Kyle’s mother arrived with three bowls of chicken noodle soup, one of which was for you. You stared at the plate with hunger, it looked and smelled a whole lot tastier than raw fish. Kyle hid his teared up eyes from his mother.
“Eat up, honey. You gotta’ get some energy for the trip to the statue tomorrow!”, His mother said.
You looked up to the woman replied, “Yeah… About that. I kinda want to remain a mermaid here for a little while longer.”
Kyle looked at you with hopeful eyes, his face went from tearful worrying to being a genuinely relieved smile, he knew exactly what you meant. His mother however, looked puzzled.
“Oh? I thought you wanted to become human again by meeting with the statue.”, she said.
You thought about your reply carefully, but you eventually spoke up, “I know, Miss, but I kinda want to test out mermaid life as well. I was a helpless fish in a pond for maybe months, but I feel empowered as a mermaid. It’s not everyday you become a mythical creature.”
Kyle’s mother looked a but unsure of your answer at first, but she then recognized that you had a point. Being half human and half fish isn’t exactly an opportunity that a person usually gives up right away. She nodded in agreement.
“Okay, I see your point. You can stay here as long as you want. Just don’t break anythin’ and we’ll be fine and dandy”, she said in a cheeky grin.
“Deal!”, you delightfully said.
Kyle’s mother eventually left you and Kyle alone again to eat her soup and get ready for bed. Kyle looked at you with a bright grin.
“I don’t believe it. You’re staying?”, he said with excitement.
“Yes. My family can wait for now, being a good Valentine is my current duty!”, you said to him while winking.
Kyle’s entire face blushed to a bright red, you couldn’t help but giggle at him warmly. There was silence between the two of you after that whole exchange. The silence wasn’t due to awkwardness, you two were just busy eating soup. It was delicious, it tasted a whole better than constant fish and bait during your time as a fish.
Eventually, the two of you were tired after an eventful day. Kyle got up and took the two empty soup bowls to his home. He turned around to face you one last time for tonight.
“Goodnight, mermaid...”, he said to you.
“Sweet dreams, Kyle...”, you said to him in the sweetest tone your melodic voice was capable of.
He smiled and went back to his house. Not too long after, all of the light in the house were later turned off, signalling to you that Kyle and his mother were asleep. After looking at the beautiful moonlight for a while, you dove down deeper into the lake. You found a large and comfortable rock to sleep on, you curled your large mermaid tail up to your belly and closed your eyes to fall into a pleasant sleep.
The next couple of weeks passed by rather smoothly. You started getting used to your new mermaid body, it felt so good to swim in the water without any risks of cranes eating you, plus, your tail was very flexible and you managed to master using it without much trouble. As time went by, your urge to head for the statue started to fade away.
Life in the lake was already pretty pleasant, but Kyle and his mother were always the highlights of your day. His mother was a great cook and her food was nothing less than delicious, especially when it comes to chicken and meat. You started getting used to Kyle’s voice, seeing it as just a quirk of his. Not only that, you also got to know him better. You learned that his voice patterns mostly came from his Dad’s side of the family, but his father left him and his mother when he left on a business trip, his mother was essentially the only figure in his life that cared for him for years until you came along. You eventually start telling Kyle about your old life as a human. He would listen intently and stayed quiet until you finished your stories. He was at awe and often cracked jokes about how the two of you could’ve been “the best bros ever” if you weren’t a mermaid, you couldn’t help but laugh at them, they were funny because they were true.
As the week before Valentine’s day approached, you noticed changes in his behavior. They weren’t anything major, but you noticed changes in his speech patterns, his pronunciations of words started to be more akin to traditional English, plus he often laid a flower next to the lake at every morning of the week. You couldn’t help but find the flowers cute. On the day before Valentine’s day you collected enough flowers to make a flower crown for yourself.
As the morning of Valentine’s day finally arrived, you rise up from the lake to spot a large box of chocolates and a bag filled with beautiful seashells that came with a comb. You were at amazement at the gifts he gave you, but along with those gifts came a note.
It read, “I’m currently busy getting myself ready for you tonight. I’m so sorry I couldn’t meet with you this morning. But I promise to be the best Valentine ever!”, the note ended with a drawing of a smiley face.
You were a bit confused at why he couldn’t be bothered to greet you this morning, but you took advantage of the extra time you had to prepare yourself. You happily placed the seashells from the bag all over your hair and placed the flower crown on her head. When you looked at yourself using the reflection of the lake, you looked liked a mermaid princess, you were extra pleased with yourself.
Kyle’s mother came out of the house to look at you, “Oh my gosh, darling, you look gorgeous! Kyle is going to be so happy when he sees you!”
“Thank you!”, you replied, “Say, have you seen Kyle lately?”
“It’s a surprise!”, she said as she winked and returned back to the house.
