Erik had no reason to live any longer. He had been made redundant and he was going to lose his house and car. He didn't have a family anymore. His wife, Raven, had left for another guy. A more successful guy. He wanted to cry just thinking about it. What had happened to him? He had everything and it was just gone.

Erik took a breath and a step forward, teetering on the edge of the bridge. He looked down at the crashing waves and swallowed hard, taking a step forward and letting himself fall. He hit the water hard and scrambled to the surface, inhaling hard before letting his limbs fall still. He started sinking and he stared up at the moon through the water, distorted and pale. Slowly, he exhaled, allowing all the air out of his lungs, swimming further down to prevent him breaking the surface. His lungs were burning now, desperate and searching for some pocket of air that might be remaining. No such luck. Erik opened his mouth and took a deep inhalation of water. Immediately, his limbs shot out, trying to get him to the surface. It took a moment for Erik to force his limbs still before forcing his lungs to take another 'breath'. Slowly, he blacked out and he smiled at the feeling of euphoria rushing around his body before- was someone pulling him?

~~~

Erik's eyes opened and he shot upright, taking deep breaths of oxygen. He relished the sweet nectar of life before looking around. How had he got here? He was layed out on some sort of beach, with what looked like drag marks next to him. He looked around before looking to the water hearing a high-pitched squeal. There. A head was in the water. Well, whoever it was was hiding in the shallow waves, most of their face in the water, their eyes just above water level. Erik stared down at the beautiful blue eyes staring at him before slowly making a move towards it.

With a shriek that echoed in Erik's ears, they shot backwards, head disappearing before reappearing fully further down the waves. He frowned watching the man in the water; it was obvious now he could see their full face.
"Hey... I'm not gonna hurt you. I was... Gonna thank you for saving me. You saved me right?"
The man in the water nodded and slowly made his way back to the shore. It was then Erik realised why he had freaked out. He stared at the aquamarine tail visible under the shallow water, his breath catching in his throat. He'd always heard stories but...
"A mermaid saved my life."
'Merman, thank you very much.'
Erik almost fell backwards as an angry sounding voice echoed through his head.
"Did you- Did you just- Merman. Sorry..."
He shrugged, looking back out at the water and up at the sun, wincing. Erik frowned.
"Is something wrong?" 'Its too hot... I'll dry out. You're welcome for saving your life.'
And with that, he turned to swim out to the deep, cool water. "Wait!" The merman stopped and looked back.
"I'm Erik."
'Charles..'
The thought echoed around Erik's head before the dark-haired creature disappeared. Erik swallowed, watching the water ripples.
"Thank you... Charles.."