The Secret Lives of Fish – Ch. 2

Cody was ready to go, all the possessions he owned wrapped in a makeshift seaweed satchel slung across his back. Yet, he was suddenly nervous. With no way to know how long he had been gone for, he didn't know what kind of situation he would be returning to. He stared down at his tail again, the iridescent blues dulled down to deeper colors within the ocean depths. He had gotten so used to having a tail, even if he wasn't absolutely perfect at swimming with it. The fins on his arms felt like he had always had them and he couldn't remember what it felt like to not have them. The only thing strange to him now was his new found pudge of blubber and how pale his skin had become. He didn't see the sun down this low and his hard earned tan was long gone. His hair was also nearly to his shoulders, and he even had some stubble on his face.

He didn't look at all like the human he had once been. He was every bit the merman he had become. While the longing to return to the surface swirled within him, now that he knew he could return home – he was hesitant. His parents would accept him no matter what. He had no doubt of that. But what about Jess, or Sam? It had all been fine in theory, but he had seen the awe on their faces when he had shown his new tail to them the moment after he had changed. He'd been so full of energy and exhilaration after his transformation that leaping from the sea had seemed like the right thing to do. He'd replayed that moment of parting in his mind over and over in the last twenty-four hours. He'd still seemed partially human. Now… now he was more fish than man.

All his unknown hesitations weighed him down to the cold and dark ocean floor. He needed space to think. At a lazy, distracted pace he swam off to his favorite reef, keeping his thoughts to himself as he mulled everything over. His mother had made it clear to him that the transformation to get his legs back would be painful. He wasn't even really sure if it was possible, and he had sensed his mom hadn't known either. His situation must have been from the oldest memory stories. Why would a merman even ever want to go back to land? He really was an oddity.

What was better? Stay in the ocean with his mother and hope one day that he fit in with his own kind? That some mergirl would take pity on the strange creature he was? He was so solitary here among his own. On land he'd been popular and well liked. If he went back, he worried about the emotional and physical hurt that may come from going home. He staid stretched out on the sea bed until the deeper blues of night settled around him. No one had come to disturb him, probably on request of his mother. She knew this was no easy decision, and that it was also his to make. He hadn't felt this conflicted about anything, even when he first realized that he may not be fully human. Then he had been nervous, sure, but as he had changed he'd known he had no real choice but to embrace what he was becoming. Finding out he was a merman was like finding a side of him that was whole and comfortable in his whole skin. Now he was questioning everything. If he went back to land, would he be able to pass as human? Would he feel like a tuna without a school? Was he more human, or more merman?

It was well into the deep, unrestful hours of the night when he knew what he had to do. He had a home on land to return to, and he needed to take the risk of going back. He would always be a merman, but he missed that place where he'd been raised. He missed his friends and even school. His parents were there to help him, and he could only hope he had a friend in Jess, and Sam as well. It would be hard and painful, but he needed to go home. The longing he felt for the world above simply couldn't wait any longer.

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The swimming back to the cove he'd grown up in was the easy part. He knew his way back home like a whale knows the place it was born. He knew the same sense of home would lead him back to his mother when needed. It was another reminder to him of the strange, otherworldly creature he had become. He drew electricity in his palm to light his way and no predator dare approach him in his sense of urgency.

Dawn was starting to blaze and warm the horizon as his head slipped above water for the first time in months and he took an air filled breathe. The buoy bobbed beside him, his natural electrical charge moving it to ring the familiar tune that he'd come to associate with his mother. Now it alerted to the quiet cove that he was back. He swam as close to the sandy shore as he dared. It was hopefully early enough that no one had come this way. Sometimes there was the occasional early morning jogger so he stayed hidden in the water, watching the day progress, and willing himself to go on shore.

He wasn't looking forward to that, the hard part, and his heart beat rapidly at the thought. What if he couldn't get all the way out of the water to dry off? What if someone came along and saw him and his tail? He'd have no way to escape them. Flashes of when Mr. Wheatly had caught him ran through his mind and made him sink a little lower in the gently lapping waves. He wished there was some way to alert his parents that he was there. His mom would know what to do.

