Everything around Ray was cold, he couldn't see anything. His eyes opened just a tad and all he saw was blue, and shadows around him. He could hear voices talking around him but he couldn't make out what they were saying, nor who they may be.
𝘔𝘢?
𝘔𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?
Ray's eyes closed again and he blinked a couple times. Everything was murky, and he could hear ringing in his ears. Body aching, he tried to move but he couldn't.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮 𝘪?
𝘈𝘮 𝘪 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥?
His breathing was rough and unsteady, it also felt off in so many ways.
𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯,
𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮 𝘪?
Something started to talk to him
.
Y̷̵̴̷̴̴̸̴̵̵̴̷̴̷̷̨̧̡̡̢̧̛͎̳͕̞̹̫͓͍̩͓̖͇̖̠̜͕̦̭̖̦̪̤͙̭̮̞͈͕̹̹̞̗̬̟̝͕͙̥̝͙̩̜͉̼̮̜͈̱̤̞͖̝̫̞͎͎̰̬̹̞͍̝͈̦̥̖̬̫͉̲̰͚̖̫̳̰̤̻̻̽͐͊̉͗̐͗́̐̑́̑͗̈́̎̏̑̉́͆̒̿̑̐̾́̀́̀̀͛͑̈́̑̍͆͌͂̆͂̒͛̂̿̇̇̌̇͌̈́̐̐̐̔͐̂͊̒̐̎̅͊̋̌͂̇̚͘͘̚̕͘̕̕͜͜͜͝ͅͅͅơ̷̷̴̷̸̴̸̷̶̴̷̸̸̶̶̷̸̸̶̷̡̢̢̧̨̧̨̢̢̡̨̢̧̢̢̡̡̡̢̡̢̛̛͈̱̝̬̙̟̤͈̱̦̤̜̹͎̜̹͈͎̻͍̮̭͎̖͙̹̝͔̟̘̤̟͚̙̤̰̩̤̲̺̗̻̟̝̯̠̠͓͉̼̲̞̘̭̹̳̤͕̟̜̠̼̦̺̮̤̣͇̬̮̣͓̖̣̲̙͙̖͕̗͚̖̐͗̐͆͂̓̒͗͒͆̀̈́͌̊̈́̑̀̽̂̐̍̑̽̏̊̄̔́̌̌̐̋̑̿͌̆̐͒͛̇̑͆̾̀̏̈́͋̔̄̑̈́̄͗͆̈́̑͑͗̈̊̇͗̎̎̅͑̆̓̃͑̎̍͑͌̾͊͋͒̏̊͑̓͌͌͋̾̈́̾̈́̕͘̕̚̕͘͜͝͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅͅų̷̸̶̶̸̶̸̴̴̸̴̵̸̵̸̸̸̨̢̢̧̡̧̡̡̨̛̛̛̛͍̤̠̫̭̯͇̮͚