The winds were stronger here, and the waves rocked in directions that were abnormal to their original back and forth patterns. I had seen them get like this before. On those days the children were told to stay deep under the ocean's surface, and my people took cover among the coral reefs and caves. When Poseidon got angry he took his wrath out on the waters. If that was the case, then he must be livid with how fiercely the water's surface broke.

It wasn't often that my people witnessed these events. From down below there was only so much that could be felt. The last time I remembered witnessing a storm this large was when my parents were taken from me. When the hunters all came back and I noticed my parents missing from the group, I became clouded with terror and swam out to look for them. Hunters were the ones who faced Poseiden's wrath more frequently, as our main prey lives on land.

The humans did nothing for us, yet did everything against us. From polluting our environment to overfishing, they seemed to lack the basic intelligence to understand the consequences of their actions. The Merfolk have been around as long as the humans have, yet the humans seemed to be the only ones not fearing for their existence; they flaunted it. We were the ones who picked them off one by one, and yet they stupidly continued entering out territories. I found the humans to be quite dull sometimes and wondered if they possessed any actual intelligence. To have survived this far I would assume so, but their actions proved otherwise.

"Deniz, get back to the cove soon. We've already gathered enough for now and the storm is brewing past our limits," one of the other hunters called out to me, and though I knew it to be true, I found it difficult to retreat when watching the grey clouds gather overhead.

"I'll be there soon," I replied while listening to the thunder crash. A few screams from the humans on the shore drew my attention. They were curious beings. Some scattered, and most all retreated from the waters as a spark of light danced across the sky, followed by another rumble of thunder. They seemed as scared of the storms as we were.

The other hunters had retreated back to safety as I stayed breaching the water's surface. The tiny droplets of rain speckled the already-choppy surface and splashed against my face as I waited. I sometimes wondered where the storm took my parents and I found myself frequently waiting out Poseidon's anger every chance I got in hopes of finding out. However, each time the storms came, they never seemed to be strong enough to take me away. Perhaps today would be different.

As the storm grew, the winds picked up and my hair whipped above the water. I wasn't afraid of the storms. Even though they took my parents and countless other members of my tribe, I have never found myself fearing the same fate. I didn't want to die; I just didn't have anything to live for.

I had to squint my eyes as the rain picked up. It pelted against my skin as the wind hissed past my sensitive ears. A part of me was thrilled. We hadn't seen a storm this strong in years, and all my days hovering at the ocean's surface were paying off. Maybe I would finally get to find out where my parents went, or maybe I'd just be swept up to shore like some of the past unlucky ones.

A shrill sound caught my attention and forced me to look towards the land where a few straggling humans rushed to gather their things. The beach was clearing out; the storm must be bad this time.

It didn't occur to me at the time that this storm would have been different than those I had witnessed prior. At the time, all I could see was the storm clouds and the way the palm trees bent and swayed in the wind. Looking back, that should have been my warning to return to the cove. But I had never been afraid of wind or rain. Watching the humans scurry away seemed to be the more entertaining option.

It only occurred to me later, when the waves became choppy, that this storm was not like the ones I taunted and played with before. The clouds funneled and swirled in the sky before the current of the ocean shifted to match the clouds. I could feel the pull of the water, and I fought to withstand its commands. For once, my heart stuttered in my chest as I witnessed a storm like never before. The clouds swirled in the darkened sky, and the water rose up to connect in a terrifying funnel.

I was stunned as I watched the ocean being sucked up in a giant swirling storm. The ocean sucked me below the surface and my arms reached up as if something would pull me back up above. I wanted to see more. A storm like this must have been what took my people away. I couldn't fathom anything else strong enough to whisk merfolk into oblivion.

My body felt forced by the current. Even my muscular tail was useless against the suction of the storm. I felt my body starting to strain as I swam, fighting the pull in ana attempt to get away from the same fate my parent's faced a long time again.

Before, I had only shrugged off death. But at that moment I feared death. I feared what ending I might face all alone in the eye of the storm. I didn't realize that my end would have come so soon.

When the storm collected me, I felt my lungs burn as I found myself screaming for the first time in years. I was terrified as my body left the water and I was sucked into the funnel. Time seemed to slow down as I waited for whatever ending was surely waiting for me on the other side of the storm. For a moment, I feared the pain that might come. I never did do well with pain.

As a child, my mother would have to coax me with sweet jellyfish treats after any minor accident just to keep me from crying as if it were the end of the world. A scraped elbow from a tumble in the waves brought on the tears and mother had to kiss it better before I would even think about stopping the crying. I remembered roughhousing with my friends and being pushed into some sea anemones. The poison injected my tail and I couldn't swim right for a week. I returned home snifflings until my father applied a seaweed wrap that I later found out did nothing special; it just made me feel better.

I missed them, and it had been a long time since I reminisced on their memories. But the storm didn't give me as much time as I had hoped for. It happened fast, and soon I felt my body falling through thin air. The wind hissed past my ears and the rain bit into my skin. I could see the ground drawing closer as I fell, and I braced myself to the impact. I wasn't sure why, but when I connected with the wet sand I also saw grass and lights.

The breath was knocked out of me and I wheezed while my body screamed in pain. I couldn't seem to inhale without choking and spluttering. My head pounded behind my skull as I struggled to steady myself. However, just as quickly as the pain came crashing down over my system, it went away. My eyes drooped heavily as the rain pelted down on my exposed body. I couldn't make out my surroundings, and I didn't have enough time to really try.

Before I could do so much as to lift my head off the ground, my mind spun and darkness consumed me. I saw a flash of light, and heard a faint thud before it all went away and felt my breath shudder past my lips. In the eye of the storm, there was nothing but chilled air and wind. The only thing I had to look forward to was seeing my parents again, and I thanked Poseidon for the storm; for finally taking me to them.