The gentle wind blew through the trees as they could hear the trickling sound of the stream from afar.
The near silent whisper of the tall grasses and flowers dancing in the wind caught her attention as she wait for his response.
"Because I don't believe in mermaids... I think they... They are scary creatures..." he stuttered and looked at her for a reaction but he got nothing.
She kept a straight face and after a short while a smile at the corner of her lips, gradually turned into a hearty laugh.
"I mean... Do not get me wrong, I am not saying they are but I read a story about them and I saw where a woman killed a human mistakenly, we can't judge her... Might be a mistake.. But..."
"I don't think they exist... I don't believe in them as well, and I don't know about that story you just said..." she interrupted, almost snappily.
He scoffed and looked away, "Yeah okay... You don't have to be cranky about it... I was just asking," he said and watched the waterfall from afar.
"What if they actually find you soon?" Tristan asked after a long while of silence.
She laughed softly and shook her head, "I don't think they would... They are all busy people".
"How about your favorite sibling? Isabella is my only and favorite sibling... I have seen people have favorite siblings. I mean one of them would be your favorite and might figure you went missing and tell your parent and they will find you" he said.
She looked at him and leaned towards him, he almost fell from the rock from avoiding being too close.
Adriana held him back, "I don't have no favorite..." she said and sat upright. "I told you they all don't like me... Only my parent likes me and I don't know, out of my mean siblings, the scary one is my eldest brother" she said and smiled to Tristan, "You don't want to come across him... He is mean!!!" she added.
Tristan nodded, "I can imagine" he replied. "If you could move away from home and live somewhere else, would you?" he asked.
She nodded without hesitation, "definitely".
Suddenly the disturbing moan of Phillip made them jump up, they walked towards him and could see he was having a nightmare.
"Phillip... Phillip" Adriana said as she try waking up.
The creature opened his eyes and saw Adriana and Tristan looking down at him, he sat upright and sighed.
"I am sorry for making you worry..." he said and looked down sadly, "I was having a dream... There is something you two need to know".
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(England)
Nick and Nate sat opposite each other as they remained silent.
The troubled men could not conclude, suddenly the front door opened, they jump up as they stared at Mitchell that returned with a sad face.
"Who did you see? What did they say? Why is your face sad? What happened?" Nick asked.
Mitchell ignored them and walked to the living room, she looked up at the curious men and shook her head.
"Nothing yet... They have not seen his body yet...".
Nate hit the cushion with his fist, "Fuck fuck fuck!!!! Fuck!!!!" he yelled out, "why haven't they found him yet... It is almost three days and he Is not just found? Why? Did he get eaten by a shark or something?" he asked the woman that seemed to have no answer to that.
Nick buried his face in his arms as he leaned against the wall, he hit the wall hard and turned to his friends.
"This is not right... We should do something, Tristan can not die fam.... He just started his youthful life... He has not done anything... He has a lot of things to still achieve, we need to do something", Nick concluded.
Mitchell looked at them and stood up, "can you hear yourself?" she said and turned to Nick, "and what is your plan? Do you have what it takes to be as experienced as her majesty coast guard? They are out there looking for him and have not yet seen him and you think you can do something? What can you do?" she added and took a step back, looking at the men.
"You boys need to relax, when I talked to his neighbor, she said they are still searching... Let us hope..." she paused and found it hard to continue, "hope he didn't...."
"Don't say it, Mitchell... Nothing will happen to him", Nick said and turned to leave, "they better find him and bring him home soon" he added as he walked into his room.
Mitchell sighed and sat, "There is no way he would still be alive if he is found in the water... It is been a long time," she said softly.
Nate grabbed his head, "God!!!".
(Mr. Charlie's apartment)
Isabella opened her door gently and noticed everywhere was silent, she looked around before walking out.
"Dad?" she called out and heard no response, she walked to the living room and called him again.
"Baby, I am here" the man finally said, the girl saw her dad and finally smile, "come here" the man said as the girl let him lift her up. "I thought you were asleep and did not want to wake you up, how are you? Have you eaten?" he asked.
She shook her head and looked down sadly, "I don't want to eat... I can not eat dad... Tristan is not back home yet" she said in a shaky voice.
The man welcomed his daughter as she buried her face in his neck again.
"Hey.. Hey sweetheart" he said as he sat and put her on his thighs, "Tristan is fine okay? He is... We will find him alright? You know he doesn't like when you don't eat right? You need to eat so he can be happy when he is back" he added.
Isabella nodded and gave her dad a sweet smile.
"Now are you ready to eat?" he asked cheerfully.
"Only if you are going to join me..." she replied.
He smiled and ruffled her hair gently, "Ok I promise, now go in and call mom... She would cook for us" he said.
"I saw her leave in a car some minutes ago..." the girl answered.
"A car? That is not hers?" he asked confused, the man knew she did not tell him about her outing. He ignored it and entered the kitchen, "so what are we cooking today!" he said as he thought about it for a second.
He smiled and leaned forward, "how about some pancakes? Huh? I would make it yummy and we can eat it with honey" he suggested and watched his daughter nod yes.
Shortly, they were both laughing when James came in.
He stopped at the door and looked outside to make sure he was in the right house, he saw Mr. Charlie mixing flour and telling Isabella jokes.
"He was literally so sad before I left home..." be said and smiled gently, "I see they are already getting back to their senses" he muttered and walked to the kitchen.
"Hey Dad... Isabella"
The man saw the boy and smiled softly, "where have you been? You shouldn't leave without letting me know and Isabella needs you around here, you can always go out later... You know what is happening" he said.
James could feel the scolding, she smiled through the anger.
"I went down the streets to get something... I was going to return soon but...."
"It Is okay... Are you hungry.. Sit down, I am making some for Isabella" the man interrupted.
James smiled as she watched his dad make them some pancakes.
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The man held her hand back angrily, she flung his hand away but he grabbed her again.
"Don't you dare play with me... I own you and James and there is nothing you are going to do about it" he yelled at her.
The woman sniffled and her hand hurt from his strong grasp.
"Let me go, you are hurting me...".
He finally let go, breathing heavily. "Listen, hurry up with getting James to be the heir and find a way to evacuate Mr. Charlie... You are his wife and can do that easily... Do not make me wait... We are close to our victory" he said and smiled at her.
She nodded and gave him a fake smile, "I would let you know..." she replied.
The man laughed in triumph, he looked at his wife and touched her face gently.
"You can go now... Before he gets suspicious" he commanded and lighted another stick of cigarette.
She watched him blew the smoke out and smiling at her, she doesn't know how much she hated that smile up until that day.
The woman stepped out and walked away from the car, "You are dead to me... I am definitely going to kill you", she whispered to herself and walked faster.