Oscar and Mer 🍆🪼

III

**12 YEARS AGO**

"Did you have fun today?" Oscar's dad, Isaiah, asked him over dinner.

"Yeah, it was really cool to see stuff under the water... Hey, Dad?"

"Yes?"

"How do you get hooks out of fish without tearing them up?"

"It really depends on the hook and the size of the tong on the end. It's easier to cut that off and then you have a smooth exit. Why?"

"Just wondering... also, why would you need a hook that's like this big?" he said, showing the size of the hook that was in Mer.

"Usually those are for large fish or octopus fishing... Why are you asking about hooks? Last time I asked if you wanted to go fishing you said you didn't want to hook worms."

"Well, yeah, I don't like hurting them. They were just worming along... Not the point, Dad. I'm asking because while I was snorkeling, I saw a merman!"

"A merman?"

"Well, I guess he's a merboy? I mean, he's about my age."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a boy that was the same age as you?"

"Well, he is but... he's a merman... I'm not making it up."

"Okay..." Isaiah said, not really believing his son but he wouldn't argue the issue.

Oscar frowned. "You don't believe me."

"Oz, you're trying to tell me that you found a mermaid on the beach."

"But I did! You said that this beach was magical... Mom wouldn't have laughed at me."

Isaiah got somber and looked away. Oscar swallowed, realizing he crossed a line.

"I- I'm sorry..." Oscar said, getting somber as well.

They were both silent for a while, both having lost their appetites. Oscar sighed, hating that he caused dissension but he was just quoting what he had heard from his parents before everything happened with the cancer. Oscar's mother was a dreamer and very artistic and had found this beach house while looking for a place to go on vacations. She wanted a place they could go to year after year without having to spend a lot of money. Where they lived didn't have a beach and so the beach house was a dream come true. When she found this particular beach house, the thing that really sold her on it was that it was at the end of the row, a little off to the side, and the beach behind it was included in the price, so it was a private beach. The other thing that made her want it was the lore around the beach. It was rumored that a lot of merfolk and sea anomalies happened around there. Beautiful songs in the night, gleaming, otherworldly scales washing up on shore, people falling off boats only to find themselves being saved by something non-human... The list went on and Oscar's mom was for it. Not having her there was heart wrenching, but not having her be a part of this fantasy was even worse...

"So... why were you asking about hooks?" Isaiah asked, finally getting composed.

"Oh... uh... he's got a big hook stuck in his fin where it attaches to the fan part. I didn't want to rip it out and I told him you may have some tools to use... so..."

"I do have a pair of cutters but it's too dangerous for you to use them on your own."

"Dad, I'm eleven. I can do it without cutting myself." Oscar said, giving his dad a look.

Isaiah smiled a little. "How about you take me to him and I'll cut the hook off?"

"Why?"

"I'd like it if you proved me wrong. Your mother chose this spot for the lore and mystical nuance, so maybe seeing something of the sort will help."