Oscar and Mer 🍆🪼

I

**12 YEARS AGO**

Oscar was enjoying himself as he waded in the ocean, letting the waves roll him over and send him back to the shore. He laughed as he got back in the sand and ran up the beach to the small umbrella that was there. Oscar and his father, Isaiah, had taken this trip to get their minds off of the tragedy that they had endured the year before. Oscar's mother had been battling cancer for a while but she ended up losing her fight the year before. It had been a hard road for all of them, but especially for Oscar. Isaiah knew he was trying to be brave and helpful but he was a little boy. He knew it was hard for him to deal with all of this right now. When Isaiah and his wife bought the beach house they were at, they made a promise that they were going to make use of the house and not let it sit there. Unfortunately, the cancer overtook her before she could see it and make use of it. Instead of getting rid of it, Isaiah decided to keep it and would use it to later give to Oscar, if he wanted it.

Isaiah had set up a small umbrella out in the sand for Oscar to put his things under while he played in the ocean while he tried to fix the place up a little better. Oscar grabbed his goggles and snorkel and put it on, heading back to the ocean. He waded out a little ways and then put his face in the water, looking around at all the wildlife under the water. He allowed the waves to carry him as he breathed through the snorkel, taking a little break from swimming around. As he looked around and started to get into a little bit of deeper water, something shimmered by the base of a large rock in the ocean, catching his attention. He tread water for a moment to get some air and then took in a large gulp, swimming down to where he saw the glimmer.

When he got there, he was surprised at what he found. It was a little mermaid, no older than him, who looked like they were having a bit of trouble. From the small trail of blood Oscar could see coming from their tail, they were wounded somehow. Oscar swam back to the surface and got another breath. He swam as fast as he could to the mermaid and was able to get into its view. Seeing Oscar, the mermaid gasped and curled in on itself. Oscar pointed to his foot and then at the mermaid and held out his hand. The mermaid looked at him with skeptical sea green eyes, confused as to what this bumbling creature wanted. Oscar pointed to the surface and held out his hand again, Against it's better judgement, the mermaid grabbed his hand.

*********************

Oscar couldn't believe he was actually holding hands with a mermaid. Isaiah had always told him of the legends of this beach and why it was so special to him and his mother. Isaiah said that long ago sailors used to sail through the stretch of ocean and swear up and down that they encountered merfolk and other sea legends. There was always a bit of mysticism around these waters, but to actually be holding hands with one? Oscar was completely ecstatic. Oscar broke the surface first and the mermaid slowly came up out of the water, only the eyes showing. Oscar looked at them and smiled.

"I saw the bit of blood on your tail. Are you hurt?" he asked, not sure if merfolk could even speak English.

The mermaid looked away for a moment and then nodded a little, answering Oscar's question. Oscar lit up.

"So you understand English? Awesome! I was afraid I was going to have to try and act it all out. You wanna come to the shore so that I can take a look at your tail?"

The mermaid looked at him again and shook its head, obviously afraid of Oscar taking it any further from the ocean. Oscar moved his goggles out of the way and smiled at the mermaid.

"I promise that I won't hurt you. You're the coolest thing I've seen all summer!" The mermaid made a face at him. "I know that doesn't really say much but I promise that I just want to help. I can't breathe in the water so I need to go to shore."