̙̳̱̦̩̞̥̥̳̥̮̺̻̱̘͕͚̬̞͓͎̹͈͇͈̙̻̫̰̩̝̯̣̭̗̮̤̤̦̳̮͍̹͖̱̝͖͉̜͓͇̼̥̲̙̮͈̣̤̦̦̦̩̩̱̱͈̺͙̠͖͓̙̊̽̈̓͊́̾̈̒̌͛̅̉͑͌̄͛͊̍̂̈̓̆̄̎̔̏̓̉̎͒̈́͊̄̋̽̊̓̋̔͂̀̅̊͒̌̾̂͆̏̌͛̔̅̍̈́̋͑̓̀̃̏̀̄̎̀̉͆̈̏̔̍́͆͒̓̓̅̓̂͐̂͆̍̃̈́́̓̆̋̉̕̕̕͘͝͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͠͝ͅͅ ̷̷̶̵̶̵̶̵̴̸̷̡̛̛̛̳͓̯̠̪͚͚̭͍̳̩̩̭̤̥̝̩̬̺̱̝̥̺͙̞͔̖̖͙͍̻̹͓̲͙͚̠̹̱̺͇̩̣̹͔̻͙̩̦̙̰͙̝͒̋͛̍̊͌̅̓́̉͑̿̏̈̍̑͑͗̀̓̒́́̽̋̑͋́̿͐̔͊̊́͛̀̉̀̇͐̀̚͜͜͜͜͝ͅn̸̶̵̵̵̵̶̸̵̵̴̴̴̵̶̷̵̸̨̢̧̢̡̧̧̡̧̢̛̛̛̛̛̝̱̣̪̮̹̘̞͔͎̼̰͉͈͕͈̟̪̙͔͖̻̫͓̺̬̰̪͚̮̫̤̙̹͍̞̞̞̻̙̹̟͖̩͍̫̮͙̮̻͙͎̖̤͓͈̱͙̜͍̪̫̙͙̳͚̖̤̭̤̞̬̤̥̪̺͈̒͂̽̍̍͗͗͗̏͐̅͊̍̅̀̇̅̉̎͂̾̓̿̿̀͂̇̽̈́̿̊̎̇̈́̂̒͛͑̎͒̈̀͗̇͗̏̐̒̈́̊̈́͗̒̅̉̏̉̒̋̋̋̇̎̆̽͑̅̏́̃́̋́͆̽̍̍̊̐̅͋̀̕͘͘͘͘̚̕͜͜͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅͅͅȩ̶̸̷̶̴̷̵̸̴̴̴̸̵̢̧̧̢̧̛̻̪͎̪͍͕̣̼̯̬̞̫̳̯̦̝͕̟̝̳̭͉̦̹̲̤͔̲͍̹̪̝̣̼̙̝̖͖̖̦͓̞̼̟̞̫̯̟͉͖͕͎̫̟͚̲͍̫̟̣̼̖͖͎̙͙̜̈́̑̐̐̈͆̄̋̽͊͑̈́̊̈̈́̆̿͑̈́̎̀̈́́̿̔́̓̏̋̍̓̒̀̓͆̆̈́̌́̅̇̋̎͛̈́̄̈́̃͋͛̓̌̈́̔͂̕̕̚͘͘̚͜͠͠͠͝ͅę̵̶̶̷̸̵̶̵̵̸̶̴̶̴̨̡̨̢̡̨̢̛̛̟̘̻̩͎̗̲̼̗̱̺̲͇̳̙͓͚͔̱̠̜̦̮̝͓̙̠̫̣̣̞̦̪̘̙̬̤̯̥͇̯͖̬̫̖̖͖̗̻̹̱͇̤̰̗͎͙͔̱̣̳͈̠̻̮̮͕̠̓́͋͂̍̋̒̌͌͌̿̈́͆̄̎̎̂̒̃̀͋̿͗̆͐̈́̀̎͆̿͋̓̓̄̑̋̔̍͗̉͐͛͗̑̀̍̃̃͛̎̉͑̈́̈́͋͆̀͋̃͋̿͌̆̽̽́̊̅̕̕̕̕͘̕͜͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅd̷̶̸̶̸̸̶̸̷̢̧̧̛͓̞̮̺̰̜̤̗͉̠͔̬͇͙̼͚̯̗̫̟͙̜̠͕̰̻̱̳̯̬̫͉̱̠̱̳̱̣͕̯͎̲̰͓̳̱̬̼̥̤̈́̈́͂͂̔͒̽̄̅̋̆̌̊͑͒̂̈́̎̈́̋̈̾̿́̆́̒͑͆̀̅͗̏̀̅̍͂̐̅̋̃̉̎̽̕̚͘͘͜͝͝͠ͅ ̴̸̴̷̴̴̷̶̵̴̴̷̴̷̴̴̶̵̡̨̧̨̡̨̧̢̢̛̛̛̟͎̺̹̠͕̘̺̗͚̟͖̥̪͚͚̼̖͙̩̺̥̩͎̼̯̝̫̱̬͓̖͈̯̙͓̗̲͍̫͉̞͓͚̗͖̘̳̣̺̳͍̯͔͎̤̬͙̦̬̥̻̣̙͍̯̣̺̲͖̟̖̞͕̯̼͕͎͖̪͎̒̐̇͊̍͊́̀͐͂̓͊̓̈̽̐̎̒͗͆̀̀͋͛͋̀̓͂̀̆̽̇͗̆͊͒̄́͒̓̔̄̓͊̾͌͋̈́̾̅͒͒̈́̽͛̆͑͑̀̃̈́̇͑̓́̾̏̎̉̽̚͘̕͘͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