THE RESTAURANT STOOD tall and proud underneath the darkness that blanketed the whole sky. its bright neon sign bested the stars that twinkled and the lampposts that were dimly lighted along the sidewalks. you took a shaky breath in hopes of calming your nerves, reading the sign that was colorfully displayed at the top again and again.
meer unter sternen, you read. you liked the restaurant's name when you first found out about the place, which meant 'sea under stars'. it fits with the restaurant's main dishes and theme; which were plates of seafood and galore. the name was aesthetically pleasing and a change of pace from the other restaurants downtown with the french language that showed off how luxurious it is, serving a meat and red wine to their rich customers.
you sighed to yourself and got rid of the creases on your casual clothes, trying to get rid of your nerves and anxiousness. even if you had already worked there for more than two years, you were still awkward and shy whenever you were talking to the customers and your co-workers. reiner wondered why you chose to work as a waiter if you were going to be shy all the time, especially since your job needed to communicate with strangers. it did pass your mind once in a while but you also had an answer every time.
the pay wasn't that bad but it was enough to get by for a month. your parents were already paying your college fees and bills so you manage the rent and groceries yourself. you also wanted to see what it would be like to live alone and work for yourself without relying too much to your parents. how could you learn if you wouldn't try? living alone was tiring and new at first, but at least you managed to keep yourself alive since then. reiner, upon hearing your reasons, insisted that he'd help you in communicating with the customers more despite declining his offer.
it was hard to follow at first but reiner and your other friends helped you in the process. you managed to improve bit by bit (but you were still anxious) but they were all proud of your small success like parents on a graduation day. you were glad to see that they cared enough about you and your little flaws; just thinking about it made you tear up.
you checked your watch on your wrist, eyes widening when you saw you were already a minute late. groaning, you pushed the glass doors open and trudged inside the building before heading to the employee's room. you quickly placed your bag on your locker once you entered, changing to your uniform in less than three minutes.
"y/n!" a co-worker greeted with a warm smile as you fix your hair to a simple hairstyle, "your table for today is four, six, and eleven!" you nodded and smiled, grabbing your notepad and pen from your locker. you exhaled deeply as you squared your shoulders, attempting to calm your nervous heart down and gain some courage. you pushed the door that separates you from the restaurant, a welcoming smile that you practiced multiple times already plastered on your face.
you looked around and sighed in relief when the restaurant wasn't packed, unlike the past few nights. you immediately walked towards table eleven, the only table in your list that was occupied.
"hello! i'm y/n, y-you're waiter for today!" you greeted, too cheerful for your own taste. "is everyone ready to order?"
you head back to the kitchen and give their orders to the chef with a shaky voice, slightly thankful that you managed to get their order without asking them to repeat it, unlike last time. you shook your hands and breathed in and out repeatedly when more and more people started to dine in late in the night.
time passed by as you take their orders, serve them their food and give them their receipts. it was the first time that you managed to serve them without messing up badly, your only mistake was stuttering a bit (like almost every day).
you only had an hour and a half before your shift ends and customers were starting to leave. the kitchen was less busy and your co-workers filled their vacant time by cleaning the tables or talking to each other.
"y/n, you got a customer on table six!"
blinking, you scurried to your feet and left the employee's room where you were resting. you approached a foreign old couple, already seated with menus at hand. you took a deep breath and plastered on a smile, "hello. i'm y/n, your waiter for today. i-is everyone ready to order?"
the couple nodded and they pointed to what they wanted, asking about the ingredients with broken english (not that you minded). once that was done and that you were sure that it was the correct food that they wanted, you hurried off to the kitchen and gave their order.
ten minutes later, you held the tray with their orders. they didn't order much so you only held one tray with their food, plates, and utensils. you glanced around, noting how the foreign couple and a large family were the only ones dining. you looked at the clock, squinting your eyes to get a better look as you neared the table.
"ow!" you hissed when your hip collided with the edge of the couple's table, your fingers slipping. the tray you held fell from your grasp and the hot soup splashed on the table and its occupants, before falling on the tiled ground. the porcelain bowl shattered to pieces in slow motion, your eyes growing wide by the second.
you took a step back, avoiding the shards carefully. you looked at the couple; the woman's dress was now sticking to her lap, a frown on her face while the man was giving her napkins to wipe herself off. you squeaked and immediately apologized, your voice shaky while looking around the place in haste to avoid further embarrassment.
the woman looked up and noticed the panic in your eyes, and you braced yourself for the lecture and humiliation that was about to come.
"it's okay."
you weren't expecting that.
the gentleness on the woman's honey-like voice calmed you a little. she comforted you with a soothing asian voice and broken english, flashing you a small smile as she leaned over to place a hand on your arm. you were glad that she wasn't screaming and scolding you about the poor customer service, you'd be crying by then. her husband only smiled, helping you pick up the broken shards even if you insisted not to.
the family that was eating and chattering stopped to look at the scene, your coworkers watching from the other side. you kept your head down, keeping your tears at bay while still apologizing. the couple tried to calm you down but you were still embarrassed at fucking up a simple thing. why can't a single nice thing happen today?
