Allen folded the parchment, he was reading. ~ Wasn’t this information too much of a kids fairytale? ~
“Merpeople and foam. Humans have funny stories…” he murmured, stowing the reason aside, that made his parents abandon him and his brothers, making them all go different ways.
Standing up he looked at his two perfectly normal human legs, which did not hurt a bit, when he walked, and shook his head again.
“I should get used to human life. Maybe I will never be able to go back, after all.” He talked slowly to himself.
His voice was clear and melodic, with a soft timbre. It was very much there, and not crippled at all. Turning his head, he looked at a reflection of a mostly normal human in the mirror. Maybe the face was a little bit too smooth and young. The hair and eyes seemed a little unnatural. But nowadays, people just thought that it was either a ‘rebellious phase’ or a ‘crazy taste’. Too bad, those things were what he had been born with.

At least he had good control over his transformation. Turning away from his reflection, Allen looked around and his eyes stopped at the clock. It was almost seven o’clock afternoon.
~Time to prepare something, maybe. ~

[***]

While mixing the spices, Allen was talking to his dinner. Or more to himself...
„I hope you will be reborn in a great, deep ocean.“
Looking at the crippled fishfins and tails due to a life of being raised, his face darkened a little, as he was rubbing the mixture of spices on the fishe's tummies. „ In your next life you will be free like the Ocean and not locked into a prison...“he murmured.

„Allen?“ a voice interrupted the young man, who was cooking dinner in the kitchen.

„Mhm “ he answered absentmindedly.

„You are streaming in tears, you know? Don’t take too many onions... oh its fish today.“ his roommate nodded, used to this scenario already. She tactfully disappeared from the kitchen.

Honestly, he had not noticed himself weeping, before he even got to cutting onions. Sighing, he stroked the fishes a last time, who seemed to look at him understandingly, with clear, innocent eyes, - then he put the sea breams into the oven with a solemn look on the face.

The only thing missing to a cremation ceremony was the 'Amen. Thanks for mother natures gifts.'

Allen wiped his tears off and pulled down his apron.

~ Its quite hard to get used to be a Merman...~ he thought, while brushing back his lucid green hair. His roommates mostly were thinking that he had a crazy taste for hair coloring, however, it was the other way around. He stopped coloring his hair black a few years ago. Green – sea-green - was his natural hair color!

He got his transforms under control, mostly, but his appetite and his natural habits were something he could not stop anymore.

A well known Dilemma for merpeople – their favourite food was fish, in all their variety and way of preparing it. But why was that so? Nobody knew.
As a rational human(?) in a modern society, even Allen knew about the term 'cannibalism', so each time he was having his favourite meal, he could not put off the concerns in the back of his head.
But... it was too tasty.
His friends learned to tolerate his behaviour – for the fish he cooked was so mouthwatering, it would even addict a fish-hater.

[***]

It had gotten quite late last evening, playing some games with his roommates, so Allen was quite pressed on time, actually, when he ran towards the bus stop.

Marina retired into the backyard’s upper porch to stare out into the ocean after returning home from work and skipped dinner for the evening. The aquarium where she worked was opened from 9am – 5pm, but some of the workers stayed after closing hour for cleaning and feeding hours for the fish living inside. Basically, maintenance. Marina was one of those workers, though to be fair, she was also a college student. The aquarium gave her flexible work hours until her schedule would conflict with school or a doctor’s note that would object to working. It all depends.

Admittedly, Marina wasn’t one to speak against her schedule and would go with the flow as her fellow co-workers would describe her in a positive light. Of course, it was more or less because she felt numb for this past year. She found less time to express herself like she did before her parents’ sudden passing. Growing up under their roof she was never a disobedient child and always had an easy going personality. When that carefree environment was torn away from her it would seem there’s a hollowness looming inside of her. Cheerful familiar voices that always gave her the opportunity of choice was now gone. Now she had a lack of guidance in her adulthood where she would need it the most.

Now holding a pen in between her fingers hovering over the blanket piece of paper that was being held down by her wrist. The salty gust of wind effortlessly breezing through the evening sky that caused the paper to swing back and forth. Attempting to write down how she feels according to the therapist. “Just jot the date down and how you feel for that day.” Dr. Smith’s voice ringed in her memory as her mind retrospect her daily assignment and yet was drawing a blank. It was daily hardship she had to endure every day, just like eating and keeping down the food, that she dared not speak about. Why would she? Displeasing others and pushing people away from her as a solution? No or that is what she simply thought of.

With a heavy sigh and her gaze glued to the ocean Marina gently placed the pen in between the pages then closed the diary. She leaned back in her lounge chair she currently sitting in and continued the silence. Her mind frustrated and yet being forgiving in herself. If this was the smallest thing she couldn’t fulfil then so be it. This was a small emotional baby step that was achieving upon herself and secretly felt relief from it. Not that she would tell anyone nor be writing it down in her diary. That seemed pointless, right?
While giving herself time to relax, her hands fidget with the ring on her left hand. Lightly, twisting it back and forth. An aquamarine small diamond that was shaped like a tear drop and the ring itself was sliver. Granted she wasn’t one of those girls who loved wearing jewelry, but it was one of the last items her parents gave to her. A reward for attending college and giving those boys the impression she was ‘taken’ or engaged. At least that was her parents idea and from then forth Marina worn it as a prized possession.

Hiding within darkness of the upper porch where no one else would know she there her iPhone lite up indicating that there was an incoming call. No ring or vibration to it. This slightly irritated her as she torn her eyes area from the peaceful, yet torturous solitude and glanced down at her screen that glowed from her pocket. She used the tip of her fingers to pull the phone out of her shorts’ pocket and checked the caller. Her brows pinched together in wonder. One of her mom’s fellow marine biologist Dr. Yates was calling. With little to no hesitance Marina pulled the rest of the phone out of her pocket and answered the call. She couldn’t be rude after all. On the other line was robust cheerful tone behind Dr. Yates’ hello and the conversation started from there; which lasted for thirty minutes long. The marine biologist profusely apologized for calling at this hour and asking for a ‘favor’, but Marina obeyed once again. Not wanting to disappoint especially one of her mother’s closest friends, so she left her lounge chair with the diary and got ready for the evening errand.

