A fancy grey, three-story Victorian-styled masonry mansion was situated in the park side community of Manhattan Island's Central Park South. It was decorated with beautiful flowering white ornamental cherries, bonsai evergreen trees, and golden fountains of water jettison high into the air, catching the morning sunlight. The shrubbery was well tended too, and not a blemish of moss dared to latch on to the exterior walls that kept out the stains of society.
From the well-tended, weed free green lawn, a single silver flag post flew the Irish flag proudly in the air.
---
Playing in the front yard, nine-year-old Kiandra had been trying to catch the attention of someone willing to help him. Many people did their best never to look that the O'Sullivan's mansion as the proprietors were rather self-righteous!
Kiandra was strictly forbidden to leave property for anything. Even talking to people was forbidden by his parents; so, he had to work swiftly as he saw a girl about his age, walking from the convenient story, past his house.
"Hey! Do you have a moment!" he hollered to a bypassing girl. He caught the attention of the young lady as he smiled, so thrilled to finally make eye-contact with someone who wasn't an O'Sullivan.
"My soccer ball was kicked over the wall. Could you pretty please throw it back!? I'd greatly appreciate it very much!"
"Uhm, sure." she muttered, walking over as she picked up the ball. "Why can't you just come out and get it yerself? Sort of inconvenient, huh?"
"My parents forbid me from passing over this wall. I really appreciate it! Really!"
"No problem." she said, walking over while she was munching on fish-n-chips.
"Is that fried fish!?" he asked, smelling its sweet oily scent.
"Yea, do you want one?" she asked, offering.
"Certainly! I have never eaten fish before!"
"Really!? Here you go." she said, giving the soccer ball and a piece of battered fish to him.
"Mm...thank you so much!" Kiandra trill with glee as he could not wait to try it.
"Have a nice day, madam." the girl said as her words stung. But Kiandra could not argue with his mis-gendering. He certainly looked and sounded just like a girl, thanks to his parents' drug! And his mother dresses him in feminine clothing, as male clothing looked too baggy on him.
"Kiandra Muirgen O'Sullivan, just what are you doing young man!?" Kiandra mom yelled from the house. The young girl who given Kiandra the fish went running as the O'Sullivan's were out of their house. Kiandra's mother dashed across the lawn with her husband running behind.
She grabbed Kiandra harshly by the wrist as she yelled at her son.
"We do not talk to the neighbors! And what is that gross thing in your hand!" she gawked at Kiandra's-stained gloves as she cried out like the world was on fire "Oh my gosh, it is staining your pretty white glove! Drop that commoner food now!" she slapped it out of his hand as he watched the flaky fried fish fall on the grass.
Mr. O'Sullivan grabbed his son painfully by his short trimmer brown hair and yelled at him.
"Stupid boy! We do not socialize with the commoners in this town! Who knows what diseases they carry! Are you trying to ruin us, boy! Stop being a stain on my legacy, and do as you are told!"
"Now get inside the house right now, and go to my study! You will be writing lines for the next four hours on why we do not speak to the middle and low class!" his mother marched him into the mansion.
Kiandra sat at the oak wooden desk in his mother's tranquil study as she wrote out a line that she would have her son write one thousand times, over and over in cursive. One misplaced word, one forgotten punctuation, or one spelling mistake...and he would have to start all over.
This was how she punished naughty children without laying a single hand on her own son.
When Kiandra had finished the one thousandth line, his hand felt like it was about to break off. The agony of writing lines was far worse than the agony of a butt whipping that his father would soon give him.
"Has it sunk in yet?" his mother asked, sipping on her tea.
"Yes mother." he winced from the pain in his hand, trying to flex the fingers.
"Remember, the unsophisticated of our society easily falls into temptation, crime, and corruption. They are untrustworthy and there isn't anything you can do to befriend them! They will always disappoint you. That is human nature!"
In High School, Kiandra was reading his essay before all of his peers. He had grown into a character that looked like a combination of either a tomgirl, or a sissy-boy. Yet, people didn't tease him, because he was very nice and didn't act like a spoiled brat.
"...it was then that this generous young lady had shared a piece of her fried fish with me, a person whom she did not know. Of all the riches in this world that could be acquired, that simple piece of convenience store fried fish had showed me that people can actually show true kindness to others." He closed his book and faced the audience.
"The action of selflessness that day had changed my views of this chaotic violent world. That young lady had shared a piece of her hard-earned wealth, and never asked for anything in return. That simple action of kindness to another person is what makes her wealth truly immeasurable, and cannot be stolen from her, ever."
After the recital, Kiandra sat quietly in the auditorium as the class was dismissed with the bell. He was about to leave when a young lady approached him, wishing to talk.
"Mr. O'Sullivan?" she asked, shy.
"Mr. O'Sullivan is my father. Please, feel free to call me Kiandra." he replies.
