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She knew little of the world above. The world above was dangerous to her and her kind, this she knew well. She had glimpsed the world, the fire and heat, the death and decay, the utter lack of a sense of purpose. She knew that to be above meant to die, and to be below meant to live.
No one joined their ranks on purpose. There were never any people who truly intended to fall to the depths of the ocean for the purpose of becoming one of them. Merfolk were, after all, things of myth and legend, never to be seen by the land people. They kept to themselves, unless something else suited them, but they never engaged the people above. The people above were dangerous.
Fareeha liked to watch them, however, gaze at them with eyes that were curious of their strength, of their will, of their beauty. She would stay far enough out from the shore that she couldn’t be seen well above the waves and tread water, watching them. Merfolk have far better eyesight than that of the people above, so she was able to see the features of the people above. One in particular caught her eye. Her hair was yellow as sun, her features pale but kind. Fareeha had never been able to hear her voice, but she knew this woman was not like the others above. She was warm and kind where others were cold and harsh. How Fareeha knew this, she couldn’t say.
For a great deal of time, Fareeha would go out and look for the woman, searching for her, only dipping back under the water when she had to or when she could tell the woman would not be there. Somedays, she would not see the woman, but the woman approached the see more often than not. She would usually come alone, sitting by the water and letting it lap against her toes. She rarely came with anyone, but usually only left when someone came to get her, speaking to them too softly from Fareeha to hear from her distance.
As it always did, the day came when the violence of the above world would shatter the kind woman’s peace.
When Fareeha surfaced, she faced the shore, as she usually did, only to see a curved pillar of black clouds reaching to the sky, threatening to block out the son. She saw the red and orange of the flames creating the black pillar and knew that something bad had happened to the woman she watched. She dove under the water, swimming as quickly as she was able toward shore, looking for the woman with the sun-colored hair as she did. She found the woman and took her in, holding her close as she swam away from the fire and smoke, away from the destruction, and prayed to the spirit of the sea that she was not too late.
When the woman awoke, Fareeha was there, her lower half hidden by the water as she held the wood she had rested the woman on. They were out to sea, too far out to see the shore, but not so far that Fareeha could not bring her back soon if the request was made. The woman opened her eyes, blinking against the bright light of the sun, bringing a hand up to block it. Fareeha watched her quietly, curiosity in her dark eyes.
“Where... am I?” she asked, her voice soft and hinted with an accent. Fareeha couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips. She folded her arms, resting them on the wood, her chin on her arms.
“You are at sea,” Fareeha responded. The woman looked at her, her eyes taking in Fareeha’s dark features, the way that her dark hair stuck to her skin. She looked confused.
“How am I here?”
“I saved you,” Fareeha answered. “I saw you floating in the sea and I took you. I did not want you to die. You seem too kind to die.” The woman’s cheeks were dusted with pink suddenly, causing Fareeha to lift her head. “Why are you pink?”
“Ah, no reason,” the woman said, shaking her head. “What is your name? How are you such a strong swimmer?”
“My name is Fareeha and the sea is my home. I would like very much to know your name as well.”
“Angela. My name is Angela,” she paused, sitting up carefully on the wood. Fareeha shifted, only her hands remaining on the wood now. “How are we so far... out...?”
“I can take you back to shore, if you would like,” Fareeha offered. “I wanted to make sure you were safe from the heat.”
“Right... I would like that, thank you.”
Fareeha offered Angela a smile before she sunk into the water. Angela peered over, seeing a flash of gray before the wood started moving. Angela yelped in surprise, holding onto the wood and looking behind her, seeing a gray tail flipping up and down in the water, propelling the wood forward. She stared at the tail for a moment, so reminiscent of a shark that she was stunned for a moment before she managed to refocus on where she was going. She looked forward, watching as the shore appeared in the distance, watching it get steadily larger as they got closer. Finally, the wood touched the shore and Angela carefully stood, stepping off her protective raft and onto shore again. A moment later, she saw Fareeha’s head pop up again.
“You are... a mermaid?” she asked, her voice cautious. Fareeha nodded.
“ I am,” she said, her gaze cautious. “Is that okay?” Angela smiled.
“It is. Thank you for saving me.”
“You are welcome, Angela.”