Serenity

Introduction

Once upon a time, on a ordinary day there was a mermaid swimming out in the sea. She was swimming all alone and eventually came to a stop in an underwater cave that tunneled upwards to another cave half underwater, half over. She came there a lot. Looking around, she saw her various trinkets. Over in the left there were a stack of soggy books. In the middle, a laminated map of the world. And in the right corner, she had a little tea set. There was also a little chest with jewelry and broken perfume bottles, hidden behind a boulder. She reached for that little box and pulled out her favorite necklace; a seashell and a ring that read: Serenity. That's what she called herself. Serenity didn't know where she came from or what her real name was, she didn't even know if she ever had a name. She didn't know who she was. All she knew was that she was alone.

The Meeting

There was a little hole in the wall of the cave that let Serenity look out at the sea and watch the seagulls pick on each other and cause a ruckus. Occasionally, one would stick it's head through the hole and make an awful screeching sound. It was a beautiful day outside of her gloomy, grey cave. The sun was shining, there were huge, happy, cumulus clouds and a nice breeze. Someone else must have thought so too because while Serenity was looking out her "window" she saw a boat slow down and the driver of the boat took pictures. First of the sky, then the seagulls, then the cave. He put his cell phone away. The human disappeared in his boat and Serenity lost interest in waiting if he'll show up again. She busied herself with reorganizing her cave while humming.
It neared noon when she felt the water in the cave stir. Serenity knew it wasn't her, this was a different stirring. The kind of stirring created by two tails. Not one. She sat very still in the corner of her cave and waited for the stirring to pass. It didn't. She saw something...someone emerge from the tunnel and entering her cave. It took all she had not to move. What if they want to hurt her? The stranger emerged and took off the stuff covering their face, laying it to the side on the floor of the cave. It was dark in there with only a small streak of light illuminating the part of the cave cluttered with trinkets, but she recognized the stranger. It was the human from the boat. The stranger looked around the cave. Serenity was sitting to his right and with the light bouncing off the water and reflecting off the scales on her tail, the stranger stopped examining her trinkets to take a closer look. That's when Serenity's stomach made a noise. She hadn't eaten yet and was really hungry. The human backed up.
"Hello?" he said in a voice she felt she knew from somewhere. Serenity was contemplating whether or not she should reply. She wasn't supposed to. She sighed and gave in to bad decision making.
"Hello" she said in a sweet voice so she doesn't scare him. She moved from her shadowed corner and came into the light. The stranger looked at her a little dumbfounded.
"What are you...aren't you cold...are you hungry?" he must have not realized yet who or what she was. All he saw was a bare top half, messy hair and he heard a growling stomach.
"No, not really cold, but I am hungry. What brings you here?" she leaned back against the edge of the floor of the cave keeping herself up with her elbows. She made sure to keep her tail out of sight. As long as he thought she was just a half naked girl, all alone and hungry in a cave, then it's okay.
"I...I...uh...exploring." He looked at her and then at her face then back down. He rummaged around in some kind of bag until he found some food.
"Oh, no, I...I can't take that...that's yours." She pushed the food away. She didn't even know the stranger and couldn't just accept food.
"No seriously, take it, I'm blessing you, and by blessing you I'm doing something good for myself." He pushed a little box towards her.
"Thank you..." She gently opened the box and ate the contents, not caring what it was. When she finished she gave the box back to him and thanked him again.
"What's your name?" he asked putting the box away. He looked up at her when she didn't reply.
"I...I don't know..." She didn't know if she should tell him the name she gave herself or just not tell him one at all.
"Well, what do your friends and family call you?" He pulled himself up and sat on the floor of the cave.
"I don't have friends...or a family...I wouldn't even know what one is. But umm...I call myself Serenity..." She swam close to him to show him the necklace. He suddenly turned red and swallowed, gently pushing her away.
"M-My name is Dorian...I have a family...do you want to see it?" He got out his cell phone.