Marina prepared herself quickly and quietly. Only telling one family member in the house her boss needed her, for safety reasons, and left from there. Once she stepped out of the house and hopped on her bike, a five minute distance from her work place, she noticed something that caught her eye that didn’t earlier. A pale sliver lighting that both brighten the darken sky and her mood. “Hmm, I forgotten it’s a full moon tonight.” She said mostly to herself as she hurried pedaled to work.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

Barely in time for class, Allen had caught up on sleep in the lunch break and some of his subjects in college. Especially the Microbiology and Biology of marine life in the afternoon lulled him into a trance, so that he completely fell asleep, and could not be woken up by his peers, before Dr.Yates slammed the biology book on his head.

~WUMM~

"Mr. Yates, that is student abuse...what if I get stupid from that."
Allen rubbed his head sleepily, while the rest of the students laughed. Most of the professors were used to Allen sleeping in class and still getting one of the top 10 rankings at tests. Some of them had even let him re-take the tests in a single room, but Allen had even better results at the re-tests.
His photographic memory helped him a lot in studying. And he could concentrate better, when he was alone as well.

Dr.Yates had used his connections to give Allen his nightshift as caretaker, cleaner and security in the local marine life zoo. He did not ask why the boy was a night active person, but instead supported his decisions.
Sometimes, Allen thought that he was discovered being a merfolk person, and thats why Dr.Yates was so kind to him.
However, each time he probed the biologist, his professor never let anything slip.

Grudgingly following after Dr. Yates after class, he had mentally prepared himself for another essay about marine life, or some miscellanous task, and later another shift at the zoo, when he was taken by surprise:
"I have called your nightshift off. You have another task to do, more practical. For the marine life report I am currently proceeding."

Bored, the merman just listened with one ear, but his eyes almost fell off, as he saw a glimpse the exact same parchment in the professors documents, as his parents possessed. Snatching it, he laughed maniacally.
"You research fantasy as well, Mr. Yates?"

Still, the professor coughed slightly and some color was added to his usually blank face. "I am just looking into possible genetical mutations of marine life."
Allen shrugged his shoulders, as he stopped probing, as usual. Unless he wanted to get himself in trouble, he would not dig too far. Dr Yates continued:
"So, as I was saying, I need you to..."

[...]

From the bits and parts of information from Dr.Yates, Allen found the location easily.
He had promised to wait until the actual expedition, but, the merman had of course his own agenda for this.
It was pretty close, so he could go back and forth, when it was time to actually meet up with the others from the team - Dr.Yates had a team of younger and older marine biologists and also marine interested people to look at the phenomenon and gather some of the minerals and plants.
Snorting to himself Allen murmured. "Even if they had a hundred years of experience, how many scientists could inspect merpeople..?"
He was standing on top of a small hill, looking into a deep crevice with some minerals and crystals visible from up top, but mostly green sparks of plants. Somewhere down below, he heard a splashing noise of water.
"Duh, of course. Getting wet if we go down there with people together." Allen made an annoyed face and prepared to just tag along with the expedition, and check out the cave he discovered later by himself.
Going down the mountain he had just climbed, he discovered a small crevice. A familiar smell suddenly hit his nose, and his heart started to pound harder in his chest.
Allens skin prickled hard as he had the impression of scales poking through his arms and legs and he shudderingly stepped back two steps, gasping for air as if he just had his oxygen deprived of him.
Rolling back his sleeves, he saw no scales appearing, however, he had the impression if he would have stayed there longer, that his transformation would be triggered without his control!
Shocked, but still curious, he approached and prepared to enter the crevice - as suddenly his phone started to vibrate.
Slowly exhaling and stepping back, Allen discovered the time alarm he set, and, with a tingle of regret, he turned back to get to the meeting point in time.
"I will be back here soon enough, when I have 'lost' the other researchers anyway.." he chuckled softly, as he mounted his motorbike to meet up with the research team.

After the phone call from Dr. Yates, Marina set off into the night to help set up camp at an island. By locals it was called Mako’s Island, but with little to no historical background. It seems as if the island held its own mystery that others dared not lay eyes on from afar. Its both bewildered and fascinated locals beyond science.

As for Marina, she been there for research with her mother throughout her childhood. Through her experience there and her mother’s way of sticking to the facts she never expected magic to exist within the residence of Mako’s Island nor anywhere else for that matter. Additionally, the family used to sail across the seas and venture to different island that held stranger sightings of sea life and botany for Dr. Cox’s studies.

Although her parents were gone, Dr. Yates (out of many students) couldn’t have the same amount of experience that Marina grew up with in the science field. He found her useful and because they were family friends she would normally ask for her help. With a casual speeding boat Marina arrived on the shores of Mako’s Island with required sets of items and tents needing to set up before the group of researchers would camp there. It only took two hours to set up all the tables, large tents, and chemistry supply that were made out of plastic. According to Dr. Yates some students would bring their own material during this island exploration, but wanted to bring extras just in case. Once everything was set Marina gaze up at the sky and noticed the sun was rising. When she turned around to face a different lighting in the sky it was still night with a brighten moon that was almost full. Stars that never truly dulled while also sharing some of its sky with the sun. Something Marina appreciated out in the open until an old memory sneaked past her “Sneaking an early peak of a new day.” A saying her father used to say about a new day. A string of emotion hit her in the chest as she recalled the memory. Although that was the case, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the pinkish/orange tones in the sky. Such a painting she wished she never laid eyes on.

With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart Marina retreated back to her parked speed boat. Her feet getting wet in the process of hopping on the boat and climbing inside. Sand sticking in between her toes and the bottom of her feet, but ignored it as she emerged inside the boat with room. From there she settled in her dorm room sized bed and found enough comfort to fall asleep.

A couple of hours past when Marina gotten enough sleep and prepared for the day. She got dressed with the aquarium’s uniform with the sky blue shirt with the research team’s logo on the back and her last printed in right above one of her bra lines. While her shorts were light tanned khaki shorts along with her ankle white socks and her dark blue vans shoes. She knew her wardrobe would stick out among a group of scientist, spectators, and young college students; however, she knew she wasn’t there to impress. Instead she was there for volunteering and something else entirely. With that in mind, she stayed focused, locked the cabinet door behind her where her belongings stayed, and hopped off the boat onto Mako’s Island shores.

