Written for "Challenges by the Dozen" and "Fandom Scrabble Challenge" at Caesar's Palace.
wc: 509
Yuuko is a diver, a forager, a farmer.
She tangles with danger, diving deep to find the oysters that contain pearls or oysters in which she can grow pearls. She can hold her breath for two minutes in freezing water, and it is these moments that she does not wonder about death, but rather how she will be able to live in a place that isn't the water.
Sometimes plants brush her face or tickle her legs on the way down, but she pays them no mind. She kicks her legs to propel herself deeper, knowing by heart the oysters around her island.
Which is why it's particularly strange when she sees a figure the size of a human moving feebly in the distance.
The water feels more frigid than usual. She prays that it is not another pearl diver, perhaps one who got stuck in some nets or couldn't hold her breath long enough.
She swims towards the figure, and it starts to trash more wildly. In a moment of irrationality, her heart is struck with the fear that it is a shark, but as she nears the figure, she sees that it has a face.
A human face and a fish tail.
Now, Yuuko was never too keen on believing fairy tales, but all the cautionary stories her mother told her when she was a child rush back to her and jolt her with fear.
Kicking away from the merman, she speeds herself to the surface. She was almost out of breath anyway.
"Mari," she says, gasping to the surface.
"Yuuko!" Mari echoes. "Is something wrong?"
"No." She grabs onto her buoy. "Yes."
"Which one is it?"
"Well, I'm not sure." She makes her way towards the other diver. "I think I saw a person with the torso and face of a human but the legs of a fish."
"Are you sure, Yuuko?" Mari's eyes narrow in disbelief.
"Um, maybe. I'll see again when I go down for my next dive."
Yuuko spends the next five minutes whirling in her own thoughts. So, what if it's a mer-creature? Where does that leave her? How does she know it's not dangerous?
She leaves with more questions than answers when she returns to dive.
At the floor, the merman still is tangled in the nets, though now it's trying to cut itself free using a broken shell. It was still panicking, which is probably why it wasn't able to work effectively.
When it notices Yuuko, its eyes widen in fear, and she places a finger to her lips. It's okay, she hopes to say.
She works quickly, untangling the ropes until she feels the familiar burning sensation that requires her to leave.
Over the course of the next hour, she returns and completes the job.
After the last trip, the merman follows her to the surface like a dog who has found a new owner.
Yuuko turns towards him, sees his black hair and undeniably Japanese features. Huh, strange how nature works.
"Thank you," he mouths, then is gone.