He looked over at me with his head cocked to one side in confusion.
I suddenly remembered that there was a bicycle in the warehouse.
It was a gift I'd bought myself for my birthday last year, the one I'd thought about taking a weekend break to ride and hike in.
Unfortunately, I only rode it a few times before I stopped. It had been almost a year, and I didn't know if it could still be used.
"Wait for me, I'll be back soon."
I left the room and went to the warehouse. I moved aside a pile of junk and found the pale yellow bike.
I brushed away the dust on it and could still tell that it was very new.
Because it had been left there for too long, both tires had stopped breathing.
I quickly filled it with air and pushed it outside. It was still very useful.
I happily parked it outside and decided to use it to carry Mr. Mermaid around on a rainy night.
Like before, I wrapped my big coat around his fishtail and gave him a wide female hoodie.
He looked more feminine. His wet hair was tied into a ponytail, making him look like a model walking on the runway.
I helped him out of the room.
He tipped his head back under the streetlamp while feeling the shower of fine rain against his cheek. The corners of his mouth turned up, and he looked like he was enjoying himself.
I tipped my head back the same way he did while letting the rain pat my face as I laughed like he did.
When he saw me imitating him, he opened his mouth happily, as if to "eat" the rain.
I also opened my mouth to imitate him, to communicate, to tell him that I was happy to learn from him.
The two of us played foolishly in the rain for a while until he saw the bicycle leaning against the wall.
"That's our mode of transportation. Let's go."
I helped him over, got him in the back seat, and got on myself.
To keep me from scaring him when I moved my bike, I placed his arms around my waist.
I advanced as slowly as I could, but I still startled him. He was so frightened that he hugged me tightly and almost broke my waist.
Fortunately, his adaptability was very strong. After riding for a short while, he relaxed and even dared to open his arms to enjoy the incoming rain.
My body began to heat up, and a fine sheen of sweat formed on my forehead before blending with the rain and running down my cheeks.
This was the first time I felt that riding a bike was a happy thing!
There weren't many cars on the road. I stopped when we reached the nearby park.
I first helped him onto a bench in the park, then put the bike in the single parking area.
When I came back, I was shocked to find that he was gone!
I panicked. My first thought was, who had taken him?
Did someone follow me and discover the secret that he was a mermaid?
I was so anxious tears threatened to fall. If I'd known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have left him here alone. I should have taken him with me to park my bike.
"Mmm."
A familiar voice came from the forest. I held my breath and carefully identified the direction of the voice.
"Mmm."
He seemed to know I was looking for him. He yelped again.
This time, I knew where he was and immediately headed in that direction.
When I entered the depths of the wet woods, I was surprised to see him standing alone under a tree.
The coat that was wrapped around his fishtail laid on the ground, and his fishtail had turned into a pair of legs that looked exactly like a human's!
Gosh! Was I dreaming?
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. It was a pair of long and slender legs.
And the organ that belonged to a man was between his legs.
How big.
He bended to pick up his coat and stepped toward me while beaming at me.
"Are you still a mermaid?"
He still couldn't understand me, but he deliberately kicked his legs, as if to show off to me.
The organ between his legs also swayed, making me feel embarrassed.
I quickly grabbed the coat and wrapped it around him to cover him.
But he wasn't happy. He grabbed my hand and tried to stop me.
"Put it on!" I became serious.
He froze and was clearly aware that I was angry. Obediently, he released my hand and allowed me to wrap it around his groin.
Then he took my hand and started strolling through the woods.
Afraid that the stones on the ground would scratch his feet, I quickly brought him out of the forest.
He sat on a long bench and lifted his foot to look at his feet. As expected, there were no signs of injury from the stone.
Light blue blood oozed out. I didn't expect that although he had human legs, the blood was still the same color.
What should I do? Where should I find him a pair of shoes?
I could only go to the 24-hour convenience store, right?
"Let's go get a pair of shoes," I told him.
He nodded as if he understood.
Overjoyed, I asked him, "Can you understand me?"
He nodded again, and when he saw me smile, he smiled too.
"Do you know what I'm talking about? If you do, shake your head."
He paused, then nodded again.
I was immediately dismayed. It seemed he had only learned to nod. As for what I said, he still didn't understand.
I pushed the bike over and drove him to a nearby convenience store.
The person on duty was a boy. When he saw the merfolk behind me, he couldn't help but sigh. "He's so tall!"
The merfolk looked at him with vigilance and even a trace of aggression.
The boy waved his hands in fright. "Heh, I don't mean anything else."