An hour past when the first crew came, a boat dropping them off, and leaving them on the island until a return time. She greeted almost everyone boarding off the boat. Some of them she recognized and others who ignored her and kept to themselves. “Marina?” A girl’s voice she was familiar with and snapped her head towards the source.
Her eyes scanned over on the other person who called her until a short haired brunette girl approached her excited. “Marina do you remember me?”

“Oh, Brittany!” Marina called as the memory hit her like a brick, but her tone was delighted.

Both of the girls hugged as more by passers strolled past them. “Brittany so what’cha been up to?” Marina asked as she loosen the embrace and gaze up at the girl with a smile.

“Well, I passed the English class both of us were in.” Brittany was wearing the same bright smile as Marina was as she elaborated in her explanation.

“What topic did you ended up picking for the final paper?” Marina asked eagerly.

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. “Something in the readings that we had. The reason why white tiger sharks can’t live in aquariums?” She questioned herself then shook her head when memory finally jogged. “Yea. I did that. Sounds boring, right?”

“No! Not at all. There’s an awesome YouTube video on that subject.”

“So what did you pick?” Brittany eyed her awaiting the answer like a giddy school girl.

Marina chewed on her lower lip and swayed her hips with a slight embarrassment worn with her khaki shorts. “Literature tones.” She eyed the other girl as she watched her excitement die down. “It seemed simple enough, right?”

“Analyzin -” Brittany’s first word was uttered until both of them heard a voice calling for the girl. “Sorry Marina I gotta go for now. I’ll see you later!” She said before running off.

Marina watched her colleague take off in a sprint with the sand kicking behind her and dodging the crowd of people that were greeting and chatting away. She stood alone for a moment when she felt a strong hand rest on top of her shoulder. Marina turned to face whoever touched her and spotted Dr. Yates. “Boy you scared me.” She admitted to him as she rested her hand over her beating heart and exhaled loudly. “How are you?”

“Doing well.” Dr. Yates’ tone purred with a heavy deep voice to match his height over her. “You did a good job setting up here. Actually I would like to meet someone.” Dr. Yates placed his hand back on Marina’s shoulder and gently gave her a push without a solid consent to meet this person or not. “He one of my top students in some of my science classes!”

Marina chuckled to herself noticing the man was showing off again. A trait that refused to fade away with the man. “Will he be receiving a scholarship on the department’s behalf?”

“He might as well with the brilliance he writes in his papers.” Dr. Yates said with a waved finger in the air while pushing Marina along. “Mr. Allen!” He called for him while he searched for him.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

"Curse the ocean and deep sea for being so close tonight.." Allen murmured, as he arrived again at Mako Island. It was still night, and he had to do the trouble to go back and then again forth by the ferry, to look as if he hadnt been here before.
The worst call was though, that it was a moonlit night, and the water called to him with each wave, to just come swim and play. So, while he was totally fine with nightshifts usually, this time, he felt watched and nervous.
Instead of the usual nightshift, there was a staff meeting, explaining the purpose.
They would mix with the other researchers, and find rare minerals and possible marine life. Allen just stayed in the background, and decided to join the people who were just taking water probes and mineral /botanic ones, but Dr. Yates seemed to single him out again.

Under close watch from the marine scientist, Allen had to reply to a series of questions about marine life, science and even some random biochemistry related questions. Trying to respond correctly, but not over the top Allen took his sweet time, but probably, Dr.Yates had calculated this as well, so he had asked more deep questions from the start.
Basically, he could not get out of being picked as one of the main participants. Allen sighed, as he packed his tools and prepared to board the boat, finally.

[..]
What is more, even if Dr.Yates had the choice to pick his own room, Allen still ended up rooming with his professor! With shady excuses that there were not enough rooms besides for females, the merman could not argue about it.
Feeling a little paranoid though, he could not sleep at all.
Allen understood the mood of a fish being watched in a water tank closely this very night, as he tried not to toss and turn from the situation.
As the awful night was almost over, the merman blinked sleepily and a little gloomy into the sunlight, his hair messed up from trying to pretend to sleep.
[..]

He was one of the first people out on the boat, and even though his clothes were dressed a little sloppily due to him not being a morning person at all, they were not dirty or messy.
He was wearing a navy blue jeans, and a simple white tank top as he left the cabin, still a little groggy. Grabbing one of the marine zoo's caps and zip-up hoodies from his bag, he put them on. The night shift ones were a bluish black, with the logo on the back. The cap had a logo in the front, as well.
Being here for work, he tied up his hair in a ponytail, and grabbed his backpack with tools, before jumping off the ship.
The set up was already done, and the place seemed very lively for a closed off island.

Allen whistled slightly, as he looked around. Just 24 hours before, this had been a completely empty place.
Squinting his eyes in the sun, he looked for familiar faces, but found none.
It seemed though, that the 'familiar faces' looked for him instead.

"Mr. Allen!"
He liked the professor, but after last night Dr.Yates call made him want to cringe and stealthily make his way out of here. Mixing under the unfamiliar faces, he made his way from the voice, instead of coming towards it, hoping that he was spared today.
He could not avoid the professor, but ...
~Give me at least a little break, dammit..~ thought the merman as he almost bumped into a classmate.

"Hey Allen!" the poor guy greeted him as he was already pushed into a tent by the merman. "Shh."
"..W-what do you want, Allen.. I mean.." his clasmate blushed and Allen rememberd that his species did indeed attract some types of humans..no matter the gender. Especially the weaker willed ones were very susceptible.. to his voice.

~Ugh. Just my luck.~ The merman cursed, then he decided to make use of the classmate.

"Go out and look for Professor Yates - tell him I am taking a dump and will meet him at the site later." He lowered his voice and whispered into the guys' ear.
"O-okay."

Allen exhaled, as the intoxicated guy left. ~This is getting worse. No, it is completely bad.~ He decided to take a small rest in a secluded area, before they would meet up at the site, and swerved from the lively path into a more secluded part of the forest on Mako Island.

[..]

