Late at night, in the warmer water at the surface of the ocean under the moonlight that reflects off of the dark blue water, my emerald green tail gently pushing me with each stroke of the appendage, lapping gently against the water's surface as I write in my waterproof notebook, a tale of a young human who falls for a mermaid. It's like, the inverse of some human movie I've seen. I think the mermaid sells her voice or something in that movie? I dunno.

I continue to write, watching the empty beach, hoping no human decides to go out for a late night swim. If I'm spotted, that would be bad for Atlantis. Around here, what the humans call Hawaii, a lot of humans partake in swimming and surfing. Not the best place to be during the day, but the nights are usually calm. I often come up here, swimming slowly until I drift to sleep and sink to the ocean floor. On rare occasions, I will walk on the beach, turning my tail into legs, but walking is... strenuous, a lot like humans and swimming. Sure us Merfolk can, but it tires us quickly.

I begin to drift to sleep, the gentle light of the stars distracting me from my tale as I begin to close my eyes, slowly beginning to sink as I've done a hundred times before, but as I drift into unconscious, I swear I hear a voice yell, "I'll save you!" However it's probably nothing. Just the start of a dream as I close my eyes...

The next thing I fell is me being jerked out of the water. Quickly, not knowing if this is human or something else such as a shark, I turn my tail into legs, just as I am pulled onto a yellow surfboard with a red stripe.

"Are you alright?" A voice asks.

Still half asleep, I look up to see a human girl beside the surfboard, paddling us back to shore.

Shit. This is bad on three levels.

1: I'm a Merfolk. How am I gonna get back in the water without her seeing?

2: If I'm not home by morning by parents are gonna be worried.

But the worst thing of all...

3: She's cute and I don't know what to do about it.

She has short brown hair, blue eyes like the sky...

...

Did you expect me to say ocean?

She has tanned skin, like most of the locals here, and she wears a red swimsuit that covers her completely as one large piece. She looks at me concerned as I sit up.

"Who are you?" I yawn.

"Did you-" she shakes her head, looking at me in bewilderment before finishing, "Did you doze off swimming?"

"Yes?" I reply, uncertain if I should lie.

"What were you trying to drown!?!" She demands.

"No I just started looking at the stars and drifted off to sleep," I shrug, "why are you out at this hour?"

She turns away, her face red with embarrassment. "That's-" she stutters, "That's not relevant. What matters is that we get you to safety."

She pushes the surfboard onto the sand, panting for breath as my legs already start to tire, leaving me too, fairly winded as I take deep breaths in an attempt to hold onto my meager stamina. I spot on her swimsuit, at the stomach, a white cross symbol.

I see, she's one of those humans. Humans who are excellent swimmers and save others from drowning. What were they called? I think it was...

"You a lifeguard?" I inquire.

"Sure am," she replies, "But for real are you OK?"

"Yeah I'm fine," I reply sitting up, standing on the beach, feeling the sand between my toes, a pleasant, if scratchy, cool sensation as I tighten my green swim trunks that have replaced my tail along with my legs, "You OK?"

She almost appears shocked I asked, starring at me, confused for a moment, before admitting, "Not... not really."

"What's wrong?" I ask, offering my hand to help her up, which she declines, instead patting the ground next to her, offering me the spot.

"Can we sit here?" She asks.

"Sure," I smile, sitting with her. That'll be easier on my legs anyways.

"So what's bothering you? Why are you out at this hour?" I inquire.

"I..." she looks away, gripping sand that slips between her fingers, "You won't judge?"

"Never," I reply.

"I was looking for mermaids," she sighs.

I remain calm, not laughing, but trying very hard not to panic. Looking for Merfolk? What kind of- maybe she's younger than she looks? I mean she only looks twenty, but maybe not?

"Isn't that a little childish?" I ask, trying to deter her from searching any further.

"I know," she sighs, "And I just turned twenty three last week, but... I know they're real. So I go surfing, out at night, trying to find them. What about you? I haven't seen you around. You a tourist?"

"Could say that," I vaguely avoid the subject.

"What's your name?" She asks.

"Oh," I reply, "I'm Will. What's yours?"

"Caroline," she smiles.

"So what would you do if you found one?" I inquire, "a Merfolk?"

It's then she reveals a pistol on a special harness, waterproofed to keep the gun dry, which is an old, silver revolver.

"I'll kill it," she grins wide, with malice in her eyes...