As nightfall finally came, you waited on the lake and passed the time by singing. Your songs didn’t have any meaning or lyrics, you just loved hearing how beautiful your angelic voice sounded. You were busy playing with your tail and hair when you heard a familiar voice.
“Hey!”
You looked behind you to see Kyle with blonde hair in dark green swimming trunks and only wearing a necklace of a single tooth as his only source of clothing on his torso. You were pleasantly surprised, you never knew someone like Kyle would look so endearing in trying to look like a surfer dude.
“Ooooh… Looking good, Kyle!”, you said to him. You wonder if that was why he took so long to finally meet you today.
Kyle had a confident grin on his face, “That’s not all, I also have… This!”, he revealed something behind his hands. It was a forest green merman tail costume.
You were surprised, but flattered, beyond all belief. Kyle went out of his way to try to impress you by buying a tail just so you wouldn’t feel like the only mer creature on Earth.
“Wow, Kyle, you bought a tail so you could be with me?”, you said sweetly.
“Yup, I wanted to be the best Valentine I can be!”, he said as he put on the costume.
It was fairly obvious to you that the tail was a costume, the costume tail could only bend at the knees and doesn’t look like it was flexible at all. But you didn’t care, he looked quite attractive in the costume, but the fact he spent so much time trying to impress you just made you admire him more.
You grinned at the sight of Kyle swimming towards you. When he reached your location, he has a cute smile on his face.
“You look amazing”, Kyle said as he looked at the seashells in your head and flower crown.
“Thank you, Kyle, I think you look quite handsome as well, I just wish you were an actual merperson like me.”
He chuckled as he stroked your hair. You looked into his eyes and saw a stream of stars in his beautiful green eyes. You felt the two of you moving closer together.
You were so grateful for what Kyle did for you. He not only saved you from your boring fish existance, he also took you to a loving home, helped you cope with your mermaid form and got a mermaid costume to be with you in the sea. You got close to Kyle’s face and closed your eyes.
And so, you and Kyle had your first kisses. On Valentine’s Day, no less!
In this distance, you could hear Kyle’s mom cheering through the house window, you and Kyle just giggled when they heard her.
Suddenly, you felt the water swirling beneath you. Before you knew it, you saw a whirlpool surrounding you and Kyle.
“What’s happening?!”, you screamed.
“I don’t know!”, Kyle said.
You tried to swim away, but the current was too strong, it was like you and Kyle were being forced by the sea to be together. Suddenly, you heard laughter that was all too familiar to you.
You and Kyle looked up to see a statue, but not just any statue, it was the same statue that turned you into a fish and a mermaid.
“Happy Valentine’s Day to you two!”, the statue said in a grand and happy voice.
“Ummm… Happy Valentine’s Day to you as well….”, Kyle said meekly.
The statue put his hand over his heart, “How heartwarming. You both managed to use your desire and kindness to find true love.”
You and Kyle looked at each other and smiled. The statue may be a strange anomaly, but he was right, you both did find love because of this statue.
The statue laughed again and spoke, “But I know how to make the love between the two of you much stronger.”
“Are you going to turn me back into a human?”, you questioned.
“I have an even better idea!”, the statue proudly stated as he raised a thumbs up and raised a bow and arrow.
“Behold, the power of blossoming love, may you use this gift to its greatest potential!”, the statue shouted as as the bow twangs, and the arrow zings.
You heard Kyle cry out as the arrow hit his chest and it explodes into glowing glitter which flows into him and his skin glows with a golden light.
He hovers inches over the ground, and Kyle.
"My gift to you, child." he says softly with pride, "I have listened to your love’s desire for you to become a merperson. So, in return for her services to you, she shall have her greatest desire granted. Farewell, my children, you’re welcome" He laughs and soars into the sky with his wings, you lose his image in the sun.
The whirlpool then disappears and you’re both now underwater. Kyle, in a panic, he felt his neck and felt gills pulse. He looked worried. He felt again, sure enough, the gills were real and were giving him the ability to breathe underwater with you. He then had an awful thought, if the gills were real. His hands flew to his waist. He scrabbled around trying to find the seam, but the tail had connected to him as one big limb, replacing his legs.
“Oh my god, Kyle, I’m so sorry!”, you said to him, begging for forgiveness.
Kyle was silent, but then took a deep breath and spoke up, “You really wanted me to be a merman more than you wanted to be a human again?”
You felt your face blush a bright red, but you managed to reply to him, “I mean, I could always just call my family and friends to let them know I’m okay. But I love you, Kyle. After everything you’ve done for me, I feel you deserve something better than just a costume.”
His face went from being concerned to becoming a smile, he flicked his new tail towards you and gave you a big hug.
“Thank you, this is the best Valentine’s Day ever!”