"Ah." Dr. Yates caught a glimpse of green hair and steered Marina softly through the people, but he was held up by greeting here and there, because contrary to the merman, even if the Professor did not know everyone here, everyone knew him.
Some of the researchers even knew Marina and greeted out to her, to trade a few simple words. However, Dr.Yates kept it simple and moved on.
Then he stopped, scratching his head a little.

"Well, though I do praise him a lot, never let him hear it, Marina." sighing, he continued. "He is brilliant, but he is also a little... wild."

As expected, a slightly blushing male student arrived, almost saluting before the two, and just repeated Allens sentence, before rushing off.
"Haha. " A bit embarassed, Dr.Yates chuckled softly. "Well, its a pity, but he is an... interesting guy. Very interesting. If you have the chance, look for the one with the green colored hair, you cant miss him."
Apologizingly, Dr. Yates looked to Marina.

Marina happily stayed with Dr. Yates since he was using this time around to brag about one of his students. “A little wild sir?” A smile toyed with her lips as she stared up at him and observing the man's reaction of the topic. Although she knew of the man for years as a personal family friend, she still referred to him professionally. “Most college students are Dr. Yates.” A fitting cliché for most freshmen entering college, but found it odd he would have green hair especially when she didn’t recall anyone with that hair style on campus. Curious her gaze wondered around for the fellow when she didn’t spot him. Instead another young man, a bashful one, came forward with the news the mysterious green haired man wasn’t going to make an appearance.
Her eyes stayed glued to the bewildered message boy until she could no longer see him. Marina’s eyes blinking and taken back with a minor confusion in what just occurred. She shook it off in time to glance up at Dr. Yates and give him an understanding nod to him with a soft smile. A part of her not wanting to laugh in front of him since she did find it funny. “I’ll be certain to keep my eyes open for him sir.”
“Good! You’re doing a great job with the volunteer work here. Keep it up!” The professor said with a light initiation that he wanted her to get back to work.
“Take care Dr. Yates.” Marina replied then took off in search of what to work on or seeing if she in need of help with the other classmates and scientists there.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

Allen took a path through the forest and finally to his colleagues from the night shifts of the marine zoo, and talked a bit with them. Sources of Information said, that they found some rare minerals, but they seemed to be unapproachable, so most of the staff gathering them waited for some equipment to arrive and were a little idle.

The merman excused himself after catching up, and took a path towards the mountains. There were quite a few people out there, so, Allen gathered some plant and earth samples along the way, to look inconspicious.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, he had to sigh though. Quite a few researchers and other helpers were here, and the hustle and bustle made it impossible for him to sneak past them all. A little impatient, he still decided to just lean against a tree in a shady place, pull his cap over his face, and take a little nap...

The night had been quite stressfull, so after a while in the mild wind, Allen dozed off.

"Hey.. Hey.. youngster! You allright?" He didnt know how much time had passed, but an older voice woke him up from his slumber.
His cap had fallen off, and an elderly researcher had stumbled upon him in the bushes.
"Mhm.. I'm sorry, I'mfine..." murmured Allen groggily. "Just took a little nap."
Looking over Allens clothing, the man wanted to say something at first, but as Allen pulled the cap onto his head again, he finally nodded.

"Oh, yo you are one of the night caretakers at the Marine Life Zoo? Did you have a rough nightshift?"

Feeling a little guilty inside, Allen aswered. "Something like this, yeah."

"I am James McKenzie." the older introduced himself. "I am participating as free researcher."

Allen nodded, registering that this man must be a VIP. Only people somehow deeply connected to research institutes or Yates team would be here. For now it was not opened to public.
So, the merman stood up and courteously introduced himself, as not to embarass his professor too much, later.
"I'm Allen Walker, Mr. McKenzie. Part of the Marine zoo team and one of the students under Dr.Yates."

"I see." There was no big surprise in the man's eyes, but something irked Allen as he was looking at McKenzie. Still, it was better to be polite. He wanted to make an escape first, but the man interrupted him.
"Well, its getting late, so if everything is fine, I will be going first."
Surprised, the merman blinked at the researcher disappering into the forest.
"Errr...Huh?"
A little perplexed, Allen patted the fallen leaves from his shoulders and sighed, looking at the sky. It was already evening.
Scratching his head a little, he didnt think that he would sleep for that long.
Taking a path back, he suddenly stopped.
~Wait, why did that guy go in that direction? Don't tell me he found the thing I found last time?~
Being almost at the camp, Allen halted for a bit. His body sent out hot and cold waves at the same time, as he turned around.
~ It might be 'just' research for the guys here, but my family's matters depend on this.~
gritting his teeth, he started to sprint, and his cap flew away.
He did not care though.
Barely avoiding a collision with a suddenly appearing female in front of him, Allen swerved into a bush and cursed softly as the twigs ripped at his arms and hair.
Last thing he wanted to do is miss the chance to explore the cave properly. Worming his way through the bushes, he hopped on the path again and continued sprinting, not looking back.

After an eventful day on Mako’s Island purely for research and an unexpected social gathering, a large majority of the crowd took off within the hours of operation. Same stayed behind for reasons of their own, plus it helped having their own boat to ride back to, whereas the few that stayed on the island were camping there for the night. However, Marina’s volunteer hours required her to stay behind long enough to pick up trash and check around to see if there was any damage. With a group of college students here on the island there was bound to be some mischiefs here. Fortunately, there was very few; which saved Marina some hours.

As the sun was setting, Marina tiredly carried another set of black trash bags and placed them onto her boat. Tents and canopies were neatly organized and folded after hours of labor along with left over trash bags that laid upon the sand. She only took a break, so she can climb back into her boat and drink some water and wipe some dirty sweat off her forehead. It was meant to be short and she had every intention to keep working. During this time the below deck lights were turned on, the waves calm enough that only bumped the boat in small rhythms, and waves coming and going as a sweet lullaby. This played out like a soft toned orchestra playing its stings within nature. This calming, yet solitude feeling eased her to finally stop working and sit down. Take a short break.