͠ț̵̸̷̴̶̶̷̵̸̴̵̷̡̨̢͇͓͓͓͚̝̞̼̰͍̯̩̩̮̤͍̤̯͉͉͇̘̩͇͚̯̻̰͈̖͎̬̳͚̩̲̺̝̟̗͍̰̣͎̲̪͈͓͖̫͇̬͚̼͚̆͗͐̓̇͐̑͐͛̄̌̓̉̐͛̎̌̃̄̍̊̎͒̄̍̓̊̾̈́̌͋̂̑̒̾̍̈́͑̈́́̚̚̕̚̚̕͘͜͜͜͠͝͠͝ǫ̷̷̵̵̶̵̴̸̵̷̵̴̶̸̷̧̡͓͙̺̜͙͚͙̜͖̭̺͎̳͙̫̠͖̦͖̙̦̮̩̫̤̼̖͍̣͖̲͙̳͖̻̟͍̼̪̻̙̟̤͍̩̬̥͖̜̆͒̒͗̽̓̽̓̀̑͊̓̾̉̍̅͗̿̈́͒̈́̾̽̀͑̈́̔̆͌̊́̓̽̔̾̊̅̊̎̌̔̓͗̐͂͗̍̽̉͛̂̊̐̋̐͑̀̉̐̉͋̈́̊̓̿̓̌̉̍̎̄̉͊̎͌̒̎̏̀̈́̕̕̕͜͜͠͠͝͝͠͠ͅͅͅ ̶̷̷̴̶̷̵̴̶̵̶̸̴̶̴̸̷̵̵̸̨̡̧̡̨̨̢̡̧̧̧̨̨̡̨̢̧̧̨̧̛̛̛̛̮͍͎͙͍͉̖͙̞̰͓͚̬̻̟͈̘̤̱̲͍̝͎͉̯̩̥̲̪̟͈̹̗̲̠̺̺̖͎̳͇̻̺̯̥̳̪͇͔͓͇̖̬̣̲͔͖͉̲̥͍̰͓͖̬͙͕͉̳͈̱͉͇̺̲̲͎̭̞̭̭̮̭͓͉̟͚̱̘̼̪̥̥͙͔͔̖̬̹̫̪̭̘̥̳̮̣͊̀̉͛̈́̽̾̋͗̅̋̈́̂͑̐̒́́͆̌̉̐̌̓̈̉͑͌̈̍͆̌̂̉̓̉̎̂̓̄̎͂̀́͐̏̔̏͐̿̂̔̄̋̆̏̈́̑͊̇͑̎̉͛̔̉̋̌̂͋̾̋͛̂̌̀͑̃̂̊̇̀̀̌̓͐̎͗̿̈͌͌̿̽̃́̌̏͌̾͐̍͌̆̒̈́̈́̾͘̕̕͘̚̕̚̚͘͜͠͠͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅẇ̶̷̵̵̸̸̴̶̷̸̷̵̷̨̧̢̢̧̧̨̛̝̘̦̘̪̱̬̗͎̟̩̺̻̣͔̟̪͔̮͓̻͓̥̙̘̺̞̣̥̦͍̫͓̗̱͔͙͕͓̤̠̗̻͍̠̫̫͙̫̹̫͖͈̟̦̼̰͕̦̞̮͍̞̮̰͎̤͇͆̊̀́̅͌̐͐͛͒̒͒̀̒̏̀͒̔̏̓̒̔̅̂͆̈̓̑̊̈́̔͂̌̈́̿̒͑́̔̒̌̆͊́̋̃̎̓̏̈̈́̍̌͌̑͂͆̕̚͘̕̚̚̚͘̚͜͜͝͝͝͝͝a̵̸̵̷̴̷̶̴̷̵̪̠̱̜͎͓͇̱͉̙̭̰̱̮̫̤̫̙̹̬̤͔̟͇̦̗̖͔̽̔̀̓͛͊̈͋͆͋̽͒̄͒̂̓̓̆̋̏̈́̎̽̆̒̔͂̽̿͊̿̎̉̀͗͛̄̇̎̈́͒̈́̉̍̏̋̄̕̕͝͝k̵̸̶̵̷̸̶̷̷̵̷̢̨̡̛̗̙͖̭̰͍̦̺̤͍̱̰͖͙̘͙̱̗̟̮̟̪̩̫͓̯͎͎̝͍̯͍̫͇̤̹͚̮̦̺̤͚͙͚̮͎̰͉̫̪̥̲̀͆̇̇̽̅̓̒́̐̐́̀͗̈́̊̌̌͛́̂̇̓̈́̃̊̇͛́̓͐͌̄̇̓̓̈́̈͑͐͒̿̌͑͌̕̚̚͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅę̵̶̵̴̵̸̵̵̷̶̸̸̴̷̵̸̴̶̶̷̢̢̨̡̢̢̧̢̧̨̨̡̨̨̛̛̰̟͉̯̹͚͚͇̜͍̗̖̙̤͕̹͍̞̲̙̣̰͍̩̦̘͉͙̼͓̮̳̟͎̙̫͉̖͇͍͈̘̟̬̯̻͇͕͖̳͕̗͇̬͇̮̮̝̺͈͚͉̼̗̣̼͈̼̠̺͙̲͚͚̲͎̦̠͚̻͙̩̲̱̖̞̤̤̪̦͈̱͇̫̱̮̙̬̼̐̎̆̀̅̓̀͊͛̃̓̾́́̇̉͐̅̈͌̑͒̇͋̀͗̀̾̑̑̑͑͐̌̐̌̽́̽̆͒͂͊͊̈̑̓̿̆̍̏̈́͋̈́̒̉̈́͌͋̋̈́̀̈́͑̈́̾̉͌͋̾̇̀̑̍̉́̀̑̃̇͒̽̀̔̉́̊̾͐̚̚̚̚̚͘̕͘̕͜͜͜͜͠͝ͅͅͅͅͅ ̶̵̶̸̶̸̵̷̴̸̶̸̷̵̵̵̷̸̵̢̢̨̢̧̨̧̨̢̨̛̛̛̛̳̲̗̞̩͎͈̤̞̣̥͖̗͔̜͔̮̞̤͎͉͎̗̟̻̘̙̭̦͇̘̯̘̠̹͔̭̞̮̭̮͉̩̦̘̘̦̥͙̫̼̩̺̺̖̘̖̫͖̬̤͉̜̼̥͔̦͓̣̱̞̩̜̯̫̱̜̟͓̰͈̟̱̜̦̍̈̈́̓̓̾̐͒̾͑͗̽͂̈́̄͋̇͆̽̆̋̐͒͋͆̋͗̓͆͒̆̐̐̑͐̒͑́̋̇̈̇̃͌͒̽́̇̽̎̇͛̋͒͛̉̐̄̎͊͌̈́͒̑̾̋̃̽̀̈́̀̿̈͒͆͗̆̆̈́͒̄̑̋̎̿͐͋͗͆͌͘̚̕͘̚͘͜͝͝͠͝͝͠͠͠͝ͅͅṷ̶̶̸̴̷̶̷̵̷̶̷̵̶̶̢̨̧̧̧̺̞̦̠̙̭̻̞͓͉̻̪̼͕͈̜͚̜̼̟͖̠̱̮͓̺̝̺͓͖͈̣͖̬̹̠̜͍̞̣̦͉̟͇͔̫̳͉̯̞̻̀̾̀̌͐͌̽̃̾̑͌̀̏͆̆́͗͛̀͆̉͑̍̊̈́͌͐̈́̾͐̄͋̀̋͊͆̏͐̾̈́͌̈́͗̀̈́̑̒͆̃̊͌̊̉͑̿͒̀͂̊̏͑̿̂̊͐̅̍̚͘̚̕͜͠͝͝͠͝͠ͅͅͅͅp̶̸̸̷̶̴̸̵̷̸̴̸̵̵̶̶̴̨̧̡̨̨̧̢̛̛̦͙̪̻̤͙̘̖͕̝̪̫̟͈̦̠͔͕͍͓̠̘̟͉̮͇͎̣̰̮͓̰͙̹͖̗̫͍̞̱̳̖͕̺̼͕̼̠̞̲͓͙̥̩̤̣̱͉͖͉̂̑̃̍̓̃̄̔̀͂̐̓̾͑́̋͒̎̋̐̌͗͗͒͐͊̈́̂̾̃̅̀͒͒́̂̔̆́̽̍̀͂͗͛͒͑̎͐̽̽̈́̌̽̇͊̏̉̆̊͗̿̏́̊̎̂̎̒̄̍̅̓̿̈̀̊̀̿͛̆̽̿̏͗̾̈́͑͒̈̑͌̓̄̀̕̚̕͘͘̕͘̕̕̚͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͠͝͝͠͝͠͝͝ͅ
𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶!
Y̵̐͗o̷͗̈́ǔ̸̍ ̷̓̑n̶̏̇ë̸͊ě̶͌d̶͑̈́ ̸̇͊t̸͐͠o̷̓̀ ̷́̌w̷͒̚a̸͒͝k̸͆̚e̶͐̑ ̵͗̆u̶͆͑p̸̔̎
Ray's hearing started to clear.
"You need to wake up!" An unknown voice yelled.
"Coral! He'll wake up when he's feeling better! Leave him alone!" Somebody else said.
"Hmph." Was the response.
Ray mustered enough strength to open his eyes and look around.
"Oh you're awake!" A beautiful young woman cried happily. She had long pink-peachy hair and big blue eyes.
Ray looked at her weakly, and gave a slight smile to let her know he could hear her.
"Hi i'm Coral, whats your name?" She smiled.
"R-ray..."
