyes tight. Soon a tear escaped his warm eyes, followed by more as they amalgamated with the seawaters.
“No… this could not be it… I can’t…” Huang Shaotian urged himself. “I can’t just wake up with swollen eyes the next day…”
Huang Shaotian tossed and turned, left and right, and still did so even when his blanket was on the floor.
“Wenzhou does… Wenzhou does not…” Huang Shaotian mumbled. “Mind me… Move on…”
And, at last, the gloom took over his sight.
But, not for long, in that Huang Shaotian noticed the sunlight at the other end of the surface. With his initial caution wavered the brighter it got, Huang Shaotian swam upwards towards what might be above. In a blur of time, he graced himself to see the same old beach where he and Yu Wenzhou had exchanged with one another. But…
Huang Shaotian then saw a pristine cruise fit for royalty. This time, it was more massive than its forgotten cousin in the abyss. People were celebrating what seemed to be a merry day between an indistinguishable gentleman and a warlock he knew all too well. From the hue of the warlock’s hair to his poised posture, Huang Shaotian wished it was any other man, but Yu Wenzhou.
“And now, let’s acknowledge their commitment…” a man in burgundy joyfully announced. Strange, considering not everyone was not as enthused as their claps suggested.
Thereafter, Huang Shaotian noticed a sapphiric shine coming from the man’s finger. The ring… and the man grinning widely like a similar someone… but he could just be any other man.
“No…” Huang Shaotian’s voice reverberated through as his form evaporated to…
When my eyes meets yours, you made my heart sing
Li li li la la li
La li li li la la love
When you smile at me, you made me see love
Li li li la la li
You are why my soul is dancing
Back at bed in the middle of the still, murky waters… and Huang Shaotian soon found himself again. His muscles tensed as his heart too at the glimpses of his adventures in his subconscious.
“I can’t just stay here! I have to go there! I have to go to him! I have to tell him!”
Huang Shaotian tossed his pillows in a flurry before he raced through the cove and out. He propelled himself with caudal kicks upwards in speeds humankind cannot replicate in their bare selves. It took not long for him to pierce through the surface and watch as the violet skies made way for the morning star. Instinctively, Huang Shaotian searched for the rock outcrop; and Yu Wenzhou was there, looking pensively at the same.
Yu Wenzhou noticed Huang Shaotian from a distance.
“Shaotian…?”
Upon hearing his name, Huang Shaotian rushed to the shores near the rock.
“Wenzhou, I have something to tell you!”
“What is it, Shaotian?” Yu Wenzhou asked, though he knew it from the way the merman’s body quivered.
“I know this is still early in the autumnal season, but colder tidings are yet to come soon. My fellow merfolk have been thinking of moving to warmer waters for this reason, lest we will shiver by the next moon! But as for me… and this sea…”
“So, what do you think about it?”
“First thing first, I love the warm waters, merry merfolk, and all, and I get to enjoy what would be in faraway lagoons and atolls. Lao Ye says that if I’m ever about to turn to seafoam, those places would be the said cure. Maybe that can be my home…” Huang Shaotian then paused. “But now I see you, I’m not so sure… I do not want to lose you, and that may mean staying with you…”
Yu Wenzhou raised his eyebrows. “Oh…”
Huang Shaotian continued. “Ever since we have been hanging out here for long, it is clear that what I have been burying is not just admiration, but also more than that! Where shall I start? Let me tell you all of the drawings you gave me a while ago! Your first drawing of my eyes tells me that you saw through my soul behind the brat! Your second? A masterpiece that strikes my heart! And your latest one is your feelings personified in a glow! What more can I say? Oh, the dream that I had the other day!”
Yu Wenzhou blinked before he questioned again. “What happened then?”
“Wenzhou, you would not believe this! You were getting married to this man that I don’t know… and it is someone that I knew all too well! This is what happened if I missed, when loneliness got me quelled! I…”
Then, Huang Shaotian stopped himself as he glanced at Yu Wenzhou smiling.