Tiring of trying to make up his mind he went in search of lunch and decided to explore the cove from a different point of view. He knew these waters so well as a human, but as a merman they were new territory. He dove through the rocky outcroppings and was amazed by the things that had sunk to the bottom to lie in the substrate. He even saw a couple of his own belongings from when he was a kid lying in the murk. No longer able to put his task off, he shook himself from his exploration and swam up once again by his buoy. He stared at the shore line where he once would sit for hours with Sam and Jess.

He was nervous to see a lone figure making their way down the rocks. The sun had made its way well into the sky and he could only guess it was a few hours past lunch time. The figure walked slowly, cautious of the salt encrusted rocks. As they got closer, Cody hid farther, sinking back behind the red buoy. Within moments he heard the familiar dinging ring into the cove that signaled the presence of a merperson in the water. The person on the rocks stopped in their tracks and yelled out towards the water.

Cody recognized that yell, even if he couldn't make out the words. He dove under the water in a flash and swam for the rocky shoreline, his heart beating in anticipation.

Moments later he broke the surface just where the water reached waist deep, and a second later the arms of his mother were wrapped around his shoulders.

Sharron cried in relief and shock as her son wrapped his arms around her. She didn't care that the waves splashed around them and that she was soaked through. Her son was home!

"Cody! It's really you?" She pulled slightly away and gently cradled his freckled cheeks in her hands.

He was older looking, what with the small scruff on his face and the long, messy hair. But his brilliant and kind smile, with the crinkle around his eyes, was all him.

Cody nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He frowned, not realizing that he couldn't talk. Was it simply from not having used his voice box for so long? Or could merpeople simply not speak? He shook his head and smiled again at his mom. He'd figure it out later. At the moment he was so unbelievably happy to be home.

Sharron hugged her son tight again, and then pulled away to get a better look at him. He looked tired, wary, and kept giving her that voiceless smile.

"Cody?" She waited for him to respond but he just shook his head. Instead her head filled with images of her son swimming in the ocean. With a start she realized Cody was putting those images in her mind. Just like his birth mother had when she had come for him.

'Mom? Can you understand me?' Cody concentrated hard as he tried to send his message from his mind to his mom's. He had seen his other mother do the same thing the day she'd taken him underwater. But it was hard and the little effort was already giving him a headache.

Sharron felt tears well in her eyes again but she nodded and forced a smile onto her face. "I can hear you." She hugged him again.

'Home?' He was tired and emotionally already feeling the strain of being back. And his tail was starting to hurt from being tucked under him in the shallow water.

"Of course." Sharron stood and trudged out of the water, dripping.

Cody tried to follow suite, swimming in a little farther then stopping. He really didn't want to try changing in front of his mom. He knew it was going to be painful, if it was going to work at all. He paused and stared up at her. He needed the evening to figure it out.

Backing away, he watched as his mom reached out for him.

"Come on Cody, it's alright." Sharron saw the sad look on his face again.

Shaking his head. He swam back to where he was more comfortable. 'Tomorrow,' he thought to her. He then pictured himself with legs laying on the sand. 'Can't until tomorrow.' He grimaced as a migraine pounded its way through his skull. He was going to have to figure out how to use his voice box again.

Before his mom could respond, he dove underwater, letting the buoy ding its familiar tune as he slipped away.

Watching her son go nearly broke Sharron down into tears again. He had talked to her the same way she'd heard his birth mother, in her mind. She had seen him try to speak, but nothing had come out of his mouth. What had happened to her son while he had been away? For nearly another hour she must have watched the water, hoping Cody would come back. His last message had been clear – she should come back tomorrow and then he would be human. Maybe he didn't want her to see the change. Whatever it was, she wanted him back home and if this was how he needed to go about it, she could wait a few hours more. Crusty with salt but dried off she raced back up the beach, anxious to tell her husband the glorious news.

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Super short, I know. But I realized today that it's been roughly a year since I worked on this story (how horrible of me, I know!) I was under the strange delusion that it had only been a few months… *insert cricket noises here*

Well, I hate unfinished fanfics as much as the next person, so I'm going to try and work on this more. The chapters won't be long, as I just don't have time for that right now. Uni is starting up again. YAY! Enjoy the small updates as they come, as I hope they can still satisfy your curiosity.

Faves, follows and critiques are always love! Happy Swimming!