"Sorry, uhm, Kiandra? I have to say that your essay struck a chord with me. If you are not in a hurry, I would really like to speak with you! If I may."
"Ah, of course!" he nodded with a big smile as people usually avoided him, all because of his last name
Outside, they sat under a tall blossoming shōgetsu cherry tree. Its white petals were slowly falling gently all around them. They sat side by side, like a mated pair of a young lady, and a young man.
"Uhm...this is embarrassing..." she croaked.
"I am sorry!" Kiandra lightly bowed his head "If you like, we can go somewhere else to talk."
"No-no-no, this is perfectly fine." she told him, blushing "It was that: when I heard you talking about the 'commoners' living next door. And how did you not feel that they were any lesser than wealthy people living in their neighborhood? Well, I just, uhm...I just felt that I could relate!"
"Oh?" Kiandra wondered.
"I know that this private school is for the rich and important..." she admitted "...but, you see. I only got in because of the special admission tests for children working at your parent's laboratory."
"Really!" Kiandra smiled, thrilled to hear that she wasn't one of the snobbish rich kids. "You must be really smart...it is a pleasure to meet you!"
"Uhm, thanks." She smiled "My parents used to be wealthy and famous. But that was all before my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer after working for O'Sullivan Pharmaceuticals." Kiandra's smile faded as he felt the sting of his family legacy once more "Now, I have to work part-time at a café, just to help my family make ends meet. My peers look down on me, all because my family isn't someone known...so thank you for being kind to me."
'Humans a bunch of uncivilized idiots!' Kiandra thought, his mind going back to his accident at his parents' business 'Everything that my family touches, they destroy!'
"I thank you for trusting me!" Kiandra bowed his head out of respect "If you are ever in trouble, I will help you however I can. You are a kind hearted and polite person! Never let those spoiled brats ever bring you down!"
"Hehehe!" she giggled, amused "Aww, thank you! But I am not looking for charity." she smiled, amused "I just wanted to chat with you. Thank you for easing my emotional stress, I never thought that I would ever meet such a nice person in this world." She then cuddled closer to Kiandra as he did not know how to feel about this affection.
"Is it rude of me..." she then asked "...if we were to become good friends?"
"Here, happy birthday!" said Kiandra, giving his best friend a phone. "Now, we can talk anytime that we want!" The young lady smiled as she received many lovely gifts from Kiandra, gladly accepting the phone from him.
"Aww, thank you! I must admit that you are rather clingy for a young man!" she softly said. "What are your dreams after High School, Kiandra?"
"Well," Kiandra glanced off into the grove "I was hoping to move far away from all of this and settle in a nice quiet village where I can live as someone who isn't known for his parent's legacy. I want to make a difference in this world." she just smiled, nodding.
However, when Kiandra told his mother of his dreams, and of the lovely girl that had become his girlfriend, she never considered any reality that involved him living outside of Manhattan.
"Are you sure that she isn't taking advantage of you?" Mrs. O'Sullivan asked.
"She has never asked of me for charity." Kiandra told her, assured "I am thinking of asking her out on a serious date..."
"Is her family, influential?" she then asked, a question that turned Kiandra's heart cold.
"Not really. But she does work at a café!" He then protested on her behalf "It really doesn't matter to me if she is rich or not! All I want out of life is to love someone who values all human life!"
"I want you to break off your relationship with her, immediately!" his mother ordered him.
"But I love her!" he cried out.
"Break it off, or I will send you away so that you never see her again! It is your choice." His mother's words were void of respect and compassion.
The following day, Kiandra asked his girlfriend to meet him in the park. His heart burned with grief, and his happiness had left his eyes. He was already crying what she came up to him.
"Kiandra, what is wrong!?" she asked, worried about him.
"I am so sorry!" he cried "My parents found out about our relationship. My mother is ordering me to stop talking to you, or she will send me away so that I never see you ever again. I am so angry! Her prejudice against the poor and middle class is so wrong! I hate her! I hate all rich people and their arrogance! I hate myself for hurting you!"
"There, there." she comforted him "Kiandra, you have to do what your parents wish of you."
"I can no longer stand living this life!" her wailed, grabbing her hand, begging of her. "I have always dreamed of moving so far away that my parents will never be able to find me. Let's both run away to a different land...live our lives as we wish to live them!"
"Kiandra!" she softly held him.
"I have saved a lot of money in Ireland." he told her "I even bought property there in a lovely quiet coastal village. So, let's go there! We both can live our lives on our own! Change this world for the better!"
"Are you sure?" she asked him. Kiandra nodded his head.
"I am leaving at midnight...meet me at the bus station tonight! Okay?" She was unable to answer as her heart was broken to see such a kind-hearted soul, shattered by the weight of expectation. She just nodded her head as Kiandra smiled, so happy.
