Mermaid Tears
By Tenshi no Hoshi

A/N: My 3rd oneshot here! A little strange, but I hope the point gets across! It's about my 2nd fave ToS character Raine! I always wondered why she was afraid of water, so I wrote about what could have happened. Writing about her past reminded of mine alittle, so it was easier for me. Poor us, lonely wanderers, looking for a way to fit in. Don't worry, because there are people out there willing to hear your voice no matter how small it may be.

Enjoy the story!

They say a person's name can tell you so much about them. I can't say the same for myself. Raine… is the essence of water: the element of which I hate the most.

When I cry, the Goddess Martel sends the rain down to hide my weakness out of shame. Tears are a sign of weakness; yet some people aren't afraid to show them.

I used to wonder, "Is there away where I could forever hold my tears? Is there any way to keep me form showing the world my weakness?"

When I was a small child, I lived up to my name. Water was my best friend. Everyday, I would play in the ocean or any body of water I could find. I would find myself studying the sea creatures I found in the sand, or swimming along with the fish.

Perhaps my reason for playing the water was because of my loneliness. My mother kept me away from society itself. Even now, I don't understand why. Was it because I was born a half elf? Or was it because I was a wanted research subject?

Thinking about being a half elf made me feel even lonelier. No one wanted me in this world. The humans hated my elven blood, and the elves hated my human blood. Why couldn't they accept who I am? Why must they discriminate those who are different?

These thoughts always put me to tears, but I know better than to cry. What would crying accomplish? It wouldn't change the fact that I'm a half elf. My heart didn't want to stop grieving though. It wanted to show my sadness and lament over my loneliness.

I once asked my mother if there was a way to stop any more tears from flowing. I didn't want to continue crying over myself. My mother told me not to be foolish. There was no way to stop grieving over myself unless I lose my ability to feel. Seeing that I was disappointed with her answer, she promised to tell me an old elven tale passed down from my great aunt. Hearing that, I became elated to learn something new. Learning was probably the only thing that could take my mind off anything.

That evening, we stayed at the Altamira hotel, knowing we were safe from the hurting scientists who came looking for me. Both my mother and I have been fleeing from those people for as long as I could remember. Countless times, we've been found, only to disappear once again. I used to think to myself, "Why do I have to live my life this way? Why was I born like this?"

But the elven tale I heard that night taught me that we are all born the way we are and nothing in this world can change that.

Once, the endless ocean engulfed the world. All life existed under the sea. Humans and elves alike lived under the ocean waves in the form of Mermaids. These maidens of the sea kept the ocean alive with the purity of their voices. A mermaid's voice is their pride, but not all mermaids owned such beautiful voices. A little mermaid named Raine was born without a voice like those of other mermaids. She was looked down upon and ostracized for not being able to sing. The life she saw ahead of her was a lonely path, but there was nothing she could do to change that road. There was a missing part of her that wished to express. Raine wanted to the express sorrow and grief overcoming her with no way to escape. She lacked the ability to sing her feelings, or speak the truth. All she could do was cry; wailing on her behalf. No one heard the sounds of her distant cries for attention.

No one saw tears stream down her face, because mermaids do not have the ability to cry. Mermaids with no voice could no longer express how they feel. Sadness was kept bottled up inside their heart, unable to release itself from its prison. Nothing on this planet could change the fact that Raine was born to suffer this way. And so, she was left in the vast ocean, in a world of her own, where no one could see how the little mermaid truly felt.

My mother must have guessed that I could probably empathize with the little mermaid. We were alike in so many ways. Was I named after this mermaid? Is this the reason why I felt like I was living an isolated life away from society? Why must we both suffer from the pangs of loneliness for being born the way we were born? Why couldn't they accept us for who we are, and attempt to see what we have been going through for thousands of years? In these ways, we were very much alike, but there was one important reason why the mermaid and I are different.

I was able to express my feelings openly, while could not.

Hearing this story made me realize that I was lucky compared to this creature. Or…was I? No matter how much I would express my sorrow, no one would bother to listen to a half elf. Being this way was just as good as being a mermaid without a voice. I wanted to escape this discriminating world. I wanted to escape to a place where I could be accepted fro who I am.

I wanted to go to the sea and search for the little mermaid.

Yes, that was what I wanted to do. I became tired of endless wandering and continuous fleeing. If I escaped to the sea, no one would look for me there, and I could stay with the little mermaid so that we would no longer be lonely. For my age, it was pretty foolish for me to even think mermaids still existed.

But I was determined to try. If I succeeded, at least I would finally be safe from society.

The next morning, we were to set sail. I, as you can imagine, was elated to sail on a ship. The voyage would take many days, but I didn't mind. I actually hoped the trip would go by quickly, so I could try looking for signs of mermaid life. I guess that in this world, so many things seem impossible, but in my mind, anything seemed possible. I kept pressing my luck that I'd get to meet a mermaid, but I didn't know how soon it would happen.

Once we were on the ship, I remember eagerly leaning over to see the waves beneath us, glistening in the summer sun. At that moment, the whole boat jerked sideways, causing me to lose my balance and trip over the edge. Although I was able to swim, the current –no, something beneath the water's surface pulled me underwater. Even as I continued struggling, I must have passed out from lack of oxygen.

At first, I couldn't tell if I was dead or dreaming. Both processes are very much alike. I was underwater, but I was able to breathe normally. I looked down at my feet, seemingly replaced with the tail of a mermaid. I became a mermaid. But what was even more shocking was that the little mermaid was there too –

Right in front of me…

"Excuse me, are you Raine?" the elf asked the mermaid, bewildered to find her.

The little mermaid held a taciturn soul, only nodding her head in response to Raine's question.

The elf's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Wow, so you are real!"

The mermaid seemed to be talking telepathically, for Raine could hear her words echoing in her own head.

"You seek me to relieve both of us of our loneliness," said the voice. "Or maybe you came to the ocean to find a way to bottle up your emotions for everyone to no longer see."

Raine became reluctant to say anything. Is that why she wanted to accompany the little mermaid? Perhaps all this time, all she wanted to do was become like the mermaid. She was tired of crying over her differences. The only way she thought of to remove those feelings was to become heartless. Is this what she really wanted?

The mermaid's voice entered her head once again. "At least you can express how you feel. In this world, there has to be at least one person out there, willing to listen to your voice." She sighed, her face turning red and bloated. "At least you can shed tears. Your tears don't evaporate like mine. At least people know when you are sad."

Raine finally understood. I…really should be…thankful. But… you aren't without tears. Your heart cries out. Your face may not show it, your voice may not say it, but tears fill your heart drowning in sorrow."

Raine took the mermaid's hands and placed them within her own. "Maybe if you let other mermaids see who you really are instead of running away, you'll be able to express your true feelings."

The mermaid smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said out loud.

I abruptly found myself on the Altamira beach with my mother, who looked like she suffered from a nervous breakdown. I remember her taking me into her arms and weeping loud enough to make a baby cry. The mermaid was right: there is always someone who is willing to cry for you.

Although I was deeply touched by my mother's actions, no tears stained my face. My heart cried out instead. Tears filled my heart. I would no longer cry over myself and who I was, for I could only cry…

…Mermaid Tears…