It was June, my birthday. I celebrated with my friends in a pub: drinking, doing karaoke, and simply enjoying ourselves. I didn’t like overdoing it with alcohol, so we kept it on the low. Closer to the evening, we stumbled out into the streets. With singing and loud laughing, we were making our way around the town like morons. I don’t remember, how but we ended up on the beach. It was probably because of me, but I can’t remember ever making that suggestion. In any case, we began our drunken walk along the coastline. Our conversations had calmed down by that point, which made the stroll much more intimate. We talked about our lives and how different we had become. There was one particular question that still bothered them. I was the last of them still officially single. I had told them about being gay before I told my family, so they knew about that aspect. Some of them offered to be my wingmen and hook me up with someone, yet I refused. They couldn’t understand why, but I didn’t know how to tell them I already had someone in my life.

  The universe is a very unpredictable thing. Its ways of changing people’s lives in unforgiving ways always fascinated me. That day became such an event. As we actively discussed my, in others’ eyes, unfortunate love life, we saw a group of other people in the distance. They waited on the shore, looking at something in the ocean. We didn’t pay them much attention until we came closer. Suddenly, we heard a mermaid call. It wasn’t Sakharkarkhan, but it was another male. I turned to the water with haste. Confusion on my friends’ faces. There was a mermaid in the water fighting some human. As my company stared in disbelief at the creature, I turned to the group in the distance. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Ramon and a new band of young men. Suddenly, I saw them all cheer. Looking at the water and at them, I observed as the man in the water dragged something towards the group. I started running. My friends, despite their shock, followed me. They called for me to stop and explain, but I knew there wasn’t time. I approached Ramon and his guys, pushing some of them away to get into their tight circle. Amongst them, on the sand, lay a hurt mermaid: a male they had captured. Deep cuts from the knives on his body bled, colouring the terrain under him red. His horrified brown eyes were jumping from one human to another. His long blond hair, which the guy had used to drag him by, was covered in blood and sand.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” a familiar voice of a man addressed me.

  I looked up to meet Ramon’s disturbed gaze. My friends joined me in the circle of moral opponents. Most of my ride-or-dies didn’t believe in mermaids at all, so seeing the creature shook them to the core. However, they still stood strong by my side.

  “Leave us alone!” one of Ramon’s boys growled at me.

  “Now, now, chill,” the leader said to his loyal followers, “this is Isaac, one of my most successful students. You should show some respect.”

  “Release the mermaid,” I commanded.

  Ramon laughed for a moment, replying:

  “Why would I? It was an honest catch by my Thomas. Also, the monster dared to show up here itself. It probably wanted to eat or drown someone.”

  “You and I both know it’s not why they come here,” I answered angrily.

  “Wait,” one of Ramon’s lapdogs interrupted our conversation. “Isn’t it the guy who’s rumoured to help the monsters?”

  “What… what are you talking about?” I questioned in bewilderment.

  “You’re right, Adrian. I see you know what’s up,” Ramon’s lips widened in a cunning smile.

  His wild eyes, angry and hungry for action, fixated on me like a new target. I thought he would attack me at any moment. Instead…

  “How about you leave us with this monster, and we forget this ever happened?”

  “I can’t do that,” I replied.

  I was about to regret my confident statement, as a second later a fight broke out. Ramon’s boys jumped me like I was their biggest enemy. Their leader didn’t even need to give them any commands. Fierce and full of rage, the young men lashed out all their emotions on me. In the moment, as a punch landed on my jaw, I thought I would be done for. However, my friends were sure whose side they were on. I had never felt as thankful to have those guys by my side as then. Without hesitation, they rushed to help me. In the heat of the moment, I lost sight of the mermaid and Ramon. When my friends sent most of the boys running with their tails between their legs, I noticed the devious leader attempting to drag the poor mermaid away from the action. He pulled the creature by its hair across the sand, as the tired and hurt male tried to resist his attacker’s assault. I ran after him. Ramon saw me approaching and crouched down to the mermaid. He pulled out a blade, putting it to the frightened male’s throat.

  “One more step and he’ll be nothing but a snack for the sharks!”

  I stopped. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t allow Ramon to get away with the creature, but I also couldn’t let it die.

  “Look at you, Isaac,” Ramon spoke, still holding the male hostage. “You were the best of my students, yet now you try to hold me back, why? Do you really care for these things?”

  “They’re not things. They are kind-hearted creatures that just want to have their own families. How can you do all of this, knowing that?”

  “I see they never hurt anyone of your own before. Maybe someday, when another one of these things eats someone you care about, maybe then you will finally see why I do it.”

  “Let him go, Ramon. Come on, we both know he doesn’t deserve it.”

  “How do you know? You’ve never met this specific monster before. What if he ate a tourist just yesterday?”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Males don’t eat people. And they don’t touch anyone unless you try to hurt them.”

  “Oh wow, I see now. You think you know more than I do. How about I show you what they are really made—”

  Ramon didn’t get to finish his sentence. While I kept him talking, my friends came up with a plan without my knowledge. Two of them sneaked behind Ramon’s back, but one of them, a professional boxer, decided to take the man head-on. He flew past me so quickly I didn’t even register him. He jumped Ramon, pushing him onto the sand. In shock, Ramon let go of the mermaid, losing his grip and balance, succumbing to my friend’s powerful grapple. It happened so fast I didn’t get to react. Two of my friends incapacitated Ramon, taking away his knife and subduing him, while another picked up the mermaid and carried him to the ocean. As the creature rushed away into the waves, and Ramon was left unconscious on the sand, reality set in. My friends and I were bruised after the fight, one had a cut on his hand from Ramon’s knife, but we gathered back together and moved on towards the closest emergency room.

