Part two. Alberto's P.O.V.-

So my dad left me when I was around fourteen years old. I used to count the days until he'd come back, but eventually lost track. I stopped counting….. and waiting. Instead I wasted my time collecting human stuff from the fishermen from the nearby town; a place I'd never been to before. There wasn't any reason for me to go there. Not like there was any reason for me to go visit the other sea creatures under the sea either. None of them really knew me so I didn't bother them. For years I was alone- just me, myself, and I. And honestly, I'd grown accustom to it. Loneliness became my new normal. I swear, I wasn't searching for anything different. I didn't know any different.

Then everything changed when I first saw her.

For some time now I'd been going to this little beach on the edge of the human town. Nobody was ever there except for the occasional fisherman with one of those creepy spears. The human fish-hunters would go out on their boats, to which I would swipe stuff from whenever they weren't watching; it was easiest at night. I wasn't particularly interested in humans per se. I'd never seen one of their females before; just a bunch of burly seamen out on their little fishing boats. Couldn't imagine that the women looked any different. Humans didn't seem especially smart either. They were terrible at catching my kind, as proven by the fact that they never caught one of us before. All I really knew about them was that they'd drown if they fell into the water. Talk about pathetic; they can't even breath underwater!

The beach I frequented was right below this house with a really tall white wall surrounding it. This big, stalky man with one arm lived there. I think he lived alone; I never saw him come in or out with anyone before. He'd go out onto the dock where his boat was, row it out, and go fishing for the whole day. I'd wait until he was far enough out at sea before going ashore on the little beach. I never saw anyone else out there so I thought it was safe for me to go explore. Or that is until one day- a very particular, unusual day.

The one-armed fisherman went out on his little boat. Like always, I waited until he was gone before swimming up to shore under the surface. My head popped out, expecting to see nobody there in the sand. So you can imagine my surprise when I checked, only to find someone walking along the coast.

I didn't know what it was at first. It looked like a human; had arms, a head, and legs. Or at least I think it had legs. It's bottom-half was covered in this sort of tent. It wore what seemed like a really long shirt that fell all the way to the ground. Who'd make a shirt that long? Looked super ineffective to me. It was also a colour I'd never seen above the surface before except for maybe flowers- pink. The shirt was very long and fancy.

The creature's hair was also very long and done up in this sort of arrangement with these weird, flat, pink strings. It was also barefoot, revealing these cute little feet underneath that oversized shirt. I'd never seen a human wear anything like it or have that long of hair before. It only hit me that it was a female of the species when I next caught sight of her face.

I saw her face, her smile, and something ruptured inside of me. It was like getting hit by a lightening bolt. I'd never seen anything like her before. Like springtime or the scent of roses personified, she was nothing like her male-counterparts. She reminded me more of a butterfly or bird than a human man. Where some of them were strong and tough, she was meek and mild. I could lift her up with one arm, I realized while watching her. Everything about her betrayed her; her hair, the way she walked, the soft way her eyes blinked, even the flash in her throat as she breathed. I observed her, somewhat breathlessly, as she ran about the beach, giggling, and scooping up sand in her hands. She said something which I didn't hear; too far away. In that instance I wondered what her voice sounded like. What did female humans sound like? Probably softer than the men. Only one way to find out! Trying to stay hidden, I slithered up through the water until I was mere feet away from her. I planned to go hide behind some of the big rocks at the side of the beach where she was, though I didn't know if I'd be able to do that without her hearing me.

By now the girl was dipping her feet into the waves. I held my breath as she began to come closer to the rocks where I was also headed. But she stopped when she spotted something on the ground. Turned out to be a turtle- a baby one. She smiled and opened her mouth. My eyes grew as I heard her very first words. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." Oh god…. Oh god, the sound of her voice just now. I didn't know anything could sound like that. I didn't know humans could speak or look like her….. What made her so special? Why was so different than anyone else- human or sea creature- I'd ever seen before? Whatever we were made of, she was created of something entirely different. She was an entity all in herself, and just being so near her, I felt strange. So strange…. I'd never had any interest in one particular human, but her…..

Seeing the turtle go swim off, she let out a smile and shook her head. "Even you don't like foreigners….." She uttered to herself. I blinked to her confused. What's a "foreigner"? Is that what she is? Why wouldn't anyone like her?! Have they seen her? No other human girl looks like her, I'm sure. No one in all the rest of existence didn't have what she had- one look confirmed that. Her eyes shut and she drew in deep breath.

Sensing my chance, I made a dash for the rocks. Unfortunately my hand scraped alongside of the rock, giving me away. I hid as fast as I could, not even peeking to see if she saw me. Chances are she didn't because she didn't scream "sea monster!" and run the other way. I waited a minute, and only then did I sneak a glance to see where she was. I found her walking in the opposite direction back to where her shoes were. As she walked, the sea breeze rustled her hair and the pretty pink strings in it. She looked like a living, breathing flower.

It was only when she was out of sight did I fall back a little, grasping at my chest. Now being a boy of twenty with zero experience interacting or even knowing the anyone of the opposite sex, I had no idea what to make of what I was feeling. I saw her and felt an array of emotions, some of which were brand new to me. I wanted to hear the sound of her voice again. I wanted her to look at me, smile at me. I wanted to protect her and keep her safe. I wanted to know everything there is to know about her. I wanted to meet her….. That last thought made my heart sink.

Now I know that's impossible. I didn't know any humans, let alone any girls. She likely wasn't familiar with any sea creatures either. There's no way I can introduce myself to her, even in my own human form. Oh, sure; it might work for a little while. But sooner or later she'd find out the truth, and that would be the end of that. She's probably not looking to make friends with sea creatures anytime soon.

Thinking about it, I stared off in the direction she had disappeared to. It's a shame too; she seems like a nice sort of person, the kind that was easy to be around. My eyes lowered a little, my head becoming more at war with itself. I still can't reveal myself to her; it can only end in disaster. But I still…. I still want to be near her. I only just saw her! I can't leave it like this now. I need to see more- to observe from a safe distance. So long as she or no one else sees me, it should be fine, right? I can study her indirectly, as long as I keep a reasonable distance. I wanted to know who she was and where she came from, cause it definitely wasn't here!

Only then did my eyes start to soften as I resolved this would not be the last time I'd see her. I don't know why I wanted to see her again so bad. I had no idea where these feelings were coming from! Dad never warned me about any of this! I wondered if a part of me would grow to resent that I did discover her, like a hidden gem never meant to be found. But any resentment I did harbour was quickly washed away with this sensation- one which told me I'd seen more in one afternoon than I'd seen in the last couple of years. She was here, after all. She- whoever she was- was here now…

And she's the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.