Once Upon a Tail

A Drowning Man

"Ariel," Flounder exclaimed. "We are going to get in so much trouble!"
I let out a giggle as we swam in the dark with a human with us. A human! With us!
"Flounder, he was going to drown." I said, looking down at the man with gorgeous brown hair in my arms.
In the distance, I heard shouts of other humans from the ship. They were still near the burning vessel of wood, trying to find the man in my arms along with other men. 

We were getting farther and farther away from them. We had to keep a distance to remain unseen. If any of those humans saw us, we would have to leave this human and risk him drowning before they got to him. 

"Ariel, I have never been more sure of how much trouble we are going to be in."
Flounder pulled at my arm with his flipper until I stopped swimming.
"Flounder, would you have let him drown?" I asked, looking back and forth at the man and him.
Flounder didn't answer at first. Instead of looking at me, he looked to the dark clouds as if asking something in the sky for help with this argument.
I started swimming with the human again. We were near land - half a day's swim. I could make it sooner. I just had to. 

"I want to open this box," Flounder stated.

I saw him stop in the water and when I turned, I saw his fins fumbling with the latch.
"Flounder, no!" I screamed.
I swam towards him, but he ducked under the water with the box. He knew that I wouldn't chase him down there with the human. 

I quickly looked around to see if the humans in the distance had heard my screams but they didn't. The storm was too loud for them to hear us. Holding the human above the water, I ducked my head into the sea and started yelling. 

"Flounder, that is his private stuff!"
Flounder looked at me like I was crazy.
"I understand you have this weird obsession with humans, but this guy is bad." Flounder exclaimed.
He had to practically scream it in the water. The sea was churning more since the shipwreck happened. Daddy was angry.

I swam closer to him, ignoring the strong current bringing seaweed into my hair. This was going to suck the next morning. I just imagined how much my big sister was going to complain when she will try to help me brush my hair. 

I looked back to Flounder and smiled as I realized something. 

"Why are you so happy?" Flounder asked, already knowing that I was going to win this argument again. 

"You can't get in it anyway," I said happily. "It has a lock." I pointed with the arm not holding the human at the small box Flounder held. He groaned immediately."We shouldn't be here! We should be home!" I ignored him as usual and kept swimming with this mysterious human.   

I heard Flounder shouting after me, and I kept swimming. I had never seen a human before this - and I was beginning to think that maybe that feeling deep inside about love with humans was not so wrong as everyone had been telling me.

As I looked down at this man, I just knew my father was wrong. This man's face was kind. His arm's were strong - arms strong enough to pick up a woman he loved and do anything for her. If this man was so harmless and kind, and was a man willing to go back for his dog and whatever treasure lay in his wooden box, then he had to be a good man. He had to be a man who represented a good race. 

My father had to be wrong, right?

He was just so enchanting. His eyes were still closed shut and I wondered what he was dreaming of behind that thick head of hair. Was he dreaming of other faraway places like I do? Or maybe even something silly like playing with his friends. I wanted to know so badly of what he was thinking about. 

Someday, I will know this man. I vow to know this man, whatever it may take.