Spirou & Fantasio - This Little Red Fish of Mine
Fantasio was on a boat. He had been on this boat for quite a long time now, having been chasing a story surrounding a shipwreck which had reportedly occurred in the area under very mysterious circumstances.
Unfortunately, he had met on trouble. An awful storm had blown him way off course, and even though his little boat was blessedly unharmed, he was so far out now and so, hopelessly, lost.
By now, his food- only really enough for a few days- had long since run out. He had only a little water, but fortunately he had been able to collect from the rain. The fishing out here was pretty awful, though.
Being very creative, and very resourceful, Fantasio had fashioned a net, but he had yet to catch a single fish, and he'd been at it all afternoon and well into the night. Oh man, was this it?
He sighed heavily. It was about time he turned in for the night. It wouldn't do for him to wear himself out now. He needed his strength now more than ever.
On this, Fantasio moved to pull his net up, when suddenly there was a dramatic jerk, nearly yanking his boat to an angle.
Reacting quickly, he rushed to the net and began to pull it up, his heart racing. Whatever he'd caught, it was very heavy, and struggling hard against the net that had ensnared it. The young man's mind was running with possibilities, and he felt delighted at the idea that he would at last have not only something to eat, but something big and vital that might last him all the way back to shore.
Finally, he managed to hoist it up over the railing, pitching it onto the deck with a heavy splash, and falling over onto his bottom from the sudden force in the process.
As he stood up and looked on at his catch, Fantasio was met with an incredible sight. The fish was huge, nearly as large as he was, and had bright, deep red scales, glittering brightly in both the silver moonlight above and warm golden torchlight off to its right. It was still fighting madly in the net, tail thrashing, and, Fantasio realized, it was making the strangest sound, almost like... like crying?
Taking his pocketknife in hand, Fantasio warily approached the strange fish. What he could see of it was beautiful and exotic, but he needed to eat... But that sound...it was so strange, so unhappy...
As he came closer, Fantasio saw the upper body of the fish, a strange phrase but the only way to put it, and gasped sharply, unable to believe what he was seeing. What he had caught was no fish, because the red scales gave way to human flesh, trapped arms, then a terrified face, more beautiful than any face Fantasio had ever seen.
"Heavens above..." Fantasio breathed.
The creature did not seem to see him, so concerned with breaking free from the net. In its- his- panic, he was hurting himself, the net biting into delicate, fishlike flesh.
Acting quickly, Fantasio knelt down and placed his hand on the shoulder of the creature (he couldn't possibly give it, him a name, not yet, he still could hardly believe it), pinning him down as he cut the net as carefully and as efficiently as he could.
The ruby tail did not stop thrashing. Fortunately for the panicked creature, though, Fantasio was highly competent, and in moments, the net was shorn open.
Fantasio pulled it away, the creature gave a great push, and the next moment he was free.
Staggering back, the blond was treated to the amazing sight of his catch unfurling from the net, stretching slender arms and revealing a lithe, handsome body, and smooth skin that seemed to shimmer as the moonlight reflected off the water that still clung to it.
The creature looked at him with that beautiful face and gorgeous green eyes set off by hair red like fire- and cried out in terror.
"Waah!" He shrieked, stumbling backward. "Get away, don't eat me, get away!"
"Wh-what?" Fantasio stammered, surprised. "Of course I'm not going to eat you! Why would I?"
Nevermind that he'd considered it- but that was when he'd thought he was a fish. That was a whole different kettle of... well, it didn't matter.
"B-because you're a human and that's what humans do!" His new passenger blurted.
Fantasio blinked. He looked at his knife, then folded it up and hastily pocketed it. Then, slowly, cautiously, he approached the youth, hand held out as he murmured soothingly to him.
"Oh no, no, I'm not gonna eat you," Fantasio said softly. "Come on now, it's okay." He took a breath, shaky with excitement. "So you're, you're a mermaid? Do you have a name?"
The boy regarded him suspiciously. As he drew nearer, Fantasio could see that he was breathing hard, his mouth open, and that there were six identical wounds on his sides, three on each side. There was no blood, except from the lowest one on his right, which appeared to have been torn open... And then it dawned on Fantasio that these were not wounds, but gills, and this boy, this mermaid had been hurt worse than he'd thought struggling with the net. And that made him his responsibility.
