I was drawing on the blank space of my book when the class bell finally announced the end of the school day. I went and put all my stuff into my bag and was headed out for the school's exit.

As I stepped outside, a nice fresh breeze came to stroke my skin and the obvious fragrance of the ocean could be smelled in the air. I loved this scent, for others this kind of odour would remind them of summer vacation or beach time with their relatives. But I, on the other hand, felt just at home with that smell.

The fact that I could step outside, go back home and swim for hours in the depth of the sea was certainly the best part of living next to the ocean, and probably one of the best part of living my life in general.

I hopped in the bus and went to sit down at my usual place by the window. It was at around the front of the bus, so nobody came by to sit beside me since everyone preferred to go to the back and be with their friends. But this was perfect for the introverted me, I can just sit back, relax, and doze off without the worry of having a nuisance beside me.

The scenery from the window quickly went from the school, to the neighbourhood, then not long after to the bus climbing up the valley with a view on the endless sea, where the sun would set quietly on the coastline. Every time I found myself on that part of the journey back home, I would always think to myself of how lucky I was to live here.

Watching the waves sway in the distance made me want to jump into the water and adventure myself to new boundaries like a child. I would discover new spots, new places where I would lay down on the sand with the fish and the crabs and enjoy some alone time, while my consciousness of time and the world slowly disappears.

While being a merman was mostly a pain because of our constant identity hiding, I knew that I was lucky of being able to explore every part of the vast ocean and having the chance to find yourself in a whole different world. All of that, to my opinion, was one of the main perks of being a sea creature.

This lifestyle, whilst still being lonely, I would not trade it for anything in the world.

The bus finally came to a stop on a quaint valley top. I stepped out of the bus as I watched it heading away to its next destination. Once the bus was out of sight, I turned my head and noticed that my mom's car was parked in its usual spot on the side of the road. This meant that my mother and half-sister were already back home. I followed the stone path until I reached my house.

It was a small home surrounded by a large field, that was in itself surrounded by tall impressive rocks which looked like walls around our home spot. By running downhill of the garden, you could find yourself by a small lake, that if you dived far enough down you would find a tunnel connecting our lake to the wide sea.

I can still remember the day my mom and dad fell in love with this small house from when I was a child. They had figured that this spot was perfect for us mermaids to hide from the humans and live out our lives peacefully. Although my family was far from being rich, I knew we had the luxury of being able to be ourselves at the very least in our home and garden, something that maybe some of the other mermaids living on land wouldn't have.

I stepped into the main entrance and was immediately greeted by my step-father.

"Hi there son !" The tall muscular man exclaimed while hugging me tightly enough that my breathing would be halted. I pushed him away with a smile while trying to catch my breath. As soon as he unwrapped his arms from around me my father laughed out loudly.

"You know, you should consider doing more exercise if you're always going to lose your breath with my hugs, next time you should come with me and do some sporty stuff with this old man, alright ?"

"Jesus dad, that is kind of rude to consider yourself already old at your age !" I laughed. "Besides, it is not my fault that I haven't inherited some super athletes' genes, so knock it off." My mother came in the picture and gave me a heart-warming smile.

"How was your day, sweetie? Did you have fun at school?"

"The usual mom. Just hung out with Mira and all," I answered while shrugging.

"Oh, that's great ! You should invite Mira from time to time ! You know that she is always welcome to come over anytime she wants ! Now go and change out of your pants in your room, I'll call you out for when we'll be having dinner alright ?"

"Thanks mom."

I kissed her cheek and went on my way to my bedroom. On the way there I stopped by my little sister's room. Her door was wide open, and she was pretending to be the mermaid princess who was saving the goldfish and sea urchins from evil villains. As I saw her I immediately waved at her.

"Hi Evangeline !"

As I expected, she completely ignored me. Ah well, my sister has never been the politest type anyway. While I wore my blank and expressionless face only at school, she was the kind to do it at all times because of how apathetic she was. But she is still my sister and I love her more than anything in the world.

I walked into my room and changed into some shorts to feel more comfortable, it was sure nice to let out my scales when I was alone with my mermaid family. I grabbed one of my adventure movies and played it on my television for what seemed like the fifth hundredth time. I loved those action-adventure movies, my shelves were filled to the brim with them. The excitement of the characters braving the harshness in their way was somehow relatable to my condition, and I could connect to the cast and their great acting very easily.