“Wenzhou, what are you thinking? Shouldn’t you be in mourning?”
“The fact that you told me that is just a dream,” Yu Wenzhou responded. “That man in that reminds me of you.”
“Wait, what!? How do you know? That man was definitely not me!”
“I actually have been feeling the same,” Yu Wenzhou admitted. “Jiexi and Shiqian have also been quite curious about who you are from the stories I told them about you. From the moment you gave that ring, I thought you were thinking about the same, and they agreed.”
“You have been feeling the same thing all along!?”
Yu Wenzhou nodded as lilac mist soon coalesced with the surrounding cerulean air. It smelled of redolent lavenders, lulling Huang Shaotian closer towards Yu Wenzhou until the former glided beside his beloved. Huang Shaotian glanced at the way Yu Wenzhou relaxed when the merman's hands gently rubbed his arms before interlacing their fingers together. He held his tight as they met eye to eye.
Huang Shaotian was everything, but a still sea, and yet…
"Are you for sure this is real? Is that what you really feel?"
"Truly so," Yu Wenzhou reassured.
Calmed by his confirmation. Huang Shaotian then stared longingly at Yu Wenzhou's lips. And the warlock noticed it.
"Shaotian, what is it that you want?"
Huang Shaotian averted away from his knowing gaze, for it would be too good to be true if that was ever to happen.
"Oh, um, I mean, your lips are smooth and..." Shaotian tried to excuse himself before Yu Wenzhou came to a conclusion not long after.
"So, a kiss, is it?"
The side scales on Huang Shautian's face turned to a deep magenta hue. Huang Shaotian could only nod, willfully enchanted by Yu Wenzhou's aura.
"Well then, Shaotian."
Yu Wenzhou leaned towards Huang Shaotian in an embrace. Yu Wenzhou then closed his eyes before his soft lips met Huang Shaotian's. In return, the merman deepened it with much fervor. Huang Shaotian even smiled at all the memories and moments together as his arms wrapped around the warlock's broad shoulders. Both could taste hints of oysters and amaebi in their tongues as they savored this moment ever slowly.
Just the two of them. In one word, it was sublime.
Then, Huang Shaotian broke off from the kiss before his lips tenderly ghosted over Yu Wenzhou's slender neck.
"I really do love you, Wenzhou, " Huang Shaotian murmured into the warlock's nape.
"I really do love you too, Shaotian," Yu Wenzhou returned as he snuggled the merman under the awakened sun.
Yeah, yeah
We are destiny, baby, don’t you see?
Yeah, yeah
We are destiny, we are meant to be.
It was indeed a sunny morning on the other side of the beach, where a group of children were huddling around the elderly woman. They eagerly listened to her as she went on.
“And so, after racing off to the shores the merman saw the human that had been in his mind… and… the human drew him his eyes…”
Amongst the crowd was a young girl. No older than the others, she yawned as her feet were aching to run elsewhere and explore the further sands.
“It was as blue as sapphires and…”
The young girl picked up the sounds of the seafowls before she stood up and made haste.
“Where are you going….?” The elderly woman asked, but the young girl was no longer in sight.
The girl swiftly passed by the beachgoers who were playing amongst the waves and the couples who were tanning under umbrella shades. She giggled as the breeze collided with her face.
Seeing their daughter, her parents called out to her.
“Where are you going… why…”
She was too excited to heed, and she ran past the cabanas and volleyball nets with relative ease.
The girl never once halted herself before she stumbled upon the rock in front of her. She fell down on her bottom and sheepishly stared up at the two.
“Oops, sorry…”
Huang Shaotian looked at the wide-eyed girl with fascination, while Yu Wenzhou gazed at her eye level.
“There is no need to apologize.”
The girl recovered back on her two short legs and a question soon came to her mind.
“What’re you doing? Is that love?”
And in return, the pair smiled at her.