"Yes..." The youth said at last. "I am what you'd call a mermaid. Isn't that obvious?"
"Not for me," Fantasio said with a gentle smile. "I've never seen a mermaid before. My name's Fantasio. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to catch you in my net."
The mermaid continued to regard him. His gaze was so focused, his green eyes piercing even in the dim light. It startled Fantasio when he finally spoke again.
"My name is Spirou."
Fantasio took this in, then smiled. "Spirou? That's a lovely name."
He reached toward Spirou, gentle fingers barely brushing his arm. The mermaid flinched away.
"Please, I need to see where you're hurt, okay?" Fantasio said gently.
Reluctantly, Spirou allowed it, staying still as Fantasio touched his side, looking at the deep gash in his gill.
"Hmm... Good thing I have a first aid kit." Fantasio murmured, mostly to himself.
"What's a first aid kit?" Spirou asked, curiosity slowly replacing fear in those bright green eyes. Fantasio found he liked it very much.
"Well, it contains things I can use to help you heal," Fantasio answered. "It looks like the net got caught in your, your gill here." He gestured at it. It felt strange, referring to a person's gill, but, to be honest that was probably the least odd thing about all this.
"Yeah... it hurts." Spirou said quietly. He raised his tail, letting the net slide off, along with a little bit of seaweed and a tiny crab that scuttled off across the deck.
It was incredible, the way his scales glittered like rubies in the moonlight. Fantasio found himself very much in awe of the strange and unbelievable creature sitting with him, but now wasn't the time to get caught up in the mystery and wonder. Spirou was counting on him.
Oh? Fantasio examined the tail a little more closely. The fin was torn badly, and it didn't look like that was the fault of his net. This was a long and jagged tear, and there was no way the net could have done all that.
"Your tail's hurt, too," Fantasio said. "Did a human do this to you?'
Spirou nodded. "Yes, some fishermen tried to catch me with their harpoons. I've been having trouble swimming all day."
"I can imagine." Fantasio replied. "I guess that's how come you were caught in my net?"
Spirou turned his head away, a touch embarrassed. "Yeah... I should have been paying more attention anyway, though." He lifted his hand to his mouth and started to nibble at his thumbnail, perhaps a nervous habit. It was incredibly endearing.
Fantasio got up, chuckling warmly, and went for his first aid kit. It was in the small cabin below, along with a futon, tiny portable stove, and the journalist's clothes, equipment, and water supply, which had been fortunately supplimented by the rain. Everything was kept very neat.
Moments later, he returned with the little, green metal box, which he set down on the deck next to Spirou, who began eyeing it curiously. The blond knelt next to the youth, opened the box, and took out what he needed, barely keeping himself from laughing at the childish curiosity of the mermaid, who wanted to know what everything was.
"What's that little box?" Spirou asked.
"It's full of sticking plasters, but those are too small for this." Fantasio answered.
"What's that bottle?" Spirou asked.
"Alcohol to clean your wounds and disinfect them. That way, they won't get worse or make you sick." Fantasio answered, pouring some on a clean cloth. "This will sting a little, so be ready."
Spirou bit his lip, but he was very brave as Fantasio touched the cloth with the stinging fluid to his injured side, hissing in pain but not crying out or pulling away. Ah, it seemed that he trusted him now- well, at least a little bit. Enough to let him see to his injuries, and that was enough.
Fantasio saw to the little cuts on the mermaid's arms and tail that the net had caused, and then the big tear in his tailfin. Spirou watched him attentively as he cleaned and then bandaged his hurts the best he could, and the journalist noticed that the fear had finally been totally replaced by curiosity.
"There we go, all finished." Fantasio said at last.
Spirou swished his tail experimentally. "Will I be able to swim now?"
Fantasio shook his head. "No, you need to wait until you've healed a little, or you'll only aggravate the injuries. Would you be okay with spending the night on my boat? I won't mess with you, I swear."
Spirou eyed him, considering his words, his proposal. Finally, the youth nodded, spreading the fins on his back and the sides of his tail.
"Okay, I will stay on the boat with you," he said. He hesitated, then added: "Thank you, Fantasio."
Fantasio smiled warmly. "Not at all."
It occurred to him that he didn't quite know where his guest should stay. The futon was rather small and would only fit one person, and he guessed that a mermaid would probably prefer to stay on the deck with access to the water anyway. He might not be able to swim, but Spirou would probably feel safer there, and maybe he had to stay wet or something like a normal fish anyway.