Five minutes to midnight, Kiandra had snuck out of his family's mansion and waited at the bus station for his girlfriend to arrive. When he heard footsteps, he turned, so pleased to hear that she decided to join him.
However, his joy had ended in horror as the New York police walked casually over towards him as they had received a call that a young man was planning on running away. His heart cracked open wide as only one person in the entire world knew of his plans.
~~~
"She was the only one who knew that I would be there." Kiandra told Meara, who was listening to her mate's backstory "I had trusted her! I had thought that maybe there was at least one person on Earth that was redeemable! And she had betrayed me and called my parents and told them that I was trying to run away. She did it for money!"
"The only human on Earth that I ever truly trusted and confessed to love...and she betrayed me for one thousand dollars and a job at my parent's company! However, it wasn't that which had made me hate humans for all eternity..." Kiandra hissed, recalling the day again.
Meara began to understand Kiandra's feelings. She had always wondered why the Water Deity would have brought a human being to Tír fo Thuinn; but now it was crystal clear: Kiandra bond to her own species had been severe long ago.
Not only was her body and mind now fully converted into a Merrow. It now seemed possible that her heart and soul might change easier than she could have ever imagined.
~~~
Kiandra, after being arrested by the New York police department, was sent back home to face the wrath of his parents. He was under house arrest for about a week as Mr. O'Sullivan threatened the board of directors at Kiandra's private school.
They promised that Kiandra would be given special treatment and the teachers would keep the other students away from him, officially ostracizing him from all human contact with his peers.
To be certain that Kiandra never attempted another runaway, the police had given his parents a GPS ankle bracelet that he would have to wear for the rest of his schooling. He was ordered to go to school and afterwards, return back home with no delays.
When Kiandra saw his girlfriend in the arms of another wealthy entrepreneur's son, his heart had run cold with bitterness. The only light that had ever brough hope to Kiandra's world, had finally gone out. He had been used and then discarded just like trash.
'So, this is human nature!' he realized 'To devour the emotions of others to gain profit for their own sinful desires. Humans would sacrifice billions of lives if it was a means of turning a profit, or for their own twisted ideology! I hate them! I hate humans!'
'Only the human species is so willing to murder its own kind for parasitic desire. To lie, betray, steal, and deceive...just to bring their own blacken hearts, happiness. I hate all humans! May their extinction cleanse this world of original sin!'
While Kiandra watched the two love birds, a snobbish boy laughed at his pain.
"Didn't you already know?" he said, snarky and chuckling under his breath "They have been going out since last year! Apparently, she had been chatting to that guy on her phone for months. Dude, you got played! It sucks to be you! I suppose she did not see you manly enough for her likes." He laughed, cold hearted.
'She used my gift to betray me twice!' Kiandra grieved.
Over the months that would follow, Kiandra learned more about his old girlfriend's lies.
Like how her mother had never truly had lung cancer from working at his parents' company. Or how she never truly worked at a café to make ends meet.
She was the wealthy prominent daughter of his parents' rival pharmaceutical company...and was ordered to confess her feelings to Kiandra...and then ruin his standing in society.
A task that she had executed beautifully!
~~~
"Kiandra!" Meara softly said as the anger in Kiandra's heart had shifted her once fingernails into sharp claws as she took out her frustration on a tree "The tree is innocent here!"
She stopped digging into the hard wood as she bowed her head in shame. Placing her head upon the wounds in the trees side, glittery tears fell from her eyes as they fell to the grassy floor.
"I now understand your pain and mistrust clearly. But you cannot just generalize every human being from one untrustworthy person." Meara softly told her.
"She was just one story out of 7.5 billion!" Kiandra hissed "Human nature is just like the Balor, always consuming, murdering, and terrorizing a world deeply afraid of the demonic species."
"With all due respect," Meara held Kiandra close to her chest "it sounded like you were far too willing to trust people. Afraid to become your parents, which sadly forced you to face your own demons. These types of caring people always attract bad people with ulterior motives that leave the other hurt."
"Whatever it be!" Kiandra turned looking up at Meara "I am now very satisfied with my life here in Murias
"Yet you seem to also carry many worries about living forever as a Merrow." Meara commented as Kiandra quickly replied.
"I think you are delusional!" she said, quite cold.
"So, even if I found a way to send you home...you now wouldn't go?" Kiandra nodded her head.
"I have no love for the human species. As they have no love for their own." she remarked "I am just wondering if I can truly trust the Merrows not to become like Humans. I do not think that my heart could take it if I saw anyone purposely murdering unborn children!"
"Well, if you have many questions about living as a Merrow, and your heart can no longer trust humans...then why not present yourself to the Water Deity and ask the diving Goddess to change your Soul to that of a Merrow?" Kiandra glanced up at Meara, surprised.
"Is that even possible?!" she asked her mate, and Meara smiled, guiding the seer to the ocean.
"Anything is possible, my dear." she said.