After thinking about your choices carefully, you decided that going with the boy and getting in touch with people who could help you was worth your time. Besides, another encounter with the statue likely wouldn’t go in your favor, so you stayed with the boy as he was close to finishing his improvised sled.
“There, all finished! Now we can take you to ma!”, The boy said excitedly.
You tried to tried dragging yourself to the boy’s sled, but the enormous size of your mermaid tail and breasts were a huge liability to you on land. As you struggled, the boy picked you up from the ground, with your back and tail safely on his arms.
“I’m sorry, hun. I dun forgot you ain’t good on moving on land. But don’t worry, you’ll be safe at my home and you can have all the water you want!”, the boy said as he carried you to his improvised sled.
You were a bit surprised how polite the boy was to you, his touch on you felt gentle, even has the boy struggled to carry you. But, eventually, the boy gently laid you down on the modified ice chest.
“There, you all better?”, the boy questioned.
“Yes, thank you for this. I appreciate your help.”, you said in a soft voice and accompanied it with a sweet smile.
The boy blushed and had a bright grin on his face, “Awww, shucks! It’s no problem, I’m always willin’ to help out a purty sweet mermaid like you”.
You chuckled and made yourself comfortable in the ice box as the boy pulled the improvised sled. The pleasant cold feeling of the ice made you sleepy and you later felt yourself close your eyes.
When you woke up, you saw the boy still pulling the ice box sled in determination to get you home. You looked around your surroundings to see the dusk sky with trees everywhere with no neighborhoods in sight. But what caught your attention was the large pool of water behind the trees, it seems to be a lake of some sort. You were a bit relieved at the sight, it seemed to be a very nice place for a mermaid to swim in without much risk of getting spotted by any malicious humans.
“Here we are, home sweet home!”, the boy said in relief.
You looked in front of you to see a nice looking house, it seemed to be a pleasant combination of a cabin and a suburban house.
“Wow…”, you said under your breath.
“Yup, ‘wow’, indeed. This here house is my mom’s pride and joy. She worked day in n’ day out to get the money to own it.”, the boy said with a prideful grin.
The boy knocked on the door and, after a short while, the door opened to a young red haired woman who had a smile on her face.
“Kyle, you’re just in time for dinner! How’d that fishin’ trip go?”, the woman asked.
“Huh… Kyle… Not a bad name.”, you said to yourself.
“It was just wonderful, ma. I just caught the purtiest thing ever and you won’t believe your eyes when you see it!”, Kyle said.
“Why, then show me, boy.”, the mother happily said.
The boy pointed to where you were in the ice box. When his mother looked in you in shock, you couldn’t help but wave to her and curling your tail in a way that verified that it wasn’t a costume and that Kyle was right.
“Hi…”, you said in a quiet voice.
“Oh my gosh, Kyle, what did you do to her?!”, his mother yelled.
Kyle was visibly a bit shaken by his mother’s reaction, but he managed to speak, “N-Nothing, ma! I just caught a fish n’ the top half of it became a purty woman. Please, ma, you have to believe me!”
“I don’t believe in nothin’ until that woman is safe!”, his mother yelled back.
You could sense Kyle was being upset by his body shaking and the slight fear in his, so you decided to speak up for him.
“Miss, Kyle is right. I am a real mermaid. I’ll explain the whole the thing, I would like it if you both please take me to somewhere wet and safe for me to rest in.”
Kyle’s mother started to calm down and looked to be convinced by you. So her and Kyle brought your body to the lake, which was right next to the house. You dove in the lake water happily, the water felt so good both on your pink flesh and fish scales. After a short swim, you dove up to see the awed faces of Kyle and his mom.
His mom applauded you, “Wow, you were just lovely in the water. You’re beautiful!”
“See ma? I told you she was purtiest thing.”, Kyle said.
His mother nodded in agreement. You smiled at the sweet compliments they gave you. After that, you started explaining your whole story to the two, like how you were just a normal guy who met with the magical statue, got turned into a fish for possibly months and got caught by Kyle to then turn into a mermaid.
Their eyes widened with disbelief. They couldn’t believe it, but your story made sense to them. You were a human, just like them, but the statue changed all of that. It was then that the reality of your situation hit them.
“Oh dear, your friends and family must be worried. If you want to, dear, we can take you to the statue or maybe you can call your family right now if you’d like.”, Kyle’s mother said.
“Yes! That would be lovely. Thank you miss!”, you replied with a hopeful smile on your face.
“Wait, but, ma!”, Kyle said. His look caught you by surprise, he seemed genuinely worried at the idea of you turning back into your old self.
“No buts about it, Kyle, we have to get ‘er home and give that darn statue a piece of my mind tomorrow.”
Kyle’s mother left you and Kyle alone, most likely to get dinner ready. The silence between you two was deafening and awkward, but later, you hear Kyle sniffling and breathing fast.
“Kyle, are you okay?”, you said in concern.
You looked up to his face to see his eyes starting to water, “N-No, I don’t want you to leave m-me…”, he said as his voice cracked.
“But why? I want to go back to my old life.”, you replied
Kyle wiped his tears and spoke, “When I was in school, I never had friends. Every kid at the whole darn school bullied me because I sounded funny, especially the girls. Boys hit me and scratched me while the girls badmouthed me and ruined any dang chance at me ever gettin’ friendship. My grades dropped and did my health. ‘Ventually, my ma got the money to move away and live here.”
He looked at you with eyes that showed the pain of being alone and hurt. “That’s why I asked that statute for a mermaid. I loved readin’ stories about them, I thought the idea of a beautiful mermaid acceptin’ me for who I was and lovin’ me with all her heart was my vision of my true love.”
You looked in him with sympathy. You never knew that school could be so hellish to a guy like Kyle, and to think, he managed to hide his pain from you until now. You swam closer to his side and kissed him on the cheek. Kyle’s cheeks started to blush as you embraced him.
“I’m so sorry, Kyle. I never meant to be rude to you. Nobody deserves to go through what you dealt with in school. I was selfish to just think about myself.”
Kyle started to have a faint smile on his face, “No, that’s okay. All I wanted in my life was just to be with someone for Valentine’s Day next month.”
You thought about your options. You wanted to meet the statute again, while your first encounter wasn’t exactly great, there can still be a chance you could turn back to be with your regular life as a boy on land. Opportunities like this don’t come often. But at the same time, you didn’t want to break Kyle’s heart. He’s a genuinely nice person who went through bullying and loneliness, you are most likely the only companion he’s ever made, and remaining a mermaid is a safer bet than risking being a fish because of the statue again, or worse.