Fish In A Bowl (TianShan)

The Pretty Beneath The Black

Seasons changed and He Tian continued to grow into a fine young man. The mermaid stayed the same as the first day he saw it and he relished that part of their reality. It didn't matter to him if he's growing older, but he didn't want the mermaid to change.

Except maybe, to see it smile. Such change wouldn't be so bad.

"I hope someday you would smile. You're a pretty one."

The mermaid abruptly stopped from leisurely flipping its tail, suspended in the water as if it was a paused scene from a television. Its long, orange hair floated behind it like a crown, sometimes a veil.

"Pretty. You know pretty?" He Tian asked.

The mermaid shook its head forcefully that its face had gone red.

"Not pretty."

"But you are," He Tian insisted gently.

It shook its head again, swimming back and forth, frowning deeper as if thinking hard, maybe conjuring words. Its hands were fists on its side, clutching pebbles and swimming to and fro, searching for human words.

"Not pretty. Look," it finally said again, pointing at its iridescent black tail. "Not pretty. Dull. Look!"

It brandished its black tail right across He Tian's face on the glass, trying to prove its point and making the boy appear like he was blind and didn't see what's in front of him.

He Tian thought mermaids were vain creatures. Maybe they had with low self-esteem too.

"Don't listen to grandfather. You're the most beautiful creature I have ever seen."

"Dumb. Little boy. Old boy. Idiot dumb." It pointed at him and flicked its tail in his direction. "Idiot dumb. Old boy."

"Oh?" He Tian was amused. Of all the things, it chose to retain the funny words. And its calling his grandfather a dumb idiot.

Exasperated and unable to fully express what it wanted to say, the creature swam away and threw a pebble at him before hiding inside its giant clam to sulk.

Still, He Tian stood there, waiting for the creature to creep out again and have a conversation with him.

Days passed. He Tian would come, stand by the glass and stare at the mermaid with as much awe as he did when he was a toddler. It never ceased to amaze him. The body of a man wasn't a repulsive thought, although he had never thought of another man like that before. Human girls didn't appeal to him and surprisingly, neither were human boys. It was only this creature he wanted.

His family were deeply concerned. True, He Tian didn't neglect his school and his responsibilities, he was a dutiful son and an intelligent boy. Aside from that though, he wasn't inclined to do anything except stare longingly at the glass and spend his free time with the fish. He didn't socialize outside of school, he didn't travel for pleasure and he didn't even have a girlfriend. It deeply bothered his family.

Once again, the mermaid showed signs of the scarlet marks on its tail. This time it was spreading fast on the black scales like a trail of hot lava on a bed of coal. He Tian asked the mermaid about it but it only swam around and wriggle its tail.

"Are you not feeling well? Do you know what's happening to your tail?" he would ask but the mermaid only avoided his questions and refused to talk. It didn't look pained at all, no look of discomfort as it swam back and forth right in front of his face.

As a matter of fact, it looked livelier than ever.

But the scarlet on its tail was spreading fast and He Tian worried that they might never see each other again for some time.