"Is there something I can do to make you more comfortable?" Fantasio asked. "A pillow, perhaps?"
Spirou tilted his head to one side. "What's a pillow?"
Fantasio smiled. He was becoming quite taken with the youth. "It's something you put under your head to be more comfortable when you sleep. Do you do that underwater?"
Spirou nodded. "Oh yes, I lie on rocks with seaweed and things on them. But I'm guessing a pillow is different. Could I have one? The boat is kinda hard."
"No problem, I'll bring one up from below." Fantasio said, turning,
He only had two, but he didn't mind sharing one, really. It took only a moment for him to bring one up and hand it to the waiting mermaid, who immediately became smitten with it, fluffing and squeezing and playing with the soft thing.
"Ohhh I love it!" Spirou exclaimed. "It's so soft!"
"You can keep it!" Fantasio laughed, delighted by Spirou's reaction. "Go ahead, try lying on it."
Spirou put it on the ground and lied down with his head on it, giving a contented hum and swishing his tail. It was as if he had just gotten into the most comfortable bed in the world, and Fantasio guessed it was something of a step up from rocks and kelp, even if he was mostly lying on wood.
On this thought, Fantasio went below again and retrieved some extra sheets, which also delighted Spirou. The journalist sought to make his guest as comfortable as possible, and even though that had looked impossible at first glance, it was actually really not hard at all.
Once he was finished seeing to Spirou, he took the first aid kit and turned in, bidding his strange new friend goodnight.
"Goodnight, Spirou."
"Good, um, goodnight, Fantasio!" Spirou answered, grinning.
The next morning, Fantasio woke up and rolled sleepily out of his futon. He stretched at length, yawning, and then went up on deck, still in his pyjamas. Why bother changing just yet when there was nobody around for miles and miles?
"Oh!" He stopped cold.
He couldn't really say what he'd expected to find out on the deck that morning. As sleepy as he was, not much. A part of him thought that last night had all been a lovely dream brought on by disappointment and loneliness. A part of him, though, really expected to say good-morning to a mermaid.
But there was no mermaid there. Instead, there was a naked young man there, sitting on a nest made of sheets and a pillow. His eyes were as startlingly green as those of the mermaid Fantasio remembered, his hair the same fiery red, and my, he had freckles absolutely everywhere.
"Um, well!"
Fantasio blushed deeply and turned quickly away. Had last night really been a dream? Had he somehow found a human boy and not a mermaid and just, somehow thought he was a mermaid? Oh, oh, jeez, what was going on here?
"Hello, Fantasio!" The young man said cheerfully.
He tried to get up from his makeshift little nest, but stumbled and couldn't quite manage. Fantasio heard him fall back into the sheets and turned around again.
"Are you okay?" Fantasio asked quickly. "Erm, Spirou?"
No doubt about it, now that he was looking at him, it was the same young man he'd met the night before. But if he wasn't a mermaid, then how did he end up on this boat, all the way out in the middle of nowhere? It couldn't be that Fantasio was going crazy, because the redhead was clearly here, and he was clearly naked, so there was obviously foundation to it.
"I'm fine, yeah." Spirou replied. "It's just, my, my um... this thing, it's hurt pretty bad."
He lifted up his right foot. There was a great, jagged line from between his big toe and second toe that ran partly up his calf. It corresponded perfectly to the tear in the mermaid's fin. And, he noticed, all of the toes on that foot were webbed.
Curiously, Fantasio looked at the youth's side, and saw with some surprise that the gills were still there, the bandage still wrapped tightly around his chest to cover up the lowest two and help the injured one to heal.
"How did this happen, Spirou?" Fantasio asked.
"The injury? I told you that already." Spirou said.
"No, I mean... You've got legs now instead of a tail." Fantasio pointed out, a little numbly.
"Oh! That." Spirou grinned. "I fell asleep and dried out last night. So then I started to shift a little, and the next thing I knew I had legs. I remember one of the older mermaids talking about how they did that once, a long time ago, but stopped because nobody wanted to go among dangerous humans like that. To tell you the truth, I was just as surprised as you are- I've never done that before. But I like it a lot. Now it'll be way easier for me to be up here on the boat with you."
Fantasio smiled. This was charming and unbelievable, all at once. But there was a mermaid on his boat, no denying that. The only thing now was, what would they eat and how would they reach land?
