Seirra couldn't help herself.
Night after night, she found herself drawn back to the shores of the human world. It was a place of endless fascination for her, a world so unlike her own. The humans were strange, yet compelling. Each time she visited, she would linger in the shadows, hidden by rocks or kelp, her silvery-blue tail flicking beneath the water as she observed them from a safe distance.
The humans came in many shapes and sizes. Some were small, others tall, but they all shared the same curious ability to walk on two legs. Seirra marveled at this every time she watched them. The way they moved was clumsy compared to the fluidity of her underwater world, yet there was a certain grace in their awkwardness. She wondered what it felt like to walk on legs instead of swimming through the water with her tail.
One night, Seirra swam closer than usual. The moonlight glistened on the surface of the water as she hid behind a large rock near the shore. From her hiding place, she had a perfect view of the beach where humans often gathered, laughing and talking, oblivious to her watchful eyes.
Tonight, the shore was lively. Groups of humans walked along the sand, their voices mingling with the soft crash of the waves. Seirra's gaze was drawn to a young couple walking hand in hand. They moved slowly, their steps in sync, and Seirra noticed something she had never seen before—an intimacy between them that seemed unique to humans.
The couple stopped, and to Seirra's surprise, the man gently leaned in, pressing his lips to the woman's in a tender kiss. Seirra's eyes widened. She had seen this behavior before on other nights. Humans seemed to kiss often, and in public too, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Why do they do that?" she wondered, her heart beating a little faster as she watched them. Kissing was not something her kind practiced, at least not in the way humans did. For mermaids, affection was expressed through gestures—touching tails, holding hands while swimming, or communicating through songs that only they could understand.
But humans… they kissed openly, and it seemed to hold a different meaning, one she couldn't quite grasp.
She watched as the couple kissed again, their lips lingering this time, their eyes closed in what appeared to be complete contentment. Seirra felt a strange flutter in her chest as she observed them. It was as if the kiss carried an emotion she had never experienced—a closeness, a connection that went beyond mere words or gestures.
"Is this how humans show love?" Seirra wondered, tilting her head as she continued to watch them. She had always been curious about human emotions. Her own kind felt love, of course, but it was expressed in different ways, more subtle and often unspoken. Yet humans seemed to wear their hearts on their sleeves, showing affection openly for the world to see.
The couple eventually broke apart, laughing softly as they resumed their walk along the beach, their hands intertwined. Seirra watched them until they disappeared into the distance, her mind swirling with questions.
"What is it like to be human?"she thought. "To live in their world, to feel the things they feel?"
As more humans passed by that night, Seirra noticed similar moments of intimacy. Friends laughing together, families sitting on the sand, and yes, more couples kissing as they walked by the shore. There was a warmth to it all, a sense of connection that Seirra found deeply intriguing.
But it wasn't just their affection that fascinated her. Everything about the human world was a mystery she longed to unravel. Their clothes, for instance—how strange they were! Some wore flowing garments that billowed in the wind, while others dressed in tight-fitting attire that seemed uncomfortable. Seirra couldn't understand why they covered their bodies so much, especially in the warm night air.
She found herself particularly curious about the strange objects humans carried with them everywhere—small, rectangular devices that they held in their hands, constantly tapping or speaking into them. She had seen humans walking along the shore, their eyes glued to these devices, oblivious to everything around them. They talked into them as if they were speaking to someone far away, though no one else was present.
"What are those things?"Seirra mused. They seemed to be an essential part of human life, though she couldn't fathom what they were used for. She had even seen some humans laughing or crying while staring at the screens, as though they were somehow connected to their emotions.
One night, she saw a young girl sitting alone on the beach, her face illuminated by the glow of one of these devices. The girl was staring intently at it, occasionally swiping her finger across the screen, her expression shifting from amusement to sadness in a matter of moments.
Seirra's curiosity got the better of her. She swam closer to the shore, her head barely above the water as she watched the girl. What could be so captivating about that little box? The girl didn't even seem to notice the beauty of the ocean right in front of her. She was completely absorbed in whatever was happening on the screen.
"Is it some kind of magic?"Seirra wondered. The thought excited her. Perhaps the humans had their own form of enchantment, something that allowed them to communicate with each other across great distances. She longed to understand how it worked, to know what secrets the human world held.
For the next few nights, Seirra continued her secret excursions to the shore, always careful to stay hidden. She watched as humans came and went, marveling at their strange behaviors and customs. They seemed so different from her kind, yet in some ways, they weren't so different at all. They laughed, they cried, they loved. They were full of life, and that life intrigued her.
But as much as Seirra enjoyed observing the humans, there was always one in particular that her thoughts returned to—the boy with the ocean-blue eyes. She hadn't seen him again since that night, but his image lingered in her mind like a dream she couldn't shake.
There was something about him that tugged at her heart, something she couldn't explain.
Seirra sighed softly as she watched another couple pass by on the beach, their arms wrapped around each other as they walked. Humans were such emotional creatures, so open with their feelings. She wondered if the boy had someone like that, someone who cared for him, someone who could bring back the light that seemed to have gone out in his eyes.
But for now, all she could do was watch from the shadows, her heart filled with curiosity and a longing she didn't quite understand.
With a soft flick of her tail, Seirra disappeared beneath the waves, her body cutting gracefully through the water as she swam back toward her city.
As she swam deeper into the ocean, the lights of her underwater city glowing faintly in the distance, Seirra made a silent promise to herself.
The sea was vast, and her world was hidden beneath its depths. But the human world called to her in a way she had never felt before. It was dangerous, yes. But it was also full of mysteries and one mystery in particular that she couldn't wait to solve.