Once Marina found a spot on the back of the boat and let her feet hang from the railing she did her slow inhales and exhales and relaxed a little. Her gazed lowered down to the sea below her feet when she realized tonight was a full moon. Of course, the reflection of the moon and sea was a blur. The reflection only was unclear when a sudden gust of wind picked up. Marina pulled herself into the boat and covered her eyes from the flying sand. The wind was small lived when she heard a small throb hit the top of the speed boat. Out of curiosity she picked herself up and peaked over at the top. Since she wasn’t tall she had to tippy toe. It was slightly dark when she wasn’t inside her boat, but thanks to the natural moonlight she saw the mysterious item that landed on top of the boat. A cap.

Marina reached her hands up to the railings above her and pulled herself up. She heard someone running through the bushes on the beach; which caused her to snap her direction towards the source of the noise. She didn’t see anyone and for a moment was too cautious to move. The only reason why she did was because she saw the cap was about to fall off the edge of the boat and she grabbed for it in time.

After getting a better grip onto the hat’s fabric she analyzed it and noticed green strand hairs. “Hmm…” She sounded to herself since she is one to talk to herself. “Didn’t Dr. Yates talk about someone having green hair or something?”

Trying to jog her memory Marina’s cast her eyes among the same brushes she heard movement there or so she thought. “Hello?” She called out. She let a couple of seconds of silences before summoning a mixture of bravery and stupidity, on her part, she hopped off the boat and advanced further into the beach. Having every intention to investigate.

For the purpose of staying safe she clipped on the hat onto her belt loop, got out a flashlight for better guidance, and moved with some brisk. Whoever she would find, considering the situation, she wouldn’t want to be found if she ventured through the Mako’s island if someone is truly there.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

Brittany squinted her eyes painfully in the light of Marinas flashlight. The girl had been a little scared and was still sitting on her butt from the sudden encounter.
"Uh.. hello?" bilinking in the light, she asked "Can you help me please?"
Sighing a little as the bright light was taken down from her face, she saw Marina. "Oh.. its you!" She shouted, and then tried to get up.
"Uh.. there was a strange guy that ran me over.. I hope it wasnt a robber. My feet are still wobbly.." Embarassed she scratched her head.

[...]

Meanwhile Allen was full speed back to the place he met the guy. Being a little more careful this time, he slowed down his pace and ducked from bush to bush. Not that he thought that the older male was dangerous, but it was better to be on the safe side, no?
Plus, Allen did not want to share any of his secrets or intentions, but instead figuring out what was up with the guy.
And ... if it wasnt the cave he found, then he would explore it himself.
But, the merman somehow had a feeling, that this researcher knew more about the islands secrets... at least more than Allen himself.

The first thing was just.. to find the guy. He seemed to have left zero clues for Allen, but the merman did not give up yet.

“Brittany?” Marina called, sounding concern, so she quickly lowered down the lights and ran towards her. Bringing her flashlight with her she checked Brittany’s legs for bruises or cuts before she can bring her up to balance. In the meantime she didn’t flash the light to her face and used one hand to reach in the back of her pocket, pull out a full cold water bottle, and hand it over to Brittany. “I thought you went home with your other friends.” She stated while kneeling down beside her. “Are you okay?”

Meanwhile Dr. Yates was in his own yacht on one of the island with two of his servants were keeping him company. Relaxing in a cozy chair while his eyes ease through a particular article from Britain about mysterious minerals that may be linked to ‘Moon Pools’, but was heavily criticized for lack of scientific proof. Some claiming it's not real. The British scientist Cam Jansen, female, was nearly denounced for her role and is now trying to prove her case where she got the purplish glowing rock. According to the article only glows and glittered every full moon. “..the mystery continues.” The last phrase of the article was written and Dr. Yates takes a pen, lays down the paper, and begins to annotate the page thoroughly. Letting his mind wonder himself through the page and curiosity take flight. Unbeknownst to him there was people still lingering on Mako’s island at this hour.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

"Err.." Brittany sounded a little embarassed. "Thank you." she took the water bottle and took a few gulps. "I was looking for something I lost here..." her voice trailed off. "My friends are waiting for me at the shore..probably?" She sounded like there was more to it, but stopped talking as she tried to get up and take a few steps. "Ouch. I think i twisted my ankle. That stupid guy didnt pay any attention when he jumped out of nowhere!" she hissed angrily. Pulling out her phone, she sighed. "No reception, huh? What bad luck!"

Taking a few steps together with Marina, the two girls suddenly heard the honking of a little motor boat. Brittany perked up, and a few minutes later they heard a male voice calling out. "Brittany!~ Brittany~~!" Brittanys body tensed but she cried out back: "JOSH! I'm here!"
Turning to Marina, she explained a bit bashfully. "My.. little cousin. I had a bit of a quarrel with my friends over something, so I went back alone. Thank you for helping me!"
A quite handsome, but still a little babyfaced, dark haired and muscular male was running over to help Brittany, and after a while of thanking Marina, both took off.
Prior to leaving, the girl turned towards Marina and left something in her hands. It was a piece of beautiful jewelery, hanging on a snapped leather thread.
"Here, I found that. I'm giving it to you. Just keep it."

Turning around Brittany and Josh left the island on Joshs Motorboat. Sighing to the waves, Brittany murmured. "Serves him right, for running me over, that guy. I should have thrown it away, but it was just too beautiful."
Josh turned and asked: "Hm, what did you say?" - "No, its nothing."

[...]

Indeed, and the people lingering on Mako Island were not only a few. Somehow, Allen had not expected this. He was crouching in a bush, stalking out a person, but finding a group of them. Strangely, he could not see the guy from before. Scratching his head and contemplating about what to do next, he he noticed a peculiar smell.
Frowning, he realized, that it was a group of youngsters, smoking weed.
The smell made him nauseous, and he ducked back into the woods, not intending to play cop and robbers with those guys.
~ Ridiculous. This is totally not my day.~ He sighed softly, as he crawled slowly past the stoned kids.
He was no justice man - what he needed now is to get to the bottom of the secret of this Island!
~Even if it is another failure, grasping at straws is better than nothing.~

“No problem.” Although she thought she was wearing a weary smile while helping Brittany on her feet, it quickly fades when she noticed the other girl was struggling. Marina quickly grabbed hold of her by the arm and balanced out both of their weights. She was unsteady at first until a minute passed and her feet got a better grounding below her. A sigh of relief produced out of her mouth and her eyes leveled back to Brittany as the restless girl, that was how she was like back at the university, continued to chat her heart’s desire. Of course, some of it was out of bitterness, but Marina completely understood her situation. No one ever liked being run over.

