It has now been an hour since Owen had left the house for his volleyball practice. And as I was seated on the couch in the living room, I realised that the more time went on, the more my mind would keep wandering back to him.

It was pretty stupid of me to assume what his personality would be without taking the time to know him first. Because now I realise the truth; Owen is a good person. And for once in my life, I cannot wait for the weekend to be over so that I could meet with my newfound friend again.

Then I paused for a moment.

‘Friend’.

All of this ‘friendship’ deal was completely foreign to me.

What does it mean to be someone’s friend ? Is this new friendship going to be similar to what I have with Mira ?

No, I don’t think so. First of all, Mira is someone that I knew ever since I was a child. Our relationship has been founded on for years and years. So to me, she isn’t ‘just a friend’, she is family. Secondly, Mira’s personality is completely different from Owen’s. She’s a weirdo, and Owen is more of an average guy, hence their difference in popularity. And last but not least, Mira is a mermaid, and Owen is a human. On that notion alone, I knew that stuff like activities and conversation topics would be completely different depending on whether it was with Mira or someone like Owen.

It was now becoming more and more clear that the kind of friendship I have with Mira and Owen was completely unmatched. What I have on my hands with him was not a place of familiarity, it was something completely new.

But then, what on earth do friends even do with each other ? What kind of activities friends usually carry out together ? I mean, it’s not like we can go and chill out in the bottom of the ocean showing off who has the best tail ! Na-ah, that’s clearly not it.

So, what does a regular group of human friends do when they hang around ? Go to the cinema ? Stay at each other’s house to play video games ? Do stupid bets with each other to scare the crap out of the other person ? At least that's how they do it in the films and books. But is that how it is done in real life ? Would… Would Owen be happy to do all of this with me ?

All of a sudden, my heart started unexplainably racing. What the hell ?! Why are you acting like that, you stupid organ ? You’re only supposed to pump blood, not act up and make me stress out !

Argh ! Why should I even care about those things in the first place, it’s not important ! Right now I’m just happy to know that I can greet Owen properly once he says hi to me at school, I’m just happy that Owen and I can hold a proper conversation together now that I have finally acknowledged him. Basically, I am just happy that Owen considers me as a friend, that’s all !

I should stop over analysing everything and just leave it be. The future is the future, and now is the only moment I should think about.

I continued for a while my internal struggle until I heard the front door screech open, then footsteps walking onto the wooden floor.

“Honey, we’re home !” My mother yelled from the hallway without realising I was only in the living room.

“Hi everyone,” I answered walking over to my family. Once they noticed me, they all gave me a warm welcoming smile. Well, with the exception being Evangeline who rushed past me towards her bedroom. She must’ve been fed up with the campaign, to which I must admit that I couldn’t blame her for it. Even I did find all of it really boring by just listening to my mother talking about it.

But my father was having none of it as he chased after my sister to her room and yelled at her to stop being rude.

“Did you have a nice day ? I hope you weren’t too bored staying alone in the house.” My mom asked.

“I-it was fine,” I mumbled.

Yeah, she had no way of knowing that instead of spending the day alone as I had told her before, I'd actually invited someone into the house to hang around with them. And that someone was a human, to boot it all up.

“For Christ sake,” My father exclaimed as he left Evangeline’s room with a sigh. But as he averted his gaze towards me, his expression quickly changed to one of worry.

“What’s wrong dad ?” I questioned.

“I should be asking you; your face is burnt up !”

“EEEEEH ?!” I squealed, my eyes gaping wide towards my ogling father. I guess that this blushing is what I get for lying straight to my parents.

“W-w-wait dad ! I-its n-not what you thi–“

“Did you spend the whole day outside getting yourself burnt ?” He groaned. “Son, I told you before, you should be careful when you’re going outside ! Since you’re an albino, you will get sunburns more easily, and thus you’ll run the risk of getting skin cancer ! You really should be warier and start taking care of yourself !”

Wait, he thought I got sunburnt ? Oh, thank god ! I honestly thought that my father would've seen through my lies. I mean, my dad is not psychedelic ! Stupid Akari, you should stop worrying over nothing.

“I’m fine dad,” I smiled over to him. “I really did not stay outside for too long, I swear. I am aware of how it can be dangerous for me,” I reassured him.

“Oh, but you should not take this lightly son ! I know how much you like to spend time outside ! And I’ve known you for long enough to notice that–“

“Stop it, Nino !” My mom intervened.

