From The Place I Hate, Came My Love

Have I gone Insane?

 Ugh! I've been sitting on this damn rock for what feels like forever. I've walked every inch of it, studied every crack on it, and tried my hardest to find some position to lay on it that isn't super uncomfortable or horrible on my tailbone and back.

 It must literally be hours that have passed here, because I'm hungry, thirsty, and the sun is setting. I do have to admit though that this must be the best place to watch the sun set. No buildings or trees to obscure the view. Just pure horizon in all directions. It's quite the sight.

 Although the pinks and oranges of the sun setting are captivating, they're not quite good enough at keeping me distracted from my current situation...which is me literally being stranded in the middle of no where...with no one coming for me. Am I really gonna have to spend the night on a rock? Cause that's gonna be a long twelve hours.

 ...There it was again. The splash. I whipped my head around, but again, I didn't see anything. I've heard it about eight times since I've been on this rock. And each time, no matter which direction I'm facing, it's always behind me. Maybe this fish is super shy or something.

 I'm watching the water hit the rock below me right now. I've hit a new low level of boredom. Could boredom lead to instani-

 "A-Are you okay?"

 ...I really must be going insane because I swear to God I just heard a female voice behind me.... But... there couldn't actual-

 "Um...hello?" the voice called out again.

 I turn to look behind me, slowly, not sure if I'm actually hoping for someone to be there or not. If someone is there, then my hearing must be shot because I didn't hear any boats or jets approach, and if there isn't someone there...I must be insane.

 But to my genuine surprise, there is someone there. But no boat. Instead, this girl is in the water, with only her head and hands visible.

 "Umm..." I'm not quite sure how she is here. It doesn't look like she has any snorkeling gear. Did she really swim here? "I'm okay...I think."

 "Oh...that's good." she answers quietly.

 "How did you get out here?" I ask. Pretty ridiculous question for me to ask, seeing as I don't even know how I got here myself.

 "Well...I swam here? I don't know how else you'd get here." she shrugs.

 "Well I didn't swim here. I have no clue how I got here."

 "Oh. I brought you here." she smiles proudly, like she just won an award or something.

 I'm completely dumbfounded. How did she bring me here? Why did she bring me here? Who is she? Those and many more are just some of the questions rolling through my head right now. This...her...all of this makes zero sense.

 "You brought me here?" I ask her again.

 "Mhmm." she confirms, still looking proud. "I saved your life."

 "You pulled me from my car?" 

 "Yup!" She's smiling like a child who doesn't understand the levity of the situation, but still thinks they did good. If she really did save my life by pulling me out of the car, then yeah, she did good I think. But....

 "Why bring me out to this rock then?" I voice my thoughts. "Why not take me to a place with other people to get help?"

 "Oh...." her smile fades. "I probably should have." she looks disappointed now, I almost feel bad for making her realize her mistake. She was much happier with her ignorance.

 "How did you even get me all the way out here?" I ask her. "I don't even hardly see land at all, let alone the bridge my car crashed off of."

 She doesn't answer me for a while, she just looks at me. I can see her face better now with the setting sunlight bouncing off the waves. She has a smooth face, with flush pink lips. Her eyes are a captivating deep chocolate brown. Now that she was above water, her previously wet hair was beginning to dry, showing off the blonde color. Over all, from what little features of her I could see, she seemed like a pretty girl...but that's all I knew about her. I didn't even know her name.

 "I didn't take you to the shore for the same reason...I got you here." she answered my previous question.

 "Well that's cryptic as all hell." a smirked. She just looked up at me before diving under the water. "Hey! Wait! Come back!" I tried to call after her. I launched myself from my position on the rock to where she had been by the edge. When I looked in the water though.... I don't even have words for it. At first, it was just scales. They were a yellowy green looking color. They flowed through the water with smooth grace, not making a splash or a sound. But then, fins broke the surface of the water, and I had to quickly back away from the edge in order to avoid being smacked in the face. Quickly after, it sunk back under the water again, sinking back into the depths.

 "What the hell did I just see?" I couldn't help but ask myself aloud. I stayed in that position, jaw agape and eyes probably bugging from my head. I just...what did I just see. What the fuck...?

 "Do you understand now?" I heard her familiar voice ask from behind me again.

 I slowly turn to face her. She floated by the edge, only her face and hands visible again, just like before. "What are you?" I asked aloud.

 "I'm Amelia." she smiles at me. The innocents that decorated that smile made no sense to me. She thinks she is totally normal, doesn't she?

 "You're a mermaid. That's a mythical creature...you can't be real."

 She...Amelia just laughed, "That's what they all say to me."

 "But you can't!" I said again, moving closer to her. I'm beginning to question if I really have gone insane and this Amelia mermaid person is really all in my head. "You cannot exist."

 "Why not?"

 "Cause that would make you humanoid. Meaning you're not fully human...meaning you could be considered alien life form." I spoke slowly, hoping to get across just what I was trying to say.

 She looked at me for a moment before her eyebrows knit together and she smiled, "What?"

 I shook my head and sighed. She was too ignorant to even know what I just said to her. "Look, I just need to know that this is a joke and you're a real person or something. Because if you're not real, then I'm probably going insane!"

 Amelia laughed again before she pushed herself up with her arms, leaning on the rock. I could see her torso now. More importantly, where her seemingly normal human stomach formed into a scaly tail.

 She reached her hand out and touched my face, pulling our eyes up to meet. "I'm real." she smiled.

 I couldn't deny it, I physically couldn't. I could feel her hand on my face, it was wet and cold. I could see her in front of me and I could see her tail. She was a living and breathing...I don't know. I don't know if I wanna say the word mermaid. That's a little much. But whatever she is...she is real...and she saved my life.