Fortunately, the youthful colleged age woman was able to walk on her own, slightly, when she pulled out her phone and tried the phone connection on the island. Marina let her go gently, but kept an eye on her. “It does that.” She shrugged her shoulders casually in response of Brittany’s question. “I’ve been trying to get on Snapchat the whole time I’ve been on the island.”

From afar Marina’s ears picked up a distance notice of the waves being interrupted by a motor boat. Within the darkness her eyes adjusted to the large figure approaching the sandy shores. A soft gust of wind picked up; which blinded her for a moment. When she heard Brittany call someone out. “Oh?” She asked, even though she received an answer as soon as she asked. “Well, that’s very nice of him to come get you.”

Finally, getting the sand out of her eyes Marina witnessed Brittany about to depart. “Please take care Brit.-” She was about to say more, but quickly stopped when her peer gave her a ring.

For a moment her eyes lingered over it until her hand gripped onto it and her eyes hovered over the small boat that was casting off into the night. Oddly, she was able to hear the two cousins talk; however, ignored it for the sake of being considerate. There was no reason to eavesdrop after all.

Without looking back at the ring again for specific details upon it Marina pocket the jewelry inside her shorts and shifted her weight to advanced back into the forest. “I guess I’m considered the lost and found then?” She asked herself jokingly while keeping herself busy with picking up the water bottle and the flashlight from the ground. Two things that were dropped from the small dilemma of Brittany. She turned on the flashlight and used the light to gloss over the forest. She sighed once again while her feet were in motion. A part of her wanted to stay focus and continue picking up trash for responsibility sake whereas the other part of her was curious about something she couldn’t directly name. Just like this night it was slightly eerie.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

None of the drug addicts noticed Allen sneaking past. But, even after a good while searching, Allen did not see the man he looked for anywhere. It was almost as if he had been just dreaming about him...
He decided to change his tactics. Without further ado, he steered his steps toward the crevice and the cave.
It was not far, but he was cautious.
His blood started to pump, and his body suddenly flooded with adrenaline. Not even the chase right then was that intense and Allen shuddered a little.
~What is wrong with me? ~
But he pressed on. He was prepared for the wave of strange pressure, when he approached the entrance this time. Bracing himself - he entered, and...
"..."
~Strange. The pressure disappeared?~
Confusedly, he scratched his head and explored deeper into the cave. There seemed to be a path leading slightly downwards, and a calling of waves.
"A natural underground water reservoir?" he whispered, as he moved in further.
Unnoticed, waves seemed to be calling him, again...


Outside, the moon, in full blossom, emerged from the clouds that had been covering it. A big, pale cheese. And it was standing just right above the island, seeming strangely close. It could not be seen from the underground, but in the cave, which Allen had yet to reach, rays of moonlight spread across the calm water, and a slight shimmer of light started to glimmer underwater.
It looked like the light rays were playing with each other, causing a glow to spread on top of the lake in the cave. For the slim crevice, the light seemed a little bit too strong, but, if you looked closer, there were some prismic minerals embedded in the cracks and walls of the natural cave, reflecting every lightray that hit upon them. Their color was... undefined in the half lit cave, but they seemed to suck in and multiply the light source moon, taking on a bluish-yellow glow.

[...]

There was a premonition of something eerie...

[...]

As if to underline these words, there would be one boat not coming back to the mainland today. Nor tomorrow. A slight storm was coming, but not enough to be dangerous for any of the boats.
Later, drifting ashore somewhere... without even as much as a trace of any living or dead person on it, the boat would reappear. A police investigation would be started. Relatives would be contacted. Posters printed.
And the police would investigate everyone thoroughly that could be related to the case.

However, all this was still unbeknownst to Allen or Maria.

[...]

Mako Island was still quite noisy, but the animals strangely quiet. There were only a few people cleaning up, but after the night broke in for sure, they disappeared one by one.
Even though there were not that many people, sadly there was lots of trash lying around.
So, some of the team were supposed to be staying back, to clean up.
"Hey, where is that new guy, the green haired one?" A researcher in the Team asked. "I dont know, maybe hes already sleeping. He wasnt feeling well today, it seems." finally another person shrugged his shoulders. "Doesnt he live on mainland and goes back every day? " a third person chimed in with a suggestion.
"Ah so its like that." The first guy made a checkmark next to Allens name, and wrote mainland.

It was certainly the twilight hour and the moon was full, casting emotionless shadows along the horizon and troubling clouds that loomed over Mako’s Island. Along with the salty breeze the wind became chilling. Even wearing a thin layer of a coat, with the aquarium logo, goose bumps formed on her upper arm. Not only it was the weather that toyed with her senses, but her imagination was devouring her logic. As a young adult, Marina still feared the dark and what lays inside. Always ready to jump or caught her being. Fortunately, she had a flashlight that accompanied her during this daring trip.

While straying away further and further away from the beach, Marina enclosed the space between the forest and ancient rocks that seemed unfitting. The color was toned down in a dark grey that seemed mismatched from the soil surrounding the area. The dirt in that specific local had trees that roots seemed to want to uproot itself. Trails of sand was spotted here and there from other travelers that were bold enough to come out here. Or perhaps sand was blown there? Dead leaves were shattered and mashed along with tall light green grass. Intrigued Marina used her finger tips to slide down the rocks that towered over her only to find pieces of salt. It made her brow furrowed as she rubbed her finger tips together. It made her ponder, but her mind attempted to seek an educational answer upon this reason. “The wind perhaps?” She thought to herself.

At this point she barely noticed the lack of noises that should have accommodated her at this hour especially with a storm approaching. Another strange thing that made her curious and urged her to keep searching. Thankfully, the moon was uncovered by the clouds and it gave Marina enough courage and light to continue venturing around the ancient rocks. She turned off her flashlight, so no one else can easily find her. When she noticed another light from the other side of the hill of rocks. Marina re-examined the rocks again and shook her head dumbfounded. “I’m on the other side of the cave…” She told herself before advancing forward.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

Frowning, Allen looked up at the crack in the cave that was above his head, just enough to let in the moonlight from above.
Even though the it was quite deep and dark, with a steep downwards drive, he did not expect it to be so big, from above the underground.

