Chapter 9 - The story

I felt my heart skip a beat after what Haru had just said and the room was silent once more. As we just stood there still having our hands over one another's and enjoying the moment a thought crossed my mind.

"Tell me that story," I said.

"Story?" Haru asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, that story you told me about," I answered.

"The one that my mother used to tell me?"

"Yes, that one," I said.

"Why do you want to hear that story now of all times?" Haru asked.

"I don't really know. I just started thinking about it just now and I felt like I wanted to hear it."

"Okay... Here it goes then I guess," Haru said before taking his hand away from the glass and facing away from me for a second before turning back to face me again as he opened his mouth ready to tell the story.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful mermaid living in a kingdom under the sea. One day there was a storm and the mermaid saved a young man's life. The man was very greatful and he even forgot to be suprised at the discovery that the one who saved him was in fact a memaid. Once he realized this he was a little shocked but the got over it pretty quickly and the two became friends. They had to meet in secret since humans often wanted to capture mermaids to gain fame and fortune as well as eternal life. The man however was diffrent, he didn't care about such things and only wanted to enjoy the mermaid's company.

As time past the two got closer and closer and they ended up falling in love with each other. They understood that their love was impossible since one was a human and the other a mermaid but their love was strong and there was no way that they could give up on each other. But one day when they met in secret as usual one of the man's servants saw them together. He couldn't believe his eyes! A real mermaid! He remembered the legends about mermaids and that if you eat their tails you could be given eternal life. He called upon two other servants and they all waited for the man to leave. When the man finally left they all approched the mermaid and captured her. Then they took her to the basement of the man's house (which was hardly ever used) and they filled an old barrel with water and put her in it. The mermaid started crying and begged them to take her back to the ocean but they just told her to be quiet or else they would hurt her beloved. She stopped crying immediately and the servants left the sad and scared mermaid and went upstairs to discuss what they were going to do next. They thought it would be best to try and get the mermaid to tell them where the others of her kind were so that they could capture more of them and then sell them and make lots of money.

A few days followed and the servants tried to get the mermaid to reveal where the other mermaids and mermen were but she refused. The young man kept going to their usual meeting place everyday but there was no sign of the mermaid anywhere and he started to get worried. Where had she gone? He didn't know that she was in fact in his very basement at exacly that moment. In the underwater kingdom her parents were also getting worried. She hadn't been home for days. Where had she gone?

When a week had gone by the young man gathered all of his servants and told them all about the mermaid and ordered them all to go looking for her. Most of them thought he had gone mad but went out looking for her anyway. The three servants who had taken the mermaid also played along and went out to search for her. The man was now alone in the house when he heard singnig from the basement.

lala la lalala la lala la lalala

He went down to the basement and found the mermaid. When the mermaid saw him she started crying. The man hurried to her side and pulled her in for a tight embrace. He then asked her what had happened and why she was there in his basement. She told him about the servants and the man got very angry. He lifted her out of the barrel and carried her out of the basement. He got a blanket from the livingroom and wrapped it around her before leaving the house. He went down to the beach where all of the servants were still looking for the mermaid. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at the young man. Everybody looked at him with questioning look. Everybody that is except for the three servants who know exactly what he was holding in his arms. The mermaid pointed at the three and told the man tha they were the ones who had kidnapped her. The man ordered the other servants to capture the three and they did as they were told. The man told them to get them back to the house and wait for him to return. The man carried the mermaid down to the water and unwrapped the blanket. The man told the mermaid that maybe it was best if she went back to where she came from but the mermaid refused. She loved him too much. At that moment two heads broke the surface of the water. They called out for the mermaid;, it was her mother and father. She was very happy and swam out to meet them. They asked where she had been and she told them everything that had happened. At last she told them how much she loved the young man and that she didn't wish to part with him. Her parents told her it was impossible since they were too different. The mermaid became very sad and she swam back to the man to say goodbye. They looked each other deep in the eyes and shared one last kiss. When they parted the mermaid was crying and so was the man. Suddenly the mermaid was surrounded by a warm bright light. When the light faded none of them really understood what had happened until the mermaid gasped. They looked at her and that's when they saw it. The mermaid had turned into a human! Her parents hurried over to her and looked at her legs in disbelief. She once again told her parents that she wanted to stay with the man and this time they had no other choice but to let her since she didn't have any tail anymore. They told her that they would come to visit from time to time and then they left. The man and the mermaid went back to the house and they saw the suprised look on the three servants faces. They just laughed and announced that they were getting married. The three servants got fired and the left the house. The two lovers got married and lived happily ever after.

THE END.

"Wow, that was a really good story Haru!" I said with tears in my eyes.

"They say that the story is real but I don't know if I believe that," Haru said.

"Who knows?" I said and in that moment the door behind us opened and Dr Hamada walked into the room.

"So... Are you finally going to tell me where..."

Hamada looked up and saw me standing next to the big tank.

"What are you dong here Makoto? No one asked you to be here today," Hamada said in his usual tone.

"I came to visit Haru," I said with anger in my voice.

"But no one asked you to be here. Who let you in?"

Security let me into the building and I got in here on my own. It's not like the door is locked or anything," I said.

"Well now that you're here there might be something you can do for me."

"I'm not gonna make Haru tell you were the rest of his kind are if that's what you thought."

"I don't know what the merman told you but..." Hamada started.

"He's got a name! It's Haruka! H-A-R-U-K-A! And what he has told me!? The truth! Which is more than I can say about you Mr. Makoto-is-just-doing-what-he's-asked! You told him I was using him beacuse you had told me to do so but that´s far from the truth! I acually care about him, unlike you!

"I think It's time for you to leave Makoto... SECURITY!," Dr Hamada shouted.

Two securityguards entered the room.

"Please escort this young man out of the building," Dr Hamada told them.

They each grabbed one of my arms and started to drag me out of the room.

"Haru!"

"Makoto!"

"Haru, I promise I will get you out of here!" I told him in a franic voice.

"Makoto, I love you!" I heard Haru say just before I got dragged out of the room.

The guards dragged me to the entrance and then threw me out of the doorway.

I then got back to my car and drove back to my apartment. When I got back I started walking back and forth in my livingroom trying to come up with a way to save Haru when my phone rang.

"It's Makoto Tachibana," I answered.

"Mako-chan, what's wrong? You sound weird." It was Nagisa on the other end.

"Oh, sorry. I.."

That's when it hit me.

"Nagisa, can you and Rei hurry over here."

"Sure, Mako-chan but why?"

"I need your help with something. It's very important."

"Sure we'll come right away," Nagisa said and hung up the phone.