He shook his head and fetched his first aid kit once again, then returned to take care of the injury in Spirou's brand-new foot, and look over the little cuts and scrapes from the net again. Well, no matter what happened now, even if he never saw land again, at least he got to meet a mermaid before the end. Bah...
"Are you okay?" Spirou asked. "You look upset."
"Well, I'm lost." Fantasio sighed, taking out the bandages. "I'm out of food. My net's ruined. I'm starting to think I'll never get back home again."
"Of course you'll get home again!" Spirou exclaimed. "I know the seas perfectly well. I'll help you to get home and catch fish, and it'll be my thanks for helping me. To tell you the truth, I'm still really surprised to meet a kind human. Are there others like you?"
"Sure there are." Fantasio said, smiling. "There are lots of nice humans out there. You just happened to meet some bad ones, or maybe confused ones who thought you looked like a nice, big fish rather than a person." He chuckled. "You know, actually, people tell romantic stories about meeting mermaids and falling in love and stuff."
"Oh yeah!" Spirou lit up. "I heard the story of the Little Mermaid. It was so pretty. An old human was telling it to a bunch of young ones by the shore and I listened in. But at the time, I thought it was weird because if the prince knew she was a mermaid, he might have tried to eat her. I'm delighted to learn that isn't the case. So, humans think of romance a lot?"
"I guess so," Fantasio said, and grinned. "Everybody's looking for a romantic happy ending in their own way, I've always thought."
Spirou leaned forward and threw his arms around Fantasio's neck quite suddenly, pressing his bare chest against the blond's shirt. Well, that was unexpected.
"Perfect!" He declared, his face now very close. "I don't need a sea witch to go with you like in the story, as you can see. I'll take you home and then we can have a happy ending together, just like that."
"J-just like that?" Fantasio stammered. "But we only met last night!"
Spirou grinned brightly. "That's okay, we don't have to rush. But I've made up my mind, I'm coming with you. I want to stay with you, and learn more about you and the other humans and everything."
"I, I guess so." Fantasio said as if in a daze.
Wow, this was really unexpected. Perhaps all mermaids had that same romanticism as the one in Hans Christian Anderson's story, or maybe it was just this one. Either way, it was amazing how a few simple acts of kindness toward the youth had completely turned his perception of the human man around.
"I'm sorry, am I getting ahead of myself?" Spirou asked, looking a little abashed.
Fantasio laughed. "A little bit! But that's okay, you're just excited. This is really new for the both of us. Let's just try to take it all one step at a time, alright?"
Spirou perked right back up. "Agreed. Now tell me where you need to get to and I'll be your navigator. I can't catch any fish now, so, let's head that way first. I saw an island there yesterday and I think humans can find food on islands. That's what I've heard, anyway."
"Well, you heard right." Fantasio said cheerfully. "Let's get a move on, then! Oh, but first, let me get dressed, and find something for you to wear, too. I'll explain clothes and such on the way."
A depressing and hopeless situation turned into a grand adventure, just like that. What an incredible stroke of luck! Following the instructions of his little mermaid, Fantasio was able to find an island bearing fruit and coconuts for the both of them, and natural fibers he used to make a new net, a better one that reached much further down than the first.
It took a long time to get back home, but they accomplished that, too, and by the time they saw the first glimpse of land on the horizon- and Fantasio danced and sang and nearly cried at the sight of it- Spirou's fin/foot had healed enough for him to walk and swim, changing his shape when he was wet to swim, and when he was dry to walk. He couldn't push it too hard, but it was a great help.
And it enabled him to take his first tentative steps on the soft sand, once they arrived. He was exhilliarated- they both were. With a rush of excitement and joy, Fantasio rushed up and swept Spirou into an embrace, held him high up over the ground and spun around, making the mermaid laugh and shriek in delight.
"We did it, Spirou! We're home!" Fantasio cried.
"Home!" Spirou echoed.
And suddenly it struck Fantasio just how true that was, for the both of them. And as he gently returned Spirou to the ground, holding him tightly against himself, that revelation was truly brought to heart by the redhead's firm, warm kiss, which, after the slightest hesitation, Fantasio returned.
Oh, he had found so much more than the way back home. He had found someone to share that home with, a true definition to give it. He had found that happy ending, just like in a fairy tale!