The other person he heard had turned their head. It was a younger girl, her hair was an almost iridescent pink and she too, had big eyes but hers were green.
"Ooh! He woke up!" The young girl said, she headed over to him but something seemed off with how she was walking. She almost looked like she was gliding towards him, wait, she 𝘸𝘢𝘴 gliding towards him. He looked to the floor to see if she was on a hover-board or something to see she had a tail- a 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥 tail. The yellow tail was decorated with pearls and shells that were connected by sea-grass, he looked over at Coral to notice she 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 had a tail. Hers was purple, wrapped in red coral that seemed to form around her tail.
Ray realized this was a lot like his dream, no, this 𝘸𝘢𝘴 a dream. With this new thought in mind, he looked down, and there it was. A light red tail beautifully decorated in shark teeth and pearls. Looking back up at the younger girl, he noticed the was admiring his tail.
"Your tail is beautiful Mister! I don't think I've ever seen one like it!"
"Sandy, you're 26, you haven't live long enough to have seen tails like that."
26? 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘭𝘥!
"Well have you ever seen a tail like that Coral?"
"Well... no, but that doesn't mean they don't exist!"
"Uh.. sorry to interrupt, but, 26 is young, but not child young. I'm not even 26!"
Coral just stared at him blankly.
"What did i say something stupid..?"
"What are you, a human?!"
"Uhm... I am...? I don't know how to answer that..."
Coral's face went into what looked like deep concentration on her thoughts before her face lit up.
"Wait... does this mean you're the one?!"
Ray's face showed that he didn't want to have to explain his sexuality again.
"Coral we're gonna be rich! I'm gonna go get Tortie!" Sandy swam down the sand hallway to find whoever Tortie is. Ray looked around to realize the whole surrounding was like an underwater house, made of sand and sandstone. The room was dimly lit by luminescent rocks, Ray looked around to also realize he was on a sea sponge couch.
"Who's Tortie...?" Ray looked at Coral who was intensely staring at him with a look of wonder.
"Oh! Tortie is my younger brother, Sandy's older brother." Coral smiled.
"So how old is he...?" He was scared for the response.
"Oh, he's 34! Since you're a human though, that'd make him... 17?"
"And you...?"
"37! 20 if I was human."
"Ok..... so... i'm 22, what would that make me..?"
She put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment.
"39!"
𝘖𝘩, 𝘪'𝘮 𝘰𝘭𝘥.
"Tortie finally came out of his cave!" Sandy said excitedly.
A dark-skinned merman with black hair and a green tail swam out behind her.
Coral looked over.
"I was sleeping Coral, what do you want."
"Tortie! What have i said about attitude?" Coral scolded.
Wait, 𝘩𝘦 is Tortie?! Come to think of it, both Coral and Sandy were relatively pale.
"Why is Tortie tanner than you guys?" Ray covered his mouth quickly realizing he said that.
"Oh uhm... our mother cheated on our dad at one point... Tortie was the result. We don't hate him for it though since it isn't his fault."
Tortie crossed his arms, "Coral, I wanna go back to bed... can you just tell me what you wanted me up for?"
"Tortie we found the one!"
Tortie's eyes widened. "Wait, really?" he looked at me for a second.
"No he's too dumb looking to be the one."
𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯.
"Is this dream just to bully me?" Ray asked himself.
Coral looked at him. "Dream?"
"Well yeah, obviously i'm dreaming. Mermaids aren't real."
"Um, we're right here." Tortie said angrily tightening his fists.
"Whoa dude, chill."
"How? You just said we aren't real!" His face clearly showed his anger.
"Yeah because you aren't."
"There you go again!"
"Guys stop.." Sandy said softly.
"I'm stating the obvious!"
"Stop guys..." Sandy repeated quietly.
Tortie swam at Ray full speed and pushed him into the couch farther, hands on his shoulders. Tortie's teeth were clenched and his eyebrows furrowed.
"..." Sandy looked at a lost.
"I swear if you say we're fake one more time-"
"Guys!" Coral roared.
Tortie and Ray stared at each other in silence, face-to-face. Ray slightly opened his mouth, flustered at the position he was in.
Tortie loosened his grip on Ray's shoulders and stared at him blankly. Blush started to form on both of their faces.
Tortie swam backward and hit the sand, clouds of dust around him.
"I-i'm so sorry!" Tortie's face was red and he looked embarrassed.
"I-it's fine..." Ray muttered.
They all sat in an awkward silence for what seemed like forever until Coral burst out laughing.
"You guys should see the looks on your faces!"
Coral's hysterical laughter was cut short by a female voice.
"Why are you guys up so early...?"