"And this water.." he murmured, half entranced. It was neither ocean nor even flowing water. It was a calm natural lake, probably formed either by underground water reservoirs or by the rainfall during the rainy period. Strangely, it had a magical attraction on him, so that he almost naturally would have dropped into it, if he did not wake himself up with a loud slap in his own face at the last moment.
"A weaker mermaid or merman would have been exposed at this place.." he whispered to himself, and congratulated himself that he did not go here during the day. Even if humans found this natural lake, they would at most take a water probe..

On this notion, the young scientist almost automatically took out one of his ampulles and filled it with the water. But, as his hand touched the water, something like a feeling of residue electricity ran through his whole body, causing him goosebumps.

"The secrets of this water were probably not discoverable, if a human would search for them, but for merpeople.. this is ...definitely one of the sacred places!" Allens eyes widened and he gulped.
Touching the water another time, and dipping his hand into it, he took a small sip, and felt a very refreshing feeling. His pores seemed to inhale every droplet of the water, and his head cleared of any worries he ever had in the past weeks.
Being so long at land, he had almost forgotten, that he was not a human. Being so long at land, his mentality had changed to be almost one of them. But he was not a human!

"No wonder, I had dreams and nightmares about the sea and ocean, and being discovered.." he murmured. How long had it been, since his last sacred ceremony? Over fifteen years? Since then he had only dipped in the sea and ocean to ensure his survival. To not be discovered at all costs. But here, here was an almost untouched sacred place. Everything was here, the light gathering from the moon and the sun, the minerals, the naturally clear and cool water. Only the deep underground caves of the ocean had a better atmosphere than this..
Tempted, he took another sip, letting the water refresh him another time.

He definitely should not do this, but there was nobody here, right? Nobody would come, right?
Listening to the sounds around him, he did not hear anything, besides little droplets of water dripping down into the clear lake.
He should not do this, but... his hands were already tugging at his clothes, and his eyes were looking for a good dry spot where he could hide his belongings...

Besides the moonlight Marina’s phone has been the other unnecessary source of light. She had no interest picking up the phone or talking at the moment. Instead she kept her mind focused and kept her feet moving. Letting herself climb upward with the cave, but not getting too high. Then eventually slipping off. A few scrapes appeared, but she ignored them. Her curiosity was more on point than anything else.
About to get up from the dirt ground she noticed her phone lighting up. Someone was trying to call her again. Exhaling a frustrated sigh Marina slipped her hand into her back pocket of her pants and glanced over the phone screen. To her surprise it was Dr. Yates that called her or attempted to do so three times. At first she was tempted to call him; however, she considered her job that may be at risk at the moment. She was supposed to stay by the boat and pick up. “Well…” She thought to herself. “I did pick up the trash and put away the tables. It’s not like I could leave with the boat, right?” Ultimately, she convinced herself to keep this adventure a secret and make it back to the boat safely.
During this time she composed a text message to Dr. Yates excusing the reason why she hasn’t been answering her phone because she finished her job and gone to sleep. “…Good night and take care Dr. Yates.” That was the last part she wrote before pressing the send button then getting up to continue venturing through the entrance of the cave.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

Somewhere in the cave, a barely audible splashing noise was heard.

Smoothly, Allen dived under water and took a deep breath. The deep underground lake was something he could not resist in the end. He joyfully dived deeper and stretched his whole body, almost, as if he wanted to merge into the water.

It had been too long for him. He had underestimated the land, after all. Even though a Mermaid, that was old enough to grow legs and explore the land, would not die on land, he would slowly lose his powers. Merpeople would also communicate in water, to find one another. To catch a mermaid in water, was almost impossible. His strength, speed and body regeneration powers were many times greater than a humans, unless his legs got hurt. Also his voice's protective magic weakened a lot, when he avoided water alltogether. But especially pure or oceanic water was what merpeople needed.

Sighing, he let himself dive deeper and drift back and forth. He felt his regeneration process speeding up, again. Opening his eyes lazily under water, he saw everything clearly, even though it was dark. His tail, that had turned a dim and dirty greenish blue after years on land, slowly lost its old scales, and shimmered in a deep blue glitter, with just a tiny bit of green. The 'royal blue' as the merpeople called it. A rare color, that was probably extinct by now.
~ If I return to the ocean, this color will either earn worship or hate. ~
Shrugging, Allen turned around, and swam a few more rounds. No need to worry about this now - since he took the bait, he might as well go to the end and fully recover.
His old scales were replaced with new ones, and his hair grew longer, and the shade of green darker.
He felt more energized by the water, the more he swam. This was really a sacred place. But he wondered, if this place had become sacred only recently, or something uncovered it? ...
Looking around, it was like, indeed, there seemed some recently fallen rocks at the lake bottom. It seemed like after the recent storms, the cave's top collapsed, and opened a path for the moonlight.

Another incoming text vibrated in the back of her short’s pocket, but Marina ignored it once again. Only taking it out to silence it. At the peak of annoyance and irritation she pocketed her phone then persisted herself to climbing up the cave’s roof. She slipped a few times, smooth minerals being the result of that, before she noticed a moonlight revealing itself. It’s pale light brightening the dark blue sky. Surrounded by a million little stars, twinkling in its moonlight; which meekly shine. An aloof silvery disc, a silent pale shape that held a subtle power of the oceans. Staring at this was hypnotizing.

Marina only snapped out of this haze because her determination was greater. Only for now. The short break has concluded. She begin to crawl up the cave’s roof since the angle adjusted. Fortunately, because of the practices of rock climbing she was able to achieve this well, but with a few struggles. She been out of practice for a long while.

Glancing up she used her sore arms to pull herself up the last cliff. Out of breath she rolled herself upon the surface and laid on the solid rock from the highest peak. Her abdomen pain spiking up from each exhale. Marina used her palm to wipe off the sweat from her brows. Once again staring up at the silent moon. Until the sounds of her own breathing quiet down she listened in and heard something below her. At first she couldn’t put her mind on what was it. She held her breath and gulped in her throat “Waves clashing?” Marina forced herself to get up or at least sit up. Thinking otherwise. Something must be wrong or she was mishearing. “There was no way, right?” Weakly gazing across the rock surface she found it surprising how large it was and a hole that was in the center of it all. A breeze blows in unexpectedly and nearly kicked her off the cliff.