Suddenly I felt a vibration in my pocket, meaning that I had probably received a text from someone. Great, this is my chance to get out of here !

“Dad, Mom, I’m sorry. Someone is calling me so I should probably leave.”

“I’m telling you ! One day when he was young, he got badly sunburnt, and he became very cautious when the doctor told him the risks he would endure if he stayed in the sun for too long ! After that day he didn’t even want to step into the light for an entire month !” My mom bickered.

Okay, they aren’t even paying attention to me anymore. If I want to escape, it should be now or never.

I quickly left the house and rushed towards the pond at the end of the garden, jumping into the lukewarm water. Then as I became a merman, I swam at the bottom of the water and into the tunnel that connected to the vast ocean.

I knew my parents well. They love each other and form a great bond, but once there was a talk involving my condition they would often be arguing for hours upon end. After all, albinism comes with tons of different health conditions that would impair my overall freedom, a freedom which I've learned to love and embrace despite my genetic anomaly.

But no matter what, and even if it is annoying sometimes, I know that they argue about me because they care. Even after everything that my mother had gone through and knowing what I represent to her, and even if the father that I have right now might not be related to me by blood, I knew that one thing was for sure; They both love me very dearly, and that they will always be here to look out for me.

As the minutes turned into hours, I continued swimming along the coastline and down at the bottom of the sea, enjoying each and every drop of water brush along my scaley skin. This was most certainly the peak of tranquillity for me. Despite the many dangers that come from being a merman, all of that didn’t really matter in the end once you dove into the water. I am proud of being who I am, I am proud of calling this sanctuary home. And no hunter or any measly human being will ever rob me away of this pride, I’ll make sure of that.

I continued swimming aimlessly around until I had stumbled upon a familiar place. Soon enough, I realised that I had been led back to the cove in which I was discovered a few days ago. But this time there were no human beings that were present from a mile radius to where I was, and the berries from the plants I ate had started to form again as little baby beads hung off the tall branches.

You would expect me to feel anxious about being in this kind of place again. But it wasn’t the case. Instead, I just felt… thoughtful. As my mind wandered back on everything that had happened, I started to realise how lucky I was. What kind of horrible things could be happening to me if I was ever found out by someone else ? Would I have been locked up somewhere with no light to be found, waiting for my body to be chopped up into pieces ? Urgh, just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine.

But fortunately, I wasn’t discovered by any random scuba diver. I was discovered by Owen. And in the end, I thought that maybe that our encounter wasn’t a bad thing after all. As much as I loved to explore every nook and cranny of the grand oceans, truthfully my world had always been small. But all of this is changing now because, for the first time in my life, I feel like the world I now know is expanding and becoming something much greater and beautiful than I originally gave it credit for. And all of that, I owe it to my new friend.

Time slowly went by and I was beginning to think that I should maybe leave this place, but as I turned my gaze, I noticed thousands and thousands of swerving figures approaching until they were completely encircling me and dancing like a wildfire. It was a school of fish !

I stayed mesmerized by their spiral until it came time for them to leave. Wait, I was supposed to leave as well, right ? Eh, screw it. Right now, I’d rather spend time with the fishies.

I started following the school, chasing them around as if I were a kid hunting for crickets in their grandparents' backyard. And eventually, they started taking a liking to me, because they were now following me around every place I wanted to go. Man, I wish Mira were here with me right now, because I knew that this unforgettable experience would have been engraved in our memories forever. Ah well, let’s just hope that she would trust me once I tell her about it next time.

This little experience was one of many reasons why I loved the water so much. In the oceans, seas and lakes, everything feels alive. Everything feels like a wonderful orchestra playing around you, with the swerves of the plants harmonising with the flow of the waves, while the creatures who inhabit this place accompanies the theme and completes the scenery in the most wonderful way. The sea might be calm or violent, warm or cold, shallow or deep. Whatever the state it was in, it was always alive. And this kind of place, I would not trade it for any obstacle that might head my way. Whatever might happen to me, I know that I will always be okay as long as I was close to my paradise, because this place is my home, and home is where I belong.

I continued playing around the school until I noticed the sunlight getting dimer on the surface. Crap, I lost the track of time again ! I must head home as soon as possible, my parents were probably waiting for me right now !

And on that thought, I waved goodbye to the fleet and watched them head away to the horizon. Once they were out of sight, I went back on my tracks and made my way back home.