  As we walked, it was time for me to get clean. These men had proven to me once again that they would stand by me even at the toughest moments, so answering their questions was the least I could do. I told them about my training with Ramon, and I told them about Sakharkarkhan. Now that they saw a mermaid with their own eyes, even those who doubted the creatures’ existence before had to believe me. I wouldn’t even be able to name the number of inquiries that followed, but the guys I have known for the majority of my life continued to impress me. Not one of them stopped being my friend after that day. They stuck with me despite all the differences and complications of our relationships. I knew then that I wouldn’t trade those guys for anything.

  If only I could say it was the last of my adventures that week. Life truly is an unpredictable twist of fate. Just a couple of days later, I was taking a walk with my grandmother. Her age was showing more and more, and it was becoming hard for her to walk, yet her spirit was as young as ever. That day, she asked me to spend time with her by the ocean. She knew how much I loved the water, so it was her idea to go to the beach. We strolled slowly, discussing the beauty of nature, when I heard something that made my heart skip a beat. A screech of Sakharkarkhan, who was approaching the shore. I stared at my grandmother, mortified about her reaction, but she gazed at the ocean with surprise and no fear. As my handsome boyfriend swam up to the shore near us, I felt nothing but pure horror. Mermaids, in my grandmother’s eyes, killed her husband, and now she was about to see one up close. I could only hope that Han would read the room and that this encounter wouldn’t land my granny in the hospital.

  “Hey!” Sakharkarkhan called out, getting to the shore.

  His excited expression quickly changed when he saw I wasn’t alone.

  “A mermaid,” my grandmother murmured.

  Her tone seemed soft, only bewildered. She stared at the creature, mesmerised.

  “Hi, ma’am,” Han tried to greet her carefully, making a slight and awkward smile.

  “A mermaid… Here… Now?” the woman said out loud, not addressing anyone in particular.

  I stood frozen. I didn’t know what I needed to say, or if I should have said anything at all. If I addressed Sakharkarkhan, my grandmother would realise I knew him. If I said nothing, it would also be weird.

  “Sorry to interrupt your day. I didn’t know you would be here… together,” replied my nervous friend.

  “What about the hunters? Won’t they get you?” my granny asked, to my complete perplexity.

  “I know it’s a big risk coming here at this time of year, but I wanted to…” Han stopped mid-sentence, staring at me.

  I saw confusion in his eyes. He was as lost as I was. However, my grandma decided that it was her time to shine. She pulled me with her, coming closer to the water. I hesitated but couldn’t resist. Despite my panic, I was glad to see Sakharkarkhan. The woman came so close to the mermaid she could touch him. Han stayed in his place, not knowing if he should stay or run. The elderly, fearless madam stretched her hand out and said:

  “Marcela Juana Ruiz Alvarez.”

  “Sakharkarkhan, but you can call me Han,” replied my friend, shaking her hand.

  “This is my grandson, Isaac,” my granny continued, as if nothing strange was happening.

  “I know, ma’am,” chuckled Han.

  At that moment, I knew it was over. If I could play it cool and pretend I didn’t know what was going on before, now there was no way to avoid this uncomfortable conversation.

  “What are you doing here?” I finally uttered.

  “I knew it was your birthday recently, and I thought I’d surprise you by coming here unannounced, but I guess I didn’t think it through completely,” Sakharkarkhan explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Is this your friend, mijo?”

  “Um-m…” I hesitated. “A little more than that, actually.”

  It came out so naturally that I couldn’t stop it. I wanted to tell someone for so long, and the recent support of my friends was reassuring. The secret was out, and there was no going back.

  My grandmother looked at me, then at Han. Her face showed no distinct emotions. I couldn’t understand what she was thinking, or if she even understood what I was talking about. Suddenly, a firm slap to the back of my head foresaw her next words:

  “What are you waiting for? Kiss the guy already and let him go before any of those crazy maniacs notice us.”

  My jaw dropped. Han chuckled, saying nothing. She pushed me forward towards him and turned slightly away. It was so weird to embrace Han with her right behind my back.

  “I’m sorry I chose such a bad moment for this,” my boyfriend whispered in my ear.

  “Don’t think about it. I’ll deal with it a bit later.”

  He kissed me lovingly, caressing my cheek, then wished me a happy birthday and promised to be back around autumn. I didn’t want to let him go before kissing him again. When he swam away and my grandma and I watched him disappear into the distance, she said something that completely turned my world upside down.

  “I remember the day my Sharkrakney died. No man after him made me feel the same.”

  If I was shocked before, now I was absolutely floored. I spat out question after question, trying to get as much information as possible out of that woman. We spent hours talking about it. That day, I found out that despite my mother’s biological father being some man my grandmother found at the bar, my actual grandfather was a mermaid. Unfortunately, Sharkrakney was caught and murdered before my mother could remember him, leaving my granny to raise their child alone. She never officially got married and had to lie about her life and her daughter to protect them both from scrutiny. She never told my mother the truth, thinking it would never matter. Seeing Han now reminded her of her long-gone true love. She promised to keep my little secret until, or if I was ever ready to tell my parents. I never felt so close to my grandmother. All this time, I thought she’d be the first to hang me for my sins, instead, she became my closest confidant.

  That week of my twenty-fifth birthday changed my life for the better. I didn’t have any more secrets from my friends, and I had granny to talk to at home. When autumn came around and Han could return, my grandmother asked to meet him again. The evening it finally happened, we spent hours talking at the beach, eating cookies she made with a special recipe for mermaids and drinking tea. It was such a blessing to finally have someone from my family officially approve and welcome Sakharkarkhan into my life. She told us stories of her youth and time with Sharkrakney, their travels, and years of happy memories. I found out why all the stories before never made complete sense. Now they did. I saw how delighted my grandmother was to share this part of her life. I understood her. Han understood her. We all understood each other.