People buys fishes to eat, to make them pets. Meanwhile I got myself a real merman. Freaking cool right? Unless he turns out to be a man eating monster. So, if mermaids exists then other mythical creatures may exists too, right? Vampires, werewolves, witches, unicorns, fairies even something else that I don't know the name of. I wonder if this is seriously happening or I'm still dreaming.
It's early in the morning. The stores aren't open yet. I will go buy new clothes later. Maybe I should keep the cafe close today. I have too much going on inside my mind. Besides that I need to teach Aalto about this world. He's completely unaware of how things work in here.
I stopped in front of Kyong's house and knocked at the door. He came out scratching his head, welcoming me with a big yawn.
" Oh it's you." He said in a sleepy voice.
" Hey can I borrow some of your clothes?"
" Sure. Come in." I followed him inside his house. Kyong lives alone with his grandpa. Every time I needed help he was there for me, like a big brother.
" Why do ya need my clothes?" He put the clothes inside a bag and handed it to me.
" A friend of mine came to visit. I'll tell you the details later." I should hide it from him. He may be my friend but I rather handle the situation on my own. I can't risk his life. Aalto can be harmful in future.
Who knows? It's better to hide the truth. Even if something were to happen, I'll go through it. After all I was the one who took responsibility of Aalto.
" Fine then. Here." I left from there in a rush, carrying the bag.
My mind is totally messed up. I really need to think of a backup story. Something solid and believable. I can't tell anyone that I found Aalto at the beach. They'll suggest for reporting it to the police. Or look into the social media. But if I tell them that he's my friend it wont be a problem. End of discussion.
When I entered in the bathroom Aalto was still in tub, moving his long tail, enjoying the water. He looks stuffy since my bathtub isn't that big. His shirt has gotten wet, making his body translucent. Not gonna lie, he does have a nice body. Just like a model or Idol.
" I hope this will fit you." My voice caught him off guard. He was startled which made him open his eyes widely. His long tail is extremely mesmerising. So magical, so dreamy. I want to touch it. My curiosity kicked in and I continued, " By the way how does this work? The tail thing?"
" I can change it back to legs or to tail as I wish. But I can't keep on using the legs forever. I have to use my tail often." He replied meekly. His cheeks were reddish. Is he blushing?
" My tub isn't that big. You're hardly fitting inside." I said placing my palm on the face. Aalto is really tall so naturally his body won't fit if I include his gigantic tail.
" Then can you take me to the ocean when people aren't there? Or some deserted place? Like pond or lake ?" With his doleful gaze, he pleads to me, making me captivated by his charm. I can't help but pity him.
" Okay. Let's go the ocean at night. It will be the best option. But we gotta be careful. Some people go to the beach at night, specially the drunkards."
" I just need to swim for a while. My soul is connected to the ocean." His half made smile had so much pain. I can tell that he is missing his home.
" Wear the clothes. I'm going outside." I left the bathroom and stood outside the door. " Are you done?" I asked few minutes later.
" Yes. Come in." As soon he replied I enter there.
The t-shirt fitted him very well. He wore the cargo shorts. Definitely a good choice since pants aren't that comfy. Kyong had given me more than one pair of clothes which was helpful. Water was still dripping from his long hair. His pastel purple hair reached up to his broad chest. I should blow dry his hair.
" Come here."
I took him to my room. My eyes searched for the dryer. It was beside the mirror. I made Aalto sit then switched on the dryer. The hot air begun to flow through his hair. My fingers can easily run through his long hair. It was so smooth and silky.
Ugh! I envy him.
Suddenly a grrrr noice came from his stomach.
" Sorry." His cheeks went redder than before. This time I can surely tell he was blushing. Aalto is really a shy guy.
" No, no don't be. I'll give you some food. What would you like to eat?"
" Anything except fish." His reply was kinda confusing. I mean if mermaids live in the ocean they gotta eat stuffs from the ocean, right? The only thing you can get in the ocean is fish and sea weeds.
" You guys don't eat fish? Then what do eat there?"
" We can talk with fishes so, it's not possible for us to eat them. We grow crops. For meat, we hunt sharks. They are vicious, always trying to hurt us and the other small fishes. There are other foods too!" I listened to his story as he told me about it with such enthusiasm. He looked like a kid.
" Hmm. I guess so." We came back to the kitchen. I told him to sat on the table while I was cooking food.
Let's make some egg bacon toast!
I cut out a hole inside the bread slice with the help of my cutter. Rub some butter into the pan then smash the toast on it. I cracked an egg inside that hole, followed by some salt and paper sprinkle. Then covered it with the lid so that the egg can cook. I like my yolk runny. It'll be done soon. On the other pan I already set on some bacon strips to fry. It has gotten crispy. I made three other toast in the same way. Then I sliced some baby spinach leafs, tossed them in the pan with some butter along with crushed garlic, sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Sprinkled some salt, black paper and chilly flakes on it then sautéd it for few seconds. I'm on diet so, I try to eat greenies as much possible. Now I need juice. Hmm.... orange juice or pineapple juice?
Orange it is.
I plated the toasts along with the bacon strips and spinach.
" Dig in." When I served the food Aalto's eye gleamed. I gave him some extra bacon strips.
" Thanks." Aalto took a bite while I waited for his reaction. I hope he liked it.
" You like it?" I asked as he was busy eating the food. He was eating it furiously since the stomach was empty for a long time. He just nodded his head to say yes. It made me smile.
Jesus Christ! Never thought I'd be having breakfast with a fish. A half fish of course.
" Listen Aalto, I'll tell people that you're a college friend of mine. You used to live in US and now you're staying with me. Avoid talking with people about yourself. That's it."
" I'll keep that in mind." He replied back while eating the bacon strips.
" I'll take you out for shopping and show you around this place. It will take time for you to adjust here. But don't worry too much."
" Okay." He let out a chuckle. But he was also nervous.
" Let's just hope it works."
Don't worry Aalto. I'm gonna protect you from freaky scientists. We just have to stay low without drawing any attention.
~ to be continued