She held her ground by lowering her body towards the rock as much as she could. Finally, when the wind calmed down Marina curiously peep from above her arm. Only to lift her head up all the way and cast her eyes back to the hole. Her brows pinched together in confusion when she noticed a small detail. Since the moon was out, the moonlight was slightly brighter and was directed inside the hole. Daringly, Marina scoot closer, so she sneak over at the hole that seemed to glow. Soon after Marina’s eyes widen when she noticed a deep hole. However, it bright within the cave. Something pure and magical about it especially upon looking at a bluish glow of a lagoon. Looking closer she noticed something swimming in there. Perhaps a fish? A fish that had a long, glittery, lovely tail according to her. Somehow it was unusual, albeit she wasn't afraid.

At an awe she Marina attempted to safely balance herself. Which any type of movement caused her hair, a braid, to slide over her shoulder. She used one hand to swipe her braid back over her shoulder when a stronger wind rushed in. Marina quickly lost her balance and she slipped inside the hole. Resulting in leaving cuts across her stomach from the edge of the rocks she slipped from and fallen inside the cave. She screamed while trying to grab something, but couldn’t. Marina fallen into the lagoon and lost conscious from the hit.

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°

Immersed in the feeling of water around him, Allen nearly forgot everything besides enjoying himself, for a while.

Even as a stormy wind picked up and brew something like a premonition of a storm, the merman did not pay attention.
However, as a few stony rocks landed in the water, he emerged with a splash from the waters - just in time to see a female body splashing into the water next to him. A whiff of copper hit his sensitive nose.
Allen blinked.
~ Did I just see a suicide? ~
With a wave of his tail he dived after her into the - for humans - cold water.

***

With a soft splash, two bodies emerged from the water. In between the rescue, a few more rocks fell into the water, making it a slightly dangerous adventure to not be injured while emerging. Placing the body on the floor, he reluctantly slipped on land and shook his tail a few times, to get off the residue water.
A bit regretfully, he could not wait until his tail dried naturally, so he used the water repellant magic to it, to speed up the process. Also, the female might wake up and cause a panic, if she saw a half formed fish tail. A male one at that. Allen admitted, the process of transmigration was quite the strange sight. Plus, he had to make sure she did not know his identity. As well as delete her memories in case she did see something she should not have.
Just in about half a minute, his legs formed again, only leaving a few scales scattered here and there. Allen could not be bothered with this, as well as being stark naked. Plus, there was the issue of his hair.
Yes, his hair.
The renewal process makes merpeople live multiple lifetimes longer than humans - if being underwater. But the longer they live outside water, the more will their lifespan resemble a humans cycle of life. No, actually, merpeople life expectancy would be way lower than a humans, since most merpeople living on land die without even reaching half of a humans average lifespan.

In any case, after the refreshing bath in a sacred spot, most cells in Allens body were as good as new, imbued with magic power. This included his hair. Similar to the refreshing ocean blue of his tail, his hair was now more than double of its length before, and the green was even more lucid and lively.

This all took a while to explain, however not more than a few seconds passed, after Allen transformed back into his human form. Picking up the female, he avoided a few fallen rocks, as he entered a small cave at the side, where he had hidden his backpack and clothes.
To his and her luck, he had taken his toilettries with him, as well as a set of his spare clothes. A first aid kit was also a must for every wanderer.

Since he had already provided her with some oxygen under water - another fact about merpeople is obviously that they can filter the oxygen from water and breathe it out, a necessary trait for survival - he was a bit concerned about the bleeding so far.
After confirming, that she was indeed breathing, just not conscious, Allen first ripped apart her torn clothes to wash and apply first aid to her cuts. They had not stopped bleeding yet, due to the contact with water, but were fairly shallow, as far as he could see.
Blood would also wash out any germs naturally, so the only thing he did, is disinfect the skin around the cuts, before applying the large white band aids to seal the wounds.
The problem would not be the blood loss, but her body cooling out due to the cold water and clothes.
For a merman, a females human body was of a similar attractiveness as a fish for a human. Or, maybe a half-fish. But living so long among humans, Allen understood basic courtesy - and that was the slight headache he felt, about what he was going to do next.
Sighing lightly, he dried the person infront of him with the towel he had with him - though used, it was not the time to be picky - and then lightly slapped her right and left cheeks to see if she would wake up soon.
The light was quite dim in the cave, but his eyes had no problem with this.
~ Wait, normal humans should not be able to see anything in this barely lit up place...~ he pondered.

Marina fainted before she could feel anything. Everything seemed to be dulled down as she slumbered through the horrific accident. She would have never known she hit rocks from the bottom of the lagoon or been killed from the fall until she could feel herself waking. The raw feelings of pain that strike her body. Her eyes shot open as she coughed up water from her lungs. She rolled to one side of her body and continuously choked. She used both of her hands to hold her chest and stomach.

After feeling like she could breathe again, this gave her a chance to look around. She needed to know what was going on. Mainly, because her mind registered she not in the pool. However, she realized most of the cave was dark. Nothing was easy to focus especially from her injuries. Marina could smell metallic with a mixture of salt water upon her. Since she was wet she couldn’t tell where she was bleeding or if she was loose on her logic. The only source of light she could see, barely, was the moonlight that hovered over the cave inside.

Within the darkness she could hear the lagoon swaying back and forth, with small waves occurring, and water dripping onto the ground. Marina gasped when she heard rocks breaking from the top of her cave’s ceiling and landing in the lagoon. She scooted back from the splash, but didn’t move further through the cave. Feeling as if she wasn’t alone Marina glanced over her shoulder and felt another figure there. Her eyes already adjusted to the darkness and noticed a darker, outline, figure. Her eyes widen and she could feel the blood draining from her cheeks. “…Hello?” Marina nervously uttered from a sore throat. She scoot back closer to the lagoon for safety. “Is someone here?”

_________________
°o° A Dreamer °o°