the book of fluff (that usually isn't)

the light keeper

hi this is meau

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The morning after the storm was misty. Beau woke up at the crack of dawn as he always did, and he quietly dressed in his usual turtleneck and pants before heading into his kitchen to make tea. Soon, the kettle whistled, so Beau poured the hot water over the tea bag and carried his mug out to his patio, waiting patiently for the tea to steep.

The light in the lighthouse clicked off automatically, right on time. Beau smiled to himself and inhaled deeply, enjoying the peaceful morning. Though living in the old light keeper's cabin got lonely sometimes, he loved his quiet life on the beach. He'd moved out here for exactly that reason; he was an author, and he thought the beautiful scenery and tranquil atmosphere would be perfect to inspire more books. When he got the opportunity to live in a lighthouse, he simply couldn't pass it up.

As Beau sipped his tea, he turned his gaze out to the ocean. The water was gray and frothy as it usually was after a storm, but the waves gently rose and fell on the shore. All seemed to be normal. He was about to head inside when he caught the sight of what looked like a boy floating in the water. He furrowed his brows and left his teacup on the counter to walk out on the beach, squinting through the fog. His beach wasn't open to the public, so what was the boy doing? However, as he got closer to the waterline, his eyes widened. The boy was unconscious, and it was a miracle he was still afloat. Without a second thought, Beau took off his sweater and pants and waded into the water.

It was understandably freezing, and his white undershirt and boxers did nothing to shield him from the cold, but he swam out to the boy anyway. Fighting back shivers, he wrapped his arms around the boy and began to pull him back to shore. The boy's skin was like ice.

After a long struggle, Beau finally pulled the boy onto the shore and laid him down on the sand. Now that he could see all of the boy, his eyes were drawn to the tail where his legs should be, and they widened almost immediately. "Holy shit," he whispered, unable to tear his eyes away. Was he dreaming? He didn't remember falling asleep. He shakily crawled back to the water's edge and splashed his face, flinching at the cold temperature. When he turned back to the boy and saw the tail was still there, he knew it had to be real.

Beau took a deep breath, struggling to gather his thoughts. There was a mermaid on his beach. He'd just rescued a mermaid. Okay, that was fine. This was all fine. He told himself to ignore the mermaid part and help him. He finally managed to approach the boy again, and he grabbed his discarded sweater, wrapping it around him. The boy was still freezing. Beau gathered the rest of his clothes before he scooped the boy into his arms and carried him to his home.

He didn't know anything about mermaids considering he hadn't thought they'd existed, and the websites he read all conflicted with one another. He decided to just wrap him in as many towels and blankets as he could and turn on the fireplace to warm him up. Hopefully, mermaids didn't die when they weren't wet.

Now that the boy's tail was safely hidden, Beau could concentrate on examining him. He looked to be just a bit younger than Beau himself, and his beauty was otherworldly. Beau was tempted to draw him for reference, but he decided that would be creepy.

Mitch woke up feeling warm and safe. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to sit up, looking around. He didn't recognize this place. His confusion only increased when he looked out the window and saw the ocean. Why was he on land?

"Oh, you're awake." Mitch jumped at the voice and quickly turned in the direction it came from, his eyes widening at the sight of the man standing there. The man looked confused at first, but it soon melted into a smile. "Sorry, I guess I don't know what language you speak. Do you speak English?"