"what's going on here?" your shoulders tensed at the sound of a grumpy voice, pair of footsteps stopping just behind you. you looked up from your kneeling position, eyes glossy as you watch the manager apologize to the couple, claiming that their meal was being made again and that it would be free.
"y/n, stand up." the man in his late forties took your hand in his, pulling you up carefully. "don't worry, everything's okay."
once everything was cleaned up and you apologized enough, your manager lead you to his office while he sorted out the mess with the couple. you sighed and buried your face in your hands, allowing the tears to finally spill out. the door opened and the manager stepped in carefully just as you wiped your tears away.
you looked down and refused to make eye contact, you already knew your eyes would be puffy and bloodshot from all the tears you let out just moments ago. the manager sighed and sat behind his desk with his arms folded together, "y/n, it's okay. the couple's fine with it and i'm sure it was only a mistake."
the manager of the restaurant you work at was kindhearted and understanding, you had no idea why you were even afraid of him when you knew his personality. nonetheless, you were just glad he didn't scream at you or lecture you for your clumsiness. after making sure you were fine and that you promised to do better, he ended your shift a bit early so you could rest up and forget about the night with a small smile.
in no time, you were driving towards the beach with a shaking frown. you swallowed drily, fingers tapping against the wheel as you tried to calm yourself by humming the tune of your favorite song.
you parked your car not far from the beach, but also far from the buildings to avoid reiner seeing you looking glum and checking up on you. you didn't want anyone to bother you today, you needed time for yourself and to release the frustrations of the embarrassment from the earlier events. your day had started and ended on a very sour note.
you sighed in relief when you finally felt the sand underneath your feet, your tense form relaxing in less than a second. you made your way to where the ocean meets the land, sitting somewhere in the far corner where no one could see you cry your hearts out. the rushing waves calmed your nerves as you sat down, rubbing your eyes tiredly.
pulling your knees to your chest, you watched the ocean move gracefully and gently. the cold wind exhaled by the night and the ocean brushed past your hunched form but it didn't bother you as much as you snuggled close to reiner's jacket for warmth. everything was calm at first, your heads empty as you relished in the idyllic scenery of the ocean at night. until you remembered what happened earlier.
you woke up late and were embarrassed in front of it; a bad start for a day. you were lucky that it was the only bad thing that happened to you in college and no more shit happened that would make you want to die. you thought that it was just going to be a bad start but what happened at work was quite a contradiction to that thought. up until now, you couldn't shake off the gnawing embarrassment that eats your conscience and self-confidence away like a free piece of meat. you didn't want to face your co-workers tomorrow, you didn't want to go to your classes.
you just wanted to disappear.
you bit the inside of your cheeks before grabbing your bag from your side. you opened it up and immediately caught sight of an old book, your favorite novel ever since you were eight. you pulled it out and ran your fingers across the crinkled cover, smiling as you remembered how you got it in the first place.
the book was very important to you, given by your late grandmother. it was the first-ever novel you read and love. you couldn't stop reading it, even if the world changed. it was also a keepsake of your grandmother when she passed away peacefully by old age. it was the only thing that you hold on to that reminds you of her.
flipping the pages open, you started to read the first chapter. the tension and stress all over your body disappeared, your once gloomy expression changed to a more relaxed one. you flashed the light of your phone on the page, reading with focus while the waves move slowly underneath the moonlight.
somewhere deep in the ocean, a dark cave could be seen just within a narrow trench. no human had wondered in nor did they even try, too afraid of the darkness that swallowed the inside. thoughts of predators roaming inside and the black nothingness were enough to make them back down from their decision.
after all, once you enter the cave, there was truly nothing interesting.
at first.
a tall wall has barricaded the other side, its white stone color was a stark contrast to the dark blue of the cave's walls. a red gate-like entryway could be seen just in the middle, open and never closed. of course, no humans knew about it and its secrets are hidden deep inside.
none knew of the species living inside those said walls, species that every human believed to be existing in legends and myths only.
mermaids.
they were alike with the humans but one very important detail was they had the tail of a fish instead of legs. how they appeared in the small world was a mystery, only the mermaids knew.
a blond man with a short undercut peeked out from the unguarded gate, staring at the opening of the cave just meters away from him as he moved his bangs away. some of his kind absolutely knew nothing of the world above the sea but him... the blond already had the idea of the land and its weird occupants. his sapphire-blue eyes shined curiously when a school of different kinds of fishes swam past by and swam ahead, dancing and free.
"armin!" the blond boy turned around, looking for the source of the voice. he swam away from the gate in a panic, his deep blue tail trailing behind him while he looked for the person that called out to him. he waved his hands as a greeting from the figures just up ahead, stopping just in front of a male with brown hair tied into a bun and a female with short black hair. the brunett's tail matched the color of his green eyes but only lighter, while the other had a deep rich red color for her tail.
"it's nighttime, we have to go home."
the brunett pointed to the ceiling of the towering cave, where their sense of time had disappeared completely. the sun rays up ahead were their only way of telling if it was day or night, as the light would seep its gold glory through the cracks of the trench and cave. it was already dark, darker than before and the crystal lights given by the king served as their only light source.
"ah, right." the blond mumbled as if he just noticed it, "you two go on ahead. i'll be fine on my way back!"
"no," the girl replied, "we stick together, plus it's dark. you might cry on your way home."
armin gasped, cheeks painted a red hue as he shook his head. "t-that was one time, mikasa! and i was twelve!"
the brown-haired mermaid watched the two, a chuckle leaving past his lips. "come on, mikasa! mom will be looking for us." the other boy, eren, tugged at mikasa's hand and pulled her along towards the street to their home, "get back safe, armin! see ya tomorrow!"
with a wave, the two left armin on his own. the blond sighed and dropped his smile, turning to stare at the open gate with wavering courage. for the last decade, the gate has been left open and unguarded. however, it didn't allow him or anyone at all to escape the walls and go up to the land in fear of humans finding out about their species. no one even dared to and it was an order by the royals years before. armin knew that the last time humans found out that mermaids did exist, it did not end well. that was why their kingdom was hidden deep in the sea and buried inside the dark cave, the plain tall walls covering the beautiful utopia that they had built, only to be kept a secret.
the mermaids didn't bother asking or wanting to know what the humans or their world were like. no one was allowed to know after all.
but armin knew of the world on the other side.
it seemed like the only normal mermaid that knew of the other side was him, since the illegal book he read it from that contained all the important information was not supposed to be held by any mere mermaid. how he got it remains as a secret, for he knew he'd die once the military police, guards for the king and kingdom, finds out.
that was why the gates from before were closed off and strictly guarded; in fear of humans destroying the walls. the walls haven't been even found by a single person since the last hundred years and because of that, the garrison guards haven't been doing their rightful duty as the guards of the walls. they had slacked off and opened the gate, just to allow the mermaids to admire the life outside the walls without authorization to do so.
it didn't surprise him that there were corrupt soldiers from both military police and the garrison.
armin slowly swam towards the gate, looking around the street to make sure that no mermaid could see him leave the walls. luckily, no one was around and he quickly swam past the gate and hid behind the wall. he let out a sigh of relief and allowed himself to grin, cheering for his success of leaving the walls without any problems.
this was a once in a blue moon thing for him; he'd leave the walls during nighttime when his grandfather and everyone else was asleep back in their cozy abode. he had done this at least once a month or so ever since the gate was left unopened. he was frightened to even think of leaving at first, anxious of getting caught. but ever since he swam past the gate and returned back safe, curiosity got the better of him and for the first time ever, he had broken a law enforced by the king himself.
no one could even think that the sweet, obedient, and shy armin arlert would be the one breaking the important rules. not even his two best friends knew about his secret and he preferred it that way.
because outside, he was free.
the blond quickly escaped the confines of the cave, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he swam up past the trench. he took a deep breath, looking around the vast blue sea. he chuckled faintly as the fishes passing by tickled his rosy cheeks. the moonlight up above gave his body a soft glow as he swam up to the surface of the ocean. his face popped out of the water and he instantly shivered, the cool air frolicking his goosebump-covered skin. he turned around, spotting the land he had seen multiple times miles away.
he never got close to it but this time, he wanted to test himself. diving into the water again, he swam forward and to the land as adrenaline coursed through his veins like a surge of energy. he passed by different kinds of fish, greeting each of them as if they could understand him. he let out quiet laughs, smiling to himself as he danced around the colorful fishes. his eyes shined with happiness and at that moment, he felt so free.
armin was scared and anxious. he had never thought of going to the land before but the adrenaline and wonder running in his veins was enough reason for him to do this.
he went back to the surface again, to see if he was close to the land and indeed he was. he squinted his eyes to check if any human was around, making sure that only the upper half of his head was peeping from the water. luckily, there was none and armin sighed in relief before swimming over to the shore.
armin popped his head out of the water; he was close to the shore now. taking a deep breath to calm himself, he swam forward until he felt the wet golden grains underneath his fingertips. he gazed at it curiously, lips parted as he played with the sand. a grin broke out of his face and feeling a little daring yet nervous, he crawled towards the dry land.
"wow, so this is where humans live!" he exclaimed to himself, getting excited at his discovery. he tilted his head up, looking around the land in wonder with a gleam in his blue hues. he saw what humans call 'trees', buildings, and houses aligned far across from the grains of sand. the moonlight in the land was brighter and bigger than under the dark blue sea. there were twinkling dots in the dark sky that amazed armin to no end, it almost felt magical.
it was so exhilarating that armin was shaking to the point he could pass out. anything was so new and so pretty, armin wanted to just—
"huh?"
alarmed at the sudden voice he heard, armin looked to his right side and squinted his eyes for the source of the noise. his eyes caught sight of a silhouette just a few meters away. almost instantly, he regretted leaving past the secrecy of the walls.