It was at the second half of the film when the main character was being ambushed by the villains when a voice broke my immersion.

"Akari come and eat !" My mother exclaimed from the kitchen.

Urgh, if only I could have finished the movie before ! Ah whatever, I'll finish it after eating.

We all sat down at the dinner table and started eating our food. And because my mother wanted so desperately to break the awkward silence, she spoke up to my sister after clearing her throat.

"So, did you have a nice day today Evangeline ?"

"Yes mom!" She exclaimed. "But the others still don't like me... The only one who likes me is Sarah, and she is the bestest best friend in the world !"

My mother smiled happily and stated; "I know how close you are to Sarah and that is something that's perfectly okay in my opinion, but please remember that you should never tell any human about mermaids really existing, it would be a big risk for us all, alright sweetie ?"

"Your mother is right !" My father jumped in. "This is the one rule to always follow as a mermaid ! So never let anyone know about us angel."

"Yes, mom and dad..." She mumbled in a grumpy way. I could really relate to Evangeline, since my mother was the very same with me ever since I was very young. Evangeline is only 8, but she must have heard this same exact sentence from my parents a thousand times already.

"Still," My mother exclaimed. "This doesn't mean you need to isolate yourself from everyone around you, you are still allowed to have some friends." My mother was supposed to be talking to Evangeline, but at that point I could feel her gaze tightly fixated on me. So, I spoke out.

"Mom, this is awkward. I'm not alone, I have Mira by my side. And anyways, isn't being alone eliminates every single risk of being exposed ? That's what is the most important, to never get revealed, you remind me and Evangeline non-stop about this. So why is it even bothering you this much ?"

"You know love, I understand your fear of ever having our secret exposed, but you don't have to be so afraid of it. I don't want to stop you from living a happy and normal life."

"I am happy mom !" I shouted. "And how can my life ever be normal ? I'm an albino merman, I'm far from being normal !"

My mother was now glancing at me with a very concerned expression. I knew what she was worried about, but this was completely ridiculous. First, she bashes us in our heads the idea of never getting ourselves revealed, then out of nowhere she gets apprehensive on the fact that I am doing just what I am told, what's up with that ?

Soon enough, my mother resumed her speech in a distressed tone.

"Oh honey, you say that you are happy and all, but one can clearly see how lonely you really are. I know the situation that you are living in school, I know it is not easy for you. And I have no doubts that Mira is a great friend and all, but I'd love to see you one day let go of your fears and be able to open up. Indeed, you may not fit in physically with the normal standards, but looks aren't everything you know. Besides, you are still very beautiful, don't ever doubt yourself on that. And more importantly, your heart is pure, and that makes of you a great person. People can really benefit from your kindness, more than you actually think so."

"Mom, you don't need to worry yourself so much about me, I'm fine. And I am perfectly happy with Mira being my only friend."

After that I was staring down at my meal, pouting in my corner. Silence followed in as my mother was still giving me a calm but worried gaze. After a minute of staring she decided to shrug it off.

"If you say that are happy, then that's fine by me. But remember Akari that sometimes, life can take very unexpected turns."

I remained confused on what my mother had just told me, what did she mean by that ? Why was she telling me this all of a sudden ?

For the rest of the mealtime my parents continued their usual small talks. Then as soon as I finished up my meal, I got up, placed my dirty dishes in the sink and went to my room as I wished my family good night.

When I came back to my bed I continued on my movie. And as I watched the credits roll, I flopped my body onto the mattress whilst staring into the void of my ceiling.

I thought back on what my mother had told me and laughed it off. Yeah, sure, I am a loner because I am a merman. If I wasn't one, maybe I would have more friends and a better social life. But this kind of life that I choose to follow did not make me any more sad. I was perfectly ok living like this for the rest of my existence. What on earth do they even know about what makes me happy or not ?!

Yeah... I am happy... what on earth do they even know about me...

On that thought, I went to bed as calmly as ever while listening to the waves of the ocean coming from my slightly ajar window. What I didn't know at that point was how my mother was right. Life does take unexpected turns, and I would have never imagined on how close that turn was coming up, and how much it was about to change my entire life forever.