Helene nodded, taking Mira’s hand and shaking it lightly. “I won’t, I promise,” she replied. Who would she even tell? Her and the person on the beach right now barely knew each other. They might call her crazy or something. Who would believe her?
Helene caught the fear in the other’s eyes, which was probably mirrored in her own. “It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.” She shook her head slightly, wishing she wasn’t in her full gear.
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"Wait here, I'll be right back," Mira said suddenly, dashing off to some underwater depth. Returning back a couple of minutes later, she had a shiny shell in her hands. "Here. It's a mermaid thing," here she smiled. "It's a greeting of sorts."
Helene nodded, but didn’t have much of a chance to speak before Mira was off. While she wasn’t gone, Helene snapped a picture or two. New angles, new opportunities. She turned her camera off once she saw the other approaching, though.
Helene took the shell in her hand, almost marveling at it. She’d never seen a shell so beautiful. “Thank you…” she said. “I don’t have anything to give you right now.” She almost felt guilty.
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"No, it's fine, really! The pressure would make you burst," Mira mimed a bubble bursting. "Like a bubble!" she laughed, then her face went still and serious. "Wait is that a human thing? Cause it's a mermaid thing. I don't really mean that, you know. It's just a way of saying it's really deep." she rambled, worried.
“No, not really. But I get what you mean.” A genuine smile returned to her lips. Helene figured the mermaid liked her enough. But she didn’t know what the other’s customs were, or how their interactions worked. At this point, she was winging it.
“So you… live down here?” Conversation starter. Why not?
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"No, I live down," Mira paused to point down towards the ocean floor. "There. On the ocean floor, that is."
“Oh, like deep down there?” Helene asked. She had never been down in the depths as she preferred to stay in the shallow, sunlit area. But that’s usually where you find the effects of climate change, so maybe that was her main reason. “It’s really dark down there, right?”
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Not really, Mira thought. We have anglers down there to keep us company… Instead, she chose to lie. Or it wasn't really a lie, some of it was true. "Kind of. Sometimes the occasional angler passes by…"
“Those are, um, cool!” Helene replied a bit awkwardly, a slight laugh sending a stream of bubbles up to the surface. She’d seen pictures of them before. If she were near one, she’d probably be terrified. But she didn’t say that out loud. Didn’t want to offend her new… friend. “I live in one of the houses up the street from that beach. Well; for some of the year I do,” she said, using her thumb to point behind her.
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Mira looked confused. "What's a house? In all the research I've done, I've never been lucky enough to run into a human before, so I don't know what a house is. And hey, while I'm at it, what's a… street?" she asked in a rush. "Oh yeah, what's a year?"
Right. That makes sense. Different cultures.
“Houses are… small buildings where people live. Streets are, uh, groupings of houses or other buildings in a line. They help us locate specific places,” Helene explained. She didn’t think it would be so hard to define, but they’re such basic words. Even for a borderline-scientist, it was a bit difficult. “A year is, um… the full cycle of seasons? Um…” she trailed off, looking for better words.
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"Oh, Oh!" Mira exclaimed. "You mean The Cycle. And why do you humans live in such small places? How do you fit anything in there?" she shudders. "And why do streets have to be in a line, why not a circle? Circles are much better than lines, don't you think?" Mira starts rambling, now that there are all sorts of new phrases to learn, and questions popping into her head.
“We don’t need much room, I suppose. Especially if we live alone. And our things aren’t really that big. I guess i exaggerated the size.” Helene shrugged with a small laugh. She absolutely loved the curiosity Mira had. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Lines are a bit lame.” She could listen to the other talk all day. Stay underwater like this all day. Well, if she wouldn’t drown, that is.
(i’m gonna go to sleep now but i’ll reply in the morning! i like where this is going so far)
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(oki have good dreams! And thanks!)
"But we have nests the size of two of those… things you call houses!" protested Mira. "Oh yeah, the other day I overheard another human say the word car! What is a… 'car'?" she tried the word out. It didn't feel right on her tongue. "And lines are lame!" she added.
Helene let out another semi-awkward chuckle. Nests, huh? “Oh, God… They’re what we use to get from place to place. It’s faster than walking.” She wrapped her camera’s strap around her shoulder so she didn’t have to hold it. “You’ve seen boats, right? Cars are just land boats.”
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"You mean those big things that support you humans? Oh yeah, I've definitely seen those around." Mira replied with enthusiasm in her voice. "Also, I've seen these things you humans insist on calling 'phones' so what are they and how do they work? I've never seen such a thing before in my entire life! They light up on demand and make noise it's crazy!"
This definitely wasn’t where Helene saw her day going when she woke up, but she was glad it was happening anyway. It had been a long time since she had been able to talk to someone that wasn’t school or work related. This was refreshing.
“They, uh… run on a thing called electricity. And we can talk to people far away with them using these wave thingys that travel through the sky. Even I don’t totally know how it works…” She stopped talking for a moment before a question of her own popped into her head. “Hey, what’s the mermaid world like? Do you have your own technology and stuff?”
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"Ooh that's interesting!" Mira cooed. She took the opportunity when she heard it. "I mean… kind of… we've learned to harness the stuff that makes the light that anglers give off as light sources. And, um, we use fish to talk to each other. Dolphins to be precise. Living among them so long has given us a chance to learn their language! It's really cool too!" she beamed. Since she'd never met someone so oblivious to her own technologies and advancements, Mira was really excited to tell Helene all about them.
“Wait… harness it? Really? That’s really cool! And dolphins have languages? Like, understandable languages?” Helene asked, awestruck. She never thought about them having languages like humans did. It kind of made sense. We can communicate, why wouldn’t they be able to? Learning about this new culture was almost like a dream come true. She’d have a much better understanding of how the ocean’s ecosystem and whatnot works. It seemed as though today was shaping up to be a great day for all involved.
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"Yeah, it is really cool! And yeah, the dolphins do!" Mira exclaimed, with a big smile on her face. Making a series of clicking noises, three dolphins soon appeared. "See, this one," she pointed to the one closest to her. "Is Silky, and that one," Mira pointed to the one next to Silky. "Is Tuna. The last one is Breath."
Helene sort of flinched, moved back a couple inches, when the dolphins arrived. She had never seen any up close—usually she saw them when she was on a boat or in videos. They were bigger than she thought they would be this close.
“Oh, um, nice to meet you!” She managed with a laugh.
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One of the dolphins, Breathe chirruped to Mira, not quite understanding what Helene had said. Mira responded in a series of chirps, letting her know that it was the humans' way of greeting someone. Breathe then gently head butted Helene in the chest, letting out a bunch of chirps and squeaks. "Aw, they like you already! Better get ready for more play like that then," Mira laughed, rubbing Silky on the head playfully.
‘So they’re like dogs,’ Helene thought, taken a little aback by the headbutt to the chest. Tentatively, she moved her hand to the top of the dolphin’s head and rubbed it slightly. Smooth. “So these three are like your pets?”
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"No, not even close! They're… how do I say this, they're like friends, but they have their own families to get back to, don't you, little dolphins?" Mira murmured the last bit. A bit later, the dolphins got bored and soon were "tossing" a shell back and forth farther away. Their excitement at finally meeting a human had dissipated just as quickly as it came.
Helene nodded along, eyes returning to Mira. Her fingers gripped the shell in her hand, making sure she wouldn't let it go or lose it. She wanted to stay here forever, maybe keep the acquaintance and perhaps even become friends down the line. That would be nice, a friend who loves the ocean just as much as she did. "Do you, um, swim around here often? I can visit a bunch if you do. I don't know how much oxygen I have left on me right now, but…"
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Mira gave a sheepish grin. "I, uh, I'm really fascinated by humans, so I usually hang around closer to the surface, despite everyone's warnings."
“Really? We’ve been a bit fascinated with you guys for… centuries, really.” Oh no, was that weird? It might have been weird. “As in, like, poets and artists. Your kind is the center of a lot of intrigue.” A small blush tinted Helene’s cheeks, and she looked away for a moment.
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"Uh, really? I - they don't really think we're real, do they?" Mira asked, fear reappearing in her voice and she backed away.
Helene quickly realized her mistake. She tried to make her response more reassuring than anything, shaking her head. "No! No, just… speculation, I guess. Lots of people brush any 'sightings' off as hallucinations, or something. I wouldn't worry."
(i was really busy today– sorry for the late reply!)
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(Oh that's fine)
Mira laughed nervously. "I - sure… But what